Buying a laptop can be an intimidating process. You worry about the price and the product's obsolescence factor. Does it have all the gadgets and gizmos that you need and is it within your price range?
The first step to deciding which laptop to purchase is analyzing your personal and business needs. Is this for your home-business, and will it be used daily? Is it for when you are traveling weekly?
If you are not making video presentations or editing musical videos, you can eliminate many of the options that come with a standard laptop. Taking your needs down a notch will also take the cost down a notch as well.
Focus more so on your laptop's memory function. The cheapest way to improve your computer's performance is to add more memory. Insist on at least 96 MB of ram, particularly if you are a consummate multitasker with several programs running at once.
Make sure that you purchase a laptop with a built-in modem. You won't be losing a valuable PC-card slot.
Think about the weight of the laptop. Do you want something as light as a briefcase, or as heavy as a well-stuffed purse?
Are you looking for a lightweight at four pounds or less? These lighter laptops can certainly help prevent sore shoulders as you trudge through the airport grabbing your next flight, but they do have limitations. In most cases, the lighter laptops have separate CD ROM and floppy drives which you must toss into your suitcase. Middleweight notebooks weigh in between six and 7 1/2 pounds. These are essential for those who need power wherever they go. Heavyweights usually function as desktop replacements. They are not intended for travel and weigh in at eight pounds or more.
Other options to watch out for include your screen size and resolution. If you are making presentations on the go, you will want to have a screen that's at least 15 inches wide. A built-in Ethernet adapter is handy for quick plug ins into hotels or company networks. An additional perk to look for is a Wireless Telephone Connector that allows you to surf the net away from a phone line in emergency and quick fix situations.
