Feasibility Report: Laptop Computer Purchase
This is a feasibility report on the purchase of a
laptop computer for the Software of the Future Company. The
Software of the Future Company owns numerous IBM PS/2
computers which are adequate for the needs of the company
for use in the office. However, there are many occasions
where a smaller, portable laptop computer would be very
useful. There are many occasions where employees would like
to take a computer with them to a customer's office, either
to a prospective customer's office for demonstrations of
past work or to a current customer's office for
demonstrations of work in process. There are also many
occasions when it would be useful for employees to be able
to take home a laptop computer with them for use in
finishing work that is on a time schedule or for use when
circumstances demand that they cannot come into work, but
would be able to do some work while at home. The purchase of
a laptop computer would need to take into consideration the
following criteria:
- IBM-PC AT - compatibility
- Size of the machine, weight, portability, and battery
power
- RAM memory size of the machine, diskspace, disk drives
- Quality and readability of the display screen
- Cost of the machine
The laptop would need to be compatible with the IBM
PS/2 computers in the office. This would mean that it would
need to have a 3-1/2 inch microfloppy disk drive. The laptop
would need to be small in size, light enough to be carried
comfortably for extended amounts of time and have enough
battery power to last through a 1- to 2-hour presentation
without the screen dimming or the processing slowing down.
The laptop would need to have enough RAM memory to run large
programs, a minimum of 1000K. A hard disk drive of 20
megabytes would be very useful, but not entirely necessary.
If a hard disk drive is included in the machine, one disk
drive would be adequate; otherwise, two disk drives would be
required. The screen of the laptop would need to be of
average to good quality so that it would not be a strain for
customers or employees to view the screen. Cost is not the
most important criteria for the selection of the laptop, but
a price range of $1,000 to $2,000 should be considered.
Comparisons
There are many reliable laptop computers currently on
the market. Some of the best on the market are the Zenith
SupersPortSX and the Toshiba T3100SX, which are the first
battery-powered 80386SX based portable computers on the
market. These machines have a 16 MHz clock speed and both
include a 40 megabyte hard drive. However, the price of
these two machines each run into approximately $6,000. These
machines are the top of the market and are aimed at
professionals who need to compute on the go: salespeople,
executives, field personnel and journalists, for example
(3:96). These are much more than what our needs require.
Some of the laptops in our price range include the Toshiba
T1200HB, the NEC Multispeed EL-2, the Epson Equity LT, the
Tandy 1400LT, the Datavue Spark, the Zenith SupersPort
184-1, and the Toshiba T1000. The NEC Multispeed EL-2, the
Epson Equity LT, the Tandy 1400LT, and the Datavue Spark are
not going to be considered because they all have less than
the 1000K RAM memory requirement and the RAM memory is not
expandable at the present time. The three laptops that will
be considered further will be the Toshiba T1200HB, the
Zenith SupersPort 184-1, and the Toshiba T1000. All three of
these machines are compatible with our currently owned IBM
PS/2 office computers.
Weight. The Toshiba T1200HB has a weight of 11.1 lbs.
The Zenith SupersPort 184-1 has a weight of 14 lbs. The
Toshiba T1000 has a weight of 6.2 lbs [1:7:72]. All three
machines are light enough and small enough in size to be
easily portable. The lighest is the Toshiba T1000, but the
heaviest, the Zenith SupersPort 184-1 is still light enough
at 14 lbs, to carry without much trouble.
Battery life. The battery life of the Toshiba T1200HB
is 3 hours. The battery life of the Zenith SupersPort 184-1
is 5-1/2 hours and the battery life of the Toshiba T1000 is
5-1/4 hours. The Zenith SupersPort 184-1 has the longest
batterylife, but all three laptops have adequate battery
life time for our needs.
