Difference Between Laptops, Tablets and Ultrabooks

AppId is over the quota

Laptops, tablets and ultrabooks are computing devices that have all contributed to the rapid advancement in technology in the past few years. These devices have replaced bulky computers like desktops and helped us get work and personal stuff done, while on the go.

If you're in the market looking to invest in a laptop, tablet, or ultrabook, it's important to understand what these portable computing devices are and how to choose the right one based on your needs. In this article, we will review these three computing devices so you can decide which one is right for you.

Laptops became popular due to their portability, convenience, as well as their overall performance when compared to desktop computers. They come in screen sizes from 13 to 17 inches with varying screen resolution. Though, you do get smaller-sized laptops called Netbooks which are light-weight laptops meant mainly for accessing the internet and cloud-based computing. Laptops have a traditional keyboard and touch-pad to help navigate through the computer programs.

The battery life of a laptop is around three to five hours before it needs to be charged again. Most new laptops are Wi-Fi ready which means that you can connect to the internet through a wireless connection. Also, they come with a webcam which aids in video chatting over the internet.

When buying a laptop, some of the specifications you need to bear in mind are the processor which determines the computing speed; hard-drive storage space; Random Access Memory (RAM) or temporary memory; battery life; screen display size; removable media drives like a DVD / CD player; and the types of ports like USB, HDMI, Ethernet, headset, etc.

The price of laptops depends on the specifications, but they are generally less expensive compared to tablet PCs when you compare the specs of the two devices and their overall functionality. Talking about tablet PCs, let's see how they compare to laptop computers.

Tablets are mobile PCs which are far more portable, slimmer and lighter when compared to traditional laptops. Unlike most laptops, tablets have touch screens which come in sizes between 7 to 10 inches. Most tablet PCs do not have a traditional keyboard, rather they have a virtual keyboard which can be accessed via the touch screen. So laptops are better served if you want a bigger screen and need to do work that requires a considerable amount of typing.

Tablets use less intensive operating systems and apps instead of programs making start-up times much faster when compared to laptops. Battery life in tablets range between 7 to 10 hours of continuous use, an advantage over laptop computers.

Most tablets connect to the internet via Wi-Fi and some of them support 3G and 4G LTE connectivity. The memory storage and RAM in tablets is far less than you would get in a laptop. As well as the availability of external ports like USB, HDMI, SD card slots is better in laptops.

Therefore tablets are more suited for people who use the device for accessing the internet, watching short videos, listening to music, video chatting, and social networking. In short, tablets don't replace laptops at the present time.

Ultrabooks are light-weight, slim, and portable laptops. They were introduced by Intel during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2012. Ultrabooks can be compared to Apple's MacBook Air.

Ultrabooks sort of give you the best of both worlds when comparing traditional laptops and tablets. They are slim and light-weight which makes them very portable, at the same time, they as powerful if not more, than traditional laptops. Also, they have a traditional keyboard and a touch-pad.

Ultrabooks come in 11 to 13 inches in screen sizes, with processors, hard-drives and RAM comparable to traditional laptops. They have battery life of around 5 to 7 hours and are Wi-Fi ready. Some ultrabooks do have touch screens and convert into a tablet.

On the downside, ultrabooks don't currently have 3G or 4G wireless connectivity, weight more and costlier when compared to tablet PCs. Tablets are among the most popular computing devices. You can check video reviews of the best tablets PCs in the markets.

Anthony Godinho is a Human Resources professional, Trader and Entrepreneur, who has a wide range of interests he writes about on topics like healthy living, philanthropy, technology, internet marketing, social media, blogging, and others.

View the original article here

The Best Laptops for College and University

AppId is over the quota

Choosing the perfect laptop for college or university is not as easy as it may seem - there are so many different options on the market that it is often very hard to find the laptop that will perfectly suit your needs. Probably the biggest difference between laptops is their performance - that's why the most important question that you can ask yourself, is: "What am I going to do on my laptop?" We will try to do our best to help you make the ultimate choice.

First of all, size. To make a proper decision, in terms of the size of your laptop - you need to ask yourself: 'Will I need a bigger screen or is a small one OK?', 'Will I be taking this laptop around college/university or is it going to sit most of the time in my room?'. After you have answered those two questions, it's easy to decide - if you answered 'small' and 'I will be taking it around school from class to class' - choose one of the laptops with smaller displays (in our opinion between 9 and 13 inch displays perform the best in the 'small laptops' group). If you don't mind a smaller screen but you won't be taking the laptop with you - we would advise something in the 14-inch range. Obviously, if would like a laptop with a larger display and you won't be taking it with you, you can shoot for one of the largest models - 15.6 or even 17 inches.

