Business First ~ Suggestions for a mobile computing solution
Jul 09 '00
I remember many years ago when my father was an accountant for a large bank in the Washington, DC. area and the laptop computers they were using there at that time. They were like carrying a 20 lb. box around and if you needed to use it longer than two hours away from a power source, you would have to buy a few extra batteries and you would have to save your work, shut down, change batteries and then restart to stay running. Today busy people on the go just don't have time for this kind of inconvenience and with the new lithium batteries you can get up to six hours of use before needing to recharge or change batteries.
In my experience as a retail computer sales associate and as a technician, I have found the Sony Vaio laptops to be one of the best designs for business use today. The Sony Vaio F series has many laptops that can hold and use two batteries giving you twice the time away from a power source. The CDROM and Floppy drives on some of these laptops are hot swappable (both drives use the same bay) and can be removed on the fly without shutting down. You can use the same hot swap bay for an additional battery to give you 8-10 hours of continuous use without ever having to shut down to change batteries.
Sony has many different types of laptops ranging from full sized to ultra slim. The Sony ultra slim laptops are only 3.0 to 3.8 lbs. and have the same power that their full sized cousins do. This is another thing to look for when buying a laptop, especially if you will be carrying it around a lot. The slimtops do not have the extra battery feature but are extremely light-weight and easy to carry for long periods of time. They are only about ¼" thick when closed and have external floppy drives that plug into a special USB interface designed just for the Vaio floppy. Unfortunately the CDROM is also external and does not come with these laptops, you will have to but it separate.
The Sony Vaio notebook computers are very powerful ranging from 300MHz Celeron processors up to 733MHz Pentium III processors. For more information on the Sony Vaio you can see my opinion on the Sony Vaio titled "The silver lining of the Vaio (An overall introduction)" located at:
http://www.epinions.com/cmd-review-7240-9C4DB0A-392C3453-prod1
Another thing to consider when buying a laptop for business use is the peripherals you need or will have. If you are in a car a lot you may want to get an auto-lighter adapter for your laptop. This can be useful if you are going to be in or near your car where there is no power to plug into. Just don't forget to start your car every so often, so your car battery won't die on you.
You may also want to consider a good laptop case or carrying bag. If you have many peripherals you may want to get a larger case with wheels and a handle for ease of mobility. Also, speaking of peripherals, your laptop is just like a desktop computer when it comes to power surges and spikes. You will need to get a good surge protector for it. They make surge protectors for laptops with telephone line protection as well and they are very small so they don't take up much space in your carrying case or laptop bag.
If you plan to be using your laptop overseas, you should get a travel kit with the appropriate adapters for telephone and power outlets in the country you will be in. Most laptops now have dual voltage and are auto-sensing but you will still need the adapter to fit the plugs in Europe and many other places. If you are going out of the country, this is really not even an option considering you won't be able to use your laptop without these adapters. If you forget to buy them in the United States, you usually can get the correct ones in the country you will be in and many times it is even cheaper to buy them there.
Two words of advice: "Extended Warranty". Many people feel that the extended warranties on laptops are just to expensive to justify but the truth is, 3 out of 5 people who buy a laptop will at one time or another use an extended warranty and save themselves a lot of headache in the future. Laptops are sensitive to dust and heat just like a desktop computer but they are not so easily cleaned out and this can cause long term problems. Extended warranties (not by the manufacturer but by the place you buy them) cover dust and heat which are two of the most destructive elements in the computer industry.
I also recommend getting a screen protection warranty if offered. The screens on laptops are also very delicate and can fracture easily. A screen protection warranty offers replacement of damaged or broken screens that the manufacturer will not cover. A simple scenario is; you are working late one night and are getting tired so you close your notebook computer and hear a crunch. You open it to discover a pen laying across the the hinges and now your screen looks like a black spider web. This has actually happened to many people I have met looking to buy a replacement laptop because the screen was almost as expensive as a new computer and they hadn't bought a screen protection warranty.
I recommend the Sony Vaio series for any business purposes and highly recommend the F series for people who need the power and compatibility of a desktop in a small package for on the road. I hope this helps in making a decision on buying a good laptop for business use.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.