Which laptop is right for you?
Posted 17 January 2008 at 9:52AM by Ian Betteridge in IT systems and support
If you're buying a PC for the home this year, then you're likely to be buying a laptop - and work machines cannot be far behind. According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, US corporations expect the majority of their computer purchases to be laptops.
Laptops have a lot of advantages. They take up less desk space, let you work at home on the same machine as you have in the office, and facilitate flexible working. But knowing what kind of laptop is right for you is tricky, as different kinds of people need a different kind of laptop. So here are some portraits of typical laptop users - can you see yourself in them?
The demanding traveller
For anyone who travels on business, weight is very important. Unless you're driving yourself around, you'll have to carry your office with you - and in this case, you want a machine that's powerful enough to do everything you want, while light enough to avoid being a burden. Look for something between 3-4lbs, with options like an external CD or DVD drive, so you can leave that at home if you don't need it, and a battery life of at least 4 hours. If you need data on the move, make sure that you have a PC Card slot, so you can use a service like BT Datazone to stay in touch wherever you are.
The corridor warrior
You want a laptop - but it's not going to leave the building too often. Instead, you want a fully-featured machine that you can carry around the building with you into meetings and so on. Here, performance will be more important than portability, and battery life doesn't need to be too outstanding unless you're having very long meetings. A machine with a 15in screen and the ability to connect to an external keyboard and monitor (for when you're at your desk) would be ideal, and there's plenty of choice in this area.
The home worker
You work in the office. You work at home. And you need a machine which can cope with being carried around on a daily basis. That means you want something robust, and reasonably light, but with enough power to be your only machine at home and in the office. Again, a 15in screen will be ideal, but you need to make sure that your machine has enough hard drive space to deal with everything, along with both wired and wireless networking to cope with home and office. And finally, when buying, try and check how hot the machine gets underneath: if you're going to be working on the commute from home to office, the last thing you need is a laptop that feels too hot to actually sit on your lap!
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Tags: bt broadbandoffice, bt datazone, laptops, mobile
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Comments
2. At January 17, 2008 9:13 PM, James wrote:
My wife wanted to buy me one for Christmas - I just said NO thank you.
Too easy to drop, too easy to get nicked, too much crammed into one small space. Sorry just not my cup of tea.
I just like my PC's and mouse etc.James
3. At January 17, 2008 10:22 PM, Rhys Adams wrote:
I am very greedy and use 2 different laptops depending on what and where I am going. For trips and meetings that require a good battery life and extreme portability I use a Sony Vaio with a 12.1" screen, the battery life is impressive and can last upto 8 hours. Its not slow and has 1.5gb of RAM and I use my T-Mobile Modem with it.
When I'm not to bothered I have a MacBook, I'm a huge follower of Apple and there computers are very reliable, I can now take this with me thanks to T-Mobile selling a USB version of their web and walk products.
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1. At January 17, 2008 10:20 AM, Nicola McBlane wrote: