Features You Want in a Laptop But Never Find

[loPro]

It's been bugging me for years that manufacturers don't release laptops with HDMI in and a simcard reader with 4G/LTE antennas. What's the point of a mobile device if you can't be independent of a wireless router or tethering? I've found my tablet much more useful over the years because of this. And would it hurt to add HDMI/DP in? It'd be so convenient not to have a monitor on your desk and instead use your laptop's monitor for your PC or other devices. Finally, this isn't really a feature but why do some manufacturers like MSI still make laptops like the GSXX ghost so finicky to service? I'd take the ability to change storage, memory and wireless chip over that 1% extra portability any day of the week. 

 

What features do you want in laptops? Perhaps if we get enough people wanting a certain feature, the youtube channel can talk to the manufacturers about it. 

 

 

[Enderman]

Sim card slot for 4G.

[Hiitchy]

I can list several, but if I do it'll turn into a "Pick One, or two, but not both"

 

Better Battery

Slimmer design

Better Cooling

GPU that doesn't drain battery life while playing games

Better power management options rather than staying tethered to a block

Solar panels to charge your laptop while on the go

less integrated ram for upgrade / downgrade options

swapplable CPU's (my old laptop was actually able to upgrade once more)

Sim card slots for 4g/LTE networks....

 

I can't think of anything else, but if a laptop had all of this I'd probably buy it.... Sike.

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

Sim card slot for 4G.

This can do 3G, and support full PCIe x2 cards: http://us.getac.com/notebooks/x500/features.html

[Not_Sean]

for me its rather removing things as I would like the nice graphics card, but I see ZERO point in a laptop under 15.6" going higher res than 1080, also ditch the stupid touch screen, but seems as soon as you look at a high end dGPU you get all that other crap, for me that and No trackpad and Battery as on a gaming laptop the battery just dies in a few seconds and limits performance while it just dies. 

 

My MSI I always have on Charge, and always with a mouse. Rather use the space for cooling. Yes this wouldn't be much in the way of a laptop but in terms of a Mobile gaming solution IMO it would be perfect. 

[Hiitchy]

2 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

This can do 3G, and support full PCIe x2 cards: http://us.getac.com/notebooks/x500/features.html

This looks like something you'd play battleships on...

[sicily428]

Clevos can have a lte card. 

[Zando_]

Just now, Hiitchy said:

This looks like something you'd play battleships on...

Or use to launch missiles at battleships... If I had money coming out my ears, I'd get one just for the fun of it, and see how good of a GPU I could fit inside. It has an i7, so it could game decently. 

[Hiitchy]

Just now, Zando Bob said:

Or use to launch missiles at battleships... If I had money coming out my ears, I'd get one just for the fun of it, and see how good of a GPU I could fit inside. It has an i7, so it could game decently. 

I think the great thing about it is nobody would expect a laptop to be a briefcase in 2017. You could leave it anywhere.... Well almost anywhere.

[NumLock21]

Alienware had HDMI IN

Dell XPS has sim card slot behind the battery.

[Mira Yurizaki]

What I want in a laptop, at least to go mainstream:

• IPS panel displays
• 1080p. At the very least 1680x1050. 1368x768 isn't cutting edge anymore.
• SSDs
• 9 (or 10) hours standard. Apple's been doing it for years. Sony was doing it. Razer can do it. Dell's starting to do it. I looked at ASUS's Q-MAX design laptop and laughed so hard at its abysmal battery life of two hours browsing the internet.

 

And mostly to poke at OP's questions:

11 minutes ago, loPro said:

It's been bugging me for years that manufacturers don't release laptops with HDMI in and a simcard reader with 4G/LTE antennas. What's the point of a mobile device if you can't be independent of a wireless router or tethering?

Lack of HDMI-in is more than likely a combination of the following:

• It's a niche feature (i.e. not enough demand)
• It's not cheap enough to make an HDMI in with all the bells and whistles (e.g., royalties paid to the HDMI consortium for every device sold, hardware itself do the processing, etc.)
• Piracy

Regarding the mobile internet:

• It's cheaper to tether your phone and most people would have a phone anyway
• Lack of a decent data plan
• If I'm at a place where I can actually settle down and use my laptop, it probably has Wi-Fi.

Quote

 And would it hurt to add HDMI/DP in? It'd be so convenient not to have a monitor on your desk and instead use your laptop's monitor for your PC or other devices.

But if I had to plug in my desktop to my laptop, that would mean I'm at desk. Which defeats the purpose of having a laptop. Plus I'd rather have a larger screen.

[NumLock21]

1 minute ago, M.Yurizaki said:

What I want in a laptop, at least to go mainstream:

 

• 1080p. At the very least 1680x1050. 1368x768 isn't cutting edge anymore.

