• Laptop's Most Wanted and Unwanted (Updated)

    Laptop's Most Wanted and Unwanted (Updated)

    Rohan Naravane, Dec 14, 2009 1251 hrs IST

    Six features that should be incorporated in every laptop and five others that should be left out

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    Six features that should be incorporated in every laptop and five others that should be left out
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There is no such thing as a perfect electronic device, but there's no denying that we've come a long way in making them easier to use. Speaking of laptops, over the years we've seen certain features in different models that come in very handy. And then there are those features that will not be missed if they are removed. So, call this as an open letter to all the laptop makers if you will, as this is a list of six features that I feel every laptop should have, and another five that are quite an irritant and need to be rectified.

1)    LED meter on the battery

They are quite convenient to check the charged capacity of the battery without having to boot into your OS. On the Macbook Pros, they are flushed into the side of the body, which is ideal. But some models from Dell and Samsung have the meter on the battery pack itself. Maybe a little inconvenient to flip the laptop over, but its way better than waiting for 30 seconds just to know how charged (or rather discharged) your battery is.




2)    Multi-touch scrolling

Scrolling is an action that's performed by a lot by computer users - whether it's for reading through a web page or going through a file list etc. The Apple Macbooks really pushed the limit by having a large track-pad that could recognize an array of gestures for zooming in/out, switching between windows etc. But I'm talking about the simplest of them all; scrolling by simply swiping two fingers across it. In my opinion it is a better and more natural maneuver than the side-scrolling strip found on most laptops. We've already seen its implementation in Windows-based computers like the Eee PC. I feel it should be incorporated into every laptop out there.





