My friend asked me once.” Can you suggest me a very good laptop which I can use permanently” .I told him, ” Get married, you will get one free. He hesitated for a moment and then said, “No no, I did not mean that, I want a PC laptop.”
I asked him, ” do you want a colourful laptop or a useful notebook. He said I just don’t understand, tell me whether you can help me on this.
Okay, I conveyed to him that I don’t know much about colourful laptops, but I can definitely help him on PC Notebooks.
Basically you have to decide on two factors before venturing to buy a PC Notebook.
You have to decide whether you need a Colourful fully loaded Multimedia system or a handy useful commercial Notebook.
You have to also decide on your budget as well as your ability to buy one when you are traveling abroad.
Basic Hardware requirements
Never compromise on this unless you have budget constraints because of the need for up-gradation and the cost involved.
• Intel Pentium® M processor 750 [1.86GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB]
• Mobile Intel 915PM Express Chipset
• 512 MB or more SDRAM
• 80 GB Hard disk-depends on individual
This can be your basic platform for both types of notebooks.
#1 Colourful fully loaded travel companion
Most importantly, if you are not traveling a lot, I would not recommend buying a PC Notebook
Reasons; Cost of the unit as well as inability to upgrade with new technologies and features at low cost.
Colourful, I mean by the following aspects.
High quality display: You definitely need this if you are a gaming Guru or watch a lot of DVDs on your system. The two major aspects are going for superbrite screens like the Toshiba’s Qosmio. This is my personal choice because I have not seen a better display on the Notebook than this. The digital signal processing on superbrite screens give you a crisp and clear picture quality.
High Res Display: You also need a high resolution 32 bit display.(1280X800 WXGA) A wide screen display gives you higher aspect ratio for watching most cinemascope movies and does not reduce your picture size. The display size should be ideally 15 or more inches.
Graphics:
I would recommend graphic card with 64 MB DDR SDRAM with anything better than DirectX7API and 3D Graphics accelerator and Video accelerator as absolute must.
TV Tuner:
This is one of the new features that will be built in into latest Media editions of Notebooks. You have to be careful to make sure that you get the right card with both NTSC and PAL playback for watching in India as well.
SLING BOX
This is the invention of the year 2005 and proudly by Indians in USA which helps you watch your favourite TV channels from remote corners of the world on Notebooks without a TV tuner. Don’t run for this unit now as it is not yet PAL ready and I am ALSO IN QUEUE.
DVR:
This is another must because once you have decided that it is for shear entertainment, you need to have dvd recording we well as playing package. Check out compatibility of
CD-ROM(read), CD-R(24x:write), CDRW(write),
DVD-ROM(read), DVDR(write), DVD-RW(write),
DVD+R(write), DVD+R [Double Layer], (read/write), DVD+RW(write), VDRAM(write)
Windows Media Centre Edition:
This is very important bundled package you must opt for because normal Windows XP does not take you to more entertainment. Watching movies, TV, Video, connecting to Handycam or digital camera will become more enjoyable. Have the Windows Moviemaker also installed where you can have fun experimenting.
Sound Card:
Go in for 16 bit stereo with full duplex support. My bet will be for Harman Kordon speakers which are the best for PC Notebooks.
Ports:
It is very important to have the following ports & accessories
• At least 2 USB Ports
• RGB Port
• S VIDEO in and out
• Composite video in, RF Video in, AV in/out
• Media centre remote
• Extra Battery
I am not going to more details on basics which anyway you need if your choice is a useful Commercial Notebook.
Best buys
Toshiba Qosmio, HP 520 Media, Apple Powerbook
The Price Beans-1500-2500$(Rs 1 Lakh Plus)
The cons:
Weight & Portability
Battery backup
Price
# 2 Ideal Business Companion
If you are looking at ideal commercial support from PC Notebook, then you can compromise on several of above features and simply focus on the same basic hardware requirements but with that little extra some things below.
Design & Display
The more you travel the more robust Notebook you need. More you use the Notebook, more chances of using roughly. The display can be from 12 to 15” depending on your eye strain as well as portability and lightness of the unit.
Windows XP with Office suite is definitely needed to have full fledged commercial operation. Make sure to have latest Symantec Anti Virus or any other software preloaded to safeguard your Notebook.
Make your Notebook a maxi mobile
Get the 802.1 wireless package and 56000 kbps modem preloaded into the system. Your wireless with automatic configuration will be very handy in following circumstances.
Using your notebook anywhere in the office or home across the network without wiring. You can install some of the most popular wireless routers like Linksys or Netgear on your networked system which will be well supported by your notebook.
It helps you to surf Internet without being wired which is simply great thing which you can do even when you are watching TV.
Some airlines allow wireless surfing on NET like Lufthansa in some sectors. Wireless connectivity is the future for mobile computing.
Back it up with regular built in modem for support.
You still need a good sound card as well as CD-ROM(read), CD-R(write), CDRW(write) disk drives for a commercial notebook. Keep extra memory slots built in.
Ports:
• 3-4 USB Ports
• LAN Port
• Modem out/tel in
• Memory card slot
• Video in from Monitors for PP Presentation
• Audio in and out
Budget Bugs
If you have budget bugs, ideally I would recommend getting the Notebook when somebody is returning from abroad because you get 35% saving which can be used to get higher configuration. Else you have to contend with Celeron M 370 with 40 GB HDD which should be fine. Another way of cutting costs is by going for smaller display which adds portability.
Other Bugs:
Latest Antivirus, Spyware and firewalls are must in addition to system securities.
Best buys
HP Pavilion, Sony VAIO, Toshiba Satellite, Apple, Gateway, Compaq Presario
The Price beans
800-1300$(Rs 45, 000+)
The Cons:
Entertainment packages
Advanced features & High quality display
Speed of the system
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