Why Go for Laptops?
Computers have come a long way from early calculators to the recent handheld computers and tablet PCs. Use of computers has increased by leaps and bounds owing to the rapid growth in information technology. Nanotechnology has paved the way for faster and lighter computers, so now we’ve the benefit of mobile computing as well. As a result, laptops have become quite popular, especially for students, professionals, and others on the move.
The chief advantage of having a laptop is the fact that you can carry your work around and make use of every available time of yours, particularly during long commutes. With the introduction of Wi-Fi, even on-the-go connectivity facilities have become a reality. From computing and chatting to music, movies, and gaming, carrying a laptop around will keep you occupied in one way or the other.
Then there is the non-duplicity of work and data. How? To put it in other words, when you’ve the facility of an ultraportable laptop, you’ll, more often than not, be working out of a single system. Be it at home or at work, you can access all the necessary data, information, and applications at a single place. This is a great plus, and has a profound impact on your productivity and efficiency.
Laptops come with an in-built rechargeable battery that is charged by the mains via an AC adapter. So, if you plug your machine to the mains, it serves the dual purpose of powering it as well as charging the battery. But you can also take it away from the power socket and work for a convenient period of time. This is in contrast to a desktop that is unable to work in times of power outages.
So much for the benefits of owning a laptop, within the category of laptops too, there are plenty of options to choose from. Based on size, speed, and capabilities, there are netbook laptops, supposed to be the most basic version, to complete desktop replacement laptops, and the range is quite varied. So you need to assess your needs and requirements to zero in on a laptop that best suits you. In this laptops buying guide, we’ll try and give you all the information you’ll need in terms of the various types of laptops, their components and features, and the popular brands in the market, so that you can buy the laptop that’ll be your perfect companion always.
Types of Laptops
Physical dimensions are one of the major deciding factors when choosing a laptop. For your benefit, we categorize and explain each of these different laptops below:
- UMPC Laptops: These 5- to 7-inch display laptops are compact, handheld devices didn’t get quite a positive response owing to a lot of factors. Their slow, but expensive processors made them not very useful for a wide range of practical applications. The lack of a keyboard made it further difficult to use them comfortably. The touch interfaces weren’t quite helpful either. So, these supposedly exciting devices just never became popular with the masses. In fact their market has been captured by iPhones, iPod Touches and Netbooks.
- Netbook Laptops: Quite popular and useful in the category of laptops, netbooks are also the cheapest of the lot. Provided with a 7- to 12-inch display, tiny, yet full keyboard, and single core low-voltage CPU, they come closest to full-sized computer systems. Though at the moment, they lack an optical drive, and they’re fairly good for nothing more than basic computing, web browsing, and e-mailing, things are showing up. With faster CPUs like the Intel Atom CPU, bigger screens, and other additions, you can soon expect these netbook laptops to give the others a run for their money.
- Ultraportable Laptops: They predominantly featured 11- and 12-inch screen sizes and small, power-efficient CPUs, which were still not quite powerful. They’d become slightly out-of-fashion owing to the rise in capabilities of the netbooks, which made them a pricy proposition with not much to boast of. But with the introduction of Intel’s new range of low-cost, ultralow voltage CPUs that are available in both single as well as dual-core versions, their market seems to have somewhat revived. But mind you, they don’t feature an optical drive either.
-Thin-and-Light Laptops: This term basically refers to 13-inch laptops. They’re the most comfortable size to work with for an extended time period, and also the most convenient to carry along. The 13-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro are the most popular products in this category.
- Midsize laptops: This category includes 14- to 16-inch laptops, and is also referred to as mainstream laptops. Their displays have better resolutions and may even offer the 16:9 aspect ratio for convenient viewing. They come with dual-core CPUs, like the Intel’s Core 2 Duo line, have between 2 and 4 GB Ram, 250 GB and even larger hard drive sizes, and optical drives. There is a quite a lot of choice as far as pricing and feature list is concerned.
