Toshiba Thrive (Wi-Fi)

Toshiba Thrive finally arrives to market after being the first Honeycomb tablet announced at CES this year. The Thrive's design certainly stands out from the pack—the back panel is textured, rubberized, and swappable for one with a flashier color, for instance. The primary difference, however, is its thickness. When the HP TouchPad ($499, 3.5 stars) debuted earlier this month, it was panned for being too bulky, but sitting next to the Thrive, the TouchPad looks supermodel-skinny. A late arrival coupled with being the bulkiest yet of the Honeycomb tablets does not bode well for the Toshiba Thrive's chances of, well, thriving. Nor does its pricing, which is on the higher side when compared with same-capacity competitors. On the other hand, USB and HDMI ports, an SD card slot, and a user-replaceable battery offer flexibility that most tablets lack, and help make the Thrive one of the best Android tablets currently available.

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Apple Mac mini (Thunderbolt)

The Apple Mac mini (Thunderbolt) ($799 list) is the latest iteration of Apple's compact desktop PC. While the iPads and iPhones have much of the attention these days, the Mac is still an important part of Apple's business. You'll use your tablets and phones while you're mobile, and the Mac when you want to do serious work like typing for extended periods of time or watching a movie on a big screen with the family. The new Mac mini upgrades with a Thunderbolt port, second-generation Intel Core i5 processor and new AMD discrete graphics, but it's also notable for something that you probably don't even use anymore: It removes the optical drive from the chassis. Oh yeah, and it's as powerful as a tower PC. Users used to regard the Mac mini as an extra second or third PC around the house, rather than a primary PC. The new iteration is now powerful enough to take over as that primary PC in your house. Plus it's still a great base station for your iPod, iPhone, and iPad. For all these reasons, the Apple Mac mini (Thunderbolt) earns the Editors' Choice for compact desktop PCs.

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Asus A53E-XA2

For the student or casual user who wants an affordable laptop with solid performance, the Asus A53E-XA2 ($629.99 list at Amazon) holds its own among the top budget laptops, thanks to an Intel Core i5 processor, solid battery life, and a design that looks great. Buyers looking for select features like USB 3.0, WiMAX, or WiDi 2.0, though, will need to look elsewhere.

Design
The Asus A53E-XA2 has a slender chassis, measuring 1.4 by 15.12 by 10.12-inches (HWD). It weighs 5.8-pounds, which may not be as light as the Lenovo IdeaPad V570-1066A9U ($629.99 list, 4 stars) (5.47-pounds) or HP Pavilion dv6-6013cl (5.6-pounds), but it's the same weight as the Dell Inspiron i15RN5110-7126DBK ($729.99 list, 4 stars) (5.82-pounds). So it's still light enough to tote to and from classes. The Asus A53E-XA2 has a metal and plastic construction, with a scratch-resistant black plastic lid that bears a handsome pattern across its glossy finish.
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Asus A53E-XA2 : Top
Asus A53E-XA2 : Angle
Asus A53E-XA2 : Front
Asus A53E-XA2 : Left
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