No city in Canada is better known for its cosmopolitan flair than Montreal, and that's where Ottawa native Will Caron will be heading in September to attend McGill University. He plans to study anatomy and cell biology and is in the market for a chic laptop that he'll use to not only do the basics -- write up lab reports, listen to tunes and chat with friends around the country -- but also look good sporting it around town. For students with the means, a laptop is as much a fashion statement as it is a work machine. Choosing a notebook with some style is just what Mr. Caron's interested in.
"You want something you can carry with you that looks good," he said.
Two of Mr. Caron's friends already own MacBooks, and he likes the look and power of the popular white machines that have become ubiquitous in university lecture halls. And considering Apple has always done a good job at gearing its laptops toward students with back-to-school discounts and free iPods, he's leaning toward picking up a MacBook. But the most basic model starts at about $1,150, even after Apple cut prices earlier this summer, which makes it an expensive choice and puts it out of reach for students on a tight budget.
However, a bigger budget opens up more options for students looking who want a fully stacked laptop that also serves as a fashion statement.
Dell Adamo
Dell released the Adamo in March, boasting that the sleek laptop is the world's thinnest at 15.24 millimetres, besting rival Apple's 19.05-mm MacBook Air. However, the Adamo, which starts at $1,999 with the Admire model, is noticeably heavier, weighing just over 1,814 grams while the Air is 1,360 grams. The onyx Adamo has a sleek brushed metal and glass casing with a wide 13-inch screen, and also comes in a lighter pearl model. While the Adamo might be one of the few laptops that gives the aesthetics of the Air a run for its money, it costs a little more than the Air (staring at $1,750). Like the Air, the Adamo gets it slender figure from shedding an internal CD drive but it does have more data ports than the Air, including a second USB drive. Its The 13.4-inch, 16:9 display offers an integrated 1.3 megapixel web cam and both the Admire and the $2,699 Desire come with a solid-state hard drive. Visit dell.ca for details
Sony VAIO CS-series
The VAIO may not be as skinny as the Adamo and Air, but it tries to be a lot more fun. The VAIO, which starts at $1,062, aims to please with its array of bright colours from cosmopolitan pink to rich sangria and comes with a CD/DVD burner. Like the Air and Adamo, it has a built-in webcam to make video chatting with friends easy and a light bar at the top of the keyboard that pulsates with colour when playing music. The VAIO weighs in at just over 2,700 grams and its plastic casing makes it creaky to open and close. The basic VAIO CS comes with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of memory and a 250 GB hard drive. Upgrades include and optional Blu-ray drive and an extended battery. Visit sonystyle.ca for details.
MacBook Air
The ultimate eye-candy in laptops, the MacBook Air's silvery aluminum shell and comfortable, full-sized keyboard are two of the machine's best features. It's a computer (starting at $1,750) that gets by largely on its looks, with less speed and power than other MacBooks but is perfectly fine for those who don't plan on using it for big video or design projects. One common criticism levelled at the Air is it has just one USB port along with a single Mini DisplayPort connector for video -- and that's it. Users can buy external CD/DVD drives or use the laptop's remote access function to download software from discs on other computers on the same network who have their sharing function enabled. Visit Apple.ca for details.