GOOGLELAPTOPDELLHPSONYVAIOTOSHIBAMACPARTNERSTOPDEALSPCLAPTOP

BUYING LAPTOPS
As performance improves and prices continue to go down, laptops
increasingly replace desktop PCs at work. A laptop offers a number
of advantages, particularly portability. Even if your business doesn't
call for much travel, you can take all of your data with you on a daily
commute or just down the hall for a presentation.

Laptops recently made a big leap forward with Intel's introduction of
its Centrino Duo platform. Intel's new dual-core mobile processors
promise better battery life and improved performance, especially for
busy multitasking professionals. You might even make it from New
York to L.A. on a single battery charge. AMD is also readying its dual-
core mobile platform; 2008 promises to be a big year for laptops.

Most of today's notebooks, including both single- and dual-core
machines, are just as capable as a basic business-desktop PC and
require much less desk space. The best business laptops combine
portability, performance, battery life, and integrated wireless
networking.

Why do I need a laptop?What should I look for?
Should I buy a laptop or a desktop PC?

Before we discuss what to look for in a business laptop, you should
figure out whether you need a laptop at all. Desktop PCs typically
cost hundreds of dollars less than laptops, and if you're able to do all
of your business comfortably from one location, you need not shell
out extra cash for a portable form factor.

What advantages does a laptop offer?
A portable computer provides access to your files and applications
wherever you are--every corner of the world becomes an extension of
your office. Riding the train or sitting in an airport, you can be just as
productive as if you were sitting in your desk chair.

Laptops mix business and pleasure
Your laptop can handle much more than just e-mail, spreadsheets,
and word processing. Here are a few of the roles a laptop can fill:
·        Presentation maker: Display your PowerPoint deck anywhere,
anytime.
·        DVD player: Whether you're waiting in the terminal or on the
plane itself, watching a movie makes flying much more entertaining.
·        Gaming machine: The most powerful business laptops are
primed for gaming on the go.
·        Jukebox: Invest in Internet radio, a CD drive, and a big hard
drive for MP3s, and you'll never be without your music collection.
What are the disadvantages to using a laptop?
On top of the premium price tag, there are a few other drawbacks to
buying a laptop rather than a desktop PC. For one, laptops are not
as easy or inexpensive to upgrade as their desktop brethren. While
it's relatively simple to add a bigger hard drive or a DVD burner to a
desktop, on a laptop, the operation can be more expensive, more
complicated, or both. Here are a few other limitations to note:
·        You'll be working on a smaller keyboard, looking at a smaller
screen, probably sitting in a less-than-ergonomic position.
·        You'll have to become conscious of battery life, an issue the
desktop PC user doesn't have to worry about.
·        You'll need a separate network hub and a backup solution;
laptops aren't optimized for those functions.

What can I expect to pay for a laptop?
There's a laptop for every class of business user. Currently, the least-
expensive and least-sophisticated laptops start at $600 to $700. The
smallest and lightest laptops can run to $2,000 and beyond. Very
roughly, laptops cost about twice as much as their desktop
counterparts. So all things considered, you should expect to pay
between $1,000 and $1,500 for a nicely outfitted business laptop.

Are there hidden, recurring, or long-term costs of owning a laptop?
Because a laptop is likely to log many more miles than a desktop
PC, it's inherently more vulnerable to wear and tear. You'll be
susceptible to ailments such as worn-out hinges, broken keys,
busted screens, and mangled optical drives. In the past, nearly all
business laptops came with a standard three-year warranty on parts
and labor; these days, some models include only a one-year
warranty, with the option to purchase an upgrade. Read your warranty
information carefully before you make a purchase.

Processor:
Intel's Pentium M, AMD's Turion 64, and Apple's PowerPC G4
processor offer business users the best balance between
performance power, battery life, and weight. For less demanding
computing, an Intel Celeron or an AMD Sempron processor will do
the trick.
Bare minimum: Regardless of what kind of processor you decide on,
you'll need at least 1.73GHz of processing speed.

