Mobile computing is the future. With prices of laptops dropping and power increasing, a laptop is a good purchase for almost all users. But, like all things in technology, change is inevitable so you need to think carefully about how you spend your money. Here are some things to consider when buying a laptop:<\/p>\n
Blu-Ray<\/strong><\/p>\n The battle over high definition multimedia formats is over and Blu-Ray is the acknowledged winner. But that doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to buy a laptop immediately with a Blu-Ray player, but they will start emerging over the coming year. Most laptop makers including Sony, Acer and Samsung already have Blu-Ray equipped machines on the market, though they are still a little pricey. For most users standard DVD will be the default for the coming year but if you have the money and you’re looking to buy a laptop this year, it’s worth considering one with Blu-Ray.<\/p>\n Input options<\/strong><\/p>\n Trackpads, webcams and touchscreens are set to be the input devices of choice in the coming years. Apple has already given users a feel for multi-touch touchpads and this will become more commonplace in the coming year. This doesn’t mean you’ll be buying an entry-level touchscreen laptop this year even though the technology is available, but by the end of 2010 there is a good chance of this.<\/p>\n One of the drivers of touchscreens will likely be Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system, which was released in October. Other drivers for touchscreen will be the entry of traditional cellphone makers into the laptop market. Already Nokia has signalled its intention to produce a laptop and Android, Google’s open source operating system, is being widely touted as a competitor in the laptop OS market.<\/p>\n In the short-term, however, it will be Microsoft’s multi-touch-capable Windows 7 OS that will first turn laptop makers onto touchscreens. Webcam-based gestures will also begin to find their place in laptop interfaces. Toshiba’s Qosmio G50 laptop, for example, already includes support for webcam-based gestures.<\/p>\n Out with the old screen<\/strong><\/p>\n With the netbook market booming and users getting used to the smaller screens they have many laptop uses will be looking at 10-inch to 13-inch screens in the coming year. When netbooks first emerged they shipped with 7-inch and 8-inch screens, which was interesting but proved to be too small for most users to actually work on. The sweet spot for most users is around the 12-inch mark which combines portability with a good size viewing area. On the other hand, however, there is also likely to be in increase in the large screen laptops. The technology now available means it is possible to put a good-sized 15-inch or larger screen into a laptop that will appeal to gamers and those looking for a desktop replacement.<\/p>\n Also worth watching in 2010 will be the rise of OLED, or organic light emitting diode, screens which offer better quality, thinner displays while conserving power. Crucially, OLED screens don’t require a backlight to work which conserves energy and yet can offer much higher contrast ratio than LCD screens.<\/p>\n OLED-equipped screens haven’t yet made it into the mainstream but with the likes of Apple, Sony and Samsung already prototyping machines with them, we will start to see them emerge later in 2010.<\/p>\n