Way back in time it was deemed a good idea to produce a PC that could be portable, that you could use on your lap - and lo and behold the Laptop was born. Soon every serious businessman would have a laptop, and in time they became more and more powerful - and if memory serves me correctly, there was a consensus that these laptops needed to be more powerful - and even have bigger screens. You can see where I am going with this can't you? So yes, the laptops became bigger and better and more powerful.
During this evolution, it became commonplace for students, gamers and families to go out and buy a laptop instead of a traditional desktop PC. I have no idea what the market split is now, but from a straw poll of close friends and family, i would say that when 80% of them upgrade, they will upgrade to a laptop - obviously helped along by the introduction of broadband WiFi technology.
But what of the laptops first ally? The businessman. Well thats kind of the category I fall into. I have had a laptop as my main computer for 5 years now, and have gradually been getting bigger and bigger ( and heavier ) models - not for any good reason except my local laptop store know me and recommend the latest greatest model. Until recently.
You see, when travelling, waiting, dining or carrying, my normal 17.5" laptop was just too cumbersome. If I took it out on a plane or a train, it would knock drinks over, and cause something resembling a samoan dance with the passenger next to me - endearing, but not practical.
Also my job requires me to be out the office a lot - so for days at a time, my laptop needs to be carried with me, and I was gradually realising that my right shoulder and arm were suffering from the continual strain of hoisiting my behemouth around. So when it was time to upgrade, I asked in my local store for something a bit different - yes, this time, wanted a Small Laptop.
I was expecting lots of advice as to why, actually, I didn't want a small laptop, but alas the complete opposite happened. They gleefully told me it was a great way to go, and displayed an exciting array of smaller machines - all looked sleek, sexy and then having lifted them, yes they were incredibly light!
So far so good - surely I would see a dip in performance? Well once I had convinced the assistant that I was not a hard core gamer ( Manic Miner was my last gamining experience - anyone over 35 may know what i'm talking about ), he thought it unlikely - it comfortably handled Windows Vista and Microsoft Office. Pretty much all I use!
So I handed over my hard earned cash - incidentally, a good few hundred less than I would normally spend, and off I went to see how my life would change!
4 months on and there's no looking back - performance wise, the small beauty has never let me down. I can get it out anywhere and not cause any kind of fuss or hassle. In short - this is mobile computing as it was always meant to be!
My next article will cover more in the way of how to choose your small laptop, and what models are on the market.
Shaun Measday writes for many Tech and Gadget blogs and is really into his small laptop.
Orignal From: Small Laptops - My Journey
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