Budget beauties - laptops that won't bust the bank
Five laptops for under $400 that will give you the most bang for your buck
HP STREAM 13 ($399)
Specs: Intel Celeron CPU, 2GB RAM, 32GB Flash Storage, 13.3-inch HD LED backlight 1366x768 monitor
If Pixar or Disney made a laptop, chances are it would look like the Stream 13.
Available in colours such as cobalt blue, the Stream 13 has become a poster child for the budget-friendly laptop, thanks to its striking looks, relatively speedy performance, and free 1TB of Microsoft cloud storage.
ASUS VIVOBOOK E200 ($299)
Specs: Intel Atom Quad Core CPU, 2GB RAM, 32GB Flash Storage, 11.6-inch HD LED backlight 1366x768 monitor
On paper, the Vivobook E200 seems almost too good to be true.
The 11.6-inch laptop boasts a quad-core processor, a gesture-friendly touchpad and a reported 13 hours of battery life.
At $299 - the price of a fancy mechanical keyboard - the Vivobook E200 seems like a great companion for students or anyone who wants a solid computing experience without any of the frills.
PHOTOS: ASUS
LENOVO IDEAPAD 100S ($299)
Specs: Intel Atom CPU, 2GB RAM, 32GB flash storage, 11.6-inch HD LED backlight 1366x768 screen
The Ideapad 100S is the quintessential cheap and cheerful laptop.
It comes with a proper keyboard and a generous 11.6-inch screen, and has a battery life of eight hours.
Its Intel Atom processor may not be powerful enough for serious gaming, but it is more than adequate for word processing or watching videos.
The 32GB flash memory may seem small, but the Ideapad 100S comes with an SD card slot for additional flash memory. The inclusion of a HDMI port also means that the laptop can pull double duty as an entertainment centre PC for watching videos on Netflix or YouTube.
PHOTOS: LENOVO
ACER ASPIRE ONE CLOUDBOOK (AO1-431-C8G8) ($399)
Specs: Intel Celeron CPU, 2GB RAM, 32GB flash storage, 14-inch HD LED backlight 1366x768 monitor
Acer made the Aspire One Cloudbook with one goal in mind - portability.
This is as no-frills as a laptop can get. The Celeron is one of Intel's most basic processors, performing at just 1.6GhZ.
What you do get, though, is a laptop weighing in at a pretty light 1.5kg, a large 14-inch screen, and a reported 12 hours of battery life.
PHOTOS: ASUS
DELL INSPIRON 11 3000 ($299)
Specs: Intel Celeron CPU, 2GB RAM, 32GB Flash Storage, 11-inch HD LED backlight 1366x768 monitor
The entry-level Inspiron 11 3000 is not a laptop you would imagine from Dell. For a company formerly associated with boring grey boxes, the Inspiron 11 3000 is a neat piece of tech.
Adopting a similar design philosophy as the HP Stream, the Inspiron 11 3000 is an attractive 11-inch machine that comes in a variety of colours.
PHOTOS: DELL
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