With an ever-increasing number of tablet PCs, netbooks and affordable notebooks, it’s becoming tougher to pick the right device from the right PC category. If visiting a computer shoppe leaves you baffled, ask yourself these questions: What will your new PC be used for? Where will it be used? What long-term support will it require? That way, you’ll not only love what you buy but also use it the way it was meant to be.
The tablet PC buyer
Tablet PC is a portable computer — the ones with a touchscreen are called ‘slate’ (eg Apple iPad) and those with a keyboard and a touchscreen display are called ‘convertibles’ (eg HP Touchsmart). A tablet PC is usually ideal as the second or even the third computer in a household. Tablet PCs like Apple iPad are yet to be officially launched in India, but they may not be the ideal first PC in a household. First, because a touchscreen-based computer will require the user to work with the handwriting recognition software and, more important, they have the specifications of a netbook. Also, many such power-optimised devices do not perform well, specifically with graphic-intense video games. However, since most tablet PCs have flash-memory-based drives, which means no moveable parts, they offer faster boot times, lower weight, and increased resistance to mishandling by children.
Look for tablet PCs that have a display size and weight that strike an appropriate balance, based on your needs. The slate form factor is catching on in tablet PCs, and they come in handy for reading ebooks or viewing videos. Convertible tablet PCs, like Lenovo’s Ideapad S10-3t, come with a 10.1-inch display screen, a standard four-cell battery that lasts just a little over three hours on a charge and costs Rs 30,000.
The netbook buyer
Ideally, a netbook should be your second PC, since it is a low-end laptop with reduced processor power, RAM and graphics capabilities, but a capable internet device.
It is common to find netbooks equipped with solid-state, flash-based hard drives rather than the traditional type in order to reduce battery consumption. Mobility, while being connected to the web, and a battery power that lasts long enough are the main reasons why netbooks are popular among younger professionals or students. Most of them lack a DVD/CD drive. So, if you plan to play movies on it, just get a notebook or be fluent with USB drives. However, there’s no point spending money on an external DVD drive or other memory drives to upgrade a netbook, as the cost will equal that of a notebook. Also, keep in mind that netbooks are compact (10-12-inch display screen), have keyboards that will have smaller keys and a touch pad that will need getting used to.
Popping the Asus Eee PC or HP Mini-Note into your teenager’s backpack is probably easier than trying to shoehorn a larger Dell Inspiron or Compaq Presario in there.
The Dell Inspiron Mini, costing Rs 16,900, is one of the top-rated netbooks in the market today. It comes with an Intel Atom processor and a 10-inch display. The 12-inch Asus Eee PC is another popular model that sports the AMD MV40 processor, a 2GB RAM and a 320GB hard disk.
The notebook buyer
If you are in the market for a PC that will, in all probability, remain within the precincts of your home or is meant to be a desktop replacement, then you should invest in a good notebook (costs Rs 28,000-37,000). A notebook will have features that allow it to grow as demands increase without major headaches. For example, extra slots for memory extension, several ports for communication with external devices, replaceable drives, etc. Most of the notebooks now come with Intel’s iCore processors that allow users to multitask.
What you get for the extra price is a large screen, a full-sized keyboard, perhaps with a full numeric keypad, a powerful CPU, a generous complement of memory, in-built wireless connectivity, integrated DVD drives and even WiMax capabilities.
Sony’s VAIO F-Series, Apple MacBook and Acer Aspire TimelineX series are the latest workhorses that can deliver up to eight hours on a single charge. While there are several versions available, an Intel Core processor coupled with 2GB (or more) of RAM should be able to cope with most things you’re likely to throw at your notebook.
