People tend to think that when it comes to obtaining a high quality and super fast computer, you have to spend a fortune. While there are really nice laptop computers that cost a lot of money, you certainly do not have to go broke in order to purchase a great computer. Whether you need a laptop for personal or business use, you should have no problem finding discount laptop computers that are exactly what you need.

But how is it possible to get just as good of a computer as the ones that cost double the amount of money?

It’s simple.

Many of the laptop computers that are being sold at discount rates are last year’s models. Every year there is something new that comes out on the market. Different processors.  Faster and bigger hard drives.

Just like cars, or even purses, last year’s model, even though it is basically the same as the new model, will be sold for less money. Some people love the thrill of buying the latest model. But why spend several hundred extra bucks just to say you have the newest computer when in a few months, it too will be “last year’s model”?

Discount laptop computers are just as good as higher priced laptop computers, and maybe even better. Since you are able to save so much on the purchase price you may be able to afford some additional software programs or toys for the computer that you otherwise would not have been able to afford. Even after buying those little extras you may still find that you have saved yourself a ton of money.

So where do you find a discounted laptop computer?

Of course, the best place to find such deals is the Internet. Dell.  HP Home and Home Office Store, etc.  But don’t be worried about shipping prices as many companies are able to offer discounted shipping costs or even free shipping. Make sure that you are shopping with a company that can offer you a good warranty and one that can promise customer satisfaction.

Even though most of the online companies are safe, before you buy from a company you haven’t heard of, make sure that you do your homework looking into the company before giving your credit card information. A website that is not secure is not the site that you want to type your personal information into. You also want to make sure that you are getting contact information for the company. If there is not a visible way to make contact with the company then you might want to look into other options.

While it may be a discounted price, it is still not money that you can afford to waste so make sure that you are shopping smart.

Look for customer testimonials about their service and the computers that they received. By looking through positive testimonials you will be able to see just how valuable a discounted computer can be.

Start your search for the perfect discount laptop computer now and you will be able to use it before you know it.

More Information From Around the Web on Laptop Computers

Purchasing a used or refurbished laptop on eBay is fun and exciting. A laptop that’s a few months to a couple years old will serve you just as well as a new machine and it’ll save you a lot of money. If you don’t think you will need all the bells and whistles of a brand new laptop, buying a used laptop on eBay makes a lot of sense. Click Here For More

I want to buy a new laptop mainly for gaming and school homework & I want it to be portable, most gaming laptops are 17 or 18 inch which is too big, so could you recommend me a laptop that have a powerful graphic card with a small screen size 15 or 14 inch.  Click Here for More

I did not know about this until last week.  OfficeMax sells refurbished laptop computers.  Yes, they sell name brand computers such as HP Pavilion, Sony VAIO, Toshiba Satellite, and more.

I was surfing the OfficeMax weekly email, and for some reason I saw a link titled refurbished.  Clicked on the link and wow! What great deals on laptop computers.

For example, check out this deal on a 14-inch HP Pavilion DV4-1220us:

• AMD Turion X2 RM-72 Dual-Core Mobile Processor (2.1GHz, 1MB L2 cache)
• genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition with Service Pack 1
• 4GB DDR2 system memory
• 250GB (5400rpm) SATA hard drive
• 14.1″ diagonal WXGA high-definition HP BrightView widescreen display (1280 x 800)
• 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN
• HP Webcam with integrated digital microphone; and
• 1-year limited refurbished hardware warranty

How much would you expect to spend on a computer like this?  $600?  $700?

Not even close.

You can buy this refurbished laptop computer from OfficeMax for $549.99.

Oh, and how much is shipping and handling?

$0.  Nada.  Nothing.

Wow.

Wow.

There ARE great deals out there boys and girls – you have to just keep looking.

Acer Aspire

The laptop computer market seems to be going backwards as far as size goes, or at least fluctuating.

Remember when laptop computers used to be called portable computers, and they weighed 15 pounds or more? We finally moved away from that and invented smaller portable PC’s with ugly green screens. After that the industry finally came out with laptops, one of the first being the Winbook. That model was fairly small, and as time progressed, we began using larger and larger laptops, with 17 inch screens. And now, as technology has progressed we seem to be going for small once again.

And that is where the Acer Aspire comes in. Small laptop computers are all the rage now, and it’s hard to beat their price and portability.

The Acer Aspire is very compact as far as small laptop computers go, measuring only about 8.9 inches. For those you who haven’t put two and two together, this is extremely small; so small in fact that the device could probably be fit inside a purse with absolutely no issue. If you are a student, this helps a lot, especially if you need a laptop but don’t want one that is so huge it requires a separate bag.

The Acer Aspire features the following:

1.6GHz Atom N270 Processor

–In my opinion, this makes it slightly underpowered, but it will get the job done if all you need to do is surf the web, check email, and type up simple documents.

