One of the most popular types of laptops are not necessarily the most talked about ones. Cheap laptops are certainly prevailing in the PC industry, to the point that we’re constantly hearing about new Chromebooks here, and new 2-in-1’s there. The best part of this new population has to be how so many of these new devices look anything but cheap. Take the new Asus VivoBook L403, a great laptop first students because if it's great battery, portability, and handsome looks.

Starting at just $399, this machine may not win the heart of the programmer or the businessman, by any means. But, it comes Full HD with a solid build, which is very important for the market it is reaching. Just take one look at it, and you will probably take another. Although it is entirely plastic throughout, it has a brushed metal finish on both the lid, and around the keyboard and trackpad. The processor inside is Intel’s Pentium N4200, with 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage. This may not seem like much, because it wouldn’t be for a higher-range notebook; but it’s just enough, if not more, than rivals, especially comparing the Acer Aspire One Cloudbook 14 (2GB of RAM), and Acer’s Chromebook 14 (32GB of storage).

The display features of 14-inch non-touch 1920x 1080p screen, and runs Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit. While handling basic school work, word processing, surfing and media streaming, this is a bargain for any young one, or even the basic at home user! Weighing just 3.3 lbs, it measures a mere 18mm in thickness, perfect for that laptop bag. Despite the low price, it feels quite robust and solid, as the screen handles little flex.

The keyboard, while chiclet-style, lacks backlighting, which is a feature you usually see in a higher-priced laptop. Although comfortable to use, there's not quite enough space for a numeric keypad, something praised on laptops of this caliber, such as the larger Dell Inspiron 15 3558. All-in-all, this isn’t a true downfall, and the one-piece touchpad remains high and responsive.

Quite notable, is the battery inside the Asus VivoBook L403. A 14-inch display size is perfectly suitable for many ultrabooks, convertibles, and subnotebooks in this genre of computing. This is due to larger display sizes profiting from higher LCD screen resolutions, allowing things such as letters and images on the screen appearing just that much larger, and clearer. Additionally, the VivoBook L403 benefits from being simplistic, lasting for up to 10 hours, 26 minutes on a single charge. Once again, this beats the likes of that Dell Inspiron 15 3558, whose rundown test shows 8 hours, 44 minutes.

When back-to-school comes around, or you’re ready for a perfect Christmas gift, the Asus VivoBook L403 is the company's latest offering for those in need of something functional and attractive. Of the top perks regarding this little laptop, one has to be it's solid chassis, making it a decent choice all around. It’s no power puncher, as its Pentium chip runs frugal scores, between 1.1 to 2.5GHz, yet in comparison to the previous Intel Atom generation, the per-MHz performance will feel quite updated. However, the second place perk is definitely its battery life. If you could last a full day streaming movies and Facebook-ing with friends while on a cross-country flight, you’ve got a good battery in your latest laptop.