Laptop Special: Getting That Perfect Laptop

When Ramesh Ramanathan decided to buy a notebook, he was totally confused
which one to buy and moreover he does not understand the fancy processor code
names like Merom, Taylor or Yonah. He checked the nearby retailer and was too
carried away by rosy sales talk and bought a machine the sales man recommended.
But only after months of using it, Ramanathan realized that he had lots of
better options for the same price and was not satisfied with his notebook. Many
consumers go through this ordeal, mainly because of the ever-changing technology
landscape in IT where obsolescence happens almost every quarter.

Notebook buying has become very tricky mainly because of the plethora of
processors from chip companies like Intel and AMD. Unlike a desktop, a
notebook's hallmark is mobility. So mobility is the starting point in any
notebook buying decision. When one looks at mobility, three things are to be
factored in-battery life, connectivity options and weight. Quips R Manikandan,
general manager, sales and marketing (IT division), LG Electronics India,
“With the advent of Wi-Fi connectivity, mobility has became an important
parameter in notebooks. Mobility is best defined by thinness, lightness, design,
extended battery back up and enhanced connectivity. While thinness and lightness
are a personal choice, battery back up enables longer usability when one is
travelling.”

For the enterprise user, the most important value a notebook should offer is
high productivity. Built-in security, high-end processor and memory, battery
life, wireless connectivity, versatile mobility features and low cost of
ownership are absolutely essential in an enterprise user's notebook. Other
factors such as weight and screen size are subjective. On the other hand, a home
user should identify high-end graphics, processor, memory, disk capacity, combo
drives and reliability as key buying factors when purchasing a notebook.

The home user must be able to access high entertainment features and have a
worry-free computing experience. Reflecting on this, Manish Gupta, GM,
Notebooks, Lenovo India says, “Features that one can look forward to in a
notebook are combo multimedia, integrated TV-tuner cards and enhanced wireless
connectivity. We are addressing each of these attributes in our ThinkPad range
and Lenovo 3000 consumer notebook range.”

Notebook Categories

There are four major categories of notebooks-budget or entry level,
mid-end (which has most of enterprise class features), high-end and ultra
portables. The budget notebook typically starts at sub Rs 30K. For instance, the
Sahara L1 notebook costs just about Rs 28K and comes with a Celeron 1.4 GHz
processor. A Pentium M based machine will cost around Rs 40K and budget Core
Duo's Rs 50K. The biggest catch in most of the budget notebooks is that it
does not come with Windows XP. The mid-end notebooks, which start at Rs 50K and
go upward to Rs 70K, is more aimed at the enterprise user. The processors can
range from Intel Core Solo, Core Duo, Core 2 Duo and AMD Turion 64x2. The
differentiating factor here is it comes pre-loaded with Windows XP and other
security features like TPM (trusted platform module), finger print reader etc.

Meanwhile, a high-end notebook can be categorized as a workhorse, which
churns out huge data intensive apps and multi-tasking. These machines sport
higher versions of processors in terms of clock speeds and have minimum 1GB of
RAM. They also have features like DVD writers and extended battery life. These
machines are for power users and are seen as a desktop replacement.

The ultra portable category is purely based on demanding mobility, from
weight, features and form factor perspective. Any notebook that weighs more than
1.5 kgs and has a screen size of more than 12.1” is not considered as ultra
portable. Mostly, ultra portable arrives at good battery life and small form by
using ultra low voltage (ULV) version of processors, which consumes less power.
The ultra portable segment is a niche market and prices can go up to Rs 1.5 lakh.
Before buying an ultra portable, the buyer should look at all the necessary
features of a high end notebook and ascertain that for a small form, performance
has not be sacrificed.

With all categories of notebook and wide range of technology options
available, the user whether home or enterprise, has to understand the
requirement and go for a notebook that addresses most of the expectations. The
bigger market out there is for budget and mid-end notebooks, which command a
bigger market share. Given that, the buyer should always look at more features
and a competitive pricing. According to industry analysts, anybody planning to
buy a notebook should look at different models and do a comparative analysis and
pick the best one that suits the requirements.

Shrikanth G

shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in