8GB solid state hard drive, 512MB DDR2 SDRAM (expandable)

–Solid state hard drives are superior to regular hard drives in that they boot up a bit faster and there are no mechanical parts to fail. Solid state hard drives use the same technology that is used in flash drives, allowing for instantaneous access to your data. The only slowdown will be the actual POST time in which the laptop is running tests to make sure that it can actually power on.

–The Laptop comes with 512 DDR 2 ram, which can be expanded to one gig. DDR2 isn’t the latest and greatest but it is cheaper than DDR3 and will get the job done.

802.11b/g, Ethernet, three USB 2.0, VGA, and 3.5mm audio out

–This laptop features wireless networking, an Ethernet port, and even USB 2.0. USB 2.0 transfers considerably faster than USB 1.0, making it the optimum choice for anyone who needs to complete transfers in record time.

1.3 megapixel camera, SDHC and multi-format media readers

–There’s nothing quite like a card reader in a laptop. You can take the card out of your digital camera, pop it into your laptop, and have it reading the files in a heartbeat. Awesome! I definitely agree that this is a lot better than having to find a USB cable and hook the camera up that way. Way to go Acer!

Linpus Linux Lite operating system

–This brings the price of the laptop down considerably; Linux is a free operating system (as in free speech and free beer!) designed by Linux Torvalds to succeed the MINIX kernel which was a substitute for UNIX. It can’t play the Windows based games, or run any windows applications for the most part, but it is great for internet, e-mail, and work. It also supports most of the current instant messengers such as Skype.

For a typical configured Acer Aspire laptop package, you should expect to pay about $650. The reason for this seemingly high price for such a small laptop computer is the solid state hard drive. Gig for gig, flash memory is a lot more expensive then DDR RAM. Really expensive. That is why you really haven’t seen more solid state hard drives up to now.

Summary

The Acer Aspire laptop computer ranks high on my coolness meter.  The battery life is reported to be a problem if you need over three hours of battery life.

But if you need one of the smallest laptops available, but don’t want all the bloated and useless software that comes with Windows based laptops, then this is definitely one of the small laptop computers that you need to check out.

Whenever you’re shopping for laptop computers, be it online or in a store, it’s important to know a few of the basic things to look for before you consider a purchase. You have to know how to compare laptop computers from each other. And to do that, you have to be able to look at apples and oranges, and see the important differences.

Aside from their performance and portability, you also have to know if a laptop computer can be nearly as good enough as a desktop system for your needs.

Ready to learn how to choose laptop computers?

Let’s move on.

Portability

Portability is the main feature of any laptop. You have to know if they’re small enough and how much they weigh before actually making the purchase. Aside from that, you’ll need to know if the various accessories would be much of a hassle when carrying around the laptop. In short, consider buying a laptop that meets your convenience pertaining size and weight.

Sounds simple?

Yes and no.

If you are a road warrior, then weight and portability will mater, especially after lugging a six pound laptop around. Go for light weight and smaller screen size. But if you are a desk jockey like me, who use their laptop as a desktop replacement, weight and portability is really not a big deal.

Performance

Performance should be good enough to go along with a laptop’s portability. Consider buying a laptop that’s suited to the kind of work you wish to associate it with.

And what the hell does that mean?

If you plan on doing a lot of multitasking, it’s important that your choice of laptop covers good enough processor speed as well as having a good amount of RAM (memory). What is good enough?

Nowadays, most laptops have an Intel Pentium Dual Core processor, a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo processors (there is a difference in performance!). Some even have Core 2 Quad processors but you’ll have to pay out the nose for those babies unless you score a deal.

Compare laptop computers for the best prices as you also compare performance.

There just isn’t a simple answer.

You’ve got to do your home work if you want to compare laptop computers and get an awesome deal on a computer.

And as a last tip concerning the aspects of performance, with Vista operating system, don’t even think about getting less than 2 gigs of RAM. If can swing it, by all means get 4 gigs.

Display

The video display on your laptop should also be considered. Get a laptop that has a good video and graphics processor. Today’s laptop screens come with marketing descriptions such as “frameless” or “hi-def BrightView Infinity” display such as the HP Pavilion dv6 series of laptops.Choosing a large enough screen size is good but it will definitely change the portability factor.

This is simple math. Big screen = more weight and bigger computer.

Wide screen displays are pretty much the standard nowadays so it’s best if you go with that also.

Hard Drive Capacity

When shopping for alaptop, you’ll also need to consider how much storage space you’ll need. I remember my first laptop, a Compaq 5101us, that had a hard drive with 40 gig hard drive. Wow! That was huge!