Next, you need to ask yourself what are you going to use the laptop for. Are you going to do a lot of writing and/or programming on it? Then certainly check if you like the keyboard (both the layout and the "feel" of the keys). Things such as CPU, RAM, Graphic Cards etc. don't really matter here - any computer can start up a Word Processing program or (for example) a C++ compiler. Your typing comfort is by far the most important. If you're into graphic design - you need a significantly more powerful machine. I think it's pretty obvious that you need a good Graphics Card - after all, you're doing graphic design. For gaming you need a fast CPU, around 4GB of RAM or maybe even more (depends on the game) and if you want to enjoy the game/games even more - a powerful graphics card. This makes gaming laptops the most expensive.

The last thing you should look at is price - however, we definitely recommend you skip this part - unless you are on a really tight budget. Remember - the laptop that you are going to buy is most likely going to serve you for years and years to come. You are going to work on it quite often - actually, most college and university students spend as much as 4 hours (or more) on their computers - per day! It is very important that you buy the laptop that suites you the most - without thinking "Oh, this one is $70 cheaper, I'll buy it".

In the last part of our article, we would like to show you some sample computer specs depending on your needs - you can enter these as 'Filters' while browsing through laptops on websites such as BestBuy, Amazon and eBay.

Gaming/Graphic Design Laptop: At least a 4-core 2Ghz+ CPU, 160GB SSD Hard Disk, 4GB of RAM or more, and an external graphics card.

Laptop for writing/browsing the web: 2GHz Dual Core CPU, 2GB of RAM (or more). Internal graphics card would work good for you.

Portable Laptop: The specs here don't really matter - although we don't suggest going below a 2GHz Single Core CPU and less than 2GB of RAM - your laptop might get really slow and annoying to use, even if you are just going to browse the internet or play Solitaire.

We hope that the information contained in this article will help you out in choosing a laptop of your dreams.

Dragomir Ralchev is author of many articles such as Best Laptop For College. He also reviewed some of the best laptops for college students.

View the original article here

Gaming Laptops - Should I Go With Alienware Or Asus?

If you run a site or forum on gaming laptops, one of the most frequent questions will go something like this: "Which laptop is best for gaming, Alienware or ASUS?" Of course, the questioner is really asking which company or manufacturer makes the best gaming laptops - Alienware or ASUS? Simple question, but somewhat difficult to answer, especially when you have to consider all the factors influencing your choice of gaming notebook.

First, you must realize, Alienware is often considered to be THE superior maker of gaming laptops. It has a long reputation of producing top-notch machines, custom designed for gaming. Their rigs receive some great reviews, for example, PC Magazine picked the Sandy Bridge equipped Alienware M17x one of the top gaming laptops on the market. They also picked the M11x as one of the best small mobile gaming rigs you can purchase.

However, many gamers consider Alienware to be overpriced for what you get in these costly machines. They believe you're paying way too much for all that style and flash. You can get better value for your gaming buck by going with a lesser known name or maker such as ASUS. Why paid the big price tag if you can get the same for less?

Another somewhat negative point, since 2006 Alienware has been owned by Dell, which many gamers claim have poor customer support. If you should have a problem with your 2K or 3K gaming laptop... these critics say you're pretty much on your own when trying to fix the problem. While all this negative feedback may or may not be the true picture, it will probably influence your decision. But just remember, as with any product, when one person has a problem they tend to make the loudest noise, especially now that we have the Internet. For every one person who has had a negative experience, there are probably thousands of quietly satisfied customers.

Regardless of any negative comments, Alienware must be considered if you're looking for a superior gaming laptop. Just balance out all the pros and cons in your own mind, before you make the final decision. Of course, you must also consider other options or other gaming rigs such as those from the ASUS Republic of Gaming (ROG) laptops such as the ASUS G74SX-AH71 and the G74SX-DH73-3D. Solid machines that might not have the looks but definitely has the performance you need.

Great thing about ASUS, you get a quality product at a much cheaper price. In other words, you get more value for your gaming buck when going with an ASUS notebook. Often you can get higher specs or better graphics for the same price you would pay for an Alienware rig. You must carefully compare the two different makers and the specs you're getting for the price.

