HCL G28 CP

At Rs 22,490, the G28 CP is positioned as an entry level solution, and for this price we wouldn’t expect much. However, it’s got a solid, robust, (if bulky), feel. Thanks to a total lack of design attention, it also feels very clunky. The good thing about it is that if you’re ever going to get caught in an alley by a mugger, then this is the notebook you would probably wish you had. The keypad isn’t too bad, and the keys, although lacking any kind of comfort contouring, are rather well laid out, with acceptable levels of feedback.

An entry-level Core 2 Duo does duty here (T2310). In fact, these processors are little more than dual core Celerons, so don’t expect much performance from this notebook. The 1 GB of RAM is decent enough for the target audience who will mostly be using this at office or home for very basic tasks.

If you’re even remotely interested in multimedia or a fancy notebook, or even powerful desktop replacement, then you’d do well to steer clear of this. For someone looking for an entry level notebook, however, this one may be worth considering.

HCL P28 PDC

HCL next offering and basically identical to the cosh-like G28 CP, which isn’t bad if you intend to be setting at your desk with your notebook for most of the time. This one is just heavy, and shares the same keys and feedback. We didn’t like the very hard-to-press shortcut buttons on the front bezel. Other convenience issues were the lack of any type of buttons for activating and deactivating WLAN connectivity. Bluetooth is lacking (also on the G 28 CP).

Power by a Core 2 Duo T2330, a 2 GB of RAM, along with a 160 GB hard drive, this has a marginally better configuration, though battery life is down at an abysmal 81 minutes. For Rs 28,990, this notebook will have takers only from the lot who want a notebook and are graduating there from a desktop. Portability freaks, performance users and aficionados will give this a miss.

HCL B30 C2D

Sporting an identical look to both the earlier HCLs in this category, the B20 C2D offers nothing different to the earlier two expect in terms of configuration. This notebook comes with free DOS, so do remember that genuine copies of Windows will add to your price. Also no software is bundled, except for an HCL backup-restore suite.

The 2 GB of RAM and Core 2 Duo T5550 do make the B30 C2D a little faster, and this notebook will handle some multimedia content, (remember we said some). The 80 GB HDD is a backward step and considering the minimal difference in price of 80 and 160 GB notebook HDDs this is a travesty. For Rs 32,990, the B30 C2D is a decent solution for prices conscious buyers, though to be honest, if all you need is access to the Internet and basic office use, both the G28 and the P28 from HCL’s own stables would do the trick. You save pretty penny too!