The 10 Coolest Laptops Of 2014 (So Far)

Top-Notch Laptops

The one-size-fits-all laptop days are gone. Today's laptops are as varied as the flavors of ice cream you can buy at Baskin-Robbins. There are business-class notebooks, Chomebooks and laptops with astonishing battery life. What follows are 10 different-class notebooks that represent the coolest overall laptops available so far in 2014 and for sale now.

Hewlett-Packard Zbook 14

Type: Business Workstation

Specs: The HP Zbook 14 is a workstation that can handle high-quality graphics work and weighs only 3.57 pounds. The base model ships with Windows 7 Professional 64, Intel Core i5-4200U with Intel HD Graphics 4400 (1.6GHz, 3 MB cache, 2 cores), 1,600 x 900 display, 4 GB of SDRAM, 500-GB SATA hard drive, and discrete AMD FirePro M4100 graphics card.

Cost: Base configuration $1,400

Apple MacBook Pro 15-Inch With Retina Display

Type: Multipurpose

Specs: This MacBook features the fourth-generation quad-core Intel Core i7 running at 2.6GHz, 6 MB of shared L3 cache, and can run at Turbo Boost speeds of up to 3.8GHz. The display has 2,880 x 1,800 resolution and the laptop features Thunderbolt ports, 256 GB of flash storage, and a discrete graphics card. The laptop weighs 4.46 pounds and has an advertised 8 hours battery life.

Cost: Base configuration, $1,900

Razer Blade (2014)

Type: Gaming

Specs: At the heart of this gaming beast is Intel's Core i7-4702HQ quad-core processor running at 2.2GHz and at 3.2GHz in Turbo Boost mode. The 14-inch display features full HD 16:9 ratio and a 3,200 x 1,800 LED Backlit touch-screen display. For the price configured here you'll also get 512 GB of solid state storage along with an Nvidia's GeForce GTX 870M (3 GB GDDR5 VRAM) and stereo speakers weighing in at 4.5 pounds.

Cost: $2,700

Toshiba CB35-A3120

Type: Chromebook

Specs: With high-end touches with low-end prices, this 13.3-inch Chromebook runs Intel Celeron 2955U 1.4GHz processor, 2 GB DDR3 RAM, 16 GB SSD, and 9-hour battery life. The Chromebook tips the scales at 3.3 pounds and features a Touchpad with multitouch control.

Cost: $270

Lenovo IdeaPad U430 Touch

Type: Windows 8.1 Touch

Specs: This solid entry-level laptop features a 1,600 xy 900 high-resolution 14-inch touch screen, Intel Core i5-4200U processor, 4 GB of memory, and a 500GB + 16GB HDD+SSD setup. The chassis measures 0.81 x 13.3 x 9.2 inches and weighs in at 4.02 pounds. The backlit keyboard is a big plus along with all the ports you'd expect from a full-size laptop, such as Ethernet and HDMI ports.

Cost: $700

Dell Inspiron 11, Model 3135 3000 Series

Type: Budget

Specs: Buy it for the price and love it for its impressive 8 hours of battery life. This laptop's stand-out feature (besides the price) is its sleek chassis (3.15 pounds) and 11.6-inch 1,366 x 768 touch screen. The laptop runs the AMD A6-1450 accelerated processor and discrete AMD Radeon HD 8210 video card.

Cost: $300

Acer S7 Model 329-6400 Series

Type: Ultrabook

Specs: At a svelte half-inch thick, 2.87 pounds and packing the power of a high-end notebook, this Ultrabook delivers the right mix of power and performance. Under the hood is Intel's Core i5-4200U processor running at 1.6GHz up to 2.6GHz with Turbo Boost, 8 GB of memory, and 256 GB os solid state storage. The 13.3-inch Ultrabook has a 1,920 x 1,080 multitouch display.

Cost: Starting at $1,400

Lenovo ThinkPad X240

Type: Longest Battery Life

Specs: With 15 hours of battery life this notebook is the Energizer Bunny of laptops. Much of the power savings comes from Lenovo's use of the power-sipping Core i5 Haswell processor. The 2.5-inch ThinkPad is thin, sturdy and ready for business. The laptop also features a 12.5-inch touch-screen 1,366 x 768 resolution display and weighs 3.6 pounds.

Cost: $1000

Microsoft Surface Pro 3

Type: Notebook-Class Tablet Two-In-One

Specs: What's the best Windows two-in-one laptop? Surprise: The answer is Surface Pro 3. The $1,000 configured Surface Pro 3 ships with 128 GB of SSD storage, Intel's 4th generation Intel Core i5-4300U processor running at 2.90GHz with Intel HD integrated Graphics 4400. The 12-inch screen is 2,160 x 4,200 with the base tablet (minus the keyboard) and weighs 1.76 pounds. The device also includes a Surface Pen and of course the Windows 8.1 operating system that allow you to run the full version of MS Office or any desktop program you like.

Cost: Starting at $1,000; add $130 for the Type Cover

Dell Latitude 12 (7204) Rugged Extreme Notebook

Type: Rugged

Specs: This rugged laptop is unique because it is one of a few that is a convertible. The laptop uses the same flip-and-fold hinge as the Dell XPS 12, allowing you turn the 12-inch rugged laptop into a rugged tablet. The laptop's most awesome feature is the chunky armor that protects it against water, dust and drops. But inside you'll find an Intel fourth Gen i3 processor -- although it can be configured with the i5 and i7 chips for a price. The 1,366 x 768 display measures 11.6 inches. Dell says the battery life on the 6-pound laptop is an impressive 9 hours.

Cost: $3649