Three years later, my computer hard drive is stuffed to the gills, slow because of the all the programs I’ve installed (Quickbooks and Dreamweaver act like molasses to a hard drive). I have had to move all my cool files and mp3s to an external 160 gig hard drive, just to make room for more programs.

And I regret not getting a laptop with a faster processor and larger hard drive.

Lesson learned.

Compare laptops, but get a computer that that has more hard drive disk space then you think you’ll need – and then get a bigger one. At that point, and you’ll be set for the next couple of years.

Oh yea, when comparing laptops, choose a laptop that offers convenient USB ports on the side of the cases, so you can easily plug in those flash drives of yours.

Networking

Portability will mean little if your laptop doesn’t offer good networking capabilities. When comparing laptop computers, you have to choose the ones that have a Fast Ethernet. Don’t even think about a laptop that doesn’t have wi-fi. And get a networking system for your laptop with minimum wireless capabilities of 802.11b/g.

Battery Life

You should always make sure that your laptop has sufficient battery life so you can truly appreciate its portability. Getting a new laptop that only has a battery life of 30 minutes sucks.

Do your homework, read the reviews, and choose a laptop with batteries that have more than 2 hours of life.

These are typically 6 cell batteries. Both Dell and HP sell 12 cell Lithium-ion extended batteries. Based on my wife’s experience, you can get over 5 hours of batter life from the 12 cell extended battery.

Summary

So that concludes the basics of how to choose and compare laptop computers. As a parting note, it’s always a good idea to have a good warranty system from the manufacturer. Most laptop computers come with a 1 year warranty. Consider a 2 or 3 year warranty. It may cost more but it certainly is good for your peace of mind.

Sometimes you may see cheap laptop computers advertised and think that they are poor quality. But a cheap computer does not always mean that it is a piece of  substandard quality or junk.

A cheap computer is simply a computer that you are able to purchase without having to spend an arm and a leg.  Cheap means inexpensive.  Cheap doesn’t necessarily mean poor value or inferior quality.

Because there is no need to pay for features and speed that you do not need, you can save yourself a lot of money by determining just what it is that you need in a laptop computer. Think of what you truly need in a computer versus buying (and paying for) the latest bells and whistles.

Where will you be using your laptop?

Will it be used at home, work, or while traveling?

Will it be used at school?

Are you a road warrior, or will the laptop stay plugged in at home?

Will the laptop be for emailing and work purposes or will you be spending a lot of time playing games on it?

Maybe you have computer games on your home desk top computer, and your laptop is used to simply stay in touch for your friends and family while you are away on business. If that is the case then you really do not need all kinds of crazy speed and graphics since these are normally used by those who are big gamers.  And gaming machines cost big bucks.

Remember, when shopping for cheap laptop computers, you are looking for something of high quality that fits your personal needs and your budget, not something that is going to fall apart. Do not allow the price tag to scare you away from what could truly be the best laptop computer for you.

Of course there are laptop computers cheaply made but these days those are few and far in between, especially if you stick with the major manufacturers such as Dell, HP, or Acer.  The problem is that you many have seen too many advertisements and you are thinking that in order to have a decent laptop you have to have the best of the best and spend a lot of money to boot.

Wrong.

How about getting a cheap laptop computer, spending less, and still getting a really nice laptop?

It’s not impossible.  Just focus on what you really need in a laptop.  Why spend money on speed and features that you don’t really need?   And if you do not need those cool gadget things on your laptop, why do you want to pay for them?

By taking a good hard look at your computing habits, and what you will be using the laptop computer for, you will be able to make the best selection when it comes to making that purchase. And just think of what you can do with the extra money you can save by buying a cheap laptop computer.

With the money you save, you could buy other cool electronic gadgets, such as a nice laptop carrying case, an external hard drive.

So the next time you see a great deal for a laptop cheap computer, don’t assume that it means poor quality, as you could very well be missing out on an incredible deal.

While not every promotion for a cheap laptop is going to be the best for you, it is worth checking into all of them when you are in the market for a new laptop.

So again, cheap doesn’t necessarily mean poor quality.

Determine your needs, not your wants.  What are you really going to be doing with your laptop computer?

And keep your eyes peeled for those special deals.

Just focus on quality, and what you really need in a computer.

Join me on our journey together as we explore and review laptop computers, and find the best laptop computer for you and your budget.

If you are still using a desktop computer, image how free you can be with a laptop computer.

Where you go, your laptop can go also.  With a Wi-Fi connection, or tethered to a internet enabled cell phone, you can browse the web, post to Facebook, check email, and work on the next great iPhone app just about anywhere.

Freedom!

I started this website because I needed to upgrade my old laptop, and in my research, I was almost overwhelmed by the choices and prices.  But I have a budget.  And so do you.

So together let’s review the best cheap laptop computers.