<p>The laptop has become lighter, more flexible and - best of all - less expensive. Perhaps because of the competition from new devices, laptops are available in many styles and configurations for less than $400 (Rs 24,816). Four or five years ago, the low-cost options were limited.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Be forewarned: Laptops less than $400 (Rs 24,816) will not be the fastest speed demons with the most dazzling displays, but the choices are enough to meet a variety of needs. They include traditional-looking laptops that can convert to tablets, conventional laptops with a wide selection of features, and Google’s cloud-reliant Chromebooks.<br /><br />In this realm, however, the basics of computer shopping still apply. Features to focus on include battery strength, storage space, screen size, screen resolution, expansion ports, wireless capabilities, warranties and weight. It is also important to make sure your performance expectations are met. The processors typically offered in this range can handle everyday computing tasks, though not at top speeds.<br /><br />Conventional laptops <br /><br />These are available in a variety of sizes and configurations. On the lower end of the price scale, from Toshiba, the Satellite C55-A5302, is $300 (Rs 18,612) at some Best Buy stores. It comes with a 15.6-inch screen, 500-gigabyte hard drive, 6 gigabytes of memory, a writable DVD drive, three USB ports, an HDMI port and Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system.<br /><br />The processor, an Intel Pentium dual-core, is on the lower end of the performance scale and not ideal for running several intensive programs at once. But it is enough for Web browsing, email and other general tasks.<br /><br />A unit with a faster processor, the Dell Inspiron I15RV-3767BLK, is $360 (Rs 22,334) at Micro Center. It has a 15.6-inch screen, 6 gigabytes of memory and an Intel Core i3 processor. A step up from the Pentium, the i3 has better performance - though still below others like the i5 or i7. The i3 is available in a number of other units with 15.6-inch screens, including the Toshiba Satellite C55-A5384 for about $370 (Rs 22,954) and the Hewlett-Packard 2000 2d62NR for $330 (Rs 20,473).<br /><br />For a more compact unit, the Acer Aspire V5-131-2629 is about $360 (Rs 22,334) at PC Connection. It has an 11.6-inch screen and comes with Windows 7, a Celeron dual-core processor, 500GB hard drive, 4GB of memory but no DVD drive and it weighs 3.3 pounds.<br /><br />Touch screens and convertibles <br /><br />Touch has improved significantly in laptops, and several models in the sub-$400 (Rs 24,816) range come with touch-screen displays.<br /><br />From HP, the Pavilion Touchsmart 11-E010nr, with an 11.6-inch touch screen, is at Office Depot for $330 (Rs 20,473). It comes with a 500GB hard drive, 4GB of memory and Windows 8. Instead of using the keyboard and trackpad, you can tap and swipe the screen as you would a tablet. <br /><br />A touch-screen unit from Asus, the VivoBook X200CA-DB01T, has an 11.6-inch screen and is about $280 (Rs 17,371) at Amazon. It comes with a 320GB hard drive, 2GB of memory and a Celeron dual-core processor, and it gets an estimated five hours on a fully charged battery. Dell’s Inspiron 11 3000 Series Touch, starting at $380 (Rs 23,575) at Dell.com, also has an 11.6-inch screen, a Celeron dual-core processor and 2GB of memory, though it comes with 500GB of storage and gets an estimated 8.3 hours on a full battery. <br />Also in this price range are laptops called convertibles. With convertibles, the screen can fold back beneath the keyboard - or in some instances detach from the keyboard - so it can function as a tablet.<br /><br />From Asus, the Transformer Book T100TA-B1-GR has a detachable 10.1-inch display that can work as a stand-alone tablet. It weighs 1.2 pounds (2.4 pounds with the keyboard) and has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, a micro USB port, micro HDMI and a card reader. A unit at Office Depot is $330 (Rs 20,473), and it comes with Windows 8.1, a 1.86-gigahertz Intel Atom processor, 32 gigabytes of storage and 2GB of memory.<br /><br />Another convertible, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11-59342980, is $399 (Rs 24,753). It comes with the Windows RT operating system, and the 11.6-inch display can fold back and beneath the keyboard so it functions like a tablet.<br /><br />Chromebooks <br /><br />The Chromebook is another type of budget laptop, but with important differences.<br /><br />First, it comes with Google’s Chrome OS rather than a conventional operating system like Windows or Apple’s Mac OS X. As a result, you are locked out of installing programs that you may already own or wish to buy. Instead, Chromebooks work with Google’s cloud-based products and apps like Gmail, Google Docs and Google Drive. They also typically come with smaller storage capacities based on the premise that most data will be saved in the so-called cloud (in other words, on Google’s servers).<br /><br />A unit from HP, the Pavilion Chromebook 14-q010nr, has a 14-inch screen, three USB ports, an HDMI port and a card reader. Office Depot offers one for $300 (Rs 18,612) with 2GB of memory, a Celeron dual-core processor and 16GB of storage.<br /><br />Laptops in the sub-$400 (Rs 24,816) range can’t do what everyone wants a computer to do. But if your goal is to stay within a budget, you may find one that gets the job done.<br /></p>
