Notebook shopping can be rewarding provided you are literate about the various features that various manufacturers offer. Popularity of notebook has soared more because of its portability without any compromise on performance. Since buying a notebook can be once in few years affair you need to be clear about its use. Following is a condensed notebook buying guide dealing with just the main factors you need to keep in mind before purchasing one.
Buy by features-the core components.
The need of the hour today is to carry work and information and instant access to internet to present information for sales and clinch business deals. So obviously the size and weight of the notebook you carry around matters a lot. Notebooks are categorized both on basis of weight and on basis of screen size.
Sizes.,
The four basic sizes are:
1. Tablet PCs have all the normal functions. There is the added advantage of being able to physically write and manipulate applications with a specially designed input device- the Pen. The two types are the slate and the convertible.
Example : Lenovo ThinkPad X41 2526, Lenovo ThinkPad X41 (S5519073) PC Notebook .
2. Ultra portable notebooks are extremely light with small keyboards and screen. There is however no compromise on emailing and web surfing capabilities and can connect to cellular broad band wireless providers. The CD/DVD drives are removed to save space.
Example : Lenovo ThinkPad X60 Ultraportable.
3. Thin and light notebooks weigh five to seven pounds. The swappable media bays make it possible to switch between CD/DVD and spare battery. You will have to recharge often else carry the power adapters too.
Example : Lenovo ThinkPad X60s (X60s_Standard_Ultralight)_BT...) PC Notebook
4. Desktop replacements are powerful notebooks, only that you won’t be able to carry it around much. Available with powerful processors, adequate memory, plenty of drive space and wireless connectivity. The negative factor associated being comparatively lesser battery life due to power draining screens and the powerful components.
Weight
This feature is crucial since the notebook is intended to be carried around. A frequent flier would prefer lighter systems with some compromise on its functionality. While a home user wouldn’t mind slightly heavier systems. The travel weight specified must include the weight of power adapters and media bays but most manufacturers mention just the weight of the system and its batteries. Check out the models in the following three ranges: 0.6 to 4 lb. Most ultra portables come in this range. 4.1 to 5.7 lb. Thin and light models with reasonably good battery life. 5.8 to 10.1 lb. Desktop replacements weigh around 7 lbs.
Display size
Notebook displays come in thin film transistor Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) models, perfectly flat and just half an inch thick, as they are easily portable. Specifications state TFT Active Matrix Display or LCD Display. If you are a frequent traveler, a good combination of small size and less weight will be easier for you to carry around. In case you wish to view movies bigger displays will well serve the purpose. Check out the three commonly available sizes.
8.9 to 11.1 inches- most of them have smart designs and good battery life, but reduced video quality limits its uses.
12 to 14 inches- good for watching movies and for gaming.
14.1 to 17 inches- for gorgeous display and powerful performance, so, ideal for business presentations.
Display resolution
Displays have another criterion which needs scrutiny before purchase. It is the display resolution- higher the resolution cleaner and crisper will be the image. Resolution is number of pixels across the width and height of screen. 1024 x 768 means 1024 pixels across the height and 768 pixels across the width. Pixels mean the individual dots that make up the picture. In specifications the standard screen and widescreen is specified with abbreviations as XGA, SXGA, WXGA, WSXGA or WUXGA. The widescreen are fast becoming the rage because the reading space increases more with slight increase in size.
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