A laptop is almost essential when it comes to business these days. Whether you’re going on a business trip or getting some work done from home, a laptop is a very important thing to have. Now business laptops may not be the sleekest laptops out there right now but looks aren’t really the important thing when it comes to purchasing a business laptop.
So what exactly makes up a business laptop you might ask? Well, here’s what you should be looking for…
Power
In most business laptops you will find a dual-core processor and in some a quad-core processor. In a laptop that you will be utilizing for business purposes, you will want to have at least 4GB of RAM. Anything less than 4GB isn’t really worth the few dollars that you will save and anything over 4GB just really isn’t necessary. Having the right amount of memory allows you to not only multi-task easily, but also allows you to utilize multimedia programs faster.
Storage
You will most likely be using your business laptop for videos, photos, and PowerPoint slides during business meetings, therefore it is important to have a good-sized hard drive. You really need anywhere between 320GB and 500GB of hard drive space.
For consumer PCs optical drives are becoming less and less necessary, but most IT managers still feel that they are necessary for business purposes. You may need to occasionally burn a CD or DVD for a customer or supplier, which means you should make sure that your laptop includes a CD/DVD burner.
Graphics
High-powered graphics are not necessary on your business laptop. Integrated graphics are what most business oriented laptops will include and that’s really all that you need because you most likely won’t be doing any gaming on your system.
Connectivity
Obviously, having a wireless connection is essential, but really, a built-in Wi-Fi connection is standard on laptops these days. The only issue with depending on this is that when you’re out and about and need to get on the Internet, you are forced to find a hot spot or unprotected network.
Due to this issue, a lot of business laptops are now shipping out with a mobile broadband or a 3G wireless modem built into them. These then work in conjunction with service providers like Verizon and AT&T who can bring broadband speeds to your laptop wherever there is a cell phone signal. Unfortunately, data plans from service providers aren’t exactly cheap. They can cost anywhere from $60-$80 per month. The good news is that there is a new wireless standard that could save businesses a lot of money. WiMax, or 4G wireless, is beginning to emerge. It is a Wi-Fi connection that spans across an entire city. Service providers Sprint and Clearwire have started putting up WiMax towers and have already established them in 54 cities. These plans cost anywhere from $20-$40 per month. This is definitely a great solution if you happen to be in a city with a tower.
Battery
Battery life is very important on a business laptop because you want your battery to last during extended periods such as a long flight. If the laptop that you are considering offers different size batteries, like six-cell or nine-cell, always choose the more cells because the more cells there are the better the battery life will be. Of course the more cells in the battery, the heavier it will be, but battery life is very important so it’s worth the extra weight.
Final Thoughts
Obviously there is a lot to consider when buying a business laptop. You should definitely do your research before selecting just any old laptop. Hopefully these tips give you an idea of what you should be looking for. Laptops are becoming a staple in the business world, but finding the right laptop doesn’t have difficult. If you follow these few guidelines, you should easily be able to find the business laptop that fits you and all of your business needs.
So what exactly makes up a business laptop you might ask? Well, here’s what you should be looking for…
Power
In most business laptops you will find a dual-core processor and in some a quad-core processor. In a laptop that you will be utilizing for business purposes, you will want to have at least 4GB of RAM. Anything less than 4GB isn’t really worth the few dollars that you will save and anything over 4GB just really isn’t necessary. Having the right amount of memory allows you to not only multi-task easily, but also allows you to utilize multimedia programs faster.
Storage
You will most likely be using your business laptop for videos, photos, and PowerPoint slides during business meetings, therefore it is important to have a good-sized hard drive. You really need anywhere between 320GB and 500GB of hard drive space.
For consumer PCs optical drives are becoming less and less necessary, but most IT managers still feel that they are necessary for business purposes. You may need to occasionally burn a CD or DVD for a customer or supplier, which means you should make sure that your laptop includes a CD/DVD burner.
Graphics
High-powered graphics are not necessary on your business laptop. Integrated graphics are what most business oriented laptops will include and that’s really all that you need because you most likely won’t be doing any gaming on your system.
Connectivity
Obviously, having a wireless connection is essential, but really, a built-in Wi-Fi connection is standard on laptops these days. The only issue with depending on this is that when you’re out and about and need to get on the Internet, you are forced to find a hot spot or unprotected network.
Due to this issue, a lot of business laptops are now shipping out with a mobile broadband or a 3G wireless modem built into them. These then work in conjunction with service providers like Verizon and AT&T who can bring broadband speeds to your laptop wherever there is a cell phone signal. Unfortunately, data plans from service providers aren’t exactly cheap. They can cost anywhere from $60-$80 per month. The good news is that there is a new wireless standard that could save businesses a lot of money. WiMax, or 4G wireless, is beginning to emerge. It is a Wi-Fi connection that spans across an entire city. Service providers Sprint and Clearwire have started putting up WiMax towers and have already established them in 54 cities. These plans cost anywhere from $20-$40 per month. This is definitely a great solution if you happen to be in a city with a tower.
Battery
Battery life is very important on a business laptop because you want your battery to last during extended periods such as a long flight. If the laptop that you are considering offers different size batteries, like six-cell or nine-cell, always choose the more cells because the more cells there are the better the battery life will be. Of course the more cells in the battery, the heavier it will be, but battery life is very important so it’s worth the extra weight.
Final Thoughts
Obviously there is a lot to consider when buying a business laptop. You should definitely do your research before selecting just any old laptop. Hopefully these tips give you an idea of what you should be looking for. Laptops are becoming a staple in the business world, but finding the right laptop doesn’t have difficult. If you follow these few guidelines, you should easily be able to find the business laptop that fits you and all of your business needs.
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