Photo: Samsung

When choosing a laptop, there are many factors to consider, including memory, hard drive space, operating systems, and extra features. Perhaps one of the most important things to consider, though, is size.

Laptop sizes are determined by screen size, measured diagonally. With the introduction of netbooks, screen sizes range anywhere from seven inches to 17 inches. To aid selection between various sizes, shoppers should consider where the laptop will be used most often. For users who are frequently mobile, purchasing a laptop with a very large screen is not convenient or practical, and makes travelling cumbersome. Similarly, for those who remain in one location the majority of the time, a small laptop screen simply doesn’t make sense.

The bigger the better?

Historically, there’s been a direct ratio between size and features: the larger the laptop, the greater the specifications. That relationship has changed recently, however, as users’ need for mobility continues to eclipse other needs. Manufacturers now produce high-performance laptops in a variety of sizes. For those who want an ultraportable yet fully-featured machine, a 13-inch laptop may prove the best solution. These laptops make no compromises when it comes to performance, and offer similar specifications to their larger, usually more powerful cousins – but do so in much smaller, truly transportable packages.

Small and powerful

Photo: HP

Striking the perfect balance between power and mobility, laptops of this size offer brilliant battery life, and combined with their easy-to-carry, lightweight designs, allow for hours of comfortable productivity. With available hard drive capacity up to 500 GB, up to 8 GB RAM, and the latest Intel Core 2 Duo and Core i3, i5, and i7 processors, 13-inch laptops are more than capable of handling any task thrown their way.

Despite their small size, many 13-inch laptops offer vivid, high-definition screens that are more than capable of suiting the needs of photo or video editors. Powerful video cards, widescreen formats and resolutions that mirror those of HDTVs create an environment ideal for enjoying DVDs on the go.

And of course, 13-inch laptops are equipped with features now considered standard on any mobile PC: powerful optical drives that record to CD, DVD, and even Blu-ray discs in some cases; integrated webcams and microphones for easy video conferencing; wi-fi and Bluetooth for easy networking; and a host of available ports to connect all peripherals and other mobile devices.

Photo: Apple

NetTops are taking the technology world by storm as various manufacturers release their latest entrants into the market.

Net-what?

A blend of the terms ‘internet’ and ‘desktop’, NetTops are small, inexpensive desktop computers that consume very little power. Similar to its netbook cousin, the NetTop is designed for milder computing tasks such as word processing, Internet browsing, and media playback.

NetTops house all central components in one small unit that’s about 25 per cent of the size of a traditional desktop computer. A NetTop is sold without a keyboard, video monitor, or mouse (KVM), allowing manufactures to offer these computers at very economical price points, and allowing consumers to use their own existing KVM setups. Because of their low power consumption, NetTop computers are currently the most energy efficient machines on the market.

Despite their small footprints, NetTops are perfectly capable of handling everyday computer tasks and often come preinstalled with Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X operating systems. Most are offered in numerous configurations to cater to all users. Since they use similar hardware to laptop computers, most NetTops are easily upgradeable should the need arise.

Uses

A NetTop can be the perfect solution for a family looking for an inexpensive general-use computer, or small businesses or retail outlets interested in light-duty computers to handle inventory and point-of-sale operations. NetTops’ small form factor means that they can easily be concealed, making them ideal in locations where space is at a premium or theft is a risk.

As more and more entertainment media becomes digital, many consumers are turning to NetTops to serve as media hubs – so much so that NetTops used in personal media setups are sometimes referred to by tech gurus as home theatre PCs (HTPCs). Perfectly suited to housing and managing digital music libraries, NetTops can also be easily connected to HDTVs and home theatre systems – and their onboard storage can easily be expanded by the use of external hard drives. Easy networking and Internet connectivity means that online movie services can be accessed directly from one’s NetTop and relayed to a TV via HDMI or high-quality composite video ports. With the right adapters and audio cables, NetTops can also serve as receivers for home audio systems.

More expensieve NetTop PCs are sometimes equipped with touch screens, and in the future these machines may have several household applications – such as digital recipe books or online family calendars.

Photo: Apple

Respected research group, Forrester Research, predicts that within the next three years, annual tablet sales will outstrip that of netbooks and desktops both.

