The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.
The 50 Best Computers and tablets
Personal computing is advancing fast, so finding the right gadget to suit your needs can be a minefield. David Phelan tracks down the best kit on offer
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Editor’s choice:
apple.com, £849
When it comes to lightweight portability in a gorgeous, super-thin aluminium design, the Air, with its 11in display, is hard to beat. This year’s models have exceptional battery life, too.
pcworld.co.uk, £999.99
The 13.3in display is both high resolution and touchsensitive, to make the most of the new Windows 8 software. This Ultrabook – a lightweight laptop – has decent battery life and looks great.
Knomo Henderson Slim Briefcase
knomobags.com, £195
Great for keeping your laptop safe, as every Knomo bag has a unique tracker ID so, if you lose it, the finder can contact the company which will help return it to you.
amazon.co.uk, £159.99
If you are taking notes from a conversation, the Livescribe pen records what you hear. Then, if you can’t read your writing, touch the words with the pen and it plays the audio.
johnlewis.com, £719
Microsoft’s first tablet is solid and powerful with a high-resolution 10.6in display and stereo speakers. So it’s a good multimedia player as well as a full Windows 8 computer.
Laptops:
johnlewis.com, £849.95
Brilliantly light and 11.9mm slim, the 13in S7 has recently had an upgrade so it’s faster (and quieter). It lasts longer between charges, too.
Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display
apple.com/uk, £1,799
Apple’s flagship 15in laptop with 256GB flash storage, though you can opt for more when you buy. The screen is astonishingly good.
dell.co.uk, from £979
Light and slim (6mm at its thinnest point) thanks to a carbon-fibre chassis. While the case is more like an 11in model, the 13in display screen goes right to the edge.
sony.co.uk, £859
Claimed to be the world’s lightest Ultrabook. It’s also thin (though this does mean it flexes a little in the hand). Still, it’s powerful, with decent performance and killer looks.
toshiba.co.uk, £1,699
Gaming PCs need big screens and powerful processors. This has a 17.3in display and i7 processor, plus plenty of RAM to keep refresh rates high.
debenhamsplus.com, £1,015
The Book 7 is Samsung’s latest ultrabook, looks snazzy in its brushed aluminium finish and has a high-resolution, touchsensitive 13.3in display. It’s a nippy performer with reasonable battery life.
pcworld.co.uk, £429.99
Light, fast and superb for speedy recovery from standby (a second or two). This model is keenly priced. There’s no touchscreen but otherwise it is competent and effective.
pcworld.co.uk, £199.99
Chromebooks are lightweight, affordable notebooks that run Google’s system. They work best when connected to the internet. This is superbly priced and has a highly usable keyboard and 14in screen.
sony.co.uk, £599
The 15in screen Fit has a sleek design that belies the price. It’s highly customisable (add a backlit keyboard for £10 or a higher-resolution display for £80). It has strong battery life and is a decent performer.
bhsdirect.co.uk, £1,029
This resembles the MacBook Pro, though it’s cheaper, thicker and heavier. It has a pin-sharp 15.6in display and a powerful, long-lasting battery meaning that it definitely punches above its weight.
Laptop hybrids:
pcworld.co.uk, £1,199
This model starts out as a tablet but flip up the 13in display and you reveal a fullsize, backlit keyboard. The Duo 13 has great battery life and elegant design.
argos.co.uk, £699.99
The tablet boasts a larger-than-most display and connects by magnet to the keypad. The latter’s second battery extends life to around 14 hours. Light and effective.
pcworld.co.uk, £629.99
It looks like a classy aluminium tablet but open it up to find a highly usable keyboard nestled inside. Competitively priced and works well as an alternative to a laptop.
pcworld.co.uk, £379.99
A tablet with an attachable keyboard that uses Android, as opposed to Windows, operating system. It has a great 10.1in display. This is a cool and affordable option.
shop.lenovo.com, £949.99
A laptop hybrid that contorts itself to different shapes. Flip the keyboard all the way round and it’s a tablet that runs Windows 8. Feels well-crafted and is elegant and impressive.
Desktops:
johnlewis.com, £749.95
An elegant all-in-one that looks good enough to have in the living room. Stereo speakers mean it sounds good, too, and the 21.5in screen is also touch-sensitive.
johnlewis.com, £899.95
This all-in-one also works as a tablet big enough for watching video, with its hi-res 18.4in touchscreen – all in a unit that is less than 2cm thick. Nippy, powerful and portable.
apple.com/uk, from £1,099
Astonishingly thin, just 5mm, at the edges, though it bulges in the middle. Choose from a 21.5in or 27in display and a range of processors. Needs an Apple SuperDrive for DVDs.
sony.co.uk, £1,099
A perennially popular all-in-one with slick 24in touchscreen and Full HD resolution. It looks great and performs at speed. It has strong sound, too: a great multimedia machine.
johnlewis.com, £289.95
Not the prettiest desktop PC but if you have a monitor, this is a great-value option. It has a huge (1 terabyte) hard drive, lots of RAM (6GB) and a reasonable AMD E1 processor.
