Some personal tips for buying a new laptop

Buying a new laptop at the upcoming Comex fair? Here are some personal tips.
The annual Comex fair is coming again this weekend at Suntec City. As usual, expect bargains galore on computers and electronics items. One product that's always popular with customers is the laptop. With these portable machines as powerful as their desktop counterparts, it's no wonder that people prefer buying them.

Here then are some of my personal tips for choosing an almost perfect laptop:

Backlit keyboard
I cannot stress this enough. It doesn't matter if you have 20/20 eyesight and can see in the dark as if it were daylight. A backlit keyboard ensures that you will always be able to see what keys you are pressing. Even if you're in a brightly lit room, if you happen to have the bad luck of sitting with your back to the light, thus casting your shadow over the keyboard, then you will thank your lucky stars that you have a backlit keyboard.

Don't scrimp on this feature. Your eyesight is extremely important.

More than enough USB ports
How many devices do you connect to your computer? There's a mouse and a printer. You might also have a digital camera and music player. You almost definitely have a handphone, which you may also use as an Internet connection device. If you signed up for wireless broadband, then you have a dongle for that service. Then there are the few thumbdrives. Maybe you also have a portable fan, just in case you're stuck outdoors while computing.

That's eight devices that connect to your computer, meaning 8 possible USB connections. Chances are, you won't connect all eight at the same time. But the mouse is almost always connected, so that's one USB port gone. You're unlikely to want to repeatedly plug-and-unplug certain devices, like a digital camera that's transferring photos midway. So that's about two more USB ports gone.

My advice is: count the number of devices you connect to your computer every day, then add 2 more USB ports. If you can't find a laptop that has that number of built-in USB ports, you may have to think about spending a bit more for a USB hub.

Non-widescreen display
A lot of laptop manufacturers are promoting widescreen laptops. They say it's great for watching movies, because you maintan the film's perspective without the ugly bars. To that, I say: "Seriously?" Firstly, you're not going to use your laptop to watch movies all the time, unless your a store assistant on a slow business day. Secondly, when you're focused on the movie, you're less likely to notice the black bars.

Therefore, I personally wouldn't bother with this sales gimmick. A regular 4:3 screen is as good as a widescreen for day-to-day use.

Weight
Even if your laptop is anchored to your desk 24/7, you will appreciate a light computer when you need to make that once-in-a-blue-moon move. I'm sure bodybuilders appreciate a lighter load. It just makes sense to reduce your effort in carrying a laptop, so why pay for a bulky one?

Your turn
So those are my recommendations when laptop buying. Sure, there's the usual stuff like hard disk size and wireless connections and all that. But when you think about how you're going to use your laptop, you want to make sure that you're focused on the right features, and not the flashy stuff.

What other tips would you recommend to laptop buyers?

Above article provided by yuhui, 09 Sep 2009 (Mocca website..)

P.S: Comex Fair 09 is held this weekend at Suntec, from 11-13th sept.. I will be going there wkend(sat), see got any good buy anot~ Stay tuned!!