There was some really old Dell laptop that can do 1920x1200.

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, Hiitchy said:

I think the great thing about it is nobody would expect a laptop to be a briefcase in 2017. You could leave it anywhere.... Well almost anywhere.

Yup. Not to mention, any potential robber would have a hard time trying to run with it. And you could use it as a shield or club in desperate situations. It'd be handy for missionaries too. I've got friends in Papua New Guinea, and their laptops are on a weekly rotation, due to the humidity and such. 

[Hiitchy]

1 minute ago, NumLock21 said:

There was some really old Dell laptop that can do 1920x1200.

The Precision M90 / and M6400 are the two I can remember off the top of my head.

[NumLock21]

4 minutes ago, Hiitchy said:

The Precision M90 / and M6400 are the two I can remember off the top of my head.

I think it was a Latitude, on the one I saw.

[loPro]

20 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

This can do 3G, and support full PCIe x2 cards: http://us.getac.com/notebooks/x500/features.html

I'd rather carry a cell tower, mate. 

17 minutes ago, sicily428 said:

Clevos can have a lte card. 

Which model? I remember an Aussie laptop maker having that but it looked like the one above ^

 

I tried configuring Clevos on popular sites, never saw the option. 

14 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

Alienware had HDMI IN

Dell XPS has sim card slot behind the battery.

Please tell me it's the new XPS 15? 

 

Also which alienware had hdmi in? Don't recall that. Maybe not in my country  

 

14 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

 

And mostly to poke at OP's questions:

Lack of HDMI-in is more than likely a combination of the following:

• It's a niche feature (i.e. not enough demand)
• It's not cheap enough to make an HDMI in with all the bells and whistles (e.g., royalties paid to the HDMI consortium for every device sold, hardware itself do the processing, etc.)
• Piracy

Regarding the mobile internet:

• It's cheaper to tether your phone and most people would have a phone anyway
• Lack of a decent data plan
• If I'm at a place where I can actually settle down and use my laptop, it probably has Wi-Fi.

But if I had to plug in my desktop to my laptop, that would mean I'm at desk. Which defeats the purpose of having a laptop. Plus I'd rather have a larger screen.

• A lot of features we have either started as niche, or still are. How many people do you think use thunderbolt? Linus bitches about not having it all the time, but I only met a handful of people in my life who use it. 
• It's not expensive enough either and isn't it the same royalties for the HDMI out? Just have another port for IN. 
• Piracy. Really? They're not stupid enough to think it makes a difference. Anyone serious can buy an HDCP bypass/splitter or record via elgato. 

 

• I don't want to tether my phone. Among other reasons, it wastes battery life. 
• I don't know where you live but over here we got dedicated 4G chips that can only be used for routers, tablets (and laptops if we can find them). The carrier blocks phones from using the chips. This has been super handy for my tablet. 
• Public wifi is the worst idea ever. They're often unreliable and have too many restrictions. I don't even use my workplace's wifi and instead tether from my tablet. 

* forgot one. 

 

I'd only use the desk for gaming. How does that defeat the purpose of a laptop? I'd use my laptop everywhere else for every other function, then just sit at the desk when I want to play. 

[sicily428]

3 minutes ago, loPro said:

I'd rather carry a cell tower, mate. 

Which model? I remember an Aussie laptop maker having that but it looked like the one above ^

 

I tried configuring Clevos on popular sites, never saw the option. 

Please tell me it's the new XPS 15? 

 

Also which alienware had hdmi in? Don't recall that. Maybe not in my country  

 

• A lot of features we have either started as niche, or still are. How many people do you think use thunderbolt? Linus bitches about not having it all the time, but I only met a handful of people in my life who use it. 
• It's not expensive enough either and isn't it the same royalties for the HDMI out? Just have another port for IN. 
• Piracy. Really? They're not stupid enough to think it makes a difference. Anyone serious can buy an HDCP bypass/splitter or record via elgato. 

 

• I don't want to tether my phone. Among other reasons, it wastes battery life. 
• I don't know where you live but over here we got dedicated 4G chips that can only be used for routers, tablets (and laptops if we can find them). The carrier blocks phones from using the chips. This has been super handy for my tablet. 
• Public wifi is the worst idea ever. They're often unreliable and have too many restrictions. I don't even use my workplace's wifi and instead tether from my tablet. 

* forgot one. 

 

I'd only use the desk for gaming. How does that defeat the purpose of a laptop? I'd use my laptop everywhere else for every other function, then just sit at the desk when I want to play. 

Check these clevo for the lte card

 

https://www.ceg-hardcorecustom.com/category/clevo-with-lte-4g-module

[Zando_]

7 minutes ago, loPro said:

I'd rather carry a cell tower, mate. 