Memory:
You'll want enough memory to run a few applications at a time. The
more memory you buy up front, the longer your laptop will be able to
handle current (and future) applications.
Bare minimum: 512MB.

Video card:
For most business users, video memory is one area where you can
afford to cut corners. Unless your system will be doubling as a
gaming machine, you don't need to shell out extra money for a high-
end card with its own memory.
Bare minimum: An integrated graphics card that shares memory with
the system chipset.

Hard drive:
E-mail archives, spreadsheets, and Word documents add up. If you
plan to carry music and video on your system, consider 80GB or
more.
Bare minimum: 60GB, 5,400rpm.

Optical drive:
The least-expensive laptops come with fixed drives that cannot be
removed. A swappable drive bay offers more flexibility: you can
easily pull out a CD-ROM drive and swap in a combo DVD/CD-RW
drive (or even a second battery).
Bare minimum: If you're totally indifferent to the prospect of mobile
movie watching, a CD-ROM drive will get the job done. But we
strongly recommend upgrading to a CD-RW/DVD combo drive,
which will let you burn CDs and watch DVDs.

Screen size:
Depending on the type of work you do, you'll want to make sure your
screen fits the job. Graphics and spreadsheet tasks call for larger
screens, while e-mail requires very little space.
Bare minimum: 12-inch display.

Weight:
A few ounces here, a few ounces there--carry your laptop around the
airport for an afternoon, and it all adds up. You may be tempted to
get a larger notebook that seemingly offers more bang for the buck,
but trust us: for the business user, less is more.
Ideal range: 4 to 6 pounds.

Battery:
Laptop batteries don't last as long as they should. Even the best-
performing systems top out at about six hours, and most last half as
long. Read more about laptop battery options.
Bare minimum: One lithium-ion primary battery.

Networking:
Today's business demands online connectivity. All laptops come with
an Ethernet connection, and almost all come with built-in wireless
connectivity. You'll want both. If work takes you away from both office
and hot spot, you can buy a laptop with an integrated WWAN card,
which connects to a cellular data network--but that feature can be
quite costly.
Bare minimum: Ethernet LAN connection and integrated wireless (a.
k.a. Wi-Fi) card. This top rated guide was created by J.JAFFEE

Home users are increasingly turning to notebooks as second or third
PCs for the home. Notebooks can offer similar performance and
features to those of a desktop PC, but they can be easily moved from
room to room. Two types of notebooks are suitable for home users:
mainstream notebooks and desktop replacements.

KEY FEATURES:
Mobile Celeron, Pentium 4-M, or desktop (Pentium 4) processors
At least 128MB of memory
Large hard drive for storing digital photos and video
14-inch display or larger
Fixed or swappable CD-RW and/or DVD drives
Wired and wireless networking
External keyboard and mouse
Microsoft Windows XP Home
Microsoft Works Suite

Student
Students and others on a tight budget should look for a laptop that
delivers the most bang for the buck. In particular, students need a
notebook that is small and light enough to lug back and forth across
campus but rugged enough to withstand bouncing around in a
backpack.

KEY FEATURES:
Mobile Celeron, Pentium 4-M, desktop Pentium 4, or PowerPC G4
processors
At least 256MB of memory
Big hard drive to hold all those MP3s
CD-RW drive for burning audio CDs
Wired and wireless networking for network-equipped classrooms
and dorm rooms
Microsoft Windows XP Home or Apple Mac OS X
Microsoft Office XP Standard Edition or Office X for Mac OS
Back to top
Frequent flier
If you spend a lot of time on the road, size and weight are the two
most critical factors in choosing a new notebook--even if it means
sacrificing a little on performance and features. The smallest and
lightest notebooks, ultraportables, weigh less than four pounds and
are no thicker than a spiral-bound notebook.

