The total variety of laptops has grown, it seems, exponentially in the past few years.  And in looking at the latest crop for this year, the trend is continuing.  They come in a wide range of sizes, shapes and overall packages including some of the smallest, largest and thinnest models available.

The range of designs is not without purpose.  Some have reduced size in order to lower cost or to improve portability.  Some of the thinnest available are less than an inch thick and only weigh 3 to 5 pounds. 

You may have lately seen advertisements for “netbooks.”  This is a new class of laptop that have very small (7 to 9 inch) screens and weigh only 2 to 3 pounds.  The attraction is they only cost about $300.

As costs reduce on laptops, they really are a better choice over desktop computers.  What you might lose in ability to upgrade and expandability, you gain in versatility and portability.  With the right home accessories for your laptop you can fix the typical ergonomic issues of only using a laptop.   And with the ever increasing public wireless access, a laptop is becoming even more advantageous over a desktop computer.

The Basic Choices (Categorized by screen size):

15.4 inch Models:

This is the direction you should go if you are leaning toward portability, lower cost and good performance as your key laptop attributes.  Performance and cost are most closely related, so just know that the lower the cost the slower the processor.  For most applications this is not an issue.  However, if price outweighs performance then this is a great choice.

17 inch Models:

When power and performance are what you are looking for then point yourself toward these larger laptops.  Obviously there are some things you have to sacrifice.  For example portability is compromised slightly in that these models do not always fit in the smaller sized laptop bags.  They also can weigh up to 6 pounds so if you tend to have long walks in airports this may be a consideration.

But what you gain is higher performance, obviously a larger screen and in most cases better graphic capability.

14.1 inch Models:

These guys fit right in the middle with slightly less weight at 5 to 6 pounds and slightly lower price then the larger 17 inch models.

13.3 inch Models:

These models are the best bet for light weight portability.  Due to the smaller footprint these models have a higher price.  They only weigh around 3 to 5 pounds.  A word of caution on these smaller size models, make sure you check what is included within the frame of the laptop.  Although these models seem more portable, many of them require external storage or external DVD players.

Netbooks:

These have been referred to as “sub-notebooks” but are now generally called netbooks.  They are very small with screens in the range of 7 to 10 inches and are targeted toward users that focus on email and Web browsing.

Key Features to Compare When Laptop Shopping:

Processors:

This can appear confusing.  To simplify; For most users for home and school look for a laptop that has a “Pentium” Dual Core or AMD Turion X2.  For the user that is looking for more performance (and higher cost…) then steer toward Core 2 Duo.  There is a new version called Centrino 2 for laptops.  A good choice for the “power” user.

Hard Drive and Memory (RAM) Capacity:

The range of capacities for hard disk drives continues to increase dramatically.  Laptops are typically offered with hard drives from 120 to 500 GB and from 1GB to 2 GB of RAM.  Even if you have to pay a bit more, you should go with the 2GB of RAM as the new operating systems (Vista) require more memory and this can really enhance the laptop performance. 

Operating Systems – Windows vs. Mac:

Windows has continued to be the most dominant operating system for laptops.  However, if you talk to a Mac user they are usually die hard customers.  Both are excellent and have their pluses and minuses.  While Windows still has many more applications available, Macintosh users can still claim that they are less susceptible to viruses and spyware.

So go through this list and check off which attributes are most important and then you will be more then ready to make your laptop purchase.  As with most electronic equipment, accessories can be very important to improve the efficiency and overall enjoyment of your laptop.  Make sure you investigate the right accessories and add them to your list.

Acer, Asus, and Toshiba to make Snapdragon based netbooks

 

Acer and Toshiba are working on small notebooks using Qualcomm’s instant-on solution, Snapdragon. Actually, according to Manjitt Gill (the interviewee) it is more like always on.

 

“Mobile Computing Devices (MCDs) offer a revolution in computing and communications in a thin and light form factor with a 7-12” display and full keyboard. MCDs are perfect for viewing movies and maps, or editing spreadsheets and documents while also having access to full Internet browsing and social networking. Dual-mode MCDs allow for notebook and tablet/reading mode to further improve the user experience.”

 

“Our vision is that (the device is) always connected. Even when you shut it down, it’s still ‘on.’ (The laptop) goes to your Exchange server, gets your e-mail, puts it on the drive–solid-state or hard drive–and then when you’re ready to do e-mail, you flip it open and it’s right there. Instant on, always connected,”

 

There is some more interesting info in the interview, including how Qualcomm sees the differentiation between what it calls Mobile Computing Devices (MCD) and the already established Netbook. Intel is also revealing some details about how it has ramped up the ARM processor to compete.

 

So full day, always on and very mobile.. but it’s ARM based, Linux only. Could they really compete with Intel on more computer than phone like devices, netbooks?

 

It would need a lot of co-operation between them, Linux vendors and OEMs. Intel has been building their Linux only MID community for 2 years and all we have seen is very basic and not even nearly finished software. Hardware can enable, but to bring ARM based Linux netbook even near to current ones will need work.. maybe too much work?

 

Qualcomm seems to believe highly themselves as they are now naming Acer, Asus and Toshiba as their future Snapdragon customers:

 

“Companies including Acer, Asus, and Toshiba are planning devices based on Snapdragon, according to Qualcomm. Acer, for example, will initially introduce Qualcomm’s Gobi 3G modem into its devices, then gravitate to products based on Snapdragon.”

 

We will see it soon hopefully..

The Eee PC 900 laptops from Asus had created a rage in the electronics market when they were launched, as they were the first set of mini notebooks that were commercially available. These laptops would have definitely caught your eye and you would be planning to own one of these mini notebooks. If yes, then put that thought on hold, because the next version is out and is here to stay.

ASUS Eee PC 901-W003X Notebooks, though being similar to their predecessor, have many extra features. These laptops are specifically designed for portability and mobility. You no longer have to worry about the safety of your Netbook, because the Shockproof Solid State Drive gives these laptops the best shock-resistance possible. These Netbooks come as customized laptops and will let you choose from 6 casings with 4 different colors and 6 motif designs.

If you own the ASUS Eee PC 901-W003X Notebook, then you will be one of the very first proud users of the new Intel Atom CPU. If you are wondering how efficient this technology really is, then get ready to be astounded, because you can run these customized laptops continuously for up to eight hours with just one battery charge.

The Eee PC 901 Customized Laptops are designed to be user-friendly, which is very evident from the re-designed keyboard and touchpad. This touchpad employs two distinct mouse buttons and also facilitates gesture control. You can now turn off the display, scroll through different screen resolutions, switch between power-saving modes, and even launch Skype, all with the touch of a button, thanks to the new quick launch buttons!

Moreover, these customized laptops will also let you work on both Windows XP and Linux operating systems. If you work on Linux you will get 20 GB of solid-state hard-drive space as opposed to the 12 GB while using Windows XP. You can put in some extra Gigabytes by using your flash drive in the SD card slot. With the Wi-Fi 802.11n wireless high speed connectivity, you can connect to the internet six times faster than the previous Wi-Fi 802.11g.

So, what are you waiting for?