Lenovo A310 (starts at $1,499)

THINK of the Lenovo A310 as the spiritual successor to Apple's old G4 iMac from 2002, which had a screen that swivelled on an arm attached to a rounded base. The A310 is remarkably slim, and the right side of the 21.5- inch screen is attached to a flat rectangular base by a solidly engineered metal rod.

The price of this slimness is the absence of a CD/DVD drive, which, along with the slow base-configuration Pentium CPU, means that it isn't the best choice as a primary computer, but it should be great as a secondary machine in the study or living room.

The screen isn't touch-sensitive either, but at this price, you can't really complain, especially about a machine this svelte and good-looking.