How to Choose a Laptop PC

We've looked at all the new trends and features, including built-in Wifi capabilities, display screen sizes, the new Windows Vista system, and were here to give you all the information you need to consider when buying a laptop computer.

Notebook Features to Understand & Compare

The following features and characteristics are the key elements you need to consider when buying a new laptop:

• Ergonomics: know how well the system peforms when it comes to using the keyboard, touch pad, and switches, as well as case design. You can learn more about ergonomics here: http://www.ergoindemand.com/laptop-workstation-ergonomics.htm
• Speed: know how fast the system runs while running office productivity and content creation applications
• Display: know how your system scores on tests for screen quality, clarity, contrast, and viewing angle.
• Multimedia feature tests: how well does your system peform given the current multimedia demands.
• Speakers: you should know the fidelity, bass response, and equalization capabilities, and loudness of your system speakers..
• Battery life: how long is the system battery supposed to last under normal use conditions. .
• Weight: know how much your system weighs. If you travel any significant amount this consideration will be a key factor in your laptop choice.

Some Other Considerations

These days computers have so many options and so many features it’s hard to choose what’s right for you. Is portability a concern? Is running complex 3D games and video editing a “must-have”? Find out what’s really most important when buying your next laptop computer. Here are some more items to consider:

• Custom-built (oftentimes call configured to order CTO) vs. Pre-configured
• Platform/Operating system: Windows vs Mac OS
• Mouse or touchpad
• Technical Support - how does the company stack up
• Brand recognition and reliability

What kind of laptop?

There are many types of laptop computers from which to choose. Here we give a brief summary of your options.

Budget Notebooks. So called budget models usually are equiped with slower processors and they usually have lower screen quality than the other types discussed below. However, budget notebooks are often well suitable for general computer work. This type of computing would include web browsing, word-processing, and e-mail. With budget laptops you'll also find the features you need for photo editing, a modest music collection, and even some basic video editing work. For the best budget models we recommend the following ThinkPad laptops: ThinkPad R Series and Lenovo 3000 N Series.

Workhorse Notebooks. Workhorse models have better, faster processors than budget laptops. And all of the drives (hard drive and optical drives) are usually built in to the system. Workhorse models usually aren't as lightweight as other models and battery efficiency is of lesser concern. These notebook computers usually cost a few hundred dollars more than budget machines. But with the increase in price comes a faster and more upgradeable system. Most of the workhorse variety laptops work great with most games and multimedia applications. They usually come with a DVD burner.

One of the main reasons to get a workhorse model versus a budget model is upgradeability. Oftentime consumers underestimate their hard drive capacity or memory needs. With a workhorse model, you'll have the option to upgrade easily. We recommend the following workhorse ThinkPad Laptop series: ThinkPad T Series and Lenovo 3000 V Series.

Slim, light Notebooks. Slim and light model notebooks are the best option for travelers and for those who move their laptop a lot. The great thing about slim models is that they can be less than an inch thick and weight less than three pounds. Oftentimes (but not always) slim models need an external drive to read DVDs or burn CDs. When you're at home or in the office you can connect to an external docking station with your slim notebook. We recommend the following Slim ThinkPad Notebook models: ThinkPad X Series

Tablet-style Notebooks. Tablet-style notebooks are held like clipboards and usually have handwriting recognition technology. There are even models that you can convert to normal looking laptops . We recommend the following ThinkPad Tablet Notebook models: ThinkPad X Series Tablet