What laptop should I buy in 2008?

7 September 2008

What laptop should I buy in 2008?

Posted by Jerry Kidd under: Apple Information; Buying Technology Tools; How to... .

I have received a lot of questions lately revolving around which computer or laptop should I buy. Since I do have an opinion on this, I thought I’d devote this week’s posting to that topic!

To start with, let’s settle the Apple vs. PC debate. I have both a PC laptop and an Apple MacBook Pro. I love them both and they both are fabulous machines. The Apple, however, is also a PC. By that I mean that it also contains a fully functional copy of Microsoft XP Professional, and I can switch between the Mac environment and the XP environment simply by clicking on an icon. In effect, I have two complete computers inside of one laptop case. Why would I want that? Well, the Mac is the superior operating system when it comes to things like working with graphics and video given that it has a built in camera (The iSight) and microphone. Unfortunately, I still need to run XP in order to access our MLS.

There was some extra expense involved in buying a Mac over a PC, and I also had to buy and install VMWare Fusion (the software that runs XP in a virtual environment) and of course a copy of XP. Then there was the process of installing VMWare and then installing XP and getting it all working. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all that hard to do, but unless you have installed computer operating systems before you might want to hire this project out!

Most of the time when I am running the MacBook Pro it is in the Mac environment. I do this because I am still learning the Mac. I have spent all of “computing life” in the Microsoft world, so I have had to unlearn a few things and learn some others. When I need Windows, I just click on the VMWare icon on my desktop and Windows XP opens up with all of the features and programs (and problems ) of Windows right at hand. But, I prefer to work in the Mac environment because it is a joy to use because of the elegant design, ease of use and the fact that the software and the hardware are actually designed to work with each other. PC software has to work with a wide variety of different hardware environments and so it does not always play nicely. As we all know from experience.

My other mainstay computer is my nearly 3 year old Toshiba R-15 Convertible laptop. This machine is a pure Windows machine and has the benefit of being a laptop that can convert to being a Tablet PC when needed. Why is that important? Given that most of the time that I am using the machine I am using a keyboard…I am so used to typing that I actually prefer typing to handwriting. But, there are those times when I want to sketch something or have some one sign a WinForms contract right on the screen. That’s where the convertible feature comes in handy. Well, why not just use a pure Tablet computer you might ask? See my remarks about the keyboard above. Yes, you can purchase outboard keyboards to use with a tablet, but that is another expense and another thing to pack, carry, connect, disconnect and so on. Also, the Tablet’s typically do not come with a CDR/DVDR drive. So every time I need to install a program or burn something to CD, I have to use an external drive. Which is another expense. The final reason that I prefer a Convertible laptop to a Tablet PC is one of economics.

There are several name brand manufacturers producing Convertible laptops, Lenovo, Dell, Gateway, Toshiba and Fujitsu. This fosters competition and prices that are competitive. It also gives you choices in features.

So, having laid the form factor question to rest, how should I equip a laptop? What about the operating system? What features should I buy? All good questions and I do have an opinion on each of those!

To start with, if you want tablet functionality, either pure or convertible, you have to stay with the PC. Apple doesn’t have one…yet.

So, is it Vista or XP then? My preference would be to get the PC equipped with XP Professional or Tablet Edition. That is probably not going to be possible since Microsoft discontinued selling XP on June 30th of this year. Retailers are permitted to sell their existing stock of XP but once that is exhausted they will only be able to sell Vista.

Vista comes in 6 flavors ranging from stay away from it, to this is the one that you probably want. Since you are operating a business, then you need to opt for business class software. In this case, it’s the choice between Vista Ultimate and Vista Business. If you get a Tablet or a convertible you will get Ultimate. If you get a plain laptop, then be sure to get Vista Business and you’ll have all of the functionality you need to connect to corporate servers and do your job.

The Hardware is where there is a lot of confusion. Don’t be fooled by the ads for sub $500 laptops. These machines can barely boot up Vista and are so underpowered that they bring a new meaning to the term slow. Better to opt for a machine that has the following hardware:

An Intel Core Two Duo Processor – get the fastest that you can afford
2 Gigs of Random Access Memory (RAM) This is the minimum for a satisfactory experience with Vista. More is better!
250 Gigabytes hard drive or bigger! A 7,200 RPM hard drive is better, but a 10,000 RPM drive is best
256 MB Video card, 512 MB is better. This will allow the computer to display superb graphics and video
A built in video camera and microphone so that you van make Skype calls and send video emails
Built-in CDR/DVDR drive. This drive will both play and burn CDs and DVDs
Built-in WiFi so that you can work from Starbucks or any other WiFi enabled hot spot
Built in Bluetooth so that you can communicate with your phone and other Bluetooth accessories like printers and headsets.
Lots of USB 2.0 Ports. At least 3, more is better.
A PCI Express slot so that you can add the popular AirCards that will give your PC access to the Internet when WiFi is not available and cellular is.

