The company laptop

The right laptop for your staff

Depending on each individual in your organisation, there are a variety of options on the market to satisfy their unique requirements. An obvious choice to look at first is the business laptop. These are so called because they are designed with the business user in mind. Within this range, there are a number of choices, enabling you to tailor each machine most closely to its user’s needs. For sales staff who are constantly on the move, weight can be a key consideration. For these people there are models available weighing from just under a kilogram. Such a slight computer still comes with dual core processing power, a screen of just over twelve inches, and a decent sized hard drive of 160 GB. If you are looking for a reliable range that gives you this flexibility in specification then a satellite laptop could be just the thing. These are available with a range of screen sizes up to just over seventeen inches and a choice of modern processors and video cards. High brightness displays make them ideal for use outside, as do good wireless network cards and Bluetooth connectivity. Another feature that makes this type of laptop a good choice for staff who are in and out of the office is the availability of docking stations designed for particular models. These mean that on arrival in the office, the machine can simply be snapped into place and is ready to go, connected to the company LAN and desktop monitor.

Support

An important consideration for businesses of any size is the support and maintenance of their IT equipment. In the current economic climate even larger companies are outsourcing such operations, rather than keeping a dedicated staff on standby. Choosing a supplier with a good reputation is a good start when sourcing your mobile computers. This should ensure laptop support that includes several different warranty options and a good website with the latest downloads for each model. Well built machines usually outlast their warranty periods of course, which is why it makes good sense to negotiate a contract with a team of professionals who can provide ongoing support and maintenance of each laptop, without the overheads that full-time staff entail. An even more economical choice can be to use a company that only charges when they are actually needed. A good company should have a pricing structure that reflects the difference between onsite support, offsite support and remote assistance where they can try to solve software errors by diagnosis from their office. Many models will allow this to be carried out, even if they are not able to be booted up. Together with general maintenance tasks, you should be able to find a company that can help you recover lost data, in the event that you have the misfortune to accidentally delete important information. In order to keep everything running smoothly, it is of great comfort to know that any laptop problems can be handed over for expert attention, leaving your staff to get on with the running of the business.

The right image

Marketing and sales staff also often need to put together impressive presentations at short notice. For the best performing machines, when you are thinking of editing video footage and large image files, you should look at what is known as a gaming laptop. Although they do not sound very businesslike they are perfect for the job. They are so called because of their ability to run the latest computer games that use up a lot of resources. Editing images and video also use the same resources. Models can be bought that offer over 1,700mb of video memory with special technology and up to 8 gigabytes of RAM. These features, together with high speed dual core processors, ensure that this type of laptop makes light work of manipulating large media files. For making promotional videos, or need to bring back film of outside locations for use in the office then a digital camcorder is a useful accessory. Modern technology has shrunk these cameras to much more manageable sizes. They can weigh as little as 340 grams and be held in the palm of your hand. They have many features including the ability to store scene information – keeping various settings in memory for you to reuse when you want to reproduce a similar effect. You can find models with forty gigabytes of recording media, allowing you to shoot up to nine and a half hours of high definition footage. You can of course save to your laptop if you run out of space.

Mobility

For users that require ultimate portability rather than ultimate power, a netbook is a great choice. The lightest models weigh under a kilogram, making them easy to carry, and have displays of up to just over ten inches for ease of use. They are of course ready to connect to wireless networks or, if there is no coverage where you are, you can use them in connection with a mobile telephone and still have access to broadband data transfer speeds. They are an ideal laptop for members of staff that need to keep in contact with head office whilst travelling on business but do not need a large amount of processing power. Batteries that can power the machine for over nine hours also make them a good choice when you find yourself in remote locations with no electricity. For a computer that can be used both on the road and at home as a desktop replacement, a home laptop is recommended. Aimed at users who want an all-in-one solution to their computer needs, they come with displays of up to seventeen inches, so you will not need to spend extra on a separate monitor. With stereo sound and built in speakers, dual core processors and plentiful RAM they are more than capable of performing all the tasks of a regular desktop machine. These days a laptop is the only computer many people need and meet their requirements exactly in terms of both price and mobility.