As Black Friday approaches, I start getting a lot of emails about which laptop I would recommend purchasing for a certain friend or loved one. The problem is, the answer could be different depending on what you are using the laptop for. So I decided to do this blog post with things to look for when shopping this Christmas season. I'm not really going to delve into Macs because they are not where my expertise lies. So you Mac people are on your own.

Form is a Factor

The first question I ask is, are they going to be carrying this laptop around a lot or travelling a lot with it? Or are they just going to use it as a home computer and generally keep it sitting on the desk? If you WILL be carrying it around, opt for something LESS than 5 pounds. Trust me, 7 pounds may not sound like much, but carrying that 2 or 3 extra pounds around on your shoulder through an airport or to class can make a huge difference. As a matter of fact, if just browsing the web, and doing light word processing, look at a NetBook.

Horsepower

The days of CPU wars are over, so remember not to get too caught up on GHZ. As a matter of fact, as long as the CPU is not an Atom Processor or a Celeron, it will do 99% of what most people need. The more important thing to look for is FRONT SIDE BUS SPEED (FSB) or it's sometime listed as "System Bus". With this spec, the higher the better, meaning 1333mhz is better than 800mhz. I would sacrifice a a little CPU any day on some extra Front Side Bus speed.

Memory

Random Access Memory or RAM is almost more important than CPU, and is directly related to Front Side Bus speed. Don't buy ANYTHING with less than 4 Gigabytes (GB) of RAM unless it's a NetBook - try for at least 2GB on a NetBook. These days most non-NetBook systems have either DDR2 RAM or DDR3 RAM. As with the Front Side Bus, the higher the better, DDR3 is better than DDR2. Again, I would sacrifice a a little CPU any day on some extra RAM.

Keyboard

On a desktop machine, the keyboard is no big deal, because if you hate it you can replace it. Not so with a laptop, you are stuck with whatever it comes with. Because of this, make sure you look closely at it, and make sure it will work for you. Also, how does it "feel"? Does it feel cheap and flimsy? Chances are if it does - it is. Does it feel roomy or cramped? Are there frequently used buttons in weird places? Also, if opting for a widescreen that won't travel much, try getting a machine with a full number pad on the right like a desktop system. This is nice, but usually only available on systems with a 17" or larger display.

Display

The display is tied pretty closely with form factor obviously. A system with a 17" or larger display is going to be HEAVY. If you need something light, something under 14 or 15 inches would be better. Even lighter is a 8 or 10 inch NetBook, but performance can be an issue with NetBooks.

Hard Drive

Hard drive is less important too these days. Most systems come with at least 320GB of hard disk. That translates into A LOT of video, audio, data, etcetera. I would always sacrifice some hard drive for RAM or BUS Speed.

Backup

Make sure you have a backup plan - whatever you buy. If you only have one computer, I recommend an online backup service like MOZY or CARBONITE. If you have more than one computer that you want to keep files in-sync on - I absolutely LOVE SugarSync. This service lets you keep files synced across several machines, check it out HERE.

Options?

There are lots of little options that can be nice on today's laptops. Here are some of my favorites:

• Backlit Keys - for typing in the dark
• Built-In Webcam
• Mobile Internet Wireless Card - with Sprint or Verizon (in Collier County these are the fastest networks)
• Memory Card Reader - for transferring files from Cameras, Music Players, and Video Cameras

Bottom Line - Money

How much should you spend? Generally, for most people, in the Windows world I think spending more than about $1000 is not really worth it unless you are getting a real "Road Warrior" type of business notebook (like a higher end Dell Latitude or a Lenovo ThinkPad). For a consumer grade device, between $600 and $800 is the sweet spot.

Is it a Looker?

After you look at ALL the different options, don't forget one thing. You have to like the way it looks and feels. After all, it is something you will be stuck looking at hopefully for years to come. That bright pink that you think looks hot now, might grow annoying in a year or so. These things might not sound like a big deal, but they all make a difference down the road.

I hope this small bit of info can help steer you in the right direction this holiday season. Please feel free to comment below or call us if you have any questions.