2015 Guide for Buying a Laptop in the UAE
Are you a web surfer? A hardcore gamer? An on-the-road business professional? An artist? We break down the six different types of laptops and provide you with our very own recommendations on the best models available in the UAE for this 2015 year.
1. General Use Laptops
Price range: 1500-4000 AED
What to look for:
- 4 GB RAM
- 14 to 15-inch screens or smaller if you’re looking for additional portability
- Intel Core i3 CPU family is enough
All your usual tasks can be handled with these laptops but it really stops there. Don’t expect to be able to edit video or play games. These laptops are great for just browsing internet or doing office work like writing or editing documents. These are typically called mid-range, mainstream or budget laptops as well. They have been available for a long time now and ranges from screen sizes from as small as 10, 11 inches to as big as 17 inches.
General Use Laptops Recommendations by Pricena
Depending on your budget you will usually have to compromise on portability and/or performance. We recommend you check out the Dell Inspiron series, Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga and Dell Precision series.
Our winner: Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga
Runner up: Dell Inspiron 3521
2. Workstations
Price range: 6000-15000 AED
What to look for:
- Minimum core i3 or i5 processors
- Must include GPUs from Nvidia or AMD
- 8GB of RAM
- Wide range of connectivity options
As the name suggests, spec-heavy laptops fall under this category for handling tasks such as video or photo editing. These laptops are usually equipped with top notch GPUs including the AMD FirePro line or NVidia Quadro series. Design is not really the main focus of these laptops so expect rugged and well, ugly laptops for most models.
Users get a wide range of connectivity options and ports to make sure they get easy access to internals and get to connect a lot of devices unlike notebooks or Ultrabooks. Other notable features that you usually get in workstations are top level security options like face recognition technology or fingerprint scanners and trackpoint cursors.
Workstation Recommendations by Pricena
Whether your work involves handling office documents or editing photos/videos, there is a perfect workstation for everyone out there. However, these laptops are not really pocket-friendly and some of them are not very attractive to look at as well. The main thing to focus here is long battery life, smooth performance and good display. Some of the great laptops under this category are: Lenovo ThinkPad W540 or the HP ZBook 17 .
Our winner: Lenovo ThinkPad W540
Runner up: HP Zbook 17
3. Chromebooks
Price range: 1000-2000 AED
What to look for:
- Mostly connectivity options
- Additional RAM helps in having more browsing tabs open
Chromebooks are a great option for students or people who are looking for an alternative to notebooks. Google created a new operating system for such laptops titled as Chrome OS and the operating system mostly relies on Google Chrome. Which means users have to do almost everything using an internet browser including editing documents, watching videos or enjoying radio or music. It’s not really the best option if you want to get the most out of your notebook. Wireless internet access is a must have if you are thinking about buying a Chromebook. However, it’s a great option for students and people who are not ready to spend a lot of money.
Chromebooks Recommendations by Pricena
For those who are only concerned about the budget can think about trying Chromebooks. These Chromebooks include low-power components and users have to do everything from Google’s web browser, Google Chrome. Most of the laptops under this category are available for less than 1500AED. Some of the great Chromebooks available at the moment are: Dell Chromebook 11, HP Chromebook 11 and Toshiba Chromebook 2.
Our winner: HP Chromebook 11
Runner up: Samsung Chromebook 2
4. Ultrabooks
Price range: 3500-9000 AED
What to look for:
- Minimum core i3, i5 or i7 processors
- 8GB of RAM
- SSD drive
- 13.3 to 15.6-inch screen size depending on your needs
Ultrabooks are getting quite popular nowadays because of their attractive looks, lightweight and sleek designs. It’s currently in trend now and will definitely remind you of Apple’s MacBook Air when you look at one for the first time. Just because they are thin and attractive looking, they are not compromising with processing power or top notch performance and sometimes dedicated GPUs do get squeezed into these Ultrabooks.
You will find these Ultrabooks in different shapes and sizes, attractive metallic designs and screen size ranging from 13.3-inches to 15.6-inches. Other notable features of these Ultrabooks are crisp display and great battery life. Some great examples under this category are Acer Aspire S3 and Samsung Ativ Book 9.
Ultrabooks Recommendations by Pricena
Ultrabooks are quite expensive with a price tag starting from about 3500 AED. However, you can look for some older models that costs less. All these laptops include Core i3, i5 or i7 processors and USB 3.0 connectivity. Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, Acer Aspire S7 and Dell XPS 13 are some of the best Ultrabooks today.
Our winner: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro
Runner up: Acer Aspire S7
Runner up: Dell XPS 13
5. Laptop/Tablet Hybrids
Price range: 2500-10000AED
What to look for:
- Battery life
- Minimum 4GB of RAM
- Processor similar to Intel Core M or Core i3
- Whether it’s going to be comfortable or not to use as both laptop and tablet
For those who are confused between getting a tablet or a laptop, there is a category called laptop/tablet hybrids. The laptops under this category are not completely polished yet, but there are some hybrids out there that can solve both your needs for a laptop and a tablet. The screen can be detached from the keyboard when you need a tablet and then can be reattached when you want your laptop back. The keyboard also works as an extra battery and can give you long battery life. A great examples under this category is Microsoft’s very own Surface Pro 3.
Laptop/Tablet Hybrids Recommendations by Pricena
Most of the laptop/tablet hybrids run Windows 8 operating system and costs similar to Ultrabooks. Some of these laptops’ screens can rotate 360 degrees to work as a tablet while some others can be detached from the keyboard. You get more battery life because of the keyboard’s extra battery which is a great feature of hybrid laptops. Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro, Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and Asus Transformer Book Tx300 are some of the best hybrid laptops available at the moment.
Our winner: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro
Runner up: Microsoft Surface Pro 3
Runner up: Asus Transformer Book TX300
6. Gaming Laptop
Price range: 2200-10000+ AED
What to look for:
- Minimum 8GB of RAM
- The flagship Core i7 processor, the later the generation the better
- SSD drive
- Bigger screens with 1080p or more resolution
Last but not the least, there is a type of laptop for the gamers among you as well. Because they are packed with the latest and highest performing hardware, they tend to be quite bulky. Although many models suffer from above average fan noise and thick chassis, manufacturers are continuously making quieter and thinner gaming laptops.
Laptops under this category include the latest mobile GPUs by AMD or Nvidia to make sure users get to play all the latest games and run them smoothly on a somewhat portable machine.
Gaming Laptops Recommendations by Pricena
Those who are looking for a desktop-like gaming experience have to spend a minimum of 4700 AED and the spec-packed models can go as high as 12000 AED. It’s definitely going to cost a lot more than a desktop PC with the same configuration. However, it’s a good choice when you are concerned about portability and convenience. Some of the great options under this category are: Alienware 17 and MSI GS60 Ghost.
Our winner: Alienware 17
Runner up: MSI GS60 Ghost
Runner up: MSI GS70
Check out all laptops available in the UAE on Pricena >