My article is going to talk about the main forms that you may encounter when looking to buy a new laptop. The four forms that I'll cover are netbooks, midsize, tablets and desktop replacement. This article will finish with a brief summary after covering such topics as screen sizes, memory and cost.

Netbooks have a screen of between 7 and 12 inches. They are very portable because of this. The CPUs used on these laptops tend to be low voltage to aid battery life, therefore it is usually still possible to get several hours battery life from most netbooks. Due to their size however, and the desire for them to last for long periods of time on one battery charge, netbooks are, as a rule, less powerful than larger laptops. Expect a maximum of 2Gb of RAM and a hard drive of 320Gb or below. As a final note, netbooks are often the cheapest kind of laptop to buy, starting from as little as 200 pounds.

Midsize laptops have screens from 12 inches to 17 inches. A good example of a midsize laptop is Apples MacBook Pro. Midsize laptops are generally offered with up to 4Gb of memory and a hard drive of at least 250Gb. This kind of laptop computer is designed to be left mainly in one building but with the possibility to be transported comfortably should it be necessary. This category has become one of the most popular available partly due to this flexibility and versatility.

The arrival of products such as the Apple iPad has reignited interest in tablet computers somewhat. They used to be tricky to use effectively, underpowered, lacking in functionality and expensive. But, new processor, battery and touch screen technology has led to the possibility of a tablet offering affordable usefulness. As a word of advice though, perhaps allow one year before buying a tablet just to see which of the constantly announced new products catches your eye.

The final category is that of the desktop replacement. These machines have larger screens (17 inches and above), and are almost certainly expected to remain in the same location. But, unlike the desktop it would replace it could be easily transported between bedroom, kitchen, living room and home office.

In terms of spec these laptops are also likely to be ahead of the other types due to quad core processors with up to and even beyond 8Gb of memory. This all means that battery life can be expected to be worse as it is expected that the laptop will be plugged in to the mains for most of the time anyway. As a final point I would like to mention that desktop replacement computers are likely to be packaged with a BluRay disc drive.

So, in summary, there are a few different types of laptop, which, depending on what you require, will differ in their suitability to you. There is a central tradeoff which is possibly the biggest factor to consider. Do you require long battery life and portability or would you prefer more power and features. While there are jacks of all trades it is perhaps easier to choose if you pick one of these two options.

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