HP Laptop-Touch

Hot on the heels of Dell's second-place finish, HP takes the bronze in this year's Best & Worst Brands showdown, up one spot from its fourth-place finish last year. The laptop maker definitely knows what it's doing when it comes to design and audio. It also provides very good technical support to customers and offers good value and selection. Mediocre displays and a lack of exciting innovation are the only things really holding this brand back.

Tech Support 

Tying for second place in this year's tech support survey, HP improved more than any other company within the last year. We received satisfactory answers to our questions from all three phone calls, both social networks (Twitter and Facebook) and live chat. We would have preferred less emphasis on extended warranties and premium support, but overall, HP's support is among the best.

Review

While three of its notebooks (the EliteBook Folio 1040, Chromebook 14 and EliteBook 850 G1) received 4-star reviews, HP's overall reviews score was brought down by the SlateBook 14, an awkward Android notebook, and the Envy x360 15t Touch, a 15-inch convertible with poor endurance and a lackluster display

HP has gone all-in with unique laptop designs. In fact, the brand has the best notebook design of the year thus far in the angular, fire-stained HP Omen. The PC maker also isn't afraid to embrace color, releasing a virtual cornucopia of hues and tints, as evidenced by the Stream 13, Stream 11, Pavilion x360 and Chromebook 14.