The Mini Laptop Craze: What You Should Look Out for…

A casual stroll on a dull afternoon once led me into one of the numerous computer shops on Kampala road, from where I was struck by the site of teeny-looking notebooks stacked in one of the shelves.

A few months later, a buddy gave me a call seeking recommendation for a mini-laptop that he could procure. A sudden realization came to mind. Mini-laptops had arrived, and were probably here to stay.

Mini-laptops belong to a category of small, lightweight, and inexpensive laptop computers. They are basically smaller notebooks optimized for low weight and cost, often significantly less expensive than their ordinary 14” cousins.

The Main Points:

Omitted features:

Mini-laptops come with some limited features, smaller screens, and less memory compared to most new laptop models.

Most of them actually have about 1 Gigabyte RAM, though this is quite small, considering the fact that they are usually pre-installed with windows 7.

A fully functional Windows 7 installation requires a minimum RAM of 1 Gigabyte, but no one would really fancy using a machine that is running on minimum specifications.

One good aspect of mini-laptops is that many of them come with an extra RAM slot, and are therefore upgradable. One can add a second RAM chip to boost its performance.

Other features that would otherwise be in-built in an ordinary laptop now come as peripherals, and you should be ready to buy an external DVD-ROM if you intend to acquire a mini laptop.

Computing Power:

Mini-laptops typically have less powerful hardware than larger laptop computers. But this should be the least of your worries, if all you are using the machine for is a collection of light Microsoft applications (majority of PC users fall here), such as Ms Office and Adobe suites among others. Mini-laptops require less power, are faster, lighter, and generally more shock-resistant.

Application Compatibility:

All mini-laptops on the market today support pretty much the same applications that ordinary laptops would; Ms Office suite, general LAN, Wi-Fi wireless access and many others.

Battery life:

No matter how incredibly powerful your laptop is, it amazingly transforms into an expensive doorstop the moment it runs out of juice. Mobility is more than the ability to lug the laptop around.

Being untethered also means your system should be able to survive for a reasonable amount of time without charging.  

Your mini-laptop’s battery should be able to run for at least 2 hours when still new. Most dell mini-laptops would pass this test, though I have seen Acers that can go for up to 7 hours. Wow!

Notebook Bags:

Most mini-laptops are shipped with their own bags, but your typical vendor out there will wish to sell it separately, at an extra cost. These bags are largely basic, but convenient enough to lug just your machine around.

The principal disadvantage of such bags, though, is in their minute sizes. One cannot carry all accessories-DVD-ROM, adapter, mouse, etc. in the same bag; so if you really intend to procure a mini-laptop bag at an additional cost, all these factors need to be put into consideration. There are mini-laptop bags that would comfortably accommodate extra accessories.

Pricing:

As earlier said, mini-laptops are quite less expensive than their 14” cousins, and one can easily get a fairly good one for anywhere between 700,000 to 850,000 UGX (about $300 - $380) from any computer shops around depending on the brand and other specifications chosen.

Of course the total cost will depend on what extra peripherals you wish to add, and/or if you wish to upgrade your RAM. Some folks are quite picky when choosing such peripherals, but great care should be taken especially when dealing with external DVD-ROMs.

There are several of these on the market, but do not strictly go for, say, an Acer DVD-ROM just because your mini-laptop is an Acer. I have recommended LG to cronies on a few occasions, and I am yet to be disappointed.

-          Dan B. Atuhaire