With an extensive variety of laptops, or notebooks, available on the market today, it is extremely difficult for some people to conclude on purchasing the one that is most convenient for their needs. Different computer features offer potential laptop users a vast world of technology based ideas to accomplish a given task. From copying a CD-Rom data to writing your own code, laptops can be used as desktops, adding effectiveness and efficiency to their small easy-to-carry size.

Given that you are not a computer expert, but you do know some of your desktop computer's main functions and components, the following simple steps can lead you closer to a laptop deal that you will not regret two weeks after the purchase.

Begin by thinking of your ideal laptop computer size. With the world of mobile computing increasing at a great speed, size currently does make a difference. In particular, a notebook's size affects two main factors of your next laptop decision: its ability to be carried around easily and its display screen size. In fact, if you are constantly on the go and you need portability to be a key characteristic of your laptop experience, then it is advisable to purchase a smaller model. On the hand, in case you are planning to spend hours in front of your laptop's computer screen, then you are better off with a larger display that will not cause your shoulders any unnecessary strain. With screens exceeding 17 inches, some of the available laptops do not loose anything when compared with desktops. But the down side is that as bigger the laptop gets, its weight also increases.

Next you have to figure out how big you need your hard drive to be as well as how much of system memory, or RAM, you will need. Deciding on your laptop's hard drive is a process that requires you to think whether or not your notebook purchase will be you main computer system, or if it going to act as a supplement to your existing desktop. In case this will be your principal computer system, it is wise to select a larger hard drive that will accommodate all your software programs and files -purchasing a laptop with 60 GB RAM or more is the perfect solution in this case. If you are now planning to use your portable computer unit as a graphic designer's tool or digital photographer's database unit, then you will need as much memory as a laptop can hold. In fact, how much memory your laptop can hold can be part of your decision, since larger than 256 MB of RAM would not serve your publishing or image development needs.

Of course, your laptops network connection abilities should be such so as to allow you to stay connected either to the Internet, to a wireless network, or to a home and office intranet network. Build-in network connections will allow you to be always accessible and will ease your overall laptop experience. Finally, but most importantly, prior to any purchase decide on your available budget. Although, laptop prices have decreased, it's still a pretty big investment.