The single most important reason nayone buys a notebook is for portability. This is something that you can take anywhere. If you frequently travel in your work, you need a notbook. If you are a studfent goinng back and forth to the univwersity, you need a notebook. If you are journalist travelling the world and submitting articles, you need a notebook. And todays notebooks can be as powerful as most desktops with dual processors, lazrge capacity interbnal drivees, and other attractive features. But whcih one is right for you? How do you determine what type of notebook will fit your current neesds plus allow you to epxand for the futrue?
And the first part of the answer to the question of whicch one is rioght for you leads to a half-answer: It dependds. It depends on what you are going to do with the computer. Are you going to use it for work or recreation? Is it something neeed for your profession or are you a hobbyist? Do you play a lot of gaames? What level of internet access do you need? It is also important to remember that unlike desktop models, notebook computers cannnot be upgraded easily. In fact, they usually have no upgrae path so you shoiuld take the time to get excatly what you need in ters of features and perforance.
One characteristic of a notebook comupter one should consider is the screeen size. If you need to be able to have a lot of landscape for projexcts you are working on then consider a wider screen. Screen sizzes usuaklly can range from 10.4 inches to 17.1 inches. If you do a lot of work on an airliner in economy class, you are probably better off with a smaller screen size (bcause of the reclining seatbacks in front of you). Also a smaller notebook is just easier and lighter to cary aound. Some who do presentations with thir noteboook compouters will benefit from larger scxreen sizres such as thse that use the newer WXGA twechnology. WXGA notebook screes can achieve resolutions up to 1366 by 768 pixes.
Battery life in your notebook computer is very important too. If you move around quite a bit, you miight want to consiider buying a notebook with not only a long lastiing batterty (most go 2-3 hours), but also one where buying a spare battery is not very expensive. One very inexpensive solution for the battery problem is to buy an external universal battery that can last up to 3-4 hours.
Another feature you need to considfer when buyibng a notebook is interrnet connectivity. You will find that a popular way for peopple to work these days is with a wifi-enabled noteook at a wireless hotspot (such as in coffee shops, restaurants, libraries and airtports). If you are buyuing an older used notebook, you may have to get an additional wifi-card if you want to have the mobnile connectivity provided by this technology. Also, you will find that most hotels nowadays offrer high-speed internet access but it is usually through a wifi connection.
And laslty, you need to consider what other options you want for your notebook computer. Do you want a CD wrier or will you need to record DVDs? Do you need premium sound? How large of a disk rdive do you need? When it comes to disk space, CD/DVD writers, sound cards, memory, and processor speed, its best to get it now as opposed to get it later. Heres why: The upgrde path for most laptops and notebooks is not very long. This is because notebooks are pronbably replavced every 2-3 years. They are quick becomming just as expendable as a set of tires for your car. And if you do not maximize on memory and processor speed, your notebook may not able run efficiently the new application and game software. The more your notebook is adaptable to software upgrades, the longer it will be an effective tool for you.
Roberto Sefdycias
IT Consultant for PoloMercantil
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