The Right Laptop... Picking your new mobile friend.

Picking the right laptop, Things to consider.

Having owned many laptops, I have had many different models, brands, and sizes. I thought I would share my experiences a little and give a little insight into things that may help you in picking your next laptop.

Dell: I have owned several models over the years, from slim note, ultra-portable 12 inch Latitude models up to the Precision workstation behemoth models at almost a whopping 16 inches. I have always had excellent experiences with Dell products, I have 3 Dell desktops at home, They are easy to work on, they are great to work with and parts for Dell business class models are readily available in case a repair is needed. Ease of repairs are another reason for my liking for Dell. They have always had a sturdy build feel to them, and I have liked the backlit Dell keyboards for years.

HP: I currently own an HP, I used to own the Smaller 12 inch version of my current laptop, I now have the 14” version, and I really took a liking to the large mousepad and how easy it was to use. I also took a great liking to the new style keyboard layout on these series of Elitebooks and Probooks. There are some things from the Dell’s that I am used to such as the backlit keyboard and the ease of simple repairs missing. I have however put aside my love for the backlit keyboard for the ease of a better feeling keyboard and easier to use mousepad.

Lenovo: I have only ever owned one Lenovo, though I have worked on many. It was a good laptop, I can’t say I liked the keyboard that most people who have owned or used lenovos ( IBM’s ) have lauded over for years. They have actually changed the old style keyboard that so many love and moved on to what is known as a chiclet style keyboard. I have not heard the rave reviews over the chiclet style keyboard as the original style keyboard. They also did not have a backlit keyboard, but like the HP had a small nightlight at the top of the LCD screen that shines down on the keyboard. While I consider this a “cute” feature, some may like it. Lenovo Thinkpad, like the HP Elitebook and Dell is a very solid, well built laptop, but ease of repair is all but lost on Lenovo, I have always found them difficult to work on and difficult to find parts for.

Apple: Apple has good, solid laptops. There are differences from Windows based laptops, starting with OS and going all the way to connections, i.e. Firewire, thunderbolt, mini display port. I briefly had a macbook air. It was nice, but I was afraid that was going to get broken too easily. I currently own a 2008 model black macbook A1181. The black version is like the rainbow unicorn of apples. While it is far outdated by apple standards, I have loaded Windows 10 on it and it still runs like a champ. That would be my only personal drawback to Apple, they outdate and stop support for equipment that can still be used by today’s standards of a basic computer and they are also not easy when it comes to repairs.

Each of these brands that I have owned, I have had the privilege of being able to test, try out and play with the units before becoming the owner of. Sometimes the one I wanted was a clear choice, based on many different factors. Some had the processor speed I was looking for, some had the RAM capacity I needed, some had the better video that I could use for moderate mobile gaming.

There are so many factors to take into account while picking your next laptop. Screen size, portability, webcam, no webcam, keyboard feel, upgradeability, and for some people, it’s as simple as coming down to design and what color it is, Our helpful staff at PCReto of Alexandria are here to help you go through all of the different models to help you find the right fit at the right price.