What do you want in a laptop?

Gary Krakow Columnist • E-mail

Laptops. Notebooks. Portable computers that run the gamut from large, heavy (barely luggable) units to the thin, lightweight ultra portables -– a few of which can fit in your coat pocket.

They also run the gamut of everything from a starter unit (acceptable levels of processor and battery power along with sufficient memory) to DVD-burning, modern game playing, full-blown, advanced media units -– outfitted to the hilt with nearly everything you might need in a laptop and more.

It’s your job to decide on exactly what you need. Are you going to be creating word processing documents, surfing the Web and handling e-mail -– or maybe handling 3D graphic, scientific calculations and, at the same time, recording your favorite HDTV shows? 

Does your portable computer really have to be portable or will you be using it plugged into the wall most of the time?  Is it for your home, dorm room, or maybe for use in a coffee shop? 

Then again, how portable is portable?  Do weight and dimensions really matter?  (They do if you have to carry the device everywhere you go each day.)  And finally, what can you afford to spend on your new laptop?

The good thing with laptops today is that whatever you want or need it's available.  What more can you ask?  The same computer manufacturer can outfit a laptop so that it costs you less than $600 – or add enough bells and whistles so it will set you back more than $2,000.  It’s actually not the same computer, but the same computer platform where additional, better and more expensive parts are used.

Dell.com Dell Inspiron 6000 sells for $674 to $1,477.  You decide.

For instance, if you like Dell, you can go to its Web site and buy an Inspiron 6000 notebook.  It looks very nice and sports a wide-screen display.  The $674 Entry level 6000 comes with an Intel Celeron processor, 256 MB of memory and a 40 GB hard drive.  Dell's $1,024 Mid-Range model has an Intel Pentium M processor, 512 MB of memory, a CD burner and 60 GB hard drive. And Dell's full-blown Media Center model ($1,477) has the same Pentium M processor and 512 MB of memory, plus the Windows Media Center operating system, an improved video card, a CD/DVD burner an 80 GB hard drive and more. 

The bottom line here is you’re dealing with the same computer but at different levels of features and sophistication selling for very different prices. And it’s not just Dell. You have many, many choices.

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