It’s an ever-increasing mobile world, and with it comes all the tech stuff we need to get things done. Being mobile means your tech will run off a battery or two. However there are certain items when you should care and other times when you don’t have to.

Point-And-Shoot Digital Cameras

Should you care? Yes.

I won’t buy a point-and-shoot digital camera unless it runs off AA batteries. It is the best and cheapest way to keep taking pictures. Yes, it does add bulk to the camera for the battery compartment, but that small inconvenience is more than worth it.

Camcorders

Should you care? Yes.

It’s always smart to purchase a secondary battery for your camcorder. If possible, buy the secondary with the camcorder at the same time.

Automotive GPS

Should you care? No.

Battery life for automotive GPS devices such as from Garmin, TomTom, Magellan or any other have always been terrible, and it doesn’t look like that will change any time soon. With the screen at full brightness (required for daytime driving use) and the speaker volume at 70% or higher, you’ll get at most 2 hours out of the battery no matter who made the GPS. Furthermore it’s always used in the car, so when the battery dies you just plug in the charger and keep on going.

Battery life on GPS matters for units other than for automotive use, such as for trail or maritime. The Garmin Oregon 550t for example runs off 2 AA batteries, and that matters a lot for a GPS of that type given its particular purpose (it does both trail and maritime).

Cell Phone

Should you care? No.

I know no one that carries around a spare cell phone battery with them. All wireless phones today have a relatively decent talk time concerning battery life. And yes, if you talk for three hours straight, of course the battery will die on you. But for shorter calls and texting, the battery should last for days so it’s not a huge consideration.

What’s more important with a wireless phone purchase is the rated talk talk time and standby time. This doesn’t necessarily depend on battery type, because two phones by two different manufacturers that use the same type of battery will have different talk/standby times.

General rule of thumb: The less features a wireless phone has, the longer the battery will last due to the fact the phone doesn’t have to "think" as much. This is why 10-dollar TracFones have unbelievably good standby times, since the phone has only the most basic of features. It’s also the reason older less-featured cell phones with a new battery in them seem to "last forever".

Laptop Computers

Should you care? Depends on type.

With laptops there are basically three flavors: The netbook, standard and the gamer.

With the netbook (9 to 12-inch screen), yes, battery options definitely count because it’s meant to be ultra-mobile. You should stuff a netbook with longest-lasting battery possible.

With the standard (13 to 15-inch screens), yes it counts. You should stuff that one with a 9-cell. Yes it will cost a pretty penny but it’s more than worth it.

With the gamer laptop (17-inch or higher with a powerful graphics card), no. Gamer laptops are well known to have inferior battery life because of the horsepower required to run them. And even if you stuff in the best battery available, you’d be lucky to get more than 2.5 hours of life before it needs a charge.

It’s my opinion that everyone should own a laptop. Two years ago I couldn’t say this because the price point wasn’t low enough. But with the netbooks quickly becoming the new norm of laptops, I can say now that yes, you should own one.

And if you needed a reason why, here are 10 good ones.

1. Better resale value.

PCs hold little resale value – but laptops hold a lot more. Even if you own a Mac, the Macbook will always sell later for more than the desktop version.

2. Portable.

When I say portable I’m not necessarily referring to sitting in a Panera Bread click-clacking away with their free wi-fi (although you could). Portable can be as simple as bringing it elsewhere in your house or apartment/flat. Sit down in your easy chair or couch, watch the game and surf the ‘net? Sure, why not?

3. Space-saver.

One does not know the joy of owning a laptop until you put it on the computer desk and then realize all the space you get back. All you have is the laptop and possibly an external mouse and pad. That’s it.

4. Energy-saver.

Laptops use far less energy than desktop PCs do.

5. Easier keyboards.

Laptops use short profile keys with a scissor-style spring underneath. Your typing speed will increase almost instantly. And after using one for a while, going back to the desktop feels old and clunky compared to the super-easy laptop keys. Additionally, the place where the trackpad is serves as a built-in wrist rest, so it’s also ergonomically sound.

6. Better LCD screen.

More often than not the LCD screen on a laptop is far superior to your desktop LCD monitor. The colors look more true, gradients don’t "fuzz" and it has a more crisp picture.

7. Easier to work on.

Most laptops only require one screw to remove the hard drive or RAM. After that it’s literally pop in/pop out to upgrade. It doesn’t get any easier.

8. Proprietary architecture means everything works better.

The vast majority of laptops are very proprietary. This means there is no guesswork as to whether the unit will function properly or not. Even Linux "likes" laptops better because it absolutely knows what to expect, so to speak.

9. Easy-access USB.

Most laptops have 4 USB ports (two on the side, two on the back) and are in easy reach.

