Some of the best cheap laptop deals are online, but there are some people who are hesitant to purchase anything over the internet.  While some of these people are simply hesitant about giving out their credit card information online, some want to actually see the laptop before they buy it.

But is that really necessary?  Well, there are some perks to being able to walk into a shop and play around with several laptops before buying one.  However, in the minute or two that you try out the laptop, it’s not exactly possible to get a true feeling for how the laptop is going to work.  Mainly, you get to see what neat extras that particular model has.  You generally can’t tell how well the laptop will perform after you’ve had it on for hours and are running three memory-intensive programs.  You also can’t get an idea for how long the battery will last.

There are some benefits, though.  You can pick up the laptop and see how heavy it is, and you can see if the screen is too small for you.  You can try out the touchpad so you know if you’ll like it or if you want to buy a mouse to go with your laptop.  You can also talk to the sales representative and clear up any questions you have right away.

Is it absolutely necessary to shop for a laptop in a shop instead of online?  Of course not.  Many people love the laptops they’ve purchased on the internet.  In fact, sometimes buying a laptop online is the only way to easily customise it.  Manufacturers usually allow you to add more memory, upgrade the hard drive, and more without any difficulty.  You can’t easily do that to a laptop you buy in a store.  In the end, it really comes down to your personal preference.

When you purchase a laptop, you know it’s going to come with a small touch pad that functions like a mouse—you move your finger around the pad to move the cursor, and the two small buttons under the pad allow you to left and right click.  However, some people don’t like the pad, and for those people, laptop mice exist.

However, laptop mice are yet another expense, and if you’re looking for a cheap laptop, chances are that you’re on a budget.  Do you really need a laptop mouse?  If you just need your laptop for basic functions like email, word processing, or accessing the internet, you may not.  Even though you don’t like the touchpad, you may be able to adjust to it.  Many people have difficulty using it at first, but after a few weeks, they find they can use the touch pad just as well as a mouse.

However, there are some instances where a mouse is needed.  If you’re doing graphic design or image editing, a mouse gives you a little more control than a touch pad does.  Likewise, if you’re going to be doing a lot of gaming with your laptop, you may need to have a mouse to actually play the game.  Touch pads also often don’t have anything that acts like the scroll wheel on a mouse does, so you may want that feature.

There are specific mice made for laptops.  They are generally a little smaller than standard mice, and many of them are now wireless.  However, regular computer mice work just as well with laptops, and you may be able to find one of those cheaper than a laptop mouse.  As with anything, do a little comparison shopping before you buy.

Buying a cheap laptop as a gift can be a great way of saying “congratulations” to a high school graduate, an accomplished student, or just about anyone.  However, there are some things you’ll want to consider before you purchase a laptop for someone, lest you have to return it for whatever reason.

The main issue with giving a laptop as a gift is that you know what the receiver needs in a computer.  While you may think they simply need a cheap laptop that does the basics (email, internet, and word processing), you may be mistaken.  If you’re buying a laptop for a college student, for example, you may need to make certain it has a built-in wireless card so they can connect to their college’s network.  Some colleges actually have specific requirements for their students’ laptops, so you should inquire about this before you go shopping.

Make certain the laptop comes with the necessary software that your receiver will need or be ready to purchase the software.  Accessories, too, may need to be purchased.  Of course, you can simply leave those up to the person you give the gift to.  It really depends on how you feel about giving a gift you know may not have everything that someone needs.  You can always talk to the person and see what software they will need.  This is a good idea even if you’re not planning on buying the software yourself so you’ll at least have an idea of how much memory and hard drive space the laptop will need.

Be certain that you or the person you’re giving the laptop to can return it.  While you hope that you know the person well enough that you can purchase a great laptop that’s perfect for them, there’s always the chance that you’ll overlook something.

In the past, all laptops featured tiny little keyboards.  This was because people wanted a laptop for its portability and smaller size – the whole point of buying a laptop was so that they didn’t have to lug around something as heavy or as large as a desktop computer, after all.  However, today, some laptops are being constructed with a full keyboard.  But which is better, the larger keyboard or the smaller computer?

First, what is meant by a full keyboard?  Basically, it’s the same type of keyboard you’d use with a desktop computer.  In addition to featuring the full set of keys, a full keyboard includes a separate number pad (what accountants refer to as a ten-key), the row of F1 through F12 keys, and others such as the four arrow keys, a delete key, a home key, and an insert key.  On the smaller laptop keyboards, these keys do exist, but they’ve been integrated with the standard letters and require you to press a specific function key.  For example, in standard mode, the keys for letters like j, k, and l type those letters.  In function mode, however, they become 1, 2, and 3 for the number pad.  This means that you can’t easily enter numbers and letters without pressing the function key often.

If you’re not an accountant or won’t be dealing with many numbers, you may think that you’d have no need for the full keyboard.  However, if you’re a gamer, you will certainly want to consider it.  In many online games, players use the keyboard to type to other players and use the number pad to control their characters or perform specific functions in the game.  Without a separate number pad or set of directional arrows, it may be impossible to play some games on a laptop.

Finally, some people, especially those with large hands, may find it hard to type on the smaller keyboard.  For them, it’s simply too difficult to use a laptop for typing, and while it is possible to connect a full sized keyboard to their laptop, that means lugging around a keyboard.  However, if they purchase a laptop with a full sized keyboard built-in, they don’t have to deal with carrying around an extra keyboard.

No matter what the reason, laptops featuring full sized keyboards are often just as affordable as those with tiny keyboards.  It all depends on if you need the number pad, the arrow keys, or the larger sized keyboard for typing convenience.