Since Dell allows you to customize laptops online, we have upped the Dell 1300’s configuration to what fits best in Rs. 40,000. The upgrades include changing the hard drive from 40GB to 60GB and a 6 cell battery instead of a 4 cell. The 6 cell battery increases the weight of the laptop by 100 grams making it touch 2.9 Kgs.

When it comes to laptop screens, larger isn't necessarily better. Almost this entire range features a resolution of 1280x800 pixels (except the Compaq V2655TS, it has a 14" screen size with a resolution of 1280 x 768), be it a 14", or a 15". With a bigger screen size, the overall dimension of a laptop increases, which makes it more difficult to lug around. So, the one we like the best here is Dell's 14.1" screen.

Manufacturers realize how rampant piracy is in India. Hence they bundle their laptops with DOS or Linux operating system to reduce the costs knowing that nine out of ten times the user would install a pirated copy of Windows XP. Dell is the only manufacturer which offers Windows XP home bundled with the laptop, whereas Compaq chooses FreeDOS and the Acer comes with Linux.

With regards to the card slot, Dell offers the latest ExpressCard slot whereas the other two offer a regular PCMCIA card slot. ExpressCard slots provide much greater bandwidth (USB 2.0: 480 Mb/s, PCI Express: 2.5Gb/s) and will provide solutions for TV tuners, FireWire400 and 800 ports, Gigabit Ethernet and e-SATA. ExpressCard slots also allow you to use wireless internet cards for accessing internet anywhere on the go. Reliance and Airtel have recently launched ExpressCards.

This laptop comes with a CD Writer/DVD-ROM Combo drive and has a neat nylon case bundled with it. As with the other two laptops, the Dell doesn't come with any additional features like integrated Bluetooth or a built-in card reader. Again, internet connectivity options are standard with a 56k Modem, 10/100 LAN and 802.11 b/g wireless LAN.