You can expect to pay around $3000 to $3500 for such a machine, but you should be happy with its performance over its 3-4 year lifespan.

If I were in the market, I would visit all of the major manufacturers web sites and take a look at what they have, keeping in mind the specs I detailed above. Once I had found a few models that I was comparing I would then visit a shopping site like MySimon.com to see who had the best prices, and from there make my choice.

If you spend the time up front to learn about what is available, then you can expect satisfaction when you finally make the purchase.

As stated above, this is my opinion. Yours may be different!

Tweet this!

0 Do you like this post? Click here

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

13 Comments so far...

used computer Says:

17 September 2008 at 7:46 am.

If you really are an environment concious person then you should either go for the new recyclable ones introduced in the market…or what I would suggest would be to buy off-lease or refurbished pieces that suit you !

Overpriced Says:

18 September 2008 at 8:36 pm.

You price range is very high here. You can actually get some very nice laptops in the $1000 range. Even a MacBook Pro is only about $2000. I wouldn’t suggest paying $3000 for a laptop that will be obsolete in 3 years.

Black Friday | RealtyTechBytes.com Says:

23 November 2008 at 7:44 pm.

[...] are entirely subjective. But, here are a few posts that will help you choose a new computer: http://realtytechbytes.com/what-laptop-should-i-buy-in-2008/ and [...]

How To Buy A Laptop Computer Says:

5 December 2008 at 6:09 pm.

[...] To Buy A Laptop Computer What laptop should I buy in 2008 RealtyTechBytescom I found some cool stuff here: What laptop should I buy in 2008 [...]

How To Buy A Laptop Computer Says:

16 January 2009 at 5:30 pm.

[...] To Buy A Laptop Computer What laptop should I buy in 2008 RealtyTechBytescom More infos are available here: What laptop should I buy in 2008 [...]

Happy Birthday to RealtyTechBytes! | RealtyTechBytes.com Says:

18 January 2009 at 8:09 pm.

[...] Not a week goes by that someone doesn’t ask me what computer they should buy, so this post may be helpful. http://realtytechbytes.com/what-laptop-should-i-buy-in-2008 [...]

top gambling list Says:

16 February 2009 at 2:01 am.

I want to buy a laptop and my budget is Rs,40,000, I am looking for a good brand, but all seems to be nice. Could you suggest me which one would be better among Dell, compaq and lenovo and sony, coz these are among the most popular ones.

Jerry Kidd Says:

16 February 2009 at 9:55 pm.

I am not familiar with your currency, sorry, so I have no idea of how to advise you. I will say that almost any of the brands you specify will be good buys. Be sure to get as much RAM (memory) as you can afford. After that get the biggest hard drive. Those two areas are the ones that make the biggest difference in user satisfaction.

How To Buy A Laptop Computer Says:

27 February 2009 at 11:45 pm.

[...] XP Pro Cheap laptops Reviews NetBooks NoteBooks Buy at Cheap Price is also a nice resource.What laptop should I buy in 2008 RealtyTechBytescom What laptop should I buy in 2008 RealtyTechBytescom is also a nice [...]

Top Ten Realtor® Tech Tools | RealtyTechBytes.com Says:

12 April 2009 at 6:57 pm.

[...] Today’s laptop computers can pack the punch of a desktop computer and can do so very affordably. A quick check of the ad flyers in the Sunday papers turns up a number of great laptops under $2,000.00. For information on what to look for, see my previous article http://realtytechbytes.com/what-laptop-should-i-buy-in-2008/. [...]

Kym Says:

20 June 2009 at 5:58 pm.

I am after a laptop to run a small business. I will be doing the tax invoicing, ordering and Profit & Loss. It will run on MYOB. Do I really need Vista I would much rather use XP? Is 1GB enough to run this.

Jerry Kidd Says:

20 June 2009 at 6:59 pm.

You can probably still find XP installed on Laptops if you buy online from companies like Dell or HP, but you may have to do some digging around on their websites to find the option.

I am firm believer in getting as much RAM as you can afford and I also believe that Windows runs much better with at least 2 Gigs of RAM. MYOB should run just fine on an XP laptop with 2 gigs of RAM but to be sure, check with the folks at MYOB.