- Desktop Replacement Laptops: With 17-inch and larger screen sizes, they’re the perfect replacements for desktops. Combining all the elements of a computer system within a single unit, they save you space and offer portability whenever you desire. Depending on your budget you may opt for an Inter Core2 Duo CPU at the lowest, or the powerful Intel Core i7 CPU if you’ve more to spend. They’re capable of handling HD videos and gaming and usually come with Blu-ray drives. However, owing to their powerful hardware, they tend to have a shorter battery life and therefore they need to be near mains power most of the time. You even have 18, 20, and even larger screen sizes available for desktop replacement laptops, which help you use them seamlessly for work and pleasure.
So once you’ve pondered over your reasons for opting for a laptop, it’ll make it a lot easier for you to choose the best category of laptops for your intended use.
Microprocessor, Memory, and Hard Drive Size
- Microprocessor: As for personal computers, the microprocessor is an important deciding factor for laptops as well. But, in terms of design, a processor for a laptop is somewhat different than that of a desktop. The portability of a laptop demands smaller-sized microprocessor. It should also be power-efficient to be able to run on battery power for a longer duration. It must generate minimal heat, therefore it operates on lower voltage and has a lower clock speed. Within this framework, you need a processor that can help you work smoothly and quickly.
- Intel Processors for Laptops: Intel has been a leader in the production microprocessor for decades. The second generation Intel Core i7 microprocessor is the latest from the Intel family for laptops and it offers unmatched performance and power. It is the ideal pick for gaming and high-end graphic processing. It features a massive 8.0 MB cache memory for great speed, but they are power consumers as well and are good choices for desktop replacement laptops. Core 2 Duo and the newer Core 2 Duo CULV are popular mainstream Intel processors for laptops which are small, power efficient, and don’t generate much heat. Atom is the entry-level single core processor, mostly found in netbooks. Core 2 Quad, a four-core processor, Core 2 Solo, Pentium Dual Core, and Celeron are other Intel processors for laptops.
- AMD Processors for Laptops: They offer matching, if not better, performance and efficiency as compared to Intel-powered laptops. AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core is an alternative to Intel’s Core 2 Duo processor and is similarly priced as well. The new AMD Athlon Neo is for thin-and-light laptops and netbooks and offers longer battery life and lower power consumption. But, they are slightly expensive as compared to their Intel counterpart, Atom.
- VIA Processors for Laptops: VIA Nano is similar in capabilities to Intel Atom, and is appropriate for netbook laptops, though it is designed for a wider range of applications.
- Memory: The Random Access Memory or RAM in short is a temporary storage device which stores data only when there is power. The processor stores all the data in the RAM since accessing the hard drive for data consumes time. The size of the RAM is imperative in determining the speed of computer. The larger the RAM, the faster is the processing speed, especially in case of graphics-intensive applications such as video games and 3D applications. RAM has also come a long way. From DRAM or Dynamic Random Access Memory to DDR RAM or Double Data Rate Random Access Memory, and the later additions, DDR2 and DDR3, the RAM has evolved for the better. Speed, efficiency, and performance have increased many folds due to this evolution of RAM. The memory of a laptop has to be smaller in size and the bus speed is lower to prevent overheating. The size of the RAM, as is obvious, is very important too.
- Hard Disk Drive: From your documents and pictures to programs, music, and videos, hard disk drive stores all your data and applications permanently. Even the operating system is stored on the hard disk. The capacity and speed of the hard disk drives are important factors to consider in a hard disk drive. You can find hard disk drives ranging from 500 GB to 1 TB (Tera Byte) in the market now. The capacity of the hard disk drive should be determined by the user based on his requirements of data and application storage.
Other Features and Accessories
With the major factors taken care of, these are some of the
features that you need to watch out for to get the best out of your laptop:
- Battery Life: For portable devices, battery life is an important factor to consider and laptops are no exception. Lithium-ion batteries are the most common type of battery used in modern laptops. These batteries come with best energy densities and slow discharge rate. Modern laptop batteries can last up to 4 hours even when used continuously. However, there are laptops from popular brands that come with a battery life of 6 hours. Brightness control, unplugging external devices, and regular defragmentation can help you considerably increase the battery life. Ensure that the battery life matches your portability requirements.
