What Men Look for in a Laptop
The trend nowadays is for most men to opt for a laptop over a desktop PC. It is not only the elite executive or the insurance salesman who spends his days on the road, who has a laptop. This tendency became the norm halfway through the year 2005, with laptop sales consistently exceeding desktop purchases, and it shows no signs of abating.
However, caution must be exercised. Buying a laptop is not as simple as going online or into a brick-and-mortar shop and getting the most expensive make. There is a lot of competition between laptop manufacturers. This results in many lower-priced items being top of the range. But it also allows manufacturers to release sub-standard laptops.
Fortunately, most men are fairly clued up on computer specifications, and unlikely to be fleeced. We take a look at what men expect in a laptop.
Operating System
The majority of laptops you will find in electronics and office supply stores have been preloaded with an operating system such as Windows XP Home. However, the home operating system lacks many of the features found in the business version. Although it is perfectly capable of performing many actions, it nevertheless lacks certain features that acquire greater significance as you move up the career ladder or get to know systems better.
The IT manager who determines the specs for laptops in the office place will mostly limit these to management levels where incumbents are expected to get home after a late afternoon or early evening meeting and prepare a board presentation or type up a report for the next day. Additionally, all these laptops must be incorporated into the company server. This may mean having to upgrade hardware with the business operating systems and also entail purchasing Vista Business or Windows XP Professional licenses.
CPU
A CPU that lacks power will result in long delays to fully boot up, have a short battery life, and cannot cope with all the apps you require. You want a laptop with a CPU such as Intel’s Core 2 Duo (click here for the best options). Despite being powerful, these CPUs use considerably less energy than a Pentium, which extends battery life. Basically, you are looking for a CPU with 2.0 GHz and higher.
RAM
If you are running a home computer and not using it for gaming, editing photos, or graphics, the standard 1 GB of RAM in most laptops is sufficient for Windows XP installations. However, for business applications, you will need 2 GB of RAM. This will allow you to have several open applications, respond to emails, and conduct internet searches all at the same time without having to close everything else.
Other Features
With a Windows Vista operating system, adequate video performance requires a video card with 256 MB of RAM. Laptop manufacturers have a strange tendency to limit the number of USB ports. Insist on several USB, DVI, VGA, parallel, and serial ports, as well as PC Card slots.
Opt for a 12-inch screen. Anything larger will be heavier and impractical to carry, take onboard a flight, open in a crowded meeting room, or have inspected. You can connect it to a 22-inch widescreen in your office via the correct port.
You need an integrated 802.11g wireless for WIFI and integrated Bluetooth for your handheld device. Look for 12-cell batteries for good battery life, especially if you travel a lot.
Allow yourself a bit of time to find the perfect laptop. It will be worth it in the long run.
