It is really astonishing to look at the progress laptops have made in just a few years. Last quarter, laptop sales

overtook Computer sales for the first time in history. These days the pricing of low end PCs, both laptop and desktops are similar and so it has become worth wondering whether to buy a Computer at all. In a few months I will purchase my first notebook computer and being fifteen, I am not able to buy a 17 inch widescreen Dell XPS

These days the features and specifications of cheap laptops

Sony Vaios, IBM ThinkPads and Dell Precision lines.

The reason that the Windows laptops are better is the processor, the amount of features and the fact that Apple’s care and attention to detail is not worth £200 to a person like me. I appreciate their efforts but when they lose out on the first time buyers, they may set a trend. The buyer brings home their brand new Windows laptop and all the feelings of euphoria are now attached to a Windows laptop, and not the iBook. Apple cannot afford to continue doing this and hopefully the Intel switch will bring down prices or save money, letting them add features such as the SuperDrive.

Dell makes laptops in all segment of the market. Their high end laptops are well made and have some quirky touches like the lights on the XPS. Of course when a company sets out to make Inexpensive laptops, cost cutting is an integral part of the mix. Dell immediately threw out build quality and attention to detail. They added the DVD burner and the WiFi which I appreciate but if my laptop creaks as I open it, as a year old Inspiron 1000 does, I will feel quite disappointed. The Dell does only have a 40GB hard drive which is adequate for now but 60 or 80GB is better.

The lack of a DVD burner is offset by Windows XP Professional and the fantastic amount of RAM does mean the price is higher than I would normally pay. £640 is tantalisingly close to an iBook, but the iBook has 20GB less space and 512MB less RAM. RAM is so important that spending a little more on it is worth all penny. So all the big names are beaten by an unknown manufacturer. Seems like a bad decision but knowing that my machine looks and feels expensive while having 1GB of RAM and Windows XP Professional are more than enough to make up for it.

The other option is Acer’s Aspire 3002LMi, with 512MB RAM, 60GB, Windows XP Home Edition and a dual layer DVD burner, WiFi but an AMD processor. Acer’s Aspire 3502WLMi has 20GB less, an Intel Celeron M 360 and costs the simular. The Aspire 3002LMi can be bought for £501 which is unbelievably cheap. When compared with the Asus, the upsides are £210, a DVD burner and a widescreen show. The downsides are Windows XP Home Edition, half the RAM and the aforementioned build quality.