2015 it will be settled

Forrester Research has predicted that come 2015, tablet computer sales will account for 23% of all computer sales in the US. This number will exceed the predicted marketshare for netbooks, which will account for 17%, and it will exceed that of desktops, which will account for 18% of the computer marketplace.

Tablets, predicts Forrester research, will overtake netbooks in 2012 and will overtake desktops in 2013, representing a massive flip in the market in a very short three to four years.

Why?

The big question is why Forrester expect this to happen? The general thinking in technology circles is that the current crop of tablets is more in-line with how we use smartphones than the previous crop, which attempted to replicate desktops. This task-based approach to computing is more inline with mobile computing, coupled with burgeoning app stores makes the second roll of the dice for tablets seem like the successful roll.

Who will be the big winners

Assuming tablet computer sales make up that much of the market in the next five years, who do we expect to dominate the market? More specifically, how much of the market can the Apple tablet computer, the iPad, keep considering it pretty much ushered in the current wave of tablet computers, capture?

The iPad has raced out the gates, selling over 2 million iPads in under 2 months. Apple, at its many big-stage press conferences announced they were selling an iPad ‘every three seonds’. But with the early dominance of the Apple tablet computer a string of very capable competitors have emerged, spearheaded by reputable manufacturers and industry figures alike.

Chrome OS and Android OS tablets are in the works, HP, Asus, Samsung, MSI and a bunch of other companies are dedicating significant resources to this market segment. Can they catch up with Apple and, if yes, how much market share will the Apple tablet computer keep at the fringes?

Photo: Acer

iSuppli, the electronics research company that tracks worldwide computer shipping, has announced sales results for 2009. HP retained its position as the number one computer maker in the world, with Dell very nearly falling from second to third and Acer jostling for that number two position.

The list is compiled by adding up the total sales of all desktops, laptops, netbooks and tablet PCs.

The Dell and Acer dance

Dell, whose UK line consists of the Inspiron and XPS in both desktop and laptop form, with Alienware making up its top end range, saw its 2009 worldwide PC shipping drop 9.9% to 38.96 million.

Photo: Acer

Acer, on the other hand, saw the most growth in the PC industry, adding 29% to 2008’s tally to achieve sales of 38.5 million units. Much of this growth is attributable to Acer’s very strong position in the notebooks and netbooks market, with the Acer Aspire One A110 experiencing particularly strong sales in the UK market. According to iSuppli, 80% of Acer’s sales came from the notebook market.

These two figures separate worldwide unit sales number between Dell and Acer by a mere 460,000, meaning unless Dell can stem the tide, Acer is likely to overtake its position as soon as the first quarter of 2010.

HP, Lenovo and Toshiba

Photo: Lenovo

The disturbing thing for Dell is all four of the other top five PC makers experienced growth in 2009. HP, the market leader whose PCs in 2009 made up 19.7% of the market, grew 7.4% in 2009, selling 59.6 million units. The perennial top-seller in the form of the HP Pavilion range continued to rake in big sales for the company. Lenovo and Toshiba rounded out iSuppli’s list, with sales of 24.9 million units and 15.4 million units respectively.

How Dell will stem the tide of continuous weakness in a stronger post-recession market must be wracking the brains of all the higher-ups at the PC giant, while focusing the attention of analysts and onlookers alike on the next iSuppli report. Whether it’s with tablet PCs, netbooks or a completely different strategy, the company needs to throw something and pray it sticks.

Photo: Compaq

Hewlett-Packard revealed the Compaq Airlife 100 on Friday as an alternative to both netbooks and tablets. The device, which is being referred to as a smartbook, combines the vertically integrated software and hardware found in a Smartphone with the form of a micro laptop.

Advantage

Hewlett-Packard is betting the advantages of a simplified user interface combined with touch-screen technology could give it the leg-up on netbooks, while being an alternative to the iPad. The one kilogram (a little over two pounds) smartbook has built-in wi-fi b/g with 3G as an optional extra. Its 10.1-inch touch-screen has an unconfirmed resolution, however a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 512MB of RAM powers the smartbook. The storage consists of 16GB internal storage, 512MB of flash storage and an SD card for expandable storage. Its operating system – and what it derives its smartphone-like capabilities from – is Google’s Android OS.

