Special laptoppy issues
In addition to all the regular hardware, you’ll need to consider the following
five items when choosing a laptop:
- Weight
- Size
- Display size
- Battery life
- Battery type
Weight. Nearly all laptops sold today fall in the range of 4 to 7 pounds. The
heavier laptops have more features. The lighter models may have fewer features
or merely more advanced features, but they’re generally more expensive.
You pay more for light weight, but oddly enough you pay more for extra
weight too, thanks to the added features.
Size. Most laptops are less than 1 inch thick and about as tall and wide as a
small coffee table book. They could get smaller than that, but there is a limit
based on the size of the keyboard and the size of the display. Speaking of
which. . . .
Display. Recently, manufacturers have discovered that people love larger
LCD displays on a laptop — despite the larger display adding to the laptop’s
size and weight. For a laptop being used at one location and only rarely going
on the road, a huge display is wonderful. But if you want portability, and a
longer battery life, consider a smaller display.
Battery life. Despite the claims on the brochure, most PC laptops last anywhere
from two to three hours unplugged. They last even less if you do a lot
with the laptop, which means lots of disk access and networking and stuff
that requires copious amounts of electricity.
Battery type. There are many types of batteries, but what you want in your
laptop is a Lithium-Ion battery. You do not want a Nickel-Cadmium or “NiCad”
battery. The Lithium-Ion batteries can be recharged at any time and don’t
have the “memory” problem of NiCads. They also last longer and keep a more
potent charge longer.
- There’s nothing wrong with buying a 7-pound laptop that has all the features
you need.
- Refer to Chapter 8 for more information on battery types and the
memory problem.
 Stuff that’s important to the overall weight of the laptop — the power
brick and cord, extra batteries, disks, manuals, and so on — are not
included with the basic tonnage calculation. Keep that in mind if weight
is important to you.
 Larger LCDs are sweet, but they use up battery power more quickly and
they add to the system’s overall bulk and weight.
- The larger displays on a laptop are designed to be in the same presentation
ratio as a DVD movie. Coincidence?
- A popular trick used to make the battery life seem longer is to specify
the time used by two batteries. With some laptops, you can swap a
drained battery with a fresh one, thereby extending your portable time.
While there’s nothing wrong with that trick, the extended battery time
should not be used for comparison.
 Avoid any so-called laptop computer that does not run off of batteries.
Shun it! Point, scream, and run away!
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