Top 10 laptops of December

With the economy experiencing a downslide, it seems that netbooks have started to lose favor with consumers' wallets. Instead, low-cost budget portables are returning with a vengeance.

But it also seems that absolute price is not the main deciding factor. Instead of complete dominance by Acer and HP, we're beginning to see premium brands like Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony and LG getting their day in the sun. We see the the Lenovo Y430 gaining a spot with its facial recognition Webcam and strong entertainment features despite not bring the cheapest Core 2 Duo machine in the store. The Sony Vaio CR series may be the prettiest of the lot, though less expensive models with the same specifications are also available from HP and Dell. We take a look at the units which scored the hearts of consumers in the last month of 2008.

Note: Results are based on readership as well as data collected from retail outlets (AAAs Com Solution and MC2)

	1.	Compaq Presario CQ40 (Core 2 Duo P7350 processor 2.0GHz; 2GB RAM) Outlook A popular low-cost 14.1-inch model with an aesthetically pleasing design, thanks to the HP Imprint technology. If cost is a major consideration, an AMD model is also available at a lower price than the Intel version. A nice touch is that the CQ40 is also compatible with a range of HP accessories. See full specs | Rate this
	2.	Acer Extensa 4630Z (Pentium Dual-Core T3200 Processor 2.0GHz, 2GB RAM) Outlook Sure, the processor is last generation and it's also missing Bluetooth connectivity. However, this Extensa hits pay dirt with its wallet-friendly price tag and packs enough features to satisfy most consumers. See full specs | Rate this
	3.	Acer Aspire 4930G (Core 2 Duo P8600 Processor 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM) Outlook The Aspire 4930G may be cheap, but it's definitely not boring with its Gemstone design. Billed as a portable entertainment notebook, it sports a dedicated Nvidia graphics card for additional video performance. Users who frequently edit videos or produce presentations will appreciate this affordable Acer machine. See full specs | Rate this
	4.	Lenovo Y430 (Core 2 Duo P8400 Processor 2.26GHz; 2GB RAM) Outlook It may be much cheaper than its famous ThinkPad sibling, but don't expect the Y430 to be a mere stripped-down machine. This entertainment laptop comes with Dolby Home Theater sound and a proprietary multimedia application for avid movie viewers. A nice touch is the face recognition Webcam, which allows you to login merely by looking into the camera lens. See full specs | Rate this
	5.	Toshiba Satellite L310 (Pentium Dual-Core T2370 Processor 1.73GHz, 1GB RAM) Outlook This budget laptop may not have Toshiba's Fusion Finish technology, but it still offers an attractive feature set despite its affordability. The 14.1-inch Satellite L310 comes with a facial recognition Webcam and USB sleep-and-charge ports. DVD writer, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios are standard, though a small compromise has been made with the Ethernet port which supports only 10/100Mbps. See full specs | Rate this