KEY FEATURES:
Pentium III-M processors
At least 128MB of memory
A 12-inch display
Wired and wireless networking
Extra battery for those cross-country flights
Media slice or external USB CD-RW/DVD drive
Port replicator for the desk
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Office XP Professional Edition
Back to top
Business power user
If you rely on the same notebook at work, at home, and on the road,
you need a well-balanced system. And it has to deliver the
performance to keep up with a wide range of applications. A thin-and-
light is just the ticket.

KEY FEATURES:
Intel Pentium M processor
256MB of memory
Midsized hard drive
A 14-inch display
Swappable, combination CD-RW/DVD drive
Wired and wireless networking
Extra battery
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Office XP Professional

Multimedia author or gamer
If you demand more from a notebook, you'll need a true desktop
replacement. Whether you're designing a Web site, editing home
movies, or mowing down aliens, your notebook will demand a
powerful processor, plenty of memory, great graphics, and a healthy
hard drive.

KEY FEATURES:
Fastest Pentium M, Pentium 4-M or desktop P4, or PowerPC G4
processors

512MB to 1GB of memory
A 15-inch display or larger
Advanced graphics accelerator with 32MB or 64MB of its own
memory

The largest and fastest hard drive available
Swappable CD-RW and DVD recordable drives
Multimedia connectors, such as S-Video, FireWire, S/PDIF
External keyboard and mouse
Microsoft Windows XP Home or Professional, or Apple Mac OS X
Microsoft Office XP Premium, Adobe Photoshop

Laptop software.

Most laptops include the basic
operating system already installed on the laptop. If you
want productivity, laptop virus protection and financial
application software (like MS Office / Quicken, Norton
Anti-Virus), it’s normally sold separately. However, some
laptop manufacturers are now including software bundle
options. For example, Macs come with some productivity
software and some include great multimedia applications
like Front Row. Additionally, some Windows-based
laptops come with Media Center Edition (MCE), a
version of Windows XP with an integrated interface for
multimedia and entertainment applications like TV,
videos, photos, and music. Though productivity software
you manually install on your laptop is a necessity in most
cases for business users, more and more laptop users
are finding free online desktop applications which are
available via powerful search engines which empower the
user with useful applications such as fully featured word
processors and sophisticated spreadsheets.

Standard Laptop vs. Custom Configured Laptops
Most laptops are available in a basic standard
configuration which is designed to appeal to the average
customers needs. These laptops are normally the least
expensive giving you the basics to get started.
Additionally, many laptop companies will allow you to
configure your laptop when ordering. For instance, based
on your needs, you could increase the laptop memory
from 512 MB to 1GB or the hard drive space from 60 GB
to 80 GB while placing your laptop order.

Quality – Performance – Warranties & Customer
Satisfaction

Laptop support and a laptop warranty are definitely a
must. Some companies will give you a warranty upfront
and include email / live support for technical and general
issues. Other companies will give you the option to
purchase a warranty if needed. Whatever laptop you buy,
be sure you are covered with a laptop warranty

see the 5 star Apple Macbook Laptop Guide

TODAY'S SMART
BUYER Tip!
Our Site is
updated hourly.
Visit us daily to
get the best deals!

The PMBBAY.COM
Top 10 Laptops

Based on Quality, Performance and
Customer Satisfaction!

1.        Apple Macbook Pro 15”
2.        Dell Inspiron E1505/ 1720
3.        Lenovo Thinkpad R61
4.        Toshiba Satellite x205 / A135
5.        Sony Vaio VGN
6.        Acer Aspire As5610
7.        HP Pavilion HDX / dv9500t
8.        Dell XPS M1330
9.        Gateway E-475M
10.      Lenovo Thinkpad X61

Want to buy a LAPTOP?

Read the top guide on
LAPTOPS and FIND
WHAT
YOU'RE
LOOKING
FOR!

Dell Laptop Toshiba Laptop Sony Vaio Laptop Acer
Laptop Apple Laptop HP Laptop Lenovo Laptop Ibm
Laptop Gateway laptop