In 1995, laptops were ugly. Not just ugly, but also heavy and expensive. A couple thousand dollars bought a small 4:3 screen, chunky keyboard and a hard drive measured in megabytes, not gigabytes. Thankfully, modern laptops are entirely different beasts. They're lighter, faster, infinitely more versatile and cheaper than ever. And there are a ton of them: In the first quarter of 2010, about 50 million tablets were sold worldwide. The vast options in today’s laptop market make finding the right system a bit of a challenge. There are desktop replacement laptops, ultralights, high-end systems for gamers and cheap netbooks for taking notes. You have to know exactly what you're looking for.
1. Analyze Your Usage Scenario. We're not all looking for the same qualities in a laptop, and the kind of programs you want to run determine your demands in the categories that follow.
2. Battery Life. Laptop computing is all about mobility, and battery life is perhaps the most crucial consideration when picking a laptop that's going to be used regularly on the go. If you're in the market for a desktop replacement system -- meaning you'll mostly just leave it on your desk and don't plan on regularly taking it on trips -- battery life isn't quite as critical.
3. Size and Weight. Heavy laptops kill mobility. Pounds add up quickly. Most 15-inch (38-centimeter) laptops often weigh around 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms), which is a manageable weight to carry between home and the office every day.
4. Screen Size. There are three common screen sizes in the notebook industry: 13, 15, and 17 inches. The smallest in this group of laptops obviously prioritize portability. The mid-size category has a bit more range: Some heavier systems operate as desktop replacements, while others are light enough to still be easily portable while offering large screens. The largest category of laptops are, well, pretty huge. They always offer high resolution displays and powerful hardware, but can easily weigh up to 10 pounds.
5. Processor. A computer's processor determines how efficiently it can run programs, multi-task and basically do everything we expect of modern computers.
6. Storage and Memory. For years, all laptops stored data on spinning physical discs called hard drives. Most of them still do, but faster solid state drives that use silicon-based memory are becoming more affordable and more prevalent in mobile computers. Because solid state drives don't rely on moving parts, they're more reliable in computers that tend to get bumped and jostled around.
7. Optical drive? Optical storage mediums have been key computer components since the first CD drives arrived on the scene, but cheap flash storage in the form of USB drives and cloud storage on the Internet have nearly eradicated their necessity.
8. Ports and expandability. Be sure to consider what devices you need to be able to connect to your new laptop. If you get one without the ports you need, you may end up spending additional money on extra cables or expansion accessories.
9. Security Features. There's always a risk when storing information digitally and on the Internet, but laptops elevate that risk by being much easier to steal than desktop machines. Some laptops, specifically those aimed at business and enterprise users, are built with these concerns in mind. For example, fingerprint scanners are found on plenty of business PCs and require users to pass a scan before logging into the operating system. Many laptops also include Kensington security slots.
10. Release Cycles. To maximize the value of a laptop purchase, buy shortly after a product refresh. New systems usually come out shortly after Intel launches new processors. Look up review for laptops.
SOURCE: howstuffworks.com