Best & Worst Laptop Brands 2012: Overall Scorecard Find out which brand fared the best. by LAPTOP Staff on March 27, 2012 And the winners are... 1st Place: Apple Holding strong as the dominant brand for three years running, Apple proved to be top in six of nine categories, including reviews, design, keyboard and touchpad, tech support, software and innovation. The only area where Apple fell flat was value and selection, but that's because the company chooses to focus on higher-end notebooks. It's tough to argue against a company that introduced a 5-star laptop in the form of the MacBook Air 13-inch . There's a reason why Apple saw a 26 percent increase in year-over-year MacBook sales. This brand is simply the best. 2nd Place: Lenovo Trusty and reliable, the Lenovo brand also held on to its No. 2 spot from last year. While it only topped two categories (innovation and customer service), Lenovo consistently scored well, winning acco...