December 9th, 2008
Holiday Gift Guide 2008: Laptop picks by the inch
There has never been more choice in notebooks. The standard 12-inch ultraportables, 14-inch thin-and-lights, 15-inch mainstream laptops and 17-inch desktop replacements are still commonplace. But there are new shapes and sizes filling in the gaps ranging from 11 inches all the way up to 18 inches. Just to further confuse things, netbooks with larger displays and higher price tags are creeping up on mainstream notebooks.
More choice is a good thing, of course, but it also makes it much harder to choose the right laptop. Here are a few new developments to consider:
First, if you are eyeing a netbook, remember it is not a notebook. Netbooks were designed for developing countries, but it turns out the majority of sales are in developed markets as second or third systems for light tasks such as e-mail and Web browsing. The prices may be tempting, but the smaller displays and cramped keyboards are tough to use for extended periods, most do not offer Windows Vista, and performance is a fraction of what you get even from a budget notebook. Combine that with the fact that you can pick up a decent notebook for less than $700, and most users will be better served by a full-fledged laptop. (If you still want a mini-notebook, however, here are my top netbook picks for the holidays.)
Then there are the new display sizes. A 13-inch model is good choice for those who really want portability but found traditional 12-inch ultraportables to be too limited, especially given the high prices. And 16-inch notebooks provide many of the features of a desktop replacement in a thinner and lighter package–usually less than 7 pounds (Sony has a model with a 16.4-inch display). Laptops with these new display sizes are desirable in part because they have a 16:9 aspect ratio, and in many cases, true HD (1,920×1,080) resolution. But keep mind that you will probably still find the best deals on notebooks with the older display sizes, especially 15-inch mainstream notebooks and 17-inch desktop replacements. An LED-backlit display is brighter, weighs less and uses less power, but it costs a bit more than the traditional LCD displays, which are illuminated by cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs).
In the past year, there has been a lot of hype about solid-state disks, or SSDs. In place of rotating magnetic disks, SSDs store data in NAND flash, the same type of memory found in SD cards for cameras and microSD cards in cell phones. Prices have come down quickly but they are still far more costly than a hard drive, and so far the performance hasn’t lived up to expectations. That will change but for now most users should steer clear of SSDs.
The choices in graphics have also changed this year. Most notebook still have either an integrated graphics processing unit (GPU) that borrows some of the main system memory–typically from Intel– or a separate, more powerful GPU with its own fast video memory, such as AMD’s ATI Mobility Radeon 3800 HD series and the Nvidia GeForce 9800M series. But there’s a new wrinkle: hybrid graphics. They have both types, and you can switch between them to maximize either battery life (integrated only) or performance (discrete GPU). Nowadays even Windows Vista has some hefty graphics requirements–the root of those “Vista-capable” lawsuits–so it’s worth spending a little extra for a configuration with a discrete GPU. And in highly-portable laptops with displays of 13 inches or smaller, hybrid graphics is also a desirable feature.
Depending on your needs, some other features to look for in the latest laptops include integrated mobile broadband for Internet access on the go, an eSATA port for connecting an external hard drive and HDMI-out for connecting your notebook to an HDTV. You can also get Blu-ray drives on many laptops, and even in few cases Blu-ray burners, but they are still an expensive option.
John Morris is a former executive editor at CNET Networks and senior editor at PC Magazine. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
Subscribe to Laptops & Desktops via Email alerts or RSS.
