4 June, 2011
Over the last two weeks we looked at the purchase decisions invoiced with a buying a new PC so this week we will look at the specifics of a laptop purchase. The main consideration with laptops nowadays is screen size, in fact the difference between phone smart phones, palm tops, netbooks, notebooks and laptops is becoming a very blurred line. Smart phones (such as iPhones) very rarely have a USB port and normally run a simple operating system – although some even have a fold out keyboard. Palm tops often can’t make a phone call but will usually run a cut down version of windows such as Windows CE, they also usually have a screen about the same size as the largest smart phones. Netbooks will also normally run Windows CE (sometimes the full Windows 7) and have a larger screen (typically around the 8 to 10 inch mark) & have USB ports & are considerably more portable than a laptop. Normally the Intel Atom processors are used for their low battery power consumption. Notebooks are really just a newer term for a laptop and these are the devices that have been around the longest that most people know. Notebooks will typically have screen sizes starting around 12 inches (mostly 15”) and going up to around 17 inches although there are some models that are even bigger that and you would have to question their portability. On top of this it is rare to find a DVD rom in a laptop smaller than a 13 inch although with the advent of USB memory sticks DVD roms are required less and less. Intel again makes the best processors with their i3, i5 and i7 range and we particularly like the Hewlett Packard Standard, Business and Professional ranges of notebooks. Every laptop sold today should have 4GB of ram and one of the Windows 7 operating system versions (7 Professional for businesses). Look very closely into the warranty that is being offered as well as turnaround times (some brands require you to send your laptop away for over a month to be fixed). Once again I cannot emphasise the importance of a backup system for your created data files (including photos) and never keep this backup in your laptop bag as having it stolen will result in the loss of all data. The same as desktops, laptop processors have become more powerful in leaps and bounds in the last 3 years whereby a middle of the road Intel Core i5 CPU will nowadays be literally 10 times more powerful than a middle of the road laptop CPU from 3 years ago. Kerr Solutions is at 128 Musgrave Street & is contactable on 49 222 400.
