Laptop Rental
Laptop rental gains in popularity year after year. Even as laptop prices have dropped remarkably, making the purchase of a notebook computer relatively inexpensive, laptop rental has become increasingly frequent. Top reasons behind the rental of a laptop computer range from wanting to test a specific laptop model prior to purchasing it, to simply not wanting to own a laptop, but still having the occasional need for mobile computing.
Laptop Rentals: Tradeshow and Convention Markets Dominate
Laptop rental has always had a strong business case in cities geared specifically around conventions and trade-shows; in these tradeshow and convention markets where the rental of projectors, televisions, booths, signage, and other promotional materials is popular, so is the rental of laptop computers.
Laptop Rental Options
Just a few years ago, laptop rentals were predominantly handled by laptop rental companies specializing in a small set of hardware-namely notebook computers and projectors. Now, there are many companies providing laptop rentals as opposed to a few large players as well as many newer business models which focus on rentals for unique situations requiring very short rental contracts, even contracts lasting only a few hours.
Laptop Rental Checklist
Battery Stamina
If you will be using your rental laptop disconnect more...5 points
Internet Connectivity
If you need to connect to the Internet, be sure th more...4 points
Included Software
Most common business-oriented software is provided more...1 point
Projector, Monitor or Television
Are you delivering a presentation on an external m more...1 point
Carrying Case
Does the laptop rental company provide a carrying more...0 points
Installing Software
Can you install your own software on the computer more...0 points
Laptop Rental Related Content from Crave
Crave, presented by CNet, provides musings on laptops in a regularly updated RSS feed.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byLaptop Rentals: Just PC's?
A few years ago you'd be hard pressed to find a Macintosh rental. Times have changed!
Macintosh laptops account for the bulk of Macintosh sales. In 2003, Steve Jobs declared it "The Year of the Notebook," and focused their efforts on refining their laptop computers.With the popularity of Apple laptop computers that ensued came a surge in laptop rental options for Macintosh computers-notebook and laptops alike. Today, renting a Mac laptop is as easy and cost effective as the rental of its PC counterpart.
How popular are Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro lines of laptops? According to a recent Mac World article which quotes NPD numbers "According to NPD, Apple's U.S. retail notebook market share for June 2007 was 17.6 percent, an increase of 2.2 percentage points over the same period last year when Apple posted a 15.4 percent market share."
Laptop Computers on Amazon
Choosing a rental laptop? These models have some of the highest user ratings and sales numbers on Amazon.com.
HP Pavilion TX1220US 12.1" Notebook PC (AMD Turion 64 Processor TL64, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
The HP Pavilion tx1220 puts a unique twist on mobi more...3 points
Apple MacBook Pro MA895LL/A 15" Notebook PC (2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive)
Presenting the world's most advanced notebook comp more...2 points
Toshiba Satellite A215-S4747 15.4" Notebook PC (AMD Turion 64 Processor TL56, 1 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
Taking your computing on the road doesn't mean you more...2 points
Apple MacBook MB062LL/A 13.3" Notebook PC (2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, 8x SuperDrive) White
The new MacBook is faster and more powerful than e more...1 point
Toshiba Satellite A205-S4797 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5300, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium
Sparked with good looks, the 15.4-inch diagonal wi more...1 point
HP Pavilion DV6426US 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Core Duo Processor T2450, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
The HP Pavilion dv6426 has been designed to provid more...1 point
HP Pavilion DV9540US 17" Notebook PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5250, 2 GB RAM, 240 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium)
The HP Pavilion dv9540 has been designed to provid more...1 point
Toshiba Satellite A135-S4527 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor T2080, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, SuperMulti DVD Drive, Vista Premium)
The Satellite A135-S4527 is sleek and lean, combin more...0 points
Sony VAIO VGN-UX390N 4.5" Notebook PC (Intel Core Solo Processor U1500, 1 GB RAM, 32 GB Flash Drive, Vista Business)
The Micro PC is a new class of computer that drast more...0 points
Laptop Rentals - At the Airport
Some airports now have laptop rental kiosks.
Flight delayed? Several airports now have laptop rentals just for travelers stuck at a terminal. Locations include:- Austin - Austin-Bergstrom International Airport - Laptop Rental via. PowerPort.
- Dallas - Dalls/Ft. Worth International Airport - Laptop Rental via. PowerPort.
- San Antonio - San Antonio International Airport - Laptop Rental via. PowerPort.
- New York - LaGuardia Airport - Laptop Rental via. PowerPort.
- St. Louis - Lamber-St. Louis International Airport - Laptop Rental via. PowerPort.
Laptop Rental Resources
If you're going to rent a laptop computer, be sure the model you pick is worth your money!
- Laptop Reviews on CNet
- CNet should provide a review of virtually any laptop you are considering renting. CNet has editorial and user reviews and ratings of a wide array of electronics.
- Consumer Reports - Computers & Laptops
- Consumer Reports' unbiased reviews can serve as an excellent source of laptop information. Consumer Reports also covers additional devices such as LCD projectors and peripherals.
- BizRate - Laptops
- Check BizRate when you're ready to move from laptop rentals to laptop ownership. BizRate's laptop computer reviews provide comparative analysis including key features and pricing.
- Viewpoints.com - Computers
- Viewpoint.com offers unbiased reviews from real people on a variety of product types, including laptop and desktop computers.
Reader Feedback
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Laptop Rentals in the News
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Laptops on Wikipedia
A laptop computer or laptop (also notebook computer, notebook and notepad) is a small mobile computer, typically weighing , although older laptops may weigh more.
Laptops usually run on a single main battery or from an external AC/DC adapter that charges the battery while it also supplies power to the computer itself, even in the event of a power failure. This very powerful main battery should not be confused with the much smaller battery nearly all computers use to run the real-time clock and backup BIOS configuration into the CMOS memory when the computer is without power.
Laptops contain components that are similar to their desktop counterparts and perform the same functions, but are miniaturized and optimized for mobile use and efficient power consumption, although typically less powerful for the same price. Laptops usually have liquid crystal displays and most of them use different memory modules for their random access memory (RAM), for instance, SO-DIMM in lieu of the larger DIMMs. In addition to a built-in keyboard, they may utilize a touchpad (also known as a trackpad) or a pointing stick for input, though an external keyboard or mouse can usually be attached.
