Looking to buy a used laptop (or laptops) for your business needs? This can be a confusing endeavor at times. First, you need to find a laptop that fits the unique needs of business users. Then, you need to find a source of these cheap used laptops that you can trust. Even then, you may still worry about support and reliability. This article will help address these needs.
First, how do you find a laptop that works well for business users? Fortunately, business users aren't gamers, so the requirements are straightforward. Since business is all about enhancing productivity, you want to find laptops that have all the most common productivity enhancing features.
The first of these is RAM. If you don't have enough, you can't be productive, period. Make sure your laptops have 1gb of memory or better. Anything lower will prove frustrating to use under real world business conditions.
The second most important features are the screen and the keyboard. Since these form your connection with the computer, it is essential that these work well. Look for solid feeling, full sized, durable keyboards. Try to find high resolution, easily visible screens. Laptops having these features will work much better than those without for business users.
Lastly, consider connectivity. Business users need to stay connected. Look for laptops that have wi-fi, Bluetooth, and other common connectivity interfaces. You can often buy PC cards to expand the connectivity options of your notebook, but getting them built in is generally easier.
So, where can you get these business laptops? One of the best ways to buy from companies that a liquidated their old stock. This way, you get business proven laptops at very low prices. Great places to buy these used business laptops include eBay and Craigslist, but there are other options if you look around. Try to find reputable sellers, though, to make sure you're getting the best product.
Once you have your laptop, how do you make sure it is supported? This isn't too much of an issue, in actuality. If you've purchased a reliable, high quality, business class laptop, you should find your issues will be quite low. In fact, the money you save buying used should far outweigh any additional support costs you might incur.
So, this should give you a basic idea of how you can find some used laptops for your business. Of course, there are more details to consider, but if you keep your common sense, you shouldn't have any trouble finding some great deals on laptops that will serve your business well for years to come.
First, you probably already know PDA stands for "Personal Digital Assistant" and are handheld computers. Popular PDA brand names include PalmOne, Tungsten and Blackberry. Although these devices are small and fit in the palm of your hand, they can perform a whole range of functions including calculator, clock, calendar, web browser, send and receive e-mails, typewriter, word processor, video camera and even GPS (Global Positioning System).
Newer models now come with color screens and can also be used as a mobile or cell phone. Apple has recently introduced the iPhone which will offer many of the above features accessible via a touchscreen. It will have an OS X system and many advanced features that will revolutionize the PDA market. According to Apple the iPhone will be available in Mid-2007.
PDAs are convenient, multi-functional and very easy to carry around. They are great business tools for working in the field or on the factory floor. A virtual office in the palm of your hand. Many professionals become "addicted" to their PDAs and couldn't imagine work or life without a PalmOne or a Blackberry!
However, while the small size of the PDA is its main advantage, it also presents a major stumbling block. In an ageing workforce or for those "digitally challenged", using or manipulating those small buttons or touchscreens can be a problem. Many people find using such small devices and small screens somewhat troublesome to say the least.
Everything is at your fingertips but it feels like Lilliput or Land Of The Giants revisited. Dialing numbers on a small touchscreen can be a hit or miss situation. Organizing a company spreadsheet on a minute 2 inch screen is a gigantic task (pardon the pun). PDAs are just too small for some workers. While not exactly its Achilles heel, it is something every manager or boss must consider.
Thus we come the next business tool that should be on your list: the business laptop. Basically, a laptop will give you most of the functions of a PDA in a larger package. And if your laptop comes with a VOIP phone just about all the functions can be preformed on a laptop instead of a PDA.
A laptop will give you a much larger screen for all those spreadsheets and diagrams, not to mention any video presentation will go over better on a laptop. Laptops usually come with more robust options and a larger storage space than PDAs. A regular size keyboard on a laptop will make word processing, typing and sending e-mails much, much easier. It is something you must consider.
With the recent developments of the Intel Duo core processors and the new Windows Vista operating system, laptops are becoming more powerful and more lightweight. Laptop batteries can now last the full business day or until the next re-charging without any interruption in function or service.
A laptop offers all this convenience in a larger package and makes for an excellent business tool for any company or home office. Laptops are usually more expensive than PDAs but this price gap is narrowing as laptop prices have fallen dramatically in the last couple of years.
What you really have to ask: "Does size matter to you?"
If you or your workers can easily use the small touchscreens and buttons on a PDA than that may be your business tool of choice. However, if these small screens present a problem, then a lightweight laptop should be considered as your next choice.
Of course, companies with unlimited resources can equip their workers with both a PDA and a Laptop; making the whole argument rather moot. However, most of us are not coming from this vantage point so you should let size be your deciding factor. This is one case where size comes before form or function in determining your business tool of choice.
Both David Wilson & Titus Hoskins are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
David Wilson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Camping, Team Building and Bad Credit Loans. David Wilson is the man behind , a site devoted helping you find the best deals on all kinds of laptops. Please visit the site for more great ar. David Wilson's top article generates over 1500000 views. to your Favourites.
Titus Hoskins has sinced written about articles on various topics from Personal Desktop, RSS and Computers and The Internet. The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous niche websites, including one on business marketing tools. For the latest and most effective web marketing tools try: