Updated 24 May, 2012, 10:23 am IST

Top 5 Laptops: 2006

29 Dec, 2006, 3:41 pm IST | by Jayesh Mansukhani

Check our pick of the best laptops that were launched in 2006.

Top 5 Laptops: 2006

As 2007 approaches rapidly, we at Tech2 decided to pause and reminisce about the best products launched in 2006. Here we pick out 5 most outstanding laptops released this year. In some ways this has not been an easy choice, with not one but two platform changes (the jump from Core Solo to Core Duo and then Core2 Duo (Merom )) and the mainstream arrival of wide-screen LCD panels. Ultraportables have come into their own and Desktop replacements have emerged as a serious category. Add to that other considerations, such as the advent of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (next–gen hi-def storage mediums) and very powerful gaming chipsets... the field just got very muddled. Keeping all this in mind we therefore decided to take a different approach.

Instead of the usual category slotting we would normally do, we decided to pick out the 5 best laptops that we feel represent the best of current and emerging technologies and are outstanding performers.
Here is our list in no particular order.

Dell XPS M2010

Monster category: Dell XPS M2010
The reason we are calling the monster category is simply due to the fact, that machines in this space are ones that signify overkill both in performance and specifications. These are the outrageously expensive machines we all hear about, dream off and can never afford.

Dell makes some of the best VFM laptops money can get and on the other side they make amazing performance machines, such as the Dell XPS M2010. Looking at the pictures of the M2010 we are willing to bet you would be fooled into thinking that this is a desktop. Well that is what we had also initially thought, till we realized it’s actually a laptop! An oversized yet extremely powerful laptop. It features an unrivalled 20-inch LCD panel with a native resolution of 1680x1050. If that is not enough. Dell has equipped this machine with Intel’s most powerful C2D processor the T7600 ( 2.33 GHz), 2 GB System memory, a staggering 240 GB of storage, a Teac based DVD writer with support for all known formats (no Blu-Ray and HD-DVD) and 4 USB Slots, a 5-in-1 card slot DVI and S-Video outputs.

The sound on this powerful laptop is handled by a series of tiny 8 speakers which are enclosed around the LCD panel and a 2 inch subwoofer which makes for some pretty loud music playback. Graphics-wise the laptop is a bit underpowered, as it utilizes an ATI based Radeon X1800 series GPU, which while not as powerful as Nvidia’s offerings can still run games on medium settings at a fair clip. One notable features we left out for last is the keyboard hat ships with this Laptop. The keyboard is a detachable Bluetooth-powered affair, which allows you to work wirelessly in comfort. Putting all things into consideration, this was our first pick for product of the year. We are yet to see a product that so effortlessly scales the categories of mobile computing, Media entertainment PCs and desktop replacement machines.The prices for this oversized multimedia monster starts at US$ 4,500 for the base configuration.

Tags: Asus , Lenovo , Dell , Alienware , Nvidia , Intel , Inspiron , Alienware