Buying Your First Laptop

A laptop is not a businessman’s tool anymore. Due to its portability and affordability, most people are keen to buy one. Many people looking for laptops are confused with the choices available and the technicalities involved. The article addresses various aspects to consider before you buy your first laptop.

Processor: The processor is the beast that provides your laptop all the computing power. The faster and more powerful the processor, the better performance you get. For basic computing purposes like word processing and browsing an Intel Core 2 Duo processor would suffice, where as for more advanced work like graphic design, multimedia & heavy gaming, a more powerful processor like an Intel Core i5 is recommended. Processor speeds are provided in Giga Hertz (GHz). The more the GHz, the faster the processing will be.

Memory: Random Access Memory (RAM) is another crucial consideration for performance. The memory is the immediate storage area for the laptop to do its computing using the processor. Normally laptop RAM comes in multiples of 1 gigabyte (GB). A basic laptop with Windows XP and MS Office needs 2GB RAM to work comfortably. For higher end work like programming or gaming its better to go with 3 or 4GB RAM. If you plan to upgrade your RAM later, ensure that the laptop you are going to buy has free slots for the additional RAM.

Hard Disk: Hard Disk Capacity is the amount of storage that is needed for storing your operating system files, movies, photographs, MP3 files and other documents. You will need to consider your future storage requirements while deciding on the hard disk capacity. A basic laptop intended for word processing , browsing may require only 80GB, where as a 500GB is recommended for a user who wants to store lots of music files, photographs etc. You can also augment your future storage needs later by buying an external hard disk later.

Size: The beauty of a laptop is in it’s portability so the size needs to factor in to your decision. Small laptops for sale offer an edge over larger ones because they’re lighter to carry, but a larger one means you can perform more functions with it.

Screen: Laptop screens come in different sizes and aspect ratios. The screen size specified by the manufactures is the diagonal measurement from one corner of the screen to the other in inches. The larger the screen, the more area you will get and less strain on your eyes. The downside of having bigger screens is the portability aspect goes down. A larger screen is recommended if the laptop is used for continuous work, whereas a smaller screen is optimal for the extremely mobile users.

Battery: A very important aspect is the back up time provided by the laptop battery when it’s not connected to the power socket. If the laptop is to be used extensively for travel, recommend going for a laptop that gives more backup time of 4-5 hours where as for the home user a back up time of 2 hrs is sufficient.

Optical Drive: As DVDs are common nowadays, it is advisable to go with a combo drive(DVD/CD -RW) that can read as well as write DVD’s and CD’s.

Pointing Devices: Laptop manufactures provide a touchpad (a rectangular box at the keyboard) or a joystick at the middle of the keyboard. Which one to use is completely a personal choice and based on your comfort. It is recommended to play around with both these options and arrive at the one of your comfort.

USB Ports: With USB devices getting popular, it’s a good idea to have a laptop that has at least 3 USB ports and that too high speed USB 2.0. The more number of USB ports, the more devices you can connect to the laptop at the same time

Warranty: Since laptops are very delicate devices with lots of components that too packed in a very small space chances of some of them conking off are a possibility. A laptop screen replacement itself might cost you a quarter of the price of the laptop. Go for laptops that has 2 years of more warranty and if not, its wise to invest in an extended warranty that gives you complete peace of mind.

While you are looking for good laptops for sale, do check with multiple vendors or retailers and compare their offerings based on your needs. Do not let a small useless freebie help you decide on the dream laptop. Try to bargain for free upgrades or extended warranty cover. It is also better to go for a laptop manufacturer who has a service center near you; otherwise you might have to bear the shipping expenses to the service center.

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Black Friday Laptop Deals

Black Friday 2010 is just around the corner, and with it the opportunity to find some excellent deals on all sorts of products. There’s no guarantee you’ll find any particular item or that you’ll be able to get the Black Friday pricing — often, the biggest savings are strictly limited in quantity and sell out within moments. But if you have some flexibility in terms of what you’re looking for, and do a little research, Black Friday can be a great time to purchase cheap laptops on sale.

Your first task is to check around on the Internet beforehand to see if any Black Friday deals are leaked. Some chain stores such as Best Buy may intend to offer a big sale on laptops, and this can help you plan which stores to visit to maximize your chances of finding what you want. Also, bear in mind that people are more likely to compete with you for the items if you go to the stores commonly associated with electronics, so remember to check out other locations such as Staples or Office Depot as well.

Another strategy is to look to Internet retailers for specials. Many popular laptops for sale such as Toshiba, Asus, Sony, or Samsung are available through a number of online stores. Again, the most commonly thought of retailers for laptops are also the most likely to be sold out quickly, so build a list of all online stores you can think of that has laptops in their inventory. And don’t forget places like Dell or Sony’s online store — sometimes the manufacturers themselves will offer you great deals on Black Friday and you might be able to score laptops under $300.

