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Panasonic Toughbook CF-19
From £2,400
The Panasonic ToughBook is a bit of an anomaly on this list. It's not sleek or light, doesn't boast an HD display and still runs Windows 7, albeit the professional version. But it's tough as the proverbial coffin nail and if your work involves spending any considerable amount of time outside, it's the only logical choice.
The 10.1-inch display will rotate and fold down creating, effectively, a tablet that measures 51mm thick and weighs 2.3kg.
Panasonic hasn't changed the ToughBook's chassis since it revealed the machine back in 2007 and it remains water and dust proof as well as shock resistant. Rubber flaps cover all the vital ports to keep the dust and debris of the outside world away from the internals.
Specs-wise, Panasonic has included an Intel Core i5-3320 processor and 4GB RAM and a battery capable, it says, of 10 hours of usage. Certain new features have been added, such as a USB 3.0 port and the CF-19 also has the option of 3G broadband if you don't have Wi-Fi or a hard wired internet connection.
Admittedly, this is a niche product with an exceptionally high price point and won't be suitable for the majority of scenarios. But if you're looking for a rugged work laptop to survive overseas fieldwork or life on a building site, then this is the machine.
Asus VivoBook S400C
From £454
It was a difficult choice to include the VivoBook S400Cover Asus' more powerful Zenbook U500 but ultimately the former's balance of performance and price won out. The 14.1-inch S400C features a full capacitive touchscreen, albeit with only a 1,366 x 7.68 resolution.
The dual-core Intel Core i3 processor and 4GB RAM don't offer much in performance terms and other machines on this list will easily outstrip the S400C when it comes to raw power. However, you get a generous 500GB of hard drive storage and all the requisite ports including USB, VGA, Ethernet, HDMI and an SD Card reader.
What's more, the VivoBook S400C is actually a very well made and attractive laptop. The chassis is just 20mm thick and has a black, brushed aluminium lid that compliments the silver elsewhere on the laptop. There's a chiclit keyboard that's comfortable for typing and the three and a half hour battery life is pretty reasonable as well.
At this price, you can't expect much but extra features in the form of Asus' SonicMaster audio technology and, of course, the touchscreen help to make this a good choice. If you're after an all-rounder that looks nice and won't break the bank, the VivoBook S400C could be worth a look.
Toshiba Satellite U940
£599
The Toshiba Satellite U940 is one of the few business laptops on this list that doesn't feature a touchscreen. That helps to keep the price down to sub-£600 and means that if you don't particularly want or need a touchscreen in a new laptop, it could be worth exploring.
It's also worth pointing out that at 1,366 x 768, the 14-inch screen will only manage 720p HD playback. However, what you do get is some pretty reasonable performance considering the price. The Satellite U940 comes with an Intel Core i5 processor (which can be scaled down to an i3 if you want to keep costs down further) with 6GB RAM. There's a 750GB hard drive and a 32GB SSD which means this has the benefit of both fast boot-up and plenty of storage.
There are plenty of ports and connections on the 1.79kg frame including two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, HDMI and Ethernet connections and an SD card reader.
The Satellite picks up points for having a comfortable, well-sized keyboard and trackpad, making it good for prolonged typing. Unfortunately, it loses some of those points because, although the plasticky, industrial blue chassis feels solid enough, it hardly looks attractive.
Acer Aspire S7
From £899
Acer's Ultrabooks have been steadily getting better and its most recent, the Aspire S7, stands as an excellent choice for a business machine away from the office. The Full HD 13.3-inch touchscreen is bright with exceptional clarity and the use of a middling Intel Core i5-3317U processor and 4GB RAM allows it to stay shy of the £1,000 mark.
The Aspire S7 is extremely portable at only 1.3kg and measures only 11.9mm thick. It's one of the best looking Ultrabooks here as well, with a white Gorilla Glass 2 chassis, soft backlit keyboard and large integrated trackpad.
Ports are pretty scarce due to the size, but you're still afforded two USB 3.0 slots, a Micro HDMI port and a card reader. The only shortcoming here is the lack of an Ethernet port.
Apart from the aesthetics, the Acer Aspire S7 can also boast of a strong battery performance, offering a quoted 12 hours of life that is more likely around eight hours in real time usage.
Admittedly the price is still a little high for an Acer machine and the processing power isn't as good as some of the other machines on the list, but the Aspire S7 more than makes up for that in looks and portability.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch
From £1,455
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is Lenovo's flagship business laptop and now the Chinese company has improved the model by adding a touchscreen to run with Windows 8. This has the effect of bulking up the chassis slightly to 21mm thick and 151kg in weight, but it's as durable as ever and the carbon fibre casing can easily withstand a knock or two.
Power users won't be disappointed as Lenovo will let you choose either an i5 or i7 processor with up to 8GB RAM and a 180GB SSD. The 14-inch display is a ten finger multitouch screen with HD+ resolution and anti-glare coating that means you can work in brightly lit environments without irritating distractions.
Where the Carbon Touch really comes into its own is the array of business-friendly features that Lenovo has included. Along with a fingerprint scanner, there's RapidCharge technology to effectively charge the machine from dead in 45 minutes, and the battery itself will give you a good seven hours of usage from a full charge.
It's not perfect – the integrated graphics card isn't up to the task of heavy graphics processes like professional editing software. But Lenovo offers an excellent three-year warranty that might sway you towards this machine.
06:19
ram
