The festival of lights is here and with it comes the gifting season. This of course involves a bewildering array of gifts to choose from. MP3 players, headphones and cameras are all very well, but none of them quite approach the utility or significance that a laptop provides.
Accordingly, here's a roundup of laptops that we think will make ideal gifts this Diwali. Please note that the laptops listed here are base models, so prices may vary depending on your choice of components.
In our opinion this is the current undisputed champion in the 'budget' laptop market. Whether it's a high quality finish, great performance, good battery life, or fantastic pricing, this beauty has it all. Acer has done a great job in bringing such a powerhouse to the sub-Rs 35,000 market. For a full review of this beauty, please head here.
Dell Inspiron 1420
When it comes to price versus performance, few companies can deliver like Dell does. The 1420 is a well-designed laptop that offers a choice of colors, fantastic customization options, and explosive performance. It also features Dell's regular stuff – such as an expanded number of connectivity peripherals, full 802.11n support, and great battery life.
Check out our review here and the specification table here.
The XPS M1330 is part of Dell’s XPS range of performance laptops and offers a vastly improved computing experience when compared to the Inspiron range. It's built on a new design/performance philosophy that Dell recently adopted in a bid to take on Sony's snazzy VAIO range.
This delightfully designed laptop is among the slimmest ultraportables around and comes in a variety of colors ranging from sober (for business users) to jazzy (for the fashion-conscious). You can configure it with a variety of powerful processors and graphical chipsets, and despite having only a 6-cell battery it just goes on and on.
We have the XPS M1330 in our lab and will soon be putting up a comprehensive review. Prices start at Rs 56,000.
laptop is a veryfast 
