How do you pick the right laptop?

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Running your own business can be a challenge. With so many spinning plates you have enough to worry about, so the right laptop is a must. Whether it’s number-crunching, tracking trends, invoicing, or running online meetings, you need something you can afford and rely on now, but still powerful enough to handle whatever’s coming around the corner.

We spoke to small-business owners to understand what they look for in a laptop and found that needs ranged from portability and battery life to performance. What was clear is that it was the tool they could not do without.

Like all investments, you need to be confident you’re getting the best bang for your buck. But if tech is not your forte, it can be difficult to look at the wide array of products and know what you need to compare. A solid starting point is looking for the Intel Evo “stamp of approval” when shopping for a laptop. This means it has been certified for performance and has the latest high-tech specs. The following explains why this is important.

For entrepreneurs always on the move:

Two words: battery life! And another two words: battery life. Ok, they are the same words, but whether you’re working from home around your family or partner, in the office, or finding yourself back on the road more, not being tethered to the cord is essential. You want a laptop that charges quickly and delivers at least nine hours of battery life, keeping you working for the whole day.

For those with heavy workloads:

Nothing is as frustrating as being on deadline and dealing with a laptop that can’t handle your everyday demands. Your business tool needs to handle everything you do, not just some of it. Intel Evo laptops feature the latest Intel processors, which are the brains of the computer, so you can seamlessly toggle and your laptop can handle multiple applications being open at one time. Thunderbolt 4 is another beneficial feature many aren’t aware of but should be. This is a port on the side of your laptop that enables high-speed data at a transfer rate of 40 gigabits per second so transferring data to and from external storage can be done quickly, for example. This one port also delivers high-resolution video and power. So you can connect to your 4K monitors, external keyboard, mouse, fast storage and charge your laptop all from the one cable, making working from anywhere easier than ever. 

For the time-poor:

When you need your laptop, you shouldn’t have to wait for it to wake up. You want a device that boots up quickly, ideally in a second or less, and lets you get on with things straight away. Editing photos and videos is also a faster experience on the latest laptops. Standards such as these are important not only for managing the competing tasks of running a small business but juggling the rest of your life as well. Whether you’re a road warrior prone to forgetting your charger or someone who wants to get to work the minute creativity sparks, there is a range of premium laptops available today that deliver on performance, long battery life and responsiveness, you just need to know what to look for.

Santhosh Viswanathan, Managing Director, Intel APJ Territory