Testing Your Laptop Before You Buy

Why would anyone rent a laptop? Laptop rentals offer convenience for travelling (no tricky check-in at the airport). They can also come in handy when yours breaks down (and it likely will, right when you need it most). But one of the most important reasons to rent a laptop is testing.

If you are considering the purchase of a new laptop, the opportunity to test it is invaluable. Until you give it a trial run, you won’t know how the new machine will perform. And without that information, you could make the wrong purchase decision entirely.

People who choose a laptop over a desktop do so for a variety of reasons. There are some basically sedentary users who spend most of their time at the office but want the freedom to bring their computer home for the evening or weekend. There are frequent travelers who require a computer on their business trips. And there are power users who want the occasional portability of a laptop, but need the power to run specialized, intensive applications.

With so many variations in usage patterns - even within one office - it is important that each person get the laptop that best suits their needs. Laptop rentals enable users to test a selection of machines to determine which one suits their needs for performance, mobility and networking.

For those who travel, renting a wireless laptop for a month or so, then returning it and trying another, can help them get a feel for which machine is better on the road. Is one heavier or slower? Is one dimmer and harder to read in poorly lit hotel rooms or airport lounges? Does one run more efficiently on battery power?

For those who just want to bring their computer home on weekends, portability and size are likely not as important as networking capabilities and speed. Again, using laptop rentals to try out a few machines can help the user decide before money is committed to an actual purchase.

Like the more sedentary users, power users might be less concerned about mobility and more concerned about performance. They need to know that the machine can handle the demanding applications they use.

For those power users who travel, however, size may be an issue. PC laptop rentals can help these users evaluate screen size (larger screens increase weight) and the overall weight of the machine against performance. They will likely side with performance over weight, but even in machines of similar size and power, performance can vary. Renting laptops in the same price point and with similar specs can help these users make the best decision.

And all users want to know how their notebook battery really holds up. A rental period of a month or even a couple of weeks can show users how reliable their battery actually is.

If you or one of your employees needs a new laptop, it pays to evaluate a few models in your approximate price range to see which one can serve your needs and keep you on budget. Laptop rentals are an affordable and easy way to carry out that test.