What features should you look for in a laptop? You should try to buy a system with at least a dual-core CPU, 250GB hard drive, 4GB memory, a DVD+R/DVD-R/RW drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi built-in, and Windows 7 installed. This combination costs around $650-700 online, but look to buy for $100-150 less on Black Friday (or 15-25% off). Also look for TV-out capability, which will likely either be S-Video or DVI if present on the laptop; this can allow you to use your laptop to stream services like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon On-Demand to your television set. Blu-Ray drives have also come down in cost lately, so keep an eye out for those as well if that interests you. Lower-end laptops are available for around $500 if you are unconcerned with performance, but you should ensure they come with a better operating system than Windows 7 Starter and more than 2GB of memory.

Before you shop, make a list of the features that are important to you in a laptop, and carefully compare them before you buy. Sometimes Black Friday electronics are stripped-down versions of regular electronics with a minor modification to the model number, so check each feature line-by-line. If in doubt, don’t buy; it’s better to pay a little extra down the road than to regret your purchase for years to come. If you’re planning on playing games, read as many gaming laptop reviews as possible, before you buy.

Hopefully, this will help you work out a plan to find the best deal on the laptop you want on Black Friday. There’s no one place to go or one perfect strategy, but between research of stores in your neighborhood and stores online you can maximize your chances of finding the deals that suit you.

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How To Get The Best Deal On A Laptop

Purchasing a laptop is an important and rewarding process. If you do it right, you can find a product that fits your needs at a good price. If you do it wrong, you can wind up spending too much money on a piece of technology that does things you don’t want it to do, doesn’t do things you wish it did, or doesn’t work at all.

So, where to begin my search, what should I look for and how will I know what is the best laptop brand for my needs? I think you need to evaluate a series of questions about yourself and your computer usage to begin narrowing down the number of options. There are at least a few hundred choices, but you can quickly narrow it down once you know the following: *Apple/Mac or PC? *10-12 inch, 14-16 inch, or 17-19 inch? *Gaming or heavy video editing? *Speed and memory? *Price? *Brand? *Deals? Let’s walk through each one and by the end you should have a good sense of a few solid choices.

Apple computers are known for being slick, simple to use, beautifully designed, great for video editors, and generally expensive. PCs are known for being technically adaptable, fast, great for business, and generally affordable. Those are stereotypes that have begun changing over the years but still generally hold true.

The next major decision is size. Smaller 10-12 inch computers, also known as netbooks, make great portable devices. They work best as a secondary computer for use in web browsing, notetaking, and general work on the go. Medium sized 14-16 inch laptops are ideal for general use and can be either portable or used as a stationary computer. The screen is large enough to be comfortable but not so large as to be cumbersome. Larger 17-19 inch screens are beautiful and functional but not so portable. They’re best for graphic designers, gamers, and those who want a sleep alternative to a desktop computer that they can still unplug and pack into a suitcase.

Gaming and heavy video editing requires special features. For one, speed is a primary concern, so you’ll need a top of the line processor with lots of RAM (random access memory). You’ll also need a high end graphics card. Gaming usually happens on PCs, but video editing tends to happen on Apples.

As for speed, even those not doing heavy gaming or editing may want a zippy device which can handle multiple programs and windows running at the same time. If you tend to do 15 things at once, make sure that you opt for a faster chip with more RAM. If you are more of a simple web-browser and occasional document writer, you’ll be fine with less.

More costs more. Price is where all of these options come together. Apple is more expensive. Better chips, graphic cards, and more RAM are all more expensive. If you’re looking for the best laptop deal, a cheap 10 inch computer with full capabilities can be had for $300 dollars. An average, fully loaded 15 inch computer could be had for $700 if its a PC and $1200 if it’s an Apple. A high end, large screen gaming/graphics/business laptop could run into the $2500-4000 range. Brand choice is partly a matter of preference and partly a matter of reputation. Apples are known for being well made, so there is no concern there. PC brands with the best reputation are HP and Dell laptops, followed by Toshiba, Sony, and Acer. A newer company ASUS has been making neat devices that many people like.

Whatever brand you buy, try it out in person to see how it feels. Laptops are a very personal device and you need to like using it. Deals and checking out popular laptops for sale are the final concern. Like cars, laptops will come down in price before the next year’s new models come in. The worst time to buy a laptop is typically around the holidays or when students are going back to school. That’s when everyone buys one. A good idea is to select a few models that suit your needs and shop around for prices over a month or two. When a big sale on laptops pops up, take advantage of it. If you follow all of these tips, your laptop purchase should be a successful one.

Final thoughts: only buy the software you need. Great anti-virus software is available *free* online. Try AVG, Malware Bytes, and CC Cleaner. Microsoft Office-like applications can be had for *free* in the open source Open Office suite. Most insurance is not a great buy. The first year is always covered by warranty, and laptops rarely last more than 3 or 4. Just take good care of it and you should be ok. Good luck!

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Review: HP Laptops

HP Laptop Review: written by Sami Ron

With the advancement of technology, the use of computer and internet is increasing at an rapid rate and with this the demand for the laptops is also increasing. Over a decade, the usage of laptops has increased tremendously and we are witnessing more increase in the coming decade. Due to globalization of industries, the use of laptop computers has increased enormously with the application of computers in every field. Nowadays, laptop computers are widely used since they are light weight, thin, portable and easy to carry anywhere.

