Top 10 laptops of July

Centrino 2 marks a distinct departure from Intel's previous processor strategy. Where once it measured progress mainly by clockspeed and number of cores, the latest mobile platform focuses on the complete computing experience, specifically on the graphics forefront. Like AMD's Puma chipset, Centrino 2's vision of the future is high-definition Blu-ray movies, which it hopes to provide at least 2.5 hours of HD video on a single battery charge.

Though laptops based on the new Intel platform has started trickling into the market, these new machines command a premium which not everyone will feel compelled to pay. As such, July still saw Centrino laptops hitting the popularity charts as they offer a good value proposition. Of course, if you are a tertiary student in Singapore, your wallet will be eternally grateful if you go for the bargains in the campus purchase program. But if you are a little older, then we suggest waiting for the upcoming COMEX show at the end of August for the best deals.

To find out the hottest models in the month of July, we polled what readers searched for on our site, as well as sales figures from Singapore stores AAAs Com Solution and MC2 for our latest chart-busters.

	1.	Acer Aspire 4920G (Core 2 Duo T7100 Processor 1.8GHz, 1GB RAM) Outlook The Aspire 4920G may be cheap, but it's definitely not boring with its Gemstone design. Billed as a portable entertainment notebook, it sports a dedicated ATI graphics card for additional video performance. Users who frequently edit videos or produce presentations will appreciate this affordable Acer PC. See full specs | Rate this
	2.	HP Compaq 2133 (VIA Processor 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM)   CNET Asia rating: 7.5 out of 10 The good: Inexpensive; solid construction; stylish design belies its budget price; nearly full-size keyboard. The bad: Weak performance; unimpressive battery life; tiny touchpad; misses out on new Intel Atom CPUs. The bottom line: Despite an underpowered CPU, the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC offers the best balance of small size, comfort, and functionality we've seen in a mini-notebook, making it fast a favorite for on-the-go use. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	3.	HP Pavilion dv2700 (Core 2 Duo T7300 processor 2.0GHz, 2GB RAM)   CNET Asia rating: 7.4 out of 10 The good: Attractive new "special edition" bronze theme; includes a media remote control and an HDMI port; available dedicated graphics. The bad: Heavier than it should be; tinny speakers, unimpressive battery life. The bottom line: The 14-inch HP Pavilion dv2700 Special Edition packs plenty of extra features and a cool new paint job into a slightly too-heavy package with an uninspiring battery. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	4.	Acer Aspire 5920G (Core 2 Duo T7300 Processor 2.0GHz, 2GB RAM)   CNET Asia rating: 6.8 out of 10 The good: High-end specifications; excellent performance; brilliant screen. The bad: Grey coloring; misplaced USB port; overall design. The bottom line: The Aspire 5920 is a candidate for the ugliest laptop of the year. It's smeared in enough grey to put British skies to shame, and has had some absolutely awful design touches. But the rest of the laptop is a very good one. It's fast, feature-packed and is excellent value for money. Review | See full specs | Rate this
	5.	Compaq Presario V3700 series (Core 2 Duo T7500 Processor 2.2GHz, 2GB RAM) Outlook The Compaq Presario V3000 delivers a strong set of components and decent basic features for a competitive price. Optional addons like the HP XB 3000 expansion base further expand the functionality of this series with more connectivity ports and a better speaker setup. See full specs | Rate this