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Discussion Board
(25) Comments
Madhusudhan
,Bangalore, on Feb 25, 2010 06:52 PM
Slot in DVD Writers plz dont go for it. try inserting a mini disc it might not eject or will not read properly. Few endors have got GPU units as USB Option essential for graphics hungry users who wish to upgarde by adding a usb graphics solution.(Fujitsu amilo) is one of them. thats a killer feature going forward.
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Diler Singh
,Pune, on Feb 23, 2010 03:56 PM
90 * Hinges
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Yathish Medu
,Bangalore , on Feb 18, 2010 02:40 PM
i think we need to have a better HDD or replaced with Flsh drive... so that vibration doesn ot affect the HDD operation. Think pad has a active protection system what abt others. A simple and Light weight battery making me to work for 7 hrs on full charge and charging from empty in abt 1 Hrs. However CPU ,Ram Etc. are updated.
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omkar
,goa, on Feb 17, 2010 03:24 AM
i agree vth some of the mentioned points...
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Java
,Java, on Feb 12, 2010 12:55 PM
Battery should be detachable without screws. We must be able to plug detached battery alone into AC wall socket without adapter.
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Devanshu Chagla
,Ahmedabad., on Feb 11, 2010 11:11 AM
I do agree with the Slot load opitcal drive option, but the fabric to prevent it from damage is not very handy or efficient, thus I would still prefer the tray loader in this case. Such as in my case, I own a Dell Studio 15 laptop which's optical drive is now making a lot of nuisance after one year, at the end of its complete cover warranty. And the Dell is very very very much costly for any extend in the warranty before or after buying the laptop. The same case is with one more laptop of my friend who owns a Lenovo laptop costing 70,000 Rs. He has exchanged his slot load optical drive 4 times in 2 years just due to dust problems. Its just good for him that warranties on Lenovo don't cost 4-5 times less than on Dell. Thus, I now wish that it should have had a tray loader as the slot loader has not made any difference in thickness any of these two cases.
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Tarun kumar
,Pune, on Feb 10, 2010 04:43 PM
One addition to unwanted(misplaced) ones. head phone and mic jack provided on front side of laptops. They make holding laptop a bit uncomfortable in some situations while using headphone and/or mic. Better to have it on sides.
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David
,Ipswich, on Feb 04, 2010 04:08 AM
So pretty much if one was to get a Macbook Pro 15" with a matte screen it would be the perfect laptop?...
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Rohan Naravane
,TechTree TechLabs, on Feb 08, 2010 11:00 AM
hehe...i wouldn't call it perfect...but they sure have gotten very close to making one.
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Mladen PeriÅ¡iÄ
,Podgorica, Montenegro, on Feb 08, 2010 05:45 AM
I must agree with everything you wrote, Rohan. I would also add this: at least 2 or 3 USB ports with separate power lines and on different sides. Also, I would add magnetic power adapter connector (If it's patented, make the one which is not) and place it on the back side. Since I'm Bluetooth maniac, I would add Bluetooth too :)... But I'm aware many people are not using BT. Light adjustment sensor is great thing, btw. Since I'm working in largest IT distribution company in my country I must say that people will buy even bad laptop if it has 4GB of RAM and 500GB of HDD. If there's nice CPU and discrete graphics, then it's a plus! For example, one laptop from popular brand, mentioned in your text, which is based on Intel Celeron 900 was Top10 just because it has 4GB + 500GB, Webcam and CR. It's not important the price was set too high.
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Arshed
,Calcutta, on Feb 04, 2010 12:00 AM
I think the glossy touchpads is total no-no ! Touchpads are meant to be smooth and just a little spongy, to tap fast enough when navigating.
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Snehasis
,Kolkata, on Feb 03, 2010 12:26 PM
Changing DPI may also help in text readability in case u got a high resolution smaller size display like on laptops.
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dookie
,Bangalore, on Dec 21, 2009 02:26 PM
The most important thing to me would be the keyboard. Nowadays, laptop manufacturers have started playing the fool with keyboards. Would like to see that stop and have them provide a regular keyboard. Also, whateve happened to regular laptop displays. 14.1 inch widscreen just doesn't have enought height.
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Karthi
,Bangalore, on Dec 14, 2009 02:01 PM
When people buy laptops, they are more CPU Centric, all these features are considered as secondary. Whether a laptop is good or bad, it is attributed to the CPU. This is false and is unfair on the CPU. People should look at the whole big picture and then decide. Also, the way the battery life being quoted by the manufacturers needs to change. No laptop ever comes close to the quoted battery life. They should probably go the cell phone way and quote both Active usage time and the stand-by time which are measured under practical conditions and not some theoretical ideal conditions.
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Rohan Naravane
,TechTree TechLabs, on Dec 14, 2009 02:25 PM
I doubt they will ever do that. These are marketing gimmicks to fool the audience -- misleading figures like Dynamic Contrast Ratio in LCD TVs.
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GravityEyelids
,Chennai, on Dec 19, 2009 03:22 PM
Dynamic Contrast Ratio is a marketing gimmick? Oh boy, you seem to be unaware of the most advanced tech in this case. Try watching a video in a 120Hz panel with low DCR and the same with high DCR. If you know the technology, implementation and reason for high DCR requirements you would not be suggesting a marketing gimmick for this. Panel manufacturers will fume if they hear this.. what with all the complex algorithms that go into implementing high DCR and response time compensation for such TVs.
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Abhishek Purohi
,New Delhi, on Dec 17, 2009 12:11 PM
The article above is real nice one. After having read the comments it is very clear that people are driven by 'Fad' and not by common sense (as it is uncommon). I hope the manufacturers take a serious note of the same and incorporate the suggested mods. It will be also useful if you guys (Techree) can throw some light on similar issus related to the internal matter as well.
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sid
,mumbai, on Dec 16, 2009 10:48 AM
What a joke? Fire the guy who wrote this article. You are talking about things which make or break laptop. where is RAM, Hard disk? Webcam? Processor? Graphics Card? This guy talks about battery meter? multitouch? If users cared about all these then Apple Macbooks could have been number 1 seller
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Rohith
,Bangalore, on Dec 16, 2009 09:46 PM
Agree. Most people like me don't care much about the whether touch pad looks like a mirror or not. Whatever is mentioned in this article is never a deal breaker for a sensible buyer. From what i have seen, most people make a buying decision based on processor and gigs of RAM, screen size etc rather than things like touch pad or web cam.
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Rohan Naravane
,TechTree TechLabs, on Dec 17, 2009 11:42 AM
Sorry for the inappropriate title. Changes have been made. But obviously, it is a given that the internals like CPU, HDD, RAM take precedence over the things mentioned here. These are meant to be additions that will make their usability better, IMO.
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desktopwhore
,mum, on Dec 15, 2009 01:11 PM
nice article!! Just one advice... Dont buy laptops, They are EVIL.. Get Desktops!
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normal person
,Bangalore, on Dec 14, 2009 03:41 PM
contrary to your comment Karthi, most ppl don't even give a thought about the Processor. As long as the laptop is some relatively recent model, the proc is almost surely good enuf and all else gets consideration later on depending on budget - for low-end ones, ppl just get whatever is lowest priced, mid-range buyers look for max bang for buck in terms of screen and decent features, and high end buyers start looking at the extra features (gfx, fingerprint reader, etc.) - note how the processor simply wasn't mentioned in each of the 3 categories. or atleast.... that's how normal ppl around me seem to purchase laptops. The CPU is not given much thought until all else is taken care of, or until too much money is in pocket.
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Karthi
,Bangalore, on Dec 14, 2009 04:03 PM
I wish you're right. When it comes to battery life too if people don't blame it on the CPU and consider all the factors necessary, that will be the ideal choice. Making or breaking a buying decision purely based on the battery life and then generalising it to all the laptops that use the same CPU is what I'm trying to bring out. That is like not buying a house that uses marble flooring just because in one of the houses that you visited, you slipped on it and fell due to shoddy work. :P
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Tan
,Faridabad, on Dec 14, 2009 02:10 PM
56 kbps modem has become obsolete nowadays. The same may be removed as standard part of a laptop.
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rohit
,kolkata, on Dec 14, 2009 01:26 PM
oh and backlit keyboards please, atleast 3 USB ports and a memory card reader {for the macs} .
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