Market Share for Computer Devices - Essay Example

If someone considers buying a laptop they should pay attention to the following criteria: the size of the screen, CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (memory), graphics adapter, and hard drive. The best choices in the case of CPU are AMD's Phenom II or the Intel Core i7 CPU. The laptop has the advantage of portability but also has a drawback because of the additional weight of carrying it around.

Besides CPU, GPU (graphics processing unit) should also be considered. In the case of GPU, the lower-end type may reside on the motherboard, whereas high-end 3D graphics capability is offered through these units, which reside on video cards (placed into expansion slots).

The tablets are considered a happy medium between notebooks and smartphones so they have a few advantages. One of them is the weight, which is less compared with a laptop. Features that should be considered when purchasing a tablet are battery life, prices, (which are directly related to screen size), and resolution.

When purchasing a computer other than all in one type, it should be overviewed issues such as screen size, resolution (defined by the number of pixels), type (LCD or CRT), contrast ratio (which is a comparison of the brightest color to the darkest color), the response time (how fast can the monitor display images), HDMI capability (the ability to have a high definition and multimedia interface), and 3D Enabled.

There are three types of computer storage devices: internal storage, external storage, and network attached. The first type is a hard drive or solid-state drive (SSD); the hard drive has the largest storage capacity and is also the most economical storage device. The external storage can be connected to a computer via a USB port, FireWire, or SATA port.

When analyzing mobile devices, network technologies such as CDMA and GSM should be taken into account. Globally, GSM is the leader in what concerns network technology. Differences between these two types exist in the area of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards. Other considerations when purchasing should be the availability of Speech Interpretation and Recognition (SIRI) software, and also the battery use for all the applications the mobile uses.

Finally, digital cameras should be overviewed features such as megapixels, interchangeable camera lenses or fixed lenses, rechargeable batteries versus disposable batteries, and the ability to create video clips.

Exercise 2

The main features to consider when buying a laptop are processor, memory, OS, storage, battery life, and connectivity. The following table has presented a comparison of three types of laptops.

Table no. 1 Comparison of three types of laptops

Apple MacBook Air 11-inch

Samsung Series 9 11.6″ Laptop

Aspire S Series S3-951-6646

Price

Start $999.00

Start $1,049.00

Start $899.99

Processor

1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with 3MB shared L3 cache

Intel® Core™ i3 Processor 2357M

Intel Core i5-2467M 1.6GHz Dual core with 3Mb cache with 64-bit

Memory

2GB of 1333MHz DDR3 onboard memory

2GB DDR3

4GB DDR3 SDRAM DDR3-1333/PC3-10666

OS

OS X Lion with built-in recovery tools

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium

Display

11.6-inch high-resolution LED-backlit glossy widescreen up to 1366 by 768 (16:9 aspect ratio) – up to 1024 by 768 (4:3)

11.6-inch SuperBright Plus widescreen display HD LED Backlit anti-glare display

13.3″ Active Matrix TFT Color LCD WXGA Intel shared DDR3 SDRAM

Storage

64GB SSD

64GB SSD

320GB Serial ATA 5400rpm

Battery and Power

Advanced lithium-polymer battery with MagSafe power adapter (Up to 5 hours with wireless and web)

6-Cell Lithium 5680 mAh

3-cell Lithium Ion 3260mAh

Interface

Two USB 2.0 ports & Thunderbolt port

HDMI, 2x USB 2.0 ports, Headphone Out, Microphone In, RJ45 (LAN), 1 MicroSD port

2x USB 2.0 ports and HDMI port

Connectivity

IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n  compatible and Bluetooth 4.0

IEEE 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth V3.0 High Speed

IEEE 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0

Dimension (HxWxD)

(0.11-0.68)-inch x 11.8-inch x 7.56-inch / (0.3-1.7)cm x 30cm x 19.2cm

(0.62~0.65)-inch x 11.7-inch x 7.8-inch  / (1.57~ 1.65)-cm x  29.7 cm x 19.8cm

0.7-inch x 12.7-inch x 8.6-inch / 1.778 cm x 32.258 cm x 21.85 cm

Weight

2.38 pounds (1,080 g)

2.34 lbs (1, 061.4 g)

3.1 lb (1,406g)

Source: www.cnet.com, www.acer.com, www.apple.com.

Exercise 3

I do not have a smartphone, but a regular mobile phone Nokia.

Exercise 4

The difference between GSM and CDMA is related to the frequency band. In the case of GSM, the entire frequency band is not entitled to the end user, whereas in the case of CDMA, the entire frequency band is entitled to the end user. I am using GSM, but I cannot say I paid too much attention to this aspect when I bought the phone.