<p>The laptop has become lighter, more flexible and - best of all - less expensive. Perhaps because of the competition from new devices, laptops are available in many styles and configurations for less than $400 (Rs 24,816). Four or five years ago, the low-cost options were limited.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Be forewarned: Laptops less than $400 (Rs 24,816) will not be the fastest speed demons with the most dazzling displays, but the choices are enough to meet a variety of needs. They include traditional-looking laptops that can convert to tablets, conventional laptops with a wide selection of features, and Google’s cloud-reliant Chromebooks.<br /><br />In this realm, however, the basics of computer shopping still apply. Features to focus on include battery strength, storage space, screen size, screen resolution, expansion ports, wireless capabilities, warranties and weight. It is also important to make sure your performance expectations are met. The processors typically offered in this range can handle everyday computing tasks, though not at top speeds.<br /><br />Conventional laptops <br /><br />These are available in a variety of sizes and configurations. On the lower end of the price scale, from Toshiba, the Satellite C55-A5302, is $300 (Rs 18,612) at some Best Buy stores. It comes with a 15.6-inch screen, 500-gigabyte hard drive, 6 gigabytes of memory, a writable DVD drive, three USB ports, an HDMI port and Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system.<br /><br />The processor, an Intel Pentium dual-core, is on the lower end of the performance scale and not ideal for running several intensive programs at once. But it is enough for Web browsing, email and other general tasks.<br /><br />A unit with a faster processor, the Dell Inspiron I15RV-3767BLK, is $360 (Rs 22,334) at Micro Center. It has a 15.6-inch screen, 6 gigabytes of memory and an Intel Core i3 processor. A step up from the Pentium, the i3 has better performance - though still below others like the i5 or i7. The i3 is available in a number of other units with 15.6-inch screens, including the Toshiba Satellite C55-A5384 for about $370 (Rs 22,954) and the Hewlett-Packard 2000 2d62NR for $330 (Rs 20,473).<br /><br />For a more compact unit, the Acer Aspire V5-131-2629 is about $360 (Rs 22,334) at PC Connection. It has an 11.6-inch screen and comes with Windows 7, a Celeron dual-core processor, 500GB hard drive, 4GB of memory but no DVD drive and it weighs 3.3 pounds.<br /><br />Touch screens and convertibles <br /><br />Touch has improved significantly in laptops, and several models in the sub-$400 (Rs 24,816) range come with touch-screen displays.<br /><br />From HP, the Pavilion Touchsmart 11-E010nr, with an 11.6-inch touch screen, is at Office Depot for $330 (Rs 20,473). It comes with a 500GB hard drive, 4GB of memory and Windows 8. Instead of using the keyboard and trackpad, you can tap and swipe the screen as you would a tablet. <br /><br />A touch-screen unit from Asus, the VivoBook X200CA-DB01T, has an 11.6-inch screen and is about $280 (Rs 17,371) at Amazon. It comes with a 320GB hard drive, 2GB of memory and a Celeron dual-core processor, and it gets an estimated five hours on a fully charged battery. Dell’s Inspiron 11 3000 Series Touch, starting at $380 (Rs 23,575) at Dell.com, also has an 11.6-inch screen, a Celeron dual-core processor and 2GB of memory, though it comes with 500GB of storage and gets an estimated 8.3 hours on a full battery. <br />Also in this price range are laptops called convertibles. With convertibles, the screen can fold back beneath the keyboard - or in some instances detach from the keyboard - so it can function as a tablet.<br /><br />From Asus, the Transformer Book T100TA-B1-GR has a detachable 10.1-inch display that can work as a stand-alone tablet. It weighs 1.2 pounds (2.4 pounds with the keyboard) and has Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, a micro USB port, micro HDMI and a card reader. A unit at Office Depot is $330 (Rs 20,473), and it comes with Windows 8.1, a 1.86-gigahertz Intel Atom processor, 32 gigabytes of storage and 2GB of memory.<br /><br />Another convertible, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11-59342980, is $399 (Rs 24,753). It comes with the Windows RT operating system, and the 11.6-inch display can fold back and beneath the keyboard so it functions like a tablet.<br /><br />Chromebooks <br /><br />The Chromebook is another type of budget laptop, but with important differences.<br /><br />First, it comes with Google’s Chrome OS rather than a conventional operating system like Windows or Apple’s Mac OS X. As a result, you are locked out of installing programs that you may already own or wish to buy. Instead, Chromebooks work with Google’s cloud-based products and apps like Gmail, Google Docs and Google Drive. They also typically come with smaller storage capacities based on the premise that most data will be saved in the so-called cloud (in other words, on Google’s servers).<br /><br />A unit from HP, the Pavilion Chromebook 14-q010nr, has a 14-inch screen, three USB ports, an HDMI port and a card reader. Office Depot offers one for $300 (Rs 18,612) with 2GB of memory, a Celeron dual-core processor and 16GB of storage.<br /><br />Laptops in the sub-$400 (Rs 24,816) range can’t do what everyone wants a computer to do. But if your goal is to stay within a budget, you may find one that gets the job done.<br /></p>