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Laptops account for about 25 percent of sales. It's not hard to
understand why. Small screens and cramped keyboards have been
replaced by bigger, crisper displays and more usable key
layouts. Processors have caught up in speed, and innovative new
processors provide some real advantages. Fast CD and DVD
recording drives are common, as are ample hard drives. And a
growing interest in wireless computing plays to the laptop's
main strength: its portability. A laptop is the most convenient
way to take full advantage of the growing availability of
high-speed wireless Internet access at airports, schools,
hotels, and even restaurants and coffee shops.
The Centrino technology that's central to Intel's newest laptop
processors has wireless capability built in, and delivers
commendably-long battery life. The thinnest laptops on the
market are less than an inch thick and weigh just 2 to 5 pounds.
To get these light, sleek models, however, you'll have to pay a
premium and make a few sacrifices.
WHAT'S AVAILABLE
Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq (now owned by HP), IBM,
Sony, and Toshiba are the leading Windows laptop brands.
Macintosh laptops are made by Apple. Laptops can be grouped into
several basic configurations:
Budget models. These have slower processors and lower screen
quality than others, but are suitable for routine office work
and home software. Price range: $800 or less.
Workhorse models. These have faster processors and more built-in
devices, so there's less need for external attachments. They're
not lightweight or battery-efficient enough for frequent
travelers. Price range: $1,000 and up.
Slim-and-light models. These are for travelers. They can be less
than an inch thick and weigh as little as 2 or 3 pounds. They
generally require an external drive to read DVDs or burn CDs.
Price range: $1,500 and up.
Tablet-style. These sit in your hands like a clipboard and have
handwriting-recognition software. Some convert to a "normal"
laptop with a keyboard. Price range: $1,800 and up.
IMPORTANT FEATURES
A diskette drive is becoming a rarity in all computers. As an
alternative, you can use a USB memory drive (about $20 and up),
which fits on a keychain and holds as much data as numerous
diskettes. Or you can save files on a writeable CD or camera
memory card. Most laptops have slots that can read one or more
types of memory cards.
Windows laptops generally have a 1.5- to 3.5-GHz processor.
Pentium 4 processors have the higher speed ratings; the new
Pentium M and Celeron M processors have a slower rated speed but
actually perform on a par with other processors. Macintosh Power
PC processors are measured on a different basis altogether. In
short, the different types of processors make direct speed
comparisons difficult. It doesn't pay to try because any type of
processor is likely to deliver all the speed you'll need.
Laptops come with a 40- to 160-gigabyte hard drive and 256
megabytes or more of random access memory (RAM) and can be
upgraded to 1 gigabyte or more.
Today's laptops use a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. In
Consumer Reports tests, batteries provided 2 to 5 hours of
continuous use when running office applications. (Laptops go
into sleep mode when used intermittently, extending the time
between charges.) You can extend battery life somewhat by
dimming the display as you work and by removing PC cards and
turning off wireless devices when they aren't needed. Playing a
DVD movie uses more battery power than usual, but any laptop
should be able to play a movie through to the end.
A laptop's keyboard can be quite different from that of a
desktop computer. The keys themselves may be full-sized
(generally only lightweight models pare them down), but they may
not feel as solid. Some laptops have extra buttons to expedite
your access to e-mail or a Web browser or to control DVD
playback. You can attach an external keyboard, which you may
find easier to use.
A 14- to 15-inch display, measured diagonally, should suit most
people. A few larger models have a 16- or 17-inch display. A
resolution of 1,400x1,050 (SXGA+) pixels (picture elements) or
more is better than 1,024x768 (XGA) for viewing the fine detail
in photographs or video, but may shrink objects on the screen.
You can use settings in Windows to make them larger. Many models
are now offered with a display that has a "glossy" surface
instead of a dull one. Those look better in bright ambient
light, as long as you avoid direct reflections.
Most laptops use a small touch-sensitive pad in place of a
mouse--you slide your finger across the pad to move the cursor.
You can also program the pad to respond to a "tap" as a "click,"
or to scroll as you sweep your index finger along the pad's
right edge. An alternative pointing system uses a
pencil-eraser-sized joystick in the middle of the keyboard. You
can attach an external mouse or trackball if you prefer.
Laptops include at least one PC-card slot for expansion. You
might add a wireless network card or a digital-camera
memory-card reader, for example, if those are not built in. Many
laptops offer a connection for a docking station, a $100 or $200
base that makes it easy to connect an external monitor,
keyboard, mouse, printer, or phone line. Most laptops let you
attach these devices anyway, without the docking station. At
least two USB ports, for easy hookup of, say, a printer, digital
camera, or scanner, is standard. A wired network (Ethernet) port
is common, as is a FireWire port for digital-video transfer.
Many models have a standard or optional internal
wireless-network ("Wi-Fi") adapter. The infrared port found on a
few models can be used to synchronize data wirelessly between
the computer and a personal digital assistant (PDA).
Laptops typically come with less software than desktop
computers, although almost all are bundled with a basic
home-office suite (such as Microsoft Works) and a
personal-finance program. The small speakers built into laptops
often sound tinny, with little bass. Headphones or external
speakers deliver much better sound.
HOW TO CHOOSE
Decide if a laptop is right for you. If you're on a very tight
budget and aren't cramped for space, a desktop computer may
still be OK. Otherwise, consider a laptop.
Windows vs. Macintosh. Many people choose Windows because it's
what they've always used. Apple's iBook will suit you if you're
interested in photo editing, music, video, and other multimedia
applications. Apple computers are also less susceptible to most
viruses and spyware than Windows-based computers. The Apple
PowerBook is relatively expensive as laptops go, however.
Buy à la carte. Dell and Gateway pioneered the notion that every
computer can be tailored to an individual buyer's needs, much
like choosing the options for a car. This configure-to-order
model is now common practice for laptops as well as desktops.
You can also purchase a preconfigured computer off the shelf.
(You can do the same online if you opt for the default choices
of equipment the manufacturer offers.) That's fine if you don't
have very strict requirements for how a laptop is outfitted or
if you want to take advantage of an attractive sale.
Configure-to-order menus show you all the options and let you
see how a change in one affects the overall price. You may
decide to use a less-expensive processor, for example, but spend
more for wireless capability or better graphics.
Configure-to-order will often give you choices you won't get if
you buy off the shelf. And configure-to-order means less chance
of overlooking important details.
Downplay the processor speed. Speed is no longer the be-all of
personal computers. For years, processors have delivered all the
speed most people need. That's still very much the case. Spend
the money on more memory instead. A Pentium 4 processor with a
speed of 2.4 GHz and a Pentium M at 1.4 GHz earned the same
speed score in our tests. The different types of chips now on
the market make direct speed comparisons difficult.
Look closely at warranties and insurance. Get the longest
manufacturer's warranty you can afford; many offer one or two
years above the basic one-year warranty, for a price. If you
intend to travel a lot, buy screen insurance from the
manufacturer. If you take full advantage of the manufacturer's
warranty and insurance, you won't need an extended warranty from
the retailer.
Copyright © 2002-2006 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc.
For the latest information on this and many other products and
services, visit www.ConsumerReports.org.
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