Among the various available laptops, HP laptops are being widely used by everyone and in almost every field. HP Laptops are a reliable technology services provider to consumers, businesses and institutions all over the world and is considered a best laptop brand. They offer variety of products and services like IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, for consumers, enterprises and small and medium businesses. Some people also like to use HP refurbished laptops (renewed and modification of used HP laptops) as they come at around 30 percent discounted price and serve the same purpose. Now there are many products of HP laptops and each provides some new feature or quality and service or price to the user. Hence the big decision of which HP laptop to buy arises in the minds of the consumers as every product promises the best feature and competitive price. Some common basic factor that usually consumers consider while buying are the price of the laptop, the features, the portability, the after sales service and the warranty. Some of the most popular available HP laptops brands in the market are:

1) HP Mini 210 -1084 TU laptop is powered with Intel Atom N450 1.6 GHz Processor, 160GB Hard disk drive, 1 GB RAM Size and has 10.1-inch screen size. This laptop has an integrated camera, microphone and connectivity options like WI-FI, Blue tooth and USB. It also supports DVD writer and Free DOS. The average price range about 15900.

2) HP Mini 1129 TU laptop is powered with Intel Atom N450 1.6 GHz Processor, 80 GB Hard disk drive, 1 GB RAM Size and has 10.1-inch screen size. This laptop has an integrated camera, microphone and connectivity options like WI-FI, Blue tooth and USB. It also supports DVD writer and Windows XP Home Operating system. The price is about 16500.

3) HP Mini 210 -1085 TU laptop is powered with Intel Atom N450 1.6 GHz Processor, 160GB Hard disk drive, 1 GB RAM Size and has 10.1-inch screen size. This laptop has an integrated camera, microphone and connectivity options like WI-FI, Blue tooth and USB. It also supports DVD writer and Windows 7 Starter 32-bit Operating system. The price of the laptop range around 18479. There are other hp laptops also in addition to these hp laptops but these are the most used ones and preferred ones with respect to price, feature, design, portability and attractive discounts and other features as well.

Thus HP laptops provide a wide variety of laptops to choose from depending upon the need of the consumers at the most competitive prices to the fullest satisfaction. Taking the time to find HP laptops on sale is the best way to get a great laptop, at an even greater price.

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Review: Dell Laptops

I’ve had several different brands of laptops over the years, but the brand I keep coming back to over the years is Dell. They have a huge selection of laptops to choose from, everything ranging from a purse-sized netbook, to an entry-level laptop, to the ultimate gaming laptops.

The first laptop I ever purchased from Dell was an Inspiron 15R. The Inspirion 15 starts at about $399, making it ideal for first-time laptop users, students, and anyone else looking for a sturdy, dependable, entry-level model. Fully customizable, the Inspiron line features 2.26Gh Intel Core processors – fast enough for any computing the average user does and comes preloaded with Windows 7. The basic Inspirion comes with 2GB single-channel memory, but I recommend upgrading tot he 4GB dual-channel, as I find it adds significantly to the performance/speed of the laptop. All Inspirions come with a massive 320GB hard drive, Intel HD Graphics card and 5-hour battery, although for heavy users you may want to upgrade the battery or purchase an additional one. It’s one of the best cheap Dell laptops you could buy.

The next laptop I purchased from Dell was my netbook, or as Dell calls them, “Minis”. These are by far the best cheap laptops out there. I got mine refurbished for under $200 on Dell’s outlet store; a new model starts at $299. The thing I absolutely LOVE about the netbooks are the small size. I can tuck it into my diaper bag or purse whenever I go out – it’s perfect for web browsing and or writing that essay I’ve been trying to postpone. I have to admit I jumped the gun a bit and bought one of the first Mini 8′s. With an 8GB hard drive, it was virtually impossible to run anything on it. However, all the Minis now come with a minimum 160 GB hard drive so that’s no longer an issue. That being said, the Minis aren’t great on power. You really can’t have any apps on them or they tend to run at snail’s pace, so make sure you have another laptop or desktop to run your beefier programs on because the Minis come with a mere 1GB of RAM. However, if you are looking for a truly portable laptop for web-browsing, the Mini is what you want.

If you are looking for a powerful, and I mean powerful laptop, check out Dell’s Alienware line. My most recent purchase, the Alienware laptop was my husband’s last Christmas present – he was not disappointed! Built for gaming, the Alienware 15X is available with a Intel® Core™ i7 940XM Quad Core Processor, the fastest laptop processor in the world. You can also pack in a whallopping 8GB of dual-channel (yes, I said dual) memory and an available 256GB solid-state hard drive. The 15X comes with a beautiful HD screen, and with an available 1 GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX video card, you can make sure all your graphic-intense games look great on it. The 15X starts at $1350, but with available options can top out at well over $3000. For hard-core gamers, it’s a small price to pay for premium performance.

Dell laptops are available nationwide at retailers such as Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. You can also customize your laptop online (their Studio line is available in 200+ designs) at dell.com. If you are truly looking for a great deal, check out their online outlet. You can get brand-new and refurbished laptops at a fraction of the cost, so if that costly system you’ve been eyeing has been alluding you, you’ll definitely want to check them out.

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