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HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2014: Readers' Choice Results

By Ng Chong Seng - 20 Feb 2014

Readers' Choice Awards - Consumer Electronics (Part 1)

Readers' Choice Awards - Consumer Electronics (Part 1)

 

Best Ultra Portable Notebook Brand - Apple

Despite the avalanche of Windows-running Ultrabooks we witnessed in 2013, the winner for Best Ultra Portable Notebook Brand is Apple, the maker of MacBook Air, widely regarded the ‘first Ultrabook’. In fact, with a thickness of 1.8cm and a weight of 1.57kg, the current 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display is also just as portable. But that’s not to say other brands have given up. In January, ASUS (who comes in second with 25% of the votes) unveiled the Transformer Book Duet, an Ultrabook that switches between Android and Windows 8.1 with the press of a button.

 

 

Best Business Notebook Brand - Lenovo

For the business notebook category, the trophy remains in the hands of Lenovo (22%), currently the world’s largest PC maker. With good products like the ThinkPad X1 Carbon and constant innovation in its Yoga series, the Chinese company is one of the rare PC makers that’s still making money despite the slowdown in the PC industry. Following closely behind however is Apple (20%). This suggests that in addition to iPhones and iPads, Macs too are very popular in the enterprise. ASUS has a very strong showing too, amassing 17% of the votes (up from 10% in the previous year). HP is the worst hit: its share has fallen from 16% last year to 9% this year.

 

 

Best Gaming Notebook Brand - Dell/Alienware

For those unaware, Alienware is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dell, Inc., and it specializes in putting together high-performance desktops (e.g. Aurora R4) and notebooks (e.g. Alienware 14, 17, 18 that were recently updated with Intel’s fourth-gen Core processors) for professional and gaming purposes using third-party components and custom enclosures. Its 36% share of the votes is similar to the 35% it achieved last year, and is more than enough for it to retain the top spot. ASUS comes in second (22%) and Razer third (16%). Local outfit Aftershock is fourth with 9%. If you’re in the market for a gaming notebook, be sure to check out our recent shootout which compared six flagship gaming notebooks.

 

 

Best Tablet Brand - Apple

It’s true: The iPad remains our readers’ most beloved tablet. Interestingly, despite the truckloads of Android tablets launched last year, Apple’s share in this category (56%) actually grows compared to last year (53%). Since Apple only makes two tablets, we can only assume that consumers like what the thinner and lighter iPad Air and the Retina display in the latest iPad Mini, both of which also come with Apple’s powerful 64-bit A7 chip. Samsung, who sells gazillions of Android smartphones, sees its share of votes dropped from 25% to 18%. We shall revisit this next year to see if its new Galaxy Note Pro and Tab Pro tablets make any difference.
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