Most Popular Laptops for January 2009

Each month we compile data for the number of times a particular notebook is viewed on this site's product pages to get an idea for what mainstream consumers are looking at and thinking about buying. While these laptops aren't necessarily the most popular in terms of sales, they are the most popular based on the number of times our visitors clicked on them.

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In that sense, think of this list as the "most clickable laptops of the month" ... the notebooks that most of the people visiting this site are interested in learning about. Keep in mind that clicks directly on the "Most Popular Laptops" list do not count toward the total in order to keep the list as fair as possible each month. The only clicks that count toward the monthly totals come from web searches like Google or from visitors who have clicked on a laptop after visiting our "Notebook Database" or inside our forums.

The first month of 2009 had a few small surprises in terms of what notebooks our readers wanted to see. In fact, last month we saw an increase in the number of consumers looking for reviews of "netbooks" (low-cost ultraportable notebooks). Nevertheless, we're still seeing strong family notebooks like the HP Pavilion dv5t and Dell Studio 15 on the list. Likewise, the new Dell Studio XPS 16 and the HP HDX 18 are looking mighty attractive to consumers looking for family computers with great multimedia capabilities. Overall, the list for January 2009 suggests that that consumers are looking for good values in hard economic times ... but they're also still looking for notebooks with solid performance.

1. Acer Aspire One (Previously #2) - The Aspire One is the latest "netbook" from Acer, offering a convenient, compact design at a budget price. The Aspire One features an Intel Atom Processor, 8.9" WSVGA TFT LCD, and a choice of either Genuine Windows XP Home Edition or Linpus Linux Lite version.

2. HP Pavilion dv5t (Previously #1) - The dv5t features an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, up to 4096MB DDR2 System Memory, NVIDIA GeForce Go graphics available and 15.4" diagonal WXGA BrightView Widescreen.

3. Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (Back in the Top 10) - The Inspiron Mini 9 has an 8.9-inch widescreen display and can be configured with either Windows XP or Ubuntu Linux. The Mini 9 is powered by an Intel Atom processor for power saving performance. An 8GB flash drive makes it so the Mini is quiet and has very fast storage and configure up to 1GB of RAM for a performance boost too.

4. HP Mini-Note (Back in the Top 10) - The HP Mini-Note has a VIA C7-M ULV processor, 8.9-inch diagonal WXGA, 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, and VIA Chrome 9 integrated graphics. The new HP Mini 2140 is the updated replacement with an Intel Atom processor and a 10-inch screen.

5. Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (Back in the Top 10) - Designed to keep pace with your busy lifestyle – possibly even simplify it. At a mere 2.65 lbs and about one inch thin, it's so light and portable. You can take it wherever your day takes you. Plus it's loaded with thoughtful standard features to make your life a little easier.

6. Dell Studio XPS 16 (New to the Top 10) - The Studio XPS 16 features premium design with genuine leather accents, anodized aluminum, edge-to-edge display and backlit keyboard, 16" ultrawide 16:9 aspect ratio with 1080p HD support & optional RGB-LED for brighter and more vivid colors, the latest Centrino 2 platform for blazing fast performance, amazing battery life and go anywhere wireless connectivity and premium ATI 512MB graphics delivers incredibly lifelike videos, movies and gaming.

7. Lenovo ThinkPad T400 (Previously #6) - The ThinkPad T400 features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 14.1" LED-backlight widescreen, up to 8GB of PC2-8500 and integrated Intel X4500 or ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470.

8. Dell Studio 15 (Back in the Top 10) - The Dell Studio 15 is a 15.4" screen multimedia laptop offered in multiple colors and configurations. The Studio 15 can be equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo and dedicated ATI graphics. It comes with a slot-loading DVD drive, backlit keyboard, sleek drop-hinge design, widescreen glossy display and touch sensitive buttons. The Dell Studio 15 also includes a unique "Dell Dock" application similar to the Apple Mac OS X launch dock.

9. HP Mini 1000 (Back in the Top 10) - The HP Mini 1000 is the much hoped for Intel Atom based update to the VIA platform Mini-Note 2133. This consumer version of the Mini 2140 netbook is thinner thanks to a smaller hard drive and lithium polymer battery but still keeps the same great full-size (or "nearly" full-size) keyboard. Offered with two screen sizes, 8.9" and 10.2" the Mini 1000 has a configuration for any budget and including WWAN 3G capabilities for users on the go.

10. HP HDX 18 (Back in the Top 10) - The HDX 18 multimedia notebook features a large 18.4" display with a 16:9 screen ratio, impressive speakers with an integrated subwoofer, and an innovative touch-sensitive media control panel. This desktop replacement notebook can be customized with a variety of processors, tons of RAM, NVIDIA graphics and a Blu-ray drive.