How to Find the Cheapest Laptop Deals

Finding the cheapest laptop deals is no easy task. There are a few simple preliminary concepts that will make searching for a cheap laptop less cumbersome.

Before purchasing a new inexpensive laptop you have to decide how much money you are willing to spend. I usually consider cheap laptops to be any laptop under $500. But as technology improves this price threshold will eventually go down. It is important to set a maximum price because it is very easy when shopping for a laptop to lose sight of this price ceiling that you have set for yourself. That extra 2 gigs of RAM may sound like a great deal, but not if it costs you more than you are willing to spend overall. This $500 price cap is my own personal threshold and will vary from person to person.

After setting a price cap, you then have to decide what the most important features and hardware you want to include in your new laptop. When searching for cheap laptops, it is important to focus on three main hardware components. These three main options are hard drive storage, RAM, and processor speed. There are many other important laptop specifications, but these three are the most important things I look for.

Hard drive storage refers to how much space is available on your laptop. This is pretty easy to gauge as most laptops now are between 100 gigs to 1TB. The more space the better, obviously when selecting a cheap laptop deal I would prefer to have 1TB of memory.

RAM is your computer's random access memory. This is a form of computer data storage. Like hard drive storage, more RAM is better when buying a new laptop.

The final specification I am most concerned with when purchasing a cheap notebook is the processor speed. The faster the processor, the better. Having a slow processor is very frustrating because it will undoubtedly affect your computer's performance.

Jonathan Chambers writes about cheap laptop deals at www.cheapestlaptopdeals.net.

Apple dismisses netbook trend

Netbooks have cramped keyboards, small screens, "junky" hardware and bad software, said Tim Cook, chief operating officer of Apple, during a fiscal second-quarter earnings conference call on Wednesday. They don't offer the "consumer experience" that Apple wants to offer through its Macintosh hardware.

"It's not a space ... we're interested in," Cook said. "It's a stretch to call them a personal computer."

People who want to use e-mail or surf the Web can instead buy products such as Apple's iPhone or an iPod Touch, Cook said.

Netbooks are small and low-cost laptops that are designed for people to run basic applications such as Web surfing. Netbooks are priced between $300 and $500, with screens anywhere between 7 inches and 12 inches.

Apple's cheapest laptop costs $999, and it would rather focus on offering quality through its Mac products, Cook said.

In the fiscal second quarter, Apple's desktop sales rebounded with new products, and its lower-end laptop sales picked up as prices dropped. But despite those gains, Apple saw its overall PC shipments fall. It sold 2.22 million Macintosh computers, a 3 percent decline from a year earlier, the company said on Wednesday.

"We feel great about our performance, and the pipeline looks fantastic," Cook said.

Apple reacted strongly to netbooks because the increased adoption of that type of product is annoying them, said Roger Kay, founder and president of Endpoint Technologies Associates.

"If they didn't bother about [netbooks], they wouldn't comment about it," Kay said. Netbooks may not be ideal today, but there is plenty of room for them to mature, he said.

"They get in as a poor cousin like any disruptive technology, but the quality will improve," Kay said.

Netbooks are already being considered the bright spot in an otherwise tumbling PC industry. In the first quarter of 2009, which roughly corresponds to the quarter Apple reported on Wednesday, worldwide PC shipments totaled 63.4 million, according to IDC. That was down 7.1 percent from a year earlier. Some vendors, including Hewlett-Packard and Acer, saw shipments grow, partly due to sustained demand for netbooks, according to IDC.

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Cheap Laptops and coupon codes

Salivating at all the after Christmas specials? Looking to purchase a cheap laptop or desktop computer? Below you will find some of the end of the year specials on Dell, Hewlett Packard and other computers. Make sure you use the coupon code at checkout so you can save additional money and come away very happy!

Hewlett Packard is currently offering 30 percent off any new HP Pavilion notebook PC $899+ with coupon code NB4355.

Dell which rolls out new specials almost weekly is offering 20% off all Inspiron Laptops $999+ with coupon code 5Z0TC5B4TM83C6.

Visit Cheap stingy bargains for more details and additional coupons for many other deals going on including for cheap desktop computers.

When your done purchasing a desktop or laptop computer, why not come over to http://www.dslone.net for great deals on DSL, Cable Internet or Satellite Internet Service. Compare prices from over 20 providers and save a bundle of money! No telephone required and they also provide availability for Fios and other high-speed internet service providers.

Enjoy your holidays and your new cheap laptop computer!

Many great tech products aren't cheap: Here are some worth the money

With the economy hitting the skids, consumers are hard-pressed to spend much during the holiday season and they want to get a great deal.

The good news is that consumer-electronics companies and retailers are also feeling the pinch. Many are offering terrific deals on an array of high-tech devices. What's more, great prices can be found every day on the Web, especially at respected online retailers such as Amazon and J&R Electronics.

Here are a few tech ideas for the holidays. Some items aren't exactly cheap, but if you're certain you'll still have a job in a few months, they are worth buying for yourself, your family or friends.

Here are some to consider:

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Wireless Notebook Mouse. Stick in the accompanying USB plug and these mini-mice will work on almost any surface -- bed linen, couches, wooden tables. They are much easier to use than the mice built into laptops. Microsoft's Optical Mouse 3000 and Logitech's V220 can often be found on sale for $20 (the regular price at Amazon).
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Mini-notebook computers. A new class of laptop, minis are relatively inexpensive and easy to tote around. They are half the weight of a traditional laptop and have smaller screens, 9 to 10 inches. Mini-laptops are great for writing and surfing the Web, but lack the power and memory to handle intensive audio or video tasks. Top minis include the Acer Inspire One ($400) and the Asus Eee 1000H with 10-inch screen ($479). One complaint: some minis have cramped keyboards. Give them a test drive first.
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LCD monitors. If you haven't replaced that big old CRT hogging up precious real estate on your desk, buy an LCD. Luxurious 19-inch screens from top brands such as Dell and HP can be purchased for under $200 at Best Buy. Some 17-inch screens sell for less than $150. You'd be surprised at how much better it feels to sit at a desk with a slim screen.

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