What type of laptop do you need?

Now that you’ve decided to go ahead and buy a laptop, deciding on one is the next hurdle. When you go out to buy a laptop, the first question that you need to ask is "what kind of a laptop would meet my needs?" They come in different shapes and sizes, each with its own set of merits and demerits.

Based on size and use, laptops are categorised into four main groups as follows:

While ultra-portable laptops are easy to carry, they also have smaller keyboards and displays, fewer features, and have lower performance levels compared to other laptops. On the other hand, desktop replacement laptops are heavy and take up more space. However, they offer better performance, almost equivalent to that of a desktop PC. Hence, you need to think about what's ideal for you — computing power, travel convenience, sleek and stylish design, or lower price. Decide accordingly after thoroughly examining along these lines. 

The smallest and lightest among laptops, ultra-portables are meant for frequent travellers who need to have their PC with them all the time. For better portability and greater ease of use, you need to compromise in areas of performance and some other features and settle for a smaller screen and touch pad. Also, ultra-portables have the best-in-class battery backup — a must have for the wanderer. Some even have a battery backup of almost 18 hours with emerging technologies.

The hidden cost is, however, the heavy price tag — almost 2–3 times that of mainstream laptops. Eventually, it depends on how important price is to you, when weighed against comfort.

• Some of the key highlights of ultra-portables are:
• Slim and light weight
• Display ranges from 7 to 11 inches
• Low-power consumption processors such as the Intel Atom or the AMD Mobile Athlon / Sempron
• Fewer ports and connections
• 60 GB to 120 GB hard drive (SSD options also coming in some)
• May lack an internal optical drive

A light-weight laptop is an effective balance between portability, performance and features. Light-weight laptops have mobile processors (like Intel Centrino / Pentium Mobile) and configurations that deliver sufficient power to manage your work easily. Unlike ultra-portables, most lightweight laptops have larger keyboards and displays and offer larger hard disk drives. As far as cost is involved, these are more expensive than the heavier mainstream laptops. However, they provide maximum productivity with a portable form factor. This is the best choice if you require performance and need to travel frequently for work.

Some of the key defining features of lightweight laptops are:

• Portability and light weight
• Display ranges from 11 to 15.4 inches
• Mobile processors up to 2.4 GHz
• Come with built-in WiFi and Bluetooth (optional in some)
• 80 to 160 GB hard drive options available
• Price ranges from Rs. 60,000 to 1,20,000.
• Battery backup up to 4 hours with 9 batteries.

Mainstream laptops are mid-size laptops that are good in terms of performance. They come at a higher price too. These laptops are not specialised for providing better portability, but are still better than desktop replacements. A mainstream laptop is well suited for people with all-round computing needs, ranging from basic computing and online communication, to entertainment. These laptops offer more value for the buck with their varied applications and uses. Nevertheless, they are not well suited for regular travellers.

• Some of the key defining features of mainstream laptops are:
• Larger and bulkier
• Display ranges from 13.3 to 15.4 inches
• Feature full-size keyboards and touch pads
• High performance single- and multi-core processors
• 120 to 320 GB hard drive options available
• DVD burner/reader, memory card reader, LAN, modem, WiFi and Bluetooth
• Smaller battery backup of 2 to 3 hours

4. Desktop Replacements (Power Laptops)

The biggest and the bulkiest among laptops are those meant for desktop replacement. These are designed to deliver the power and features that a desktop PC provides, but in a smaller form factor. Normally, desktop replacements are quite bulky and hence are not at all suitable for regular travellers. Desktop replacements offer the best performance, largest screens and keyboards, and the most complete set of features available on a laptop. With much higher configurations compared to other laptops, they can deliver enough power for serious gaming, multimedia authoring, and even high-level digital audio and video content authoring. If you have limited space at home or your office desk, but want higher levels of computing power, then these are your safe bet.

Some of the key defining features of desktop replacements are:

• Heavier than most laptops
• Display ranges from 15 to 19 inches
• Full-size keyboards with dedicated numeric keys and touch pads
• High performance multi-core processors
• Dedicated high-performance video and audio solutions
• 160 to 500 GB hard drive options available with dual HDD as an option.
• DVD burner/reader, memory card reader, LAN, modem, WiFi and Bluetooth
• Maximum number of ports available
• Least battery backup of 30-40 minutes for emergency.