The right laptop for a student

shweta Sharma is a student of BBA. Now in her final year, she is expected to work on several projects and prepare presentations. Since the 20-year-old lives in a hostel and has no access to a television set, she needs a laptop that can double up as an entertainment device; basically anything that can play music and movies.

But something Sunaina is really keen on is her social networks and her online friends. She is active on Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, MySpace, and is also an avid fashion blogger.

She obviously requires a laptop on which she can prepare her projects and of course, browse the web for the latest in clothing designs. She plans on carrying the device in her backpack to college, and if she's going to be using it in public, she'd like a laptop that reflects her personality – and perhaps, is available in a few colours from which she can choose.

What shweta needs

Any modern processor: For the kind of work Sunaina is going to do with her laptop, an Intel Atom processor—found in netbooks—will be sufficient. But ideally, she should look to buy something that has more horsepower; probably a laptop with AMD's E-350 processor as it will also allow her to watch HD videos on YouTube.

If she wants to watch HD DVDs—and if her parents are feeling generous, and are willing to spend a bit extra—she could consider a laptop with an Intel i3 370 processor. Netbooks do not have CD/DVD drives.

RAM: 1GB RAM is sufficient for all sorts of work that a BBA student is likely to do on her laptop. If the budget permits, she can buy a laptop with more RAM, but that is not really required.

Hard disk: Sunaina will not only store the documents related to her studies on her laptop, but also her collection of songs and movies. She will, therefore, need a hard disk with at least 320GB capacity.

Less than 2.5kgs weight: Weight is an important factor for Sunaina because the laptop will be in her backpack most of the time.

Here she has two choices: She can either opt for netbooks that weigh in at less than 1.5kgs (with a screen size of less than 12 inches) or opt for a full-fledged notebook weighing in at around 2.5kgs. Her choice depends on what she values more – a bigger screen or portability.

Decent battery: A laptop that can survive four or five hours on campus, on a single charge, is good enough. Almost all new laptops—with their six cell batteries—will last for around four hours with normal use.

Special features: Since Sunaina will be using her laptop to watch films, she will do well to pick up a device that offers hardware acceleration for her high definition videos. A good bet for this would include netbooks with AMD's fusion processor such as E-350; this over those devices powered by the current generation of Intel Atom processors.

Also, Sunaina is at an age where she wants to exert her individuality in every way she can. So she could pick a device that's vibrant and colourful.

How much will it all cost: Being a student, Sunaina can't spend a fortune on her laptop.

If she wants something for cheap, she can start by taking a look at HP Pavilion DM1 that sells for around Rs 25,000. A few thousands more and she can buy HP G42, Acer Timeline X 4820T or something similar. If she wants sleeker laptops and price is no bar, she can take a look at Sony Vaio E-series laptops, which is available in different colours.