Straightforward features - weight and battery life - are the most important.
Hard Disk (HDD) versus Solid State Disk (SSD)
SSDs use the same flash technology as thumbdrives and memory cards. They are now a viable alternative to HDDs.
SSDs
- are more resistant to physical shock (vibration, hard knocks)
- use less electrical power
- do not need to be defragmented
The disadvantage is that they
- cost more
- have not yet been proven to be reliable in long term use, on a large scale
Disk Size
A 40 gigabyte disk is sufficient as long as large multimedia files (video, MP3, digital photographs) are not stored.
If multimedia files are required
