Laptops

 It’s that time of year again! Summer vacation is still in full swing, but the end is in sight and it’s time to start making preparations for the return to the classroom. Technology is more important than ever, but having the right gear is critical. To help you out, here’s a list of the top 10 laptops for back to school.

The LG Gram comes in three sizes, but the 14-inch model reviewed here serves as an example of how good lightweight PC laptops can be.

 Does your laptop seem a little sluggish? Replacing its hard drive with a solid state drive (SSD) is a big performance win. Even better, the procedure takes just minutes and just about anyone can do it. Here’s how.

Sony’s Vaio series of PC laptops has always won points for style and design and the company has become a leader in producing Windows 8 hybrid machines —portables that combine Windows 8 PC and tablet capabilities. I’ve spent the past week trying out Sony’s latest take on the hybrid form factor. After putting it through its paces, I can assure you that the Vaio Fit 15A is one of the most useful variations yet on the tablet/notebook convertible hybrid, a real looker (especially in the black finish of the test unit) and an able performer. It’s held back a little by a few details —a loud and persistent fan, so-so keyboard, and not so stellar battery life among them— but offers a solid portable computer experience, along with tablet capability, in a single package that just happens to look pretty smashing.  

Yesterday I posted details about Dell’s award-winning XPS 13 Ultrabook. It’s a great little ultraportable with a beautiful display. What if you want a premium Windows notebook with that same Quad HD+ resolution, but a 13-inch display is just too small? No worries, Dell also released the XPS 15, a full-sized, premium laptop that boasts a fantastic 3200 x 1800 touchscreen display.

If a Chromebook is what you have in mind for a laptop, the Pixelbook Go is among the best you can lay your hands on—so long as you’re okay with the quirks.

Most consumer tablets have displays in the 8-inch to 10-inch size range. Microsoft tapped the prosumer and professional market when it released the big-screen Surface Pro line of tablets that convert to a PC laptop form factor. HP—one of the world’s largest PC manufacturers—offers its own take on that the 2-in-1 convertible laptop form factor. The Envy x2 13.3, a very big Windows tablet with features Surface fans will find familiar, namely a kickstand, digital pen support and a magnetically attached keyboard cover. The approach is familiar, but the Envy x2 is a different beast from the Surface Pro (and new Surface), as I found out during my review period.

Looking for a high performance laptop to take your digital creativity on the go? The Dell XPS Touchscreen wants to be that laptop. Here's a look.

The HP Spectre x360 is a powerful laptop that comes with an i7 processor, 16gb of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a RTX 3050 GPU.

The Kano PC is a great STEAM gift for your little one with fun and learning at its core. My full review of the DIY learning experience.