10. It’s not a throw-away computer.

This goes back to point 1. The laptop is more or less the only type of computer you can buy where you know it will sell later when it’s time to get rid of it. Even if you have an older laptop with a busted optical drive, someone will still buy it because of what it is. Older desktop PCs on the other hand turn into paperweights that you can’t sell for a decent price no matter what.

So go ahead, get that laptop. You’ll be happy you did.

It was only a matter of time, but Intel has brought out the big guns and now has quad-core available for laptops. Five of them, to be exact.

Surprisingly, it won’t be that expensive. According to the article linked above, you can score an Acer Aspire laptop with an 18.4-inch screen (that’s frappin’ huge for a laptop) for $1,799. Not bad considering the horsepower that’s under the hood. However bear in mind it’s being billed as a gaming rig.

And what about the Macbooks? Oh, trust me, Intel will make their quad-core presence(s) in them soon enough, not to worry.

I estimate that more reasonably-sized laptops will get quad-core (i.e. 15 to 17-inch screens) in the 3rd quarter of ‘09 or possibly sooner.

I don’t know about you, but even with the power-extreme of quad-core in a laptop, an 18-inch screen is just too much. The unit isn’t exactly all that portable at that point.

For those that ask "What about heat?", bear in mind these are mobile processors we’re talking about, so the heat should be kept in check. What matters more is whether the manufacturer has designed a laptop chassis well enough to spread the heat evenly to avoid any nasty meltdowns.

One thing is for certain: Quad-core is not going to go obsolete for quite some time – even given the rapid progress of the computer industry as a whole. It is a purchase that should stay current for at least a good 3 to 4 years (assuming the laptop lasts that long).

If you usually build your own desktop PC, you may have toyed with the idea of building your own laptop? Unfortunately, laptop barebones are quite hard to get by, unless you put out an order for a few thousand from your favorite ODM. OCZ is looking to change this, by letting you customize – and build – your own 15-inch gaming laptop.

Barebone Specs

The base model is built around the Intel PM965 (socket P) chipset, which supports the latest Penryn Core 2 Duo CPU’s up to the 2.6GHz T9600 and up to 4 GB of 667MHz DDR2 RAM. None of these components are included in the package, and neither is a hard drive or a wireless card. The idea is that you provide these components on your own, and hopefully, end up with an unusually cheap laptop.

One component that is not optional is the GPU, an Nvidia 8600M GT. This may be something of a let-down for some, especially when OCZ is branding it as a gaming notebook. The 8600 GPU is aging, and will soon be replaced by Nvidia’s 9-series equivalent 9600M GT. Most people who build their own are probably expecting to end up with the best laptop on the planet, and the 8600M is too old to comply.

Potential Issues

The so-called enthusiast market is pretty lucrative, and OZC could definitely be on to something with its new DIY laptop. Unfortunately for OCZ, some hard-core gamers will probably steer clear of the model because of the GPU. DIYers, or “Enthusiasts,” are usually well aware of what’s happening in the computer industry.

Another concern could be finding the components you want at the right price. Laptop components are usually quite expensive. Even though the barebone sells for only $699, a few high-end components could at least double that price. In the end, there’s no guarantee that it will be cheaper than if you buy a complete laptop, which makes it hard to justify a purchase like this.

How does it Work?

Judging from early reports in various forums online, it seems to be fairly easy to assemble the notebook. OCZ provides a complete set-up guide to minimize the chances of failure. In other words, if you’re used to PC building, this should be even easier. A list of validated components is also available at OCZ.com.

NOTE: This is a guest blog post by Jesper Carlson at Laptopical.com.

I bought my MacBook Pro over a month ago now. I have been meaning to do a quick review of the unit here on PCMech. Well, finally, I’ll scratch that small to-do off my list. Two words: LOVE IT.

But, you want a little more detail, perhaps. Fine, I’ll provide it. Warning: don’t expect me to benchmark this machine. I’ll leave that to the countless others who have already done it. I’m a practical guy. I USE the machine to get work done and it is from that perspective that I review it now.

Continued

The current trend in laptop technologies is the sub-12-inch screen territory with super-light super-portable chassis. After the launch of the EeePC other companies started jumping on this. HP’s entry into the fray is the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC (see HP press release).

Like its competitors, this unit is designed for the education market and is priced aggressively at $499.

Also like its competitors, it has no optical drive, a low mount of RAM (512MB) and a *nix operating system. HP chose to go with SuSE for the OS.

Let’s not forget the itty-bitty factor. 8.9-inch screen and overall weight under 2 pounds.

Check out more features of the 2133 at the source link below.

[Source: PC World]