I often get asked by my friends what the best laptop to buy in 2010 is for students and when they should buy it. The simple answer to the when should you buy question is “when you need it.” You can play the game of waiting for newer technology, but there will always be something else new right around the corner. If you need a laptop now, buy it now, I have no doubt that most people will find today’s laptop hardware technology is perfectly adequate for your needs today and 3-years from now. With that said, let’s cover some of the best laptop choices available in 2010 for students, we’ll break categories out by price and focus on 16-inch and under sized laptops since most students will want something that’s portable.

Best $300 - $500 Laptops for 2010 Students

Acer Aspire 1410 - 11.6-inch screen laptop

The Aspire 1410 is a small laptop / netbook with an 11.6-inch screen. You can find it sold for around $400 at places like Amazon.com. I reviewed this laptop last year and simply loved it. The price to feature ratio is stunning, you get 6+ hours of battery life, a low voltage Intel processor that gives ample performance for everyday computing tasks, HDMI video out port and a very thin and light profile. The small screen size may be a deterrent for some buyers, but if you don’t mind the small screen or want a smaller laptop in addition to a desktop/large laptop then look no further than the Aspire 1410.

HP G60t - 15.6-inch screen laptop

The HP G60t is a no frills 16″ screen laptop that for under $500 comes equipped with an Intel processor, 2GB of memory, 160GB hard drive, DVD burner, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n plus a web-cam and microphone. The HP G60t is just an amazing bargain given the sub $500 starting price and number of features you get. To add to this the G60t is attractive in looks and offers a number-pad, great for those who are taking Accounting!

Dell Inspiron 14 – 14-inch screen laptop

The Dell Inspiron 14 is a 14-inch screen portable laptop that can be purchased for under $500 with an Intel Pentium dual core processor.  The Inspiron 14 comes with a DVD burner optical drive, 2GB of memory, 802.11 a/b/g wireless and high-def 720p display.  You can make several upgrades to the Inspiron 14 on Dell.com but the price will quickly surpass the $500 of the base model if you do that.  I reviewed the Dell Inspiron 14 and was impressed with what you get for the price.

Best $500 - $700 Laptops for 2010 Students

HP Pavilion dv4i 14-inch screen laptop

For the starting price of $649 the HP Pavilion dv4i features the new Intel Core i3 processor, 3GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive, web camera, Super-multi DVD burner and a 1280 x800 14-inch display.  Even with the base level Core i3 processor you’ll get excellent performance from the HP dv4i, but if you want more power you can upgrade to a faster Core i5 processor and also choose ATI dedicated graphics.  The dv4i would be an excellent option for a student as it is portable, is future-proofed thanks to having the latest technology inside and also has a very sleek look that will turn eyes on campus.

Dell Studio 15 (Studio 1555 version) – 15.6-inch screen laptop

The Dell Studio 1555 is a 15.6” screen laptop that can serve as a desktop replacement but is still portable enough that you can carry it around when necessary.  The Studio 1555 can be configured for $699 with the new 2.13GHz Intel Core i3 processor, Windows 7 Home Premium, slot loading DVD burner, 320GB hard drive, and 802.11 b/g wireless.  Dell also gives you the ability to customize the Studio 15 in various colors to add some flare and personalization to your laptop.  The 15.6” screen offers 720p resolution, but if you pay extra you can get a beautiful higher resolution 1080p hi-res screen.

Acer Aspire 5740 15.6-inch screen laptop

The Acer Aspire 5740 is a 15.6” screen laptop that offers the new Intel Core i5 processor for an amazing price of under $700.  The Acer Aspire AS5740-6025 configuration has the 2.26GHz Intel Core i5-430M processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive, Windows 7 Premium, Web-cam, a DVD multi-burner and a slew of other features all for the price of $679.99 on Amazon.com at the time of this writing.  The Aspire 5740 has a stylish looking blue curvy lid.  Though it is on the large side at 6.2lbs, it still offers up to 4 hours of battery life so you can take it with you to get work done at another location on campus.

Best $700 - $900 Laptops for 2010 Students

Lenovo ThinkPad T400 with Integrated Graphics – 14-inch screen laptop

I’m a big fan of the ThinkPad line of laptops due to the fact they have great keyboards, excellent build quality and a track record of lasting a long time.  The ThinkPad T400 with integrated graphics starts at $739 on Lenovo.com.  At this price point you get an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, 14.1-inch 1280 x 800 resolution screen, 160GB hard drive, and DVD burner.  Though the T400 is a business laptop and fairly bland looking, it’s all black, it’s a perfect laptop for engineering types and those that just want a laptop that lasts.  See my review of the ThinkPad T400.

HP Pavilion dv6t 15.6-inch screen laptop

The HP Pavilion dv6t is a stylish desktop replacement style laptop that comes equipped with the Intel Core i3 or Core i5 processor.  The base system that starts at $699 includes 3GB of memory, a 2.13GHz Core i3 processor, 320GB high performance 7200RPM hard drive, optional upgrade to dedicated Nvidia graphics for +$100 and a 15.6” 1366 x 768 display.  The HP dv6t is a great entertainment machine as it offers HDMI out, a large enough screen for comfortable viewing of movies and dedicated media buttons above the keyboard.  Check out the review of the HP dv6t laptop I did to find out more on this laptop.

Sony VAIO CW 14-inch screen laptop

The Sony VAIO CW is a portable multi-media laptop with a 14-inch screen.  The VAIO CW was recently refreshed with the latest Intel Core i3 and Core i5 processors.  In addition to these powerful processors, the VAIO CW offers Nvidia graphics to help give 3D performance a boost.  The starting price of the VAIO CW with an Intel Core i3 and Nvidia 310m graphics is $809.99 via SonyStyle.com.  The VAIO CW could be one of the best price to feature ratio portable laptops on the market, who says Sony is overpriced?  Read a full review of the Sony VAIO CW here.

Best $900+ Laptops for 2010 Students

HP TouchSmart tm2t Series 12.1-inch screen laptop / Tablet PC

The Intel powered TouchSmart tm2t from HP allows you to write on the screen as a form of input.  Taking notes in class in an application such as OneNote using the tm2t could really make for a powerful use of the Tablet PC technology.  Simply write your notes on the screen, then print them out or store them digitally in the cloud and you can retrieve them from wherever you happen to be.  When you find typing is faster, just use the keyboard as input since the tm2t acts as both a laptop and a Tablet PC.  To add to all of this, the tm2t is touch sensitive so you can open menus and drag windows using your fingers on the screen.  The tm2t starts at $899 and comes with an Intel SU4100 1.3GHz processor, 3GB of RAM, 320GB 7200RPM hard drive, web cam, wireless-in and of course touchscreen capability.

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch screen laptop

Apple has been a big name in education since the company started back in the 1980’s and to this day you still see a huge number of Mac computers being used on campus.  The MacBook Pro 13-inch laptop is well suited for campus due to its portable form factor, stable and user friendly Mac OS and of course its simply beautiful looks and quality design.  The MacBook Pro is a premium product and as such has a price of $1,199 – while that’s not cheap you get a lot of productivity software out of the box, multi-touch touchpad, web-cam, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, backlit keyboard, 7-hours of battery life and Nvidia 9400m graphics.

If you have any other suggestions for best laptops in 2010 to buy for students please suggest them in the comments section.  This is by no means a comprehensive list and I will continue to update it as the months roll by in 2010 and new laptops are released.