Primary marketWhat"s New In Notebooks?
While desktop computer sales are declining, notebook sales continue
to climb in market share.
As this part of the technology market stays hot there are a few features
that notebook shoppers should look for, and at least one trap that
they should be careful to avoid.
What"s hot?
While most machines are very competitive (and similar) within any
price range, there a few features that are not yet universal, but
are worthy of special attention.
OL>Look for a unit that offers an S-Video port.
This will enable you
to plug your notebook into most any newer TV or VCR and is a real
plus when you"re making presentations to small groups. An S-Video
port would also allow you to record any computerized presentations
you have created onto standard VHS tapes for distribution to prospects,
customer and clients who may not be comfortable with receiving floppy
disks or CDs.
Internal Ethernet Adapters
While most notebooks now come equipped
with internal modems, many business models also include internal Ethernet
(network) adapters as well. If your office provides a network, or
if you think that you might like to network your notebook computer
with your desktop unit, then you"ll appreciate this convenience.
FireWire
These newer ports are used for high-speed data transfer
through a cable that is commonly known as "FireWire" but technically
referenced as IEEE 1394. While the primary use of FireWire has been
for Digital Camcorders, more and more peripherals (scanners, CD and
DVD burners, for instance) are beginning to take advantage of the
speed that FireWire can provide.
What"s too hot?
On the other hand, there"s one new "feature" that"s commonly being
used to market notebook computers that is unlikely to benefit you at
all, and may very well bring you nothing but trouble.
Whatever you do, do not buy a notebook that includes a "desktop" Central
Processing Unit (CPU). This is a cheap marketing trick used by many
manufactures to sell notebooks to consumers who are still hooked on
"clock speed" as their sole measure of purchasing comparison.
While the marketing pitch sounds tempting "desktop power in a notebook
computer" the reality is that notebooks generally cannot dissipate
the higher levels of heat that are generated by desktop chips.
What most consumers do not realize is that when your CPU heats up,
your computer will typically respond by slowing down, in order to
keep the CPU from overheating altogether.
Thus, as temperatures increase, notebooks that run desktop CPUs will
generally run slower that their advertised "clock speed" and often
even slower than the lower-rated CPUs that were actually designed
for mobile computing uses.
In the worst case scenario, your computer may actually shut down unexpectedly
in order to avoid damage to the CPU. Toshiba is currently facing a
class-action law suit from owners of their Satellite 5005 series notebook
who claim to have such problems on a regular basis.
However, Toshiba is by no means alone is this CPU shell game. Dell,
Hewlett-Packard, Gateway and others all market such machines.
This begs the question: Why would such well known vendors sell units
that are unlikely to offer any real gain in performance, and may result
in serious and undesirable consequences instead?
Two obvious reasons come to mind:
CPUs that are designed for use in notebooks cost more money than
desktop chips because they include sophisticated power management
features that enable them to run on less energy. The benefit is that
less power consumption results in less heat generation, and also prolongs
the notebook"s battery life.
The marketing ploy of "desktop power in a notebook computer" is
appealing and effective, despite being both deceptive and inaccurate
in many cases.
As long as consumers are fooled by such tactics, the practice of using
cheaper desktop CPUs in notebook computers (while marketing this as
a benefit) will likely continue.
While some manufactures may have successfully found methods for dispersing
the increased heat that desktop CPUs create, the safe bet is to make
sure that your next notebook computer includes an actual notebook
(or "mobile") processor.