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 accolades for its keyboards and touchpads as well as value and selection. We also look forward to a bright future for the brand, with such upcoming Windows 8 devices as theLenovo IdeaPad Yoga. 
3rd Place: HP
Finishing first in the multimedia category (in part due to its Beats Audio technology) and value and selection, HP proved it deserves to keep the bronze medal again this year. The computing giant also placed second in reviews, design and software. More impressive is that HP achieved this success despite considering jumping out of the laptop market altogether. 
4th Place: Sony
It offers top-notch support and some unique features, but overall Sony needs to do a better job justifying the premium that comes with its brand.
Of the seven Sony notebooks we reviewed, six earned ratings of 3.5 stars, but that's as high as this brand would go. Notebooks such as theVAIO Z and VAIO S offered great performance in portable packages, but were a bit on the pricey side. While no laptops earned less than 3 stars, this down year for Sony wasn't stellar.
4th Place: Toshiba
Toshiba's reputation for delivering value remains strong, but its support, design and keyboards could use some help.
A decidedly mixed performance, of the 14 Toshiba notebooks we reviewed, one earned an Editors' Choice (the Satellite L655-S5161x). Two notebooks (the Satellite P755-S5272 and the Satellite L655D-S5164RD) merited 2.5 stars for their underpowered processors and short battery life--not recommended. Six systems, including the Portégé Z835 Ultrabook, earned 4 stars, but six more earned 3.5 or 3 stars, which is good, but not great.
5th Place: Asus
With mostly solid but unspectacular systems (10 out of 18 receiving 3.5 stars) and only one Editors' Choice (the G74SX-A2 gaming rig)--down from four in 2010--ASUS fell to the lower half of the pack in 2011, mainly owing to issues such as flexing keyboards and lackluster audio. Having a 2.5- and a 2-star rated notebook (the woefully underpowered Eee PC 1015B) didn't help, either, resulting in a fourth-place finish.
6th Place: Dell
Thanks to better design, solid support and stronger audio quality, Dell is one of the most improved laptop brands.
The five Alienware notebooks we reviewed--four 4-star ratings, two Editors' Choice awards and a rare 5-star product (the M17x)--had a definite impact on Dell's overall score this year, propelling the brand from second to last in 2010 to third place in 2011. Outside of its gaming sub-brand, Dell produced eight laptop scores of 4 stars (such as the XPS 15 and XPS 17, which both had excellent audio and displays), and five notched 3.5 stars.
7th Place: Samsung
Although Samsung doesn't offer as much variety as the competition, the brand delivers attractive designs and solid support.
While we liked Samsung's 15-inch RV511, giving it 4 stars and an Editors' Choice, of the four other notebooks we reviewed from Samsung, three scored 3.5 stars, and one, itsChromebook Series 5--the first notebook to run Google's Chrome OS--received a poor grade of 2.5 stars.
8th Place: Acer
Although Acer offers aggressively priced laptops, the overall user experience trails other brands.
Of the 15 notebooks we reviewed from Acer during the last year, nine received 4 stars (such as the Aspire TimelineX 5830TG), three had a rating of 3.5, two were awarded 3 stars and one--its Aspire S3 Ultrabook--had a not-recommended rating of 2.5 stars, owing to its short battery life, slow hard drive and limited viewing angles.
Best & Worst Laptop Brands 2012: Full Score Card
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