- Removable Media: A DVD/CD burner is almost found in every laptop except for Netbooks and subnotebooks. High-end laptops, like the desktop replacement laptops, are fitted with Blu-Ray readers for full high definition 1080p video playback, as they possess the display capabilities too. So, make a survey of your requirements before you decide on a model.
- Input Ports: USB ports are commonly found in almost all types of laptops. The number of USB ports varies according to the manufacturer and model. Other input ports include HDMI ports for HDMI compatible devices, VGA and DVI ports for connecting external monitors, an Ethernet port for high speed broadband connection, and audio in/out port. Many laptops also come with built-in Wi-Fi capabilities for wireless connectivity.
- Input Device: apart from a full sized keyboard, laptops also feature a touch pad, which replaces the mouse. However, you can connect an external mouse and keyboard, if you need them.
- Video Card: A video card or graphics card is a dedicated microprocessor for handling graphics-intense applications like video games and HD movies , videos, pictures, 3D and multimedia. Nvidia and AMD are some of the most popular GPU manufacturers in the market now. Intel manufactures integrated graphics cards that come with their motherboard. So, if you’re a hardcore gamer or require a lot of graphics processing, this is a feature you need to watch out.
- Display: From 10 inch Netbooks to 19 inch desktop replacement laptops, the display of the laptop varies in size depending upon the model. Netbooks laptops have the smallest screen size in the laptop family, next of course to the UMPC laptops. The screen resolution of the laptops varies according to the display size. For instance, Samsung 9- To 12-Inch display laptops can support screen resolution of up to 800 x 480 to 1024 x 768 pixels for high-end gaming systems. Laptops with built-in graphics card are capable of supporting higher resolution than laptops without graphics card. Almost all modern laptop displays use Liquid Crystal Display or LCD panels. Portable and less expensive, LCD panels are best suited for laptop monitors. With LED backlighting, LCD panels can be made slimmer and their contrast levels can be drastically improved. Touchscreen monitors are mostly found on high-end laptops and come with a heavy price tag. From Samsung and Sony to Apple and Toshiba, all major brands in the market feature touch screen laptops.
Popular Brands
HP, Apple, Sony, Toshiba, Samsung, Acer and Dell Laptops are some of the popular products to choose from. These brands produce custom-built laptops by assembling third party components. From processors and RAMs to hard disks and video cards, every component is brought from third parties and assembled to form a complete laptop for the end user.
Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air are some of the most sought after high-end laptops. Unlike other laptops, the Apple MacBook Air is crafted out of a single piece of aluminum. With less complexity in design, MacBook Air Laptops feature fewer parts inside the unibody construction. This makes them perfect thin-and-light laptops.
Sony Vaio laptops are serious contenders for Apple Macbook. These high-end laptops feature powerful and energy-efficient Intel processors and the latest hardware from Nvidia and AMD to take care of graphics.
When it comes to gaming, Alienware Dell Laptops take the center stage. With a massive 3 GB Nvidia GeForce® GT 555M video card, the Alienware M14x takes your gaming experience to a whole new level. It is also equipped with the latest processor from the Intel family and 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM for increased processing speed and improved performance.
For value-for-money laptops, the Samsung SF510-A01 is the top contender. Great looks and performance with the Intel Wireless display are the main attractions of this laptop. The HP Mini 1103 falls in the category of budget-friendly netbook laptops that makes a great choice. The Dell XPS 15-L502X is equipped with the second generation Intel Core i-series CPUs and is the best bet if you’re looking for desktop replacement laptops.
With so many different brands in the market, we hope to have armed you with the necessary information in this laptop buying guide to help you make the right laptop choice. Reviews and expert opinions on our website will throw more light on this topic. You can also compare prices of different brands of laptops across various online US retailers on our website and choose the one that best suits your budget.