RAM memory and disk storage. The RAM memory size of the
Toshiba T1200HB is 1 megabyte, expandable to 2 megabytes and
has a 20 megabyte hard drive. The Zenith SupersPort 184-1
has a RAM memory of 640k, but it is expandable to 1640k and
also has a 20 megabyte hard drive. The Toshiba T1000 has a
RAM memory size of 512k, expandable to 1280k. The Toshiba
T1000 does not have a hard drive available. Both the Toshiba
T1200HB and the Zenith SupersPort 184-1 have dual disk
drives. The Toshiba T1000 comes with a single disk drive
[1:71-72]. The Toshiba T1200HB and the Zenith SupersPort
184-1 are very competitive in RAM memory and disk storage.
Screen characteristics. The Toshiba T1200HB has good
screen quality as far as laptops go. The Zenith SupersPort
184-1 screen is the largest screen among these three
laptops, but not very bright or readible in bright light.
The Toshiba T1000 screen is a reflective LCD screen which
lacks brightness and is small in size, only 3-inches high
with 25 lines of text crammed into those 3 inches which
makes the characters looked squashed [1:72]. The Toshiba
T1200HB has the best quality screen.
Price. The list price of the Toshiba T1200HB is $2,199,
but has been advertised for $1,788. The Zenith SupersPort
184-1 has a list price of $3,199 and has been advertised at
a price of $2,100. The Toshiba T1000 has a list price of
$999 with an advertised price of $598 [1:71-72]. The Zenith
SupersPort 184-1 is a little over our price range. The
Toshiba T1000 definitely has the lowest price, but it is
also a less powerful machine.
Summary
Following is a summary of the comparison of the Toshiba
T1200HB, the Zenith SupersPort 184-1, and the Toshiba T1000:
- All three machines are compatible with the currently
owned IBM PS/Ss.
- The Toshiba T1000 is the lightest of the three computers
with a weight of 6.2 lbs.
- The Zenith SupersPort 184-1 has the longest battery
life.
- The Toshiba T1200HB has the best RAM memory options with
1 megabyte, expandable to 2 megabytes and 20 megabyte
hard drive.
- The Toshiba T1200HB and the Zenith SupersPort 184-1 are
equal in disk storage with a 20 megabyte hard drive
each.
- The Toshiba T1200HB has the best screen quality of the
three laptops.
- The Toshiba T1000 definitely has the lowewt price of the
three laptops, but is not as powerful a machine as the
Toshiba T1200HB, which is definitely within the price
range and compares favorably in all but the battery
life, 3 hours, which is still adequate for our needs.
Categories Toshiba Zenith Super- Toshiba
of comparison T1200HB sport 184-1 T1000
============================================================
Compatibility yes 3 yes 3 yes 3
Weight (lbs) 11.1 2 14 1 6.2 3
Battery (hrs) 3 1 5.5 3 5.25 2
RAM Memory (KB) 2000 3 1640 2 1280 1
Hard drive (MB) 20 3 20 3 none 1
Screen Quality good 3 ave. 2 poor 1
Price $1,788 2 $2,100 1 $598 3
============================================================
Total Rankings 17 15 14
TABLE 1. Rankings of the Toshiba T1200HB, the Zenith
SupersPort 184-1, and the Toshiba T1000. (Rankings: 3 -
highest, 2 - middle, 1 - lowest)
Recommendations
Based on the criteria previously discussed in this
report and the ratings from Table 1, I recommend the
following:
- Purchase a Toshiba T1200HB laptop comuter which is within
the price range and has the highest among the three
laptops compared.
or
- Do not purchase a laptop at the present time and since
the laptop computer industry is a relatively new and
changing industry, wait six months and re-evaluated the
market at that time.
LITERATURE REFERENCED
- "Laptop Computers." Consumer Reports: 1990 Buying Guide
Issue. (December, 1989), 69- 73.
- Miastkowski, Stan. "Lub 'Em or Leave 'Em." BYTE
Magazine. (December, 1989), 102-103.
- Nadeau, Michael E. "Compaq and Toshiba Take the Low
Road." BYTE Magazine. (December, 1989), 96-100.
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