Limited Distribution

The Compaq Airlife 100 will be available only in Europe and Latin America through distribution partner Telefonica. It appears HP, the largest PC maker in the world, is playing it carefully with its smartbook by testing its product in a small, focused marketplace to see if an international rollout is both viable and warranted.

With variety comes confusion

The increasing variations on mobile computers are to the benefit of manufacturers, for they can distinguish themselves from their competitors. But it may be to the detriment of consumers who may be overwhelmed by the product choice. Shopping for mobile devices has gone from simply choosing a laptop to selecting between laptops, netbooks, tablets and now smartbooks, in a matter of just a few years. The electronics giants are, in innovating, giving themselves the unenviable task of having to educate consumers who are unable to immediately distinguish between mobile device types. Whether Hewlett-Packard can educate consumers, circumvent netbooks, and one-up the iPad with the Compaq Airlife 100, remains to be seen.

Photo: Unknown

Being a student is rough enough as it is, given the challenge of juggling partying, studying and getting enough sleep in-between the two, without having to worry about which computer will be most suitable. It doesn’t help that there’s an enormous range of computers to choose from, along with a long list of manufacturers. We trust this guide will simplify the computer shopping experience so students can get back to what matters most: where and when the next party is happening.

Netbook, Laptop or Desktop

Once, this was easier. You had two options and depending on budget, you were either relegated to a desktop or were fortunate enough to own a laptop. Now, with laptops being priced the way they are, and netbooks squeezing into the market and catching everyone unaware, students are understandably overwhelmed by choice. The short answer to this question is: what will you use it for?

Netbook

Netbooks are sleek and lightweight and their size makes them ideal for cramming into bags with all those heavy textbooks. Netbooks, however, are severely underpowered machines that hang when you attempt to multitask too much and are unable to run resource-intensive apps such as Photoshop. If, however, the bulk of your work will be done in web apps such as Google Apps, you require optimal mobility and your application requirements never stray outside of word processors and media players, these may very well be the category of computers for you.

Laptops

Annual laptop sales in recent years have finally exceeded those of desktop computers, and for good reason. The price of a workhorse laptop has gone through the floor and the comparative convenience is simply undeniable. The emergence of the netbook has made the laptop seem decidedly less portable, but they still fit quite well into a backpack. The beauty of a laptop is that it is the middle ground between a desktop and a netbook – a very capable computer with great mobility. A high-end laptop can run resource-intensive applications like Photoshop and film editing suites without so much as a hiccup, making this the ideal machine for nomadic student who likes having a powerful machine on hand.

Desktops

The desktop, remember that? There was once a time in the not-so- distant past when the desktop was the predominant computer in the workplace and the home. A desktop is advantageous if you are on a shoestring budget and if you enjoy having a computer that can match your needs. Furthermore, the desktop is still the best way to enjoy computer games.

Clarity

For you, the student, it comes down to your academic needs, really. If portability is your number one concern, for note taking during lectures and so forth, netbooks are the route to go. If a balanced offering is what you need, laptops remain king. If processing power and scalability are important to you, desktops are ideal. If we were to assign computers by degrees, engineers would need desktops, commerce students laptops and arts/humanities students netbooks (unless you need Photoshop, which means you’d want to go the laptop route, too).

It doesn’t matter if you call it a netbook, sub-notebook or a minilaptop these are actually small and low costing computers. These are equipped with a number of features which makes it very efficient and useful product. The all new Toshiba NB200-12N (PLL23E-00500DEN) is a recent development of the company and is installed with a number of advanced features. It is a product of the well-known Toshiba NB200 series. The Intel Atom N280 processor provides the actual power to this Toshiba netbook. It is installed with a 1026 MB RAM which can be further extended up to 2 GB. To support all sorts of high resolution programmes this device is fitted with an Intel GMA 950 graphics card.