Tablets and phablets:
simplyelectronics.net, £429
Phablet is an ugly word for a phone like this which, thanks to its 6.4in screen, is big enough to serve as a tablet. This is super-slim (6.5mm) and feels great in the hand. It’s fast, powerful and waterproof.
apple.com/uk, from £269
The best small tablet bar none, even though the 7.9in screen is a touch larger than the Nexus 7. It is superbly lightweight, its narrow bezel means you get more screen for your money and it scores highly for styling.
play.google.com, £199
The newly released Nexus 7 tablet has a sharp 7in display, is faster than last year’s model but is still great value. Google’s Android software is funky and powerful, with neat features such as Google Now.
carphonewarehouse.com, £439.95
A 6.3in display phone. Big when holding it to your ear but spectacular for watching video or checking out photos. Still, the size does mean there’s room for a big battery.
nook.co.uk, £99
An exceptional-value tablet that goes big on ebooks. The colour display is bright, clear and very high resolution. The ebook store is well-stocked and Kindle users can access the Android Kindle app.
whsmith.co.uk, £139.99
If you want a tablet mainly to read books, this is the way to go. It’s not backlit so is easier on the eyes and the exceptional high-resolution screen is almost like reading paper.
johnlewis.com, £399
Feels great in the hand, has a 10.1in display and is seriously slim. It’s also waterproof (so you can use it in the bath) plus boasts extras such as its function as a TV remote.
amazon.co.uk, from £159
If you want an Android tablet but find the operating system a bit geeky, Amazon’s version is a joy. It’s simple to use and has bonuses such as a daily free app and ebook bargains.
apple.com/uk, from £399
The original tablet and still the most stylish (though the iPad mini comes close). It offers a great display, an unmatched operating system and the best app store. Highly desirable.
vodafone.co.uk, free on contract
Good value and with a 6.1in display, more manageable as a phone than some. Its high specifications include an 8MP camera on the back.
Accessories:
currys.co.uk, £349
Nobody makes music from a computer sound better than Sonos. This connects wirelessly via a bridge unit (£39) that links to a broadband router. Audio is rich and solid
getclean.am, $12.95 (£8.20)
A new, colourful way to keep your laptop screen smudge free. These microfibre cloths that contain a cleaning spray come in larger sizes for TVs and smaller ones for keyboards.
bt.com, from free
A more powerful router for BT subscribers. Current customers can upgrade for £35 and it is free for new ones. Dual band means compatible gadgets can use the faster 5GHz frequency.
Toshiba Stor.E Slim portable hard drive
johnlewis.com, £59.95
You need to back up your data to protect it from thieves or failing hard drives. This model is slim and highly portable but at 500GB, holds a great deal.
Sony MDR-1RBT Bluetooth headphones
sony.co.uk, £399
Comfortable and great sounding. NFC (near field communication) technology means you can use them with compatible smartphones.
Sanyo Eneloop XX HR-3UWXB rechargeable batteries
batterystation.co.uk, £12.99
Sure, they’re just batteries, but they arrive charged, last a long time between charges and hold as much as 75 per cent power after a year of idleness.
DataTraveler HyperX Predator 1TB
shop.bt.com, £999
This USB flash-drive keyring has more storage space than many computer hard drives. If you want to keep all your critical data with you, it is an expensive but useful gadget.
apple.com/uk, £169.95
Unmissable for looks and sound. The battery lasts seven hours between charges and it is light enough to be easily portable. An internal microphone means it also works with your phone.
Ruark MR1 Bluetooth Speaker System
johnlewis.com, £299.95
Small yet powerful, these speakers connect to your laptop via Bluetooth. They’re simple to set up and make even the compressed files of MP3 sound strong and rich.
apple.com, £249
Apple’s stylish back-up machine is wireless so you can stow your 2TB Time Capsule away from your computer for extra security. Back-ups are automatic, handy if you have a tendency to be forgetful.
Printers:
johnlewis.com, £114.95
Extremely easy to set up and use. The Envy 120 delivers great results both for photos and documents. It’s wireless and it also scans as well as prints. Impressive.
pixmania.co.uk, £65.86
This budget model has affordable ink cartridges and produces excellent photo prints. There’s no scanning feature but nonetheless, it’s wireless and a real bargain.
Samsung SL-C410W colour laser printer
argos.co.uk, £159.99
NFC functionality means you need simply tap a compatible smartphone up against the machine and it will print from it as if by magic.
pixmania.co.uk, £418.99
This is a terrific machine for printing big images or large format documents. It will handle A3 paper and uses pigment-based inks, which tend to be longer-lasting.
pcworld.co.uk, £369.99
Another printer suitable for A3 and larger format: print quality is great, especially for photos. Good value and easy to use and AirPrint means you can print from iPhone or iPad.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments