How to buy a laptop for your business

As performance improves and prices continue to go down, laptops increasingly replace desktop PCs at work. A laptop offers a number of advantages, particularly portability. Even if your business doesn't call for much travel, you can take all of your data with you on a daily commute or just down the hall for a presentation.

Laptops recently made a big leap forward with Intel's introduction of its Centrino Duo platform. Intel's new dual-core mobile processors promise better battery life and improved performance, especially for busy multitasking professionals. AMD is also readying its dual-core mobile platform. 2006 promises to be a big year for laptops.

Most of today's notebooks, including both single- and dual-core machines, are just as capable as a basic business-desktop PC and require much less desk space. The best business laptops combine portability, performance, battery life and integrated wireless networking.

Should I buy a laptop or a desktop PC?
Before we discuss what to look for in a business laptop, you should figure out whether you need a laptop at all. Desktop PCs typically cost hundreds of dollars less than laptops and if you're able to do all of your business comfortably from one location, you need not shell out extra cash for a portable form factor.

Lenovo ThinkPad X60: A highly recommended notebook for its portability and security features. Read the review.

What advantages does a laptop offer?
A portable computer provides access to your files and applications wherever you are -- every corner of the world becomes an extension of your office. Riding the train or sitting in an airport, you can be just as productive as if you were sitting in your desk chair.

Your laptop can handle much more than just email, spreadsheets, and word processing. Here are a few of the roles a laptop can fill:

• Presentation maker: Display your PowerPoint deck anywhere, anytime.
• DVD player: Whether you're waiting in the terminal or on the plane itself, watching a movie makes flying much more entertaining.
• Gaming machine: The most powerful business laptops are primed for gaming on the go.
• Jukebox: Invest in Internet radio, a CD drive and a big hard drive for MP3s. You'll never be without your music collection.

What are the disadvantages to using a laptop?
On top of the premium price tag, there are a few other drawbacks to buying a laptop rather than a desktop PC. For one, laptops are not as easy or inexpensive to upgrade as their desktop brethren. While it's relatively simple to add a bigger hard drive or a DVD burner to a desktop, on a laptop the operation can be more expensive, more complicated, or both. Here are a few other limitations to note:

• You'll be working on a smaller keyboard, looking at a smaller screen and probably sitting in a less-than-ergonomic position.
• You'll have to become conscious of battery life, an issue the desktop PC user doesn't have to worry about.
• You'll need a separate network hub and a backup solution. Laptops aren't optimised for those functions.

What can I expect to pay for a laptop?
There's a laptop for every class of business user. Currently, the least-expensive and least-sophisticated laptops start at AU$1,000 to AU$1,500. The smallest and lightest laptops can run to AU$3,000 and beyond. Very roughly, laptops cost about twice as much as their desktop counterparts. So all things considered, you should expect to pay between AU$1,500 and AU$2,500 for a nicely outfitted business laptop.

Are there hidden, recurring, or long-term costs of owning a laptop?
Because a laptop is likely to log many more miles than a desktop PC, it's inherently more vulnerable to wear and tear. You'll be susceptible to ailments such as worn-out hinges, broken keys, busted screens, and mangled optical drives. In the past, nearly all business laptops came with a standard three-year warranty on parts and labour. These days, some models include only a one-year warranty with the option to purchase an upgrade. Read your warranty information carefully before you make a purchase. Also, a decent laptop bag will help reduce laptop deterioration.