What constitutes a good business laptop
and how is it different from most laptops you encounter in the market?
We’re going to throw some light on the topic.
As far as large OEMs are concerned, Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo,
which constitutes close to two thirds of the PC market in India,
all have their consumer and business product lines very well
distinguished. Apart from consumer laptops from these brands, which are
on display at large-format retail stores and a host of multi-brand
computer shops, you’d be surprised to know that all these prominent
laptop brands also have dedicated business machines under their
portfolio. You probably haven’t heard them being marketed as
aggressively, but Acer’s Travelmate;
Dell’s Vostro, Latitude and Precision series;
HP’s ProBook, EliteBook and
ZBook line; and
Lenovo’s ThinkPad series all form dedicated business laptops offering, respectively.
Apart from the fact that most business laptops choose to dress
themselves in black, here are a few other things that matter in any
self-respecting business-branded laptop, things that actually help
uniquely differentiate and arguably make them better than most
mainstream consumer laptops.
Lenovo's ThinkPad business laptops are renowned for their almost legendary all-metal roll cage design
1) Better build quality: Most often than not, business
laptops are built to last longer than most consumer laptop offerings,
simply because businesses expect better ROI (return on investment).
Whether you look at the Dell Vostro’s metal exterior, Lenovo ThinkPad’s
all-metal roll cage design, or HP ProBook’s spill-resistant keyboard:
such individual build quality attributes (or a combination of them) are
easily found on most self-respecting business laptops. Qualities that
are hard to find on consumer focused laptops.
Things like the trackpoint navigation found on Lenovo ThinkPads, HP
EliteBooks, ZBooks and Dell Latitude business laptops, accelerometers
that sense a laptop’s freefall to lock its hard drive and cushion it
from shocks and drops, and solid metal hinges to effectively tether a
laptop’s screen to its base are other staple features found on a
business laptop. Overall, business laptops offer superior build compared
to mainstream consumer laptops.
Business laptops generally integrate better warranty and support terms than consumer laptops
2) Enhanced business software and service:
Often business laptops come built in with tools that are essential for
its audience. Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo, all offer either proprietary or
popular third-party backup and restore tools, maintenance software to
keep your business laptop’s drivers and other services up to date, and
enhanced video-conferencing tools. Almost all business laptops,
irrespective of the brand, offer more than a year’s warranty, giving
businesses some much needed peace of mind in terms of safeguarding their
investment for longer than other consumer machines. These business
laptops also have a wider array of after sales support options to choose
from, depending on a business’ requirement or IT policy.
Intel vPro and TPM chips are a common sight on most self-respecting business laptops
3) Security: Since almost all ThinkPads, Vostros, Latitudes, ProBooks and EliteBooks have an option of having
Intel vPro
support, security is handled critically down to the hardware level of
these business laptops. Additionally, business laptops have an option to
include TPM or trusted platform module chips to effectively encrypt the
entire hard drive and protect passwords better than ever. These two
highlights are enough to make any business laptop more secure than any
of its consumer focused brethrens.
Most business laptops come with non-reflective, matte screens
4) Matte screens: Business laptops from competing brands
share one common thread: non-reflective, non-glossy, matte screens --
which are slowly becoming a sight for sore eyes. We’ve observed this
trend resonating across most (but not all) Lenovo ThinkPads, Acer
Travelmates, Dell Vostros, Latitudes, and HP ProBooks, EliteBooks and
ZBook business laptops. Why this obsession with matte screens? Because
they’re better for reading text for extensive lengths, and their
non-reflective nature prevents them from being irritating distractions.
Base battery can always be topped up with greater capacity additions on most business laptops
5) Battery extensions, docks: Another commonality between
different business laptops from brands like Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo,
is that they all have extensive battery boosting options available for
all the products they sell in the market. If a business laptop is sold
with only a three-cell battery, rest assured its OEM will have a
six-cell or nine-cell battery upgrade waiting in the wings for slightly
higher price. Also, most of these business laptops come with a docking
port at their bottom panel to help them dock into universal port
replicators, charging stations, and other compatible accessories, to
maximise their appeal and functionality.
