Small, lightweight, low-cost, value-for-money laptops that can get meetings and daily work completed easily and smoothly are the order of the day. We’ve rounded up key terms and a handful of options to support you in your buying decision.
There is an increasing demand for compact laptops. People want brand new basic laptops for their work-from-home lives, and they also want laptops that will not occupy much space. After all, in most Indian cities and especially the metros, home sizes are rather small.
There is not an inch of space to waste. Moreover, if we’re looking at an average of four laptops per household (for two working-from-home parents and two virtually schooled children), the smaller, and the better it will be.
Another reason why people are looking for compact laptops is that they are thinking ahead of the lockdown. They’re looking for something that will be easily portable when we’re back on our feet; something that won’t break their backs when they’re out on the field.
Most of our office-sponsored laptops are typically large and heavy. Additionally, if consumers are to invest in a device to adhere to work-from-home requirements, we would rather invest in something that does not present the same back-breaking problem.
The third (and probably the foremost) reason that people want smaller laptops is favorable pricing. People simply want the best laptop under 25,000 INR that allows them to carry out their work, school or college lives smoothly.
They want to eliminate the inconvenience of shared devices or working out of a phone without breaking the bank over finding a solution.
Let’s look at some of the terms you’re likely to encounter when you’re looking for a small, compact, lightweight laptop.
- The word Notebook is used interchangeably with laptop, and means the same thing.
- The words “mini laptop” usually refers to something that is less than 12 inches in size. A mini laptop’s price is typically less than a regular laptop or Notebook.
- When they say memory, they’re referring to RAM. Ensure it is at least 4GB to have a reasonably quick device.
- When you hear ‘touchpad’, it means that you can use your laptop screen like you do with your phone screen, and it usually means that your screen and keyboard can be separated. The screen portion can then be used as one would use a tab.
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ADA05
This compact 15-inch laptop weighs only a little over 1.8 Kg, and comes with 4GB RAM and 1TB HDD storage. When it comes to the laptop’s connectivity options, it sports 3 USB ports as opposed to the standard 2 USB ports, and it also has a webcam and an audio jack to facilitate basic virtual learning and virtual meeting or conferencing.
The Lenovo Idea pad 3 15ADA05 is powered by the AMD dual core processor that offers 2.3GHz speed. This dual core processor means that you could use your laptop for gaming, although if you’ve got a phone with more processors, then maybe you can give your laptop a rest when you’re gaming.
Lenovo IdeaPad D330
We’ve had to put two Lenovo models on this list, because Lenovo as a brand seems pretty clear on the fact that when people are buying small laptops or mini laptops, they want a mini laptop price to go with it.
The Lenovo IdeaPad D330 is a proper mini laptop because it falls in the under-12 inches bracket. Sized at a little more than 25 cm (10 inches), the laptop weighs a very convenient 0.92 kg.
It combines the functions of a laptop with the convenience of a tab because its keyboard is detachable. You can use the device in touch-screen mode even when the two are attached. Furthermore, the laptop also boasts a rear camera and a front-facing camera that you can use for virtual meetings.
This mini laptop has an Intel Gemini Lake Celeron N4000 processor, and offers 4GB RAM with a 64GB hard drive and a Windows 10 OS. To ensure that the device remains operational for a long time, it also comes with a 5000mAh battery
Dell Latitude 3400
A lot of corporate offices swear by Dell on account of its reputation as a manufacturer of durable laptops. This 14-inch Dell laptop weighs only a little over 1.6 kg, and comes with 8GB RAM and 1TB HDD storage.
The device is powered by the Intel Core i3 processor that boasts 2 GHz clock speed, which guarantees its seamless performance. Last but not least, the laptop also comes with an in-built microphone and webcam to enable virtual classes and meetings, while running on Windows 10 OS.
Asus Celeron
The Asus Celeron laptop comes with 1TB HDD storage and 4GB RAM, while running on Windows 10 OS. The laptop weighs a little less than two kgs – 1.9 kg to be precise – and measures about 40 cm (15 inch). This laptop can double up as a gaming device for avid gamers on account of its Intel HD Graphics 520 GPU, while it is powered by the Intel Celeron N3350 processor.
