SPOTLIGHT: What Laptop Awards 2008 20/08/2008

Best Laptop: Power and Features.

When you're looking for a powerhouse portable, either for multimedia purposes or for playing the latest games, you'll need to be serious about computing. After all, these are some of the most cutting-edge mobile computers in the world. What we've looked for in our nominations are laptops that not just have the best in features but use them in such away users feel they are buying a truly unique laptop. We feel the four laptops nominated are the benchmarks all future powerhouse portables will be measured against.

Acer Aspire 8920G
Multimedia laptops are increasingly becoming commonplace but one machine that is ahead of the pack. The Aspire 8920G is the first laptop to sport an 18.4-inch screen, which means it natively supports 16:9 movies in high-def. What’s more, it also comes with a Blu-ray drive. The distinctive design has split opinion but we think it’s a great example of design and function working in harmony. 

Dell XPS M1730
When it comes to gaming laptops, Dell knows its target audience and the XPS M1730 plays straight into this market. The 17-inch machine has impressed us time and time again with its cutting-edge components, first-time performance and classic body design. The XPS M1730 has won more Gold Awards than any other gaming machine, making a near-classic laptop.

Rock XTreme SL Pro
Rock is an established gaming manufacturer, and its Xtreme SL Pro is one of only a few 20-inch laptops available. This isn’t a machine for the faint-of-heart, as the 7.3kg packs a punch both in style and performance. It’s not only the big screen that has had gamers excited, as this is the most accomplished SLI machine we’ve seen to date, making it a veritable powerhouse of desktop computing.

Asus M70SA
The Asus M70SA is a desktop replacement in the truest sense of the word. The look is under-stated but it’s cutting-edge components make this one of the most appealing desktop alternatives around. With space for twin hard drives, this is the first 1TB laptop on the market. What’s more, the screen is Full HD compatible, but with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels and with a Blu-ray drive as standard, it has everything the media enthusiast could ever want.

Do you agree with our panel of judges choices? To vote for your favourite laptop in this year's WHAT LAPTOP MOBILE COMPUTING AWARDS, click HERE