While one would like to believe your choice will be solely made on the gaming aspects or abilities of the machine in question. What resolutions can I play my games at? What are the frame rates (fps) of the laptop I am considering buying? How good are the visuals and sound quality? However, in the real world, there are many people who simply want all that flashy design, especially on their gaming rig. Sad to say, but many will make their decisions more based on the looks, rather than what's under the hood. Of course, there's no reasons why you can't have both, just make sure those flashy designs are backed up with solid gaming specs or performance.

One final important note, if you're buying your gaming laptop online, sometimes it is better to buy it from a third party merchant. Not only will get a great price, but you will have another re-course to fall back on if things do go horribly wrong with your purchase. Online merchants like Amazon have great customer service and good return/refund policy.

Lastly, regardless of whether you're choosing Alienware or ASUS, you should check online for any discount coupons or deals. Getting a few hundred dollars off that expensive gaming laptop will make a difference, especially if you're on a tight budget. Like always it does pay to shop around and compare the prices before you buy.

...
The author has a keen interest in all things laptop and runs an online Laptop Guide featuring the latest top gaming notebooks: best gaming laptops For the latest Alienware Coupons try here: alienware coupons Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

View the original article here

Will Glasses-Free Gaming Laptops Give 3D Added Traction?

AppId is over the quota

Lets face it, one of the major drawbacks to a wider mainstream acceptance of the new 3D technology, has to be those awkward glasses. Not only are they awkward and bulky, but some of these high-tech glasses will set you back $200 or more per pair. That's why when Toshiba recently announced at the latest CES in Las Vegas, that they had perfected their Glasses-Free 3D system on its Qosmio F755 3D line of gaming laptops, many believe it will herald in a new dawn for 3D gaming.

Actually, this new technology is a software upgrade, which was worked on by both Toshiba and NVIDIA - one of the top names in computer graphics. Qosmio F755 owners can access the software update through Toshiba's Service Station Utility and upgrade their machines. This software will also now make available over 100 3D games currently on the market.

This new software will use the laptop's webcam to track the user's eye-movements to give users a greater or broader viewing area. With a conventional 3D display, a user has to wear glasses in order to view separate left and right images, but with this new Active Lens technology from Toshiba two separate images (one to each eye) are projected from a double parallax display - eliminating the need for glasses.

Will Glasses-Free Gaming Give 3D Legs?

So far, true 3D viewing in TV and other devices have not exactly caused a buying frenzy or even wide mainstream acceptance that manufacturers wanted. Although it must be noted, many TV makers are incorporating 3D as a standard feature on their latest models but most makers are not using it as a major selling point, unlike say High Definition. Again, we are mostly talking about systems which need those 3D glasses in order to work.

The big question that has to be asked, how will glasses-free TVs and laptops fair with the buying public? Will consumers be more ready to open their wallets if they can access superior 3D technology without those awkward glasses? Will gamers embrace these new devices?

Perhaps, gamers are the best ones to test this new 3D system since they are known to be early adapters of any technology. Besides 3D images are an essential element already built into these video games, enhancing it with full 3D is the next logical step. Take those awkward glasses out of the picture and you may just have a winning proposition.

One also has to consider NVIDIA's role in all of this, gamers respect them and their products. NVIDIA is already one of the leading players in this field with their popular 3D Vision Kits - which can already be found in many desktop PCs and laptops. If they can work together with other major manufacturers such as Toshiba to produce glasses-free systems, then the market or application could go far beyond gaming laptops.

However, for the moment, the real test will be these new 3D empowered rigs. Can they deliver a viewing experience which is better than regular gaming? Just look at HD or High Definition - that technology quickly gained wide acceptance because it greatly increased the viewing enjoyment and pleasure of the end-user. Can this new 3D technology give the same increased enjoyment?

We all know, 3D has been around for ages, but the latest rebirth seems to have staying power. We are still seeing more and more feature films being produced in 3D, so this time it might just be more than a passing fad. Will the same thing be said for 3D TVs and the viewing of 3D images in the home environment? The jury is still out, but with the recent introduction of glasses-free 3D gaming laptops and other devices, the verdict is leaning more towards the yes column.

...
The author has a keen interest in all things laptop and runs an online Laptop Guide featuring the latest top gaming notebooks: best gaming laptops
For more information on 3D Gaming Notebooks Click Here: 3d gaming laptops Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

View the original article here