Laptop Portability For College

[BlackTigers]

I'm going to be on Campus at college in a mointh, and I'm getting a laptop.

But I've never had one before, what should I be looking at as far as wight/screensize/portability go? What's too big, and gets in the way? And what's too smal, and gets frustrating?

Thanks!

 

[CoachB]

Personally, I like the smaller 14 inch laptops. They tend to be easier to put in a backpack and lighter. You might also want to investigate a netbook. Great for portability but you give up a CD/DVD drive.
Both of my daughters have used Dell Latitudes. Both have been solid so far.

 

[SammySnood]

I've been carting portable and laptop and notebook computers around with me since they first became available. To my way of thinking, unless you are plagued by some factor like having to carry a ton of other stuff or a physiological problem then portability is nice to have, but not the huge deal that so many people make it out to be. Maybe I'm just feeling spoiled these days after having, at one time, carried a 45 lb. monster with me everywhere I went.

It's true, however, that small size can be an advantage if you have to work in crowded spaces (like airline seats) or if you want to use the thing in a meeting or classroom setting where opening some humongous desktop replacement system looks dorky and distracts other people from the proceedings. If these scenarios are likely to be where you use the computer, think about sitting across a table or desk from someone with the laptop you're considering. If it will look like you've erected a wall between you and people with whom you have to communicate, then the thing is too big.

Most important consideration for you, truly, is the sturdiness and durability of the design. (Get a solid or well-padded carrying case, too.) You want a business grade system -- or at least the very sturdiest consumer grade option you can find.

 

[Farmer]

I am entering my 4th year. I used an ultra-portable (12" Thinkpad) for the first 3, and it worked very well. It broke, and I replaced it with a 15.4" Dell (monstrous by comparison), but I don't ever plan on bringing that one to class.

Whether you want to get an ultra portable or not depends on a lot of things. I brought my desktop to school, so I only intended for my laptop to word process, access internet, and maybe watch a few movies or play a few games of Starcraft. Hence, the lack of video power in ultraportables wasn't really a concern for me, while the size advantage was a major concern, so I picked the ultraportable.

Some things you might want to ask yourself:

1.) Is this going to be your only computer on campus? If this is the case, and you know you like playing FPSs or whatever, then that will factor in: smaller laptops do not ship with fast graphics cards. And unless you look at some non-mainstream makers, like ASUS, you're most likely not going to find discrete graphics on anything smaller than 13".

2.) What major are you going into? If you're going to be taking a lot of humanities classes, where notes are mostly in English, then taking notes by typing on your laptop is far more convenient than writing it all out. On the other hand, if you are a science or engineering student, a non-tablet laptop is going to be practically useless as a note-taking device (unless you're super fast at latex or something), just stick to notebook and pencil.

3.) Smaller laptops fit better in confined places, like lab desks.

Regardless, if you are going to be lugging your laptop around a lot, I really wouldn't recommend anything over 15.4"/6lbs, in my opinion, 12"-14" is ideal. If you really need larger screen, buy an external.

 

[Athena]

If you can afford it, consider a 12" -13" Tablet PC (e.g. Lexonov X61 or Del XT). You will get more use out of it than something larger. Tablets are not cheap but you can save quite a bit if you watch for specials in the manufacturer's outlets.

For a conventional laptop, think seriously before getting anything larger than a 14" screen. Portability really does count and you will be much happier in the long run with a smaller, lighter unit. Again, check out the manufacturer's outlets to get the best deals. Outlet machines come with the same warranties as new.

 

[fatpat268]

Just a note of caution about tablets. Think really hard if you want one. They seem like a great idea... and they are (don't get me wrong), but the novelty of writing notes on your computer wear out fast. I had a tablet myself for a while, and after two months or so, I left the computer at home and took my spiral notebook with me.

It wasn't a bad experience for me persay, it's just that it was too much hassle sometimes and I had an occasional hiccup in OneNote causing it to crash. You get the idea.

At any rate... I've had pretty much every size laptop at one point or another: 12, 13, 15, 17 inchers... and the size I prefer the most: 13 inches. It's small and portable, but not too small that you're making compromises. 12" is great for a tablet, but for a regular laptop, you're heading into cramped keyboard territory.