The clock speed of this netbook is around 1660 MHz which is quite high than normal. The hard disk memory of 250 GB allows you to store all sorts of songs, videos and other data. The 10.1 inch display of this device offers high quality pictures that will simply take your breath away. The Toshiba NB200-12N (PLL23E-00500DEN) is also installed with Bluetooth that will enable you to connect with a number of other Bluetooth enabled devices. It supports networking through various mediums such as Wireless-LAN, Bluetooth and LAN 10/100.

The Microsoft Windows 7 Starter operating system installed in this device is best suited for a netbook. The built in webcam helps you to click pictures whenever you want to. It provides an amazing battery back up of 9 hours at a single stretch which is quite spectacular.

With the Asus Eee PC MK90H Disney you can introduce your child to the world of computing. The device is installed with a number of features and is specially made for kids. The user interface of this device and the whole setup is pretty easy. The web browser application of the device are preloaded with some sought of parental controls so that you can keep a check on your children. This is a stylish netbook and will make a perfect birthday gift for your kid. The stylish pink colour of the device gives it a very trendy look. The processor is the soul of any computer that is why this netbook is installed with a very powerful Intel Atom N270 processor.

This netbook is quite small in size and is equipped with an 8.9 inch display that offers breathtaking clarity. The clock speed of the Asus Eee PC MK90H Disney netbook is around 1600 MHz. The 1024 MB installed in this netbook further enhances the overall performance of the device. It supports networking through LAN 10/100 and Wireless-LAN. This device is also installed with a Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition operating system which is pretty easy to use for children. You kid can even connect a memory card with the netbook as it is installed with a 3 in1 card reader.

The inbuilt webcam of this Asus device enables your kid to video chat without connecting external device. It weighs around 1.1 kg which is quite low for a netbook. The 2 Cell battery offers a long battery back up.

The Asus Disney MK90H-PIN018X is a perfect gift for your child this Christmas. This netbook is specially developed for children as it is installed with certain special features as well. It is available in a stylish pink colour which gives it a very catchy look. It is a product of the very famous Asus MK90 series. The product is very portable and handy and you can easily carry it. The best feature of this device is the webcam it is equipped with which enables you to video chat. The entire device weighs around 1.1 kg which is quite less even for a netbook.

It is installed with an Intel Atom N270 processor which enhances the overall functionality of the device. The 1024 MB of RAM further enhance functioning speed. The Asus Disney MK90H-PIN018X is fitted with an 8.9 inch display that offers superior quality pictures. This netbook is also installed with quality speakers that perfectly compliment the video. You can connect a number of USB devices with this device as it is installed with 3 USB 2.0 ports. Furthermore, it is also installed with a VGA D-Sub (HD-15) video output. Once fully charged the battery offers a back up of around 5 hours which is quite high in comparison with other netbooks.

The Asus Disney MK90H-PIN018X supports networking through Wireless-LAN. The device is very good for multitasking and is pretty good for web surfing. The Asus Disney MK90H-PIN018X is one of the most attractive netbooks that is available in the market.

Netbooks have been in great demand off late as these are very light in weight and can be easily carried. The all new Samsung N140 (NP-N140-JA01UK) is a fabulous netbook which is installed with a number of quality features. This is a product of the very famous Samsung N140 series which has already produced some best selling netbook models. This device is fitted with an amazing rechargeable battery that offers a long battery back up. It offers a battery back up of 10 hours which is much more than several other netbooks available in the market.

The Samsung N140 (NP-N140-JA01UK) is equipped with an Intel Atom N270 processor that works pretty well. The clock speed of this device is around 1600 MHz which is quite high than other netbooks available. It is installed with 1024 MB RAM that enhances the functioning speed of the device. The 10.1 inch display support millions of colours and offers superior quality pictures. You can easily store all your files and documents on the Samsung N140 (NP-N140-JA01UK) since it comes with 250 GB of hard disk memory. Most of the netbooks are not fitted with Bluetooth but this netbook is pretty advanced and is installed with Bluetooth so that you can connect it with various other Bluetooth enabled devices.

The networking is supported through Wireless-LAN and Bluetooth. It is installed with Microsoft Windows 7 Starter which is ideal for this netbook. The stylish black colour of the device gives it a catchy look. This netbook requires minimum maintenance which is a fantastic feature.