 

They also make a server: http://us.getac.com/notebooks/x500-server/features.html. Which is actually the size of a cell tower...

 

And a thinner notebook/tablet/convertible: http://us.getac.com/notebooks/v110/features.html

 

And tablets and phones, IIRC. 

[loPro]

11 minutes ago, sicily428 said:

Check these clevo for the lte card

 

https://www.ceg-hardcorecustom.com/category/clevo-with-lte-4g-module

https://www.ceg-hardcorecustom.com/product/clevo-p650hp6-g-p650hs-g-promo

 

I'm looking into this one but can't find sim tray. I'll look for reviews. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. If only it had HDMI in too...

[NumLock21]

Just now, loPro said:

Please tell me it's the new XPS 15?

Also which alienware had hdmi in? Don't recall that. Maybe not in my country  

 

Not sure about the new XPS. The old XPS had them, and it was under the removable battery compartment. There should still be some new models with SIM support, check out their Latitude or Precision. Cause a SIM slot is mostly a business laptop feature.

Ones with HDMI input

• Alienware m17x R3, R4, and Alienware 17 R1
• Alienware m18x R1, R2, and Alienware 18

Here is a review on one of them and you can see the HDMI In, in one of their pics.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Alienware-M18x-Notebook.55194.0.html

[loPro]

2 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

Not sure about the new XPS. The old XPS had them, and it was under the removable battery compartment. There should still be some new models with SIM support, check out their Latitude or Precision. Cause a SIM slot is mostly a business laptop feature.

Ones with HDMI input

• Alienware m17x R3, R4, and Alienware 17 R1
• Alienware m18x R1, R2, and Alienware 18

Here is a review on one of them and you can see the HDMI In, in one of their pics.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Alienware-M18x-Notebook.55194.0.html

Well it's bulky so I didn't miss out on much. I'm interested in something no bigger than a predator 15 with a GPU as good as a 1060 or better. Business laptops don't even have "gaming" cards, they either have no discrete card or come with a firepro or something. 

[Mira Yurizaki]

25 minutes ago, loPro said:

 

• A lot of features we have either started as niche, or still are. How many people do you think use thunderbolt? Linus bitches about not having it all the time, but I only met a handful of people in my life who use it. 
• It's not expensive enough either and isn't it the same royalties for the HDMI out? Just have another port for IN. 
• Piracy. Really? They're not stupid enough to think it makes a difference. Anyone serious can buy an HDCP bypass/splitter or record via elgato. 

• Sure, but HDMI has been a standard feature for the past 10+ years and by the looks of it, there still isn't really much of a market for inputs. There are plenty of other devices that do the job just fine for most people. If anything, most people want to know why they can't use their AIO computers as monitors.
• A cost is still a cost, but you're probably right, the royalties wouldn't really change much.
• If they're not stupid to think it makes a difference, we wouldn't have HDCP in the first place.

I'm not arguing why HDMI in is a bad idea. I'm just throwing suggestions why it's not around.

Quote

• I don't want to tether my phone. Among other reasons, it wastes battery life. 
• I don't know where you live but over here we got dedicated 4G chips that can only be used for routers, tablets (and laptops if we can find them). The carrier blocks phones from using the chips. This has been super handy for my tablet. 
• Public wifi is the worst idea ever. They're often unreliable and have too many restrictions. I don't even use my workplace's wifi and instead tether from my tablet. 

• I would say plug in. But if you're telling me that defeats the point of being mobile, then I can't imagine any place where I would be away from a plug, have a comfortable place to use a laptop, and need it for the internet. My phone, or if I had cell internet on it, my tablet will suffice until I really need to use laptop.
• And does adding that functionality cost more? Practically every cell service I'm aware of charges you for adding a line and for it to have a data plan. Unless you have a shared data plan which makes absolutely no sense for a single user on the account like myself to have because of the cost vs. benefit.
• The only public Wi-Fi I've found terrible was at airports (except Japan), convention centers, and high-end hotels (apparently if you're rich enough to stay at them, you're rich enough to pay for Wi-Fi). And the only restriction I've really found was not to use it to consume media. But they probably don't care anyway. And I use a VPN (which you should anyway and the cost of a VPN is cheaper than tapping into a cell network)

Basically I don't see what having cell internet access on my laptop gets me when my phone works just fine. Plus it's more convenient to take out my phone and do what I want than it is to take out my laptop.

 

Maybe you can tell me what benefits you see in having cell internet access on a laptop gets you.

Quote

* forgot one. 

 

I'd only use the desk for gaming. How does that defeat the purpose of a laptop? I'd use my laptop everywhere else for every other function, then just sit at the desk when I want to play. 

In this case, I find another whole computer for gaming excessive. I would build a docking station setup with an eGPU and larger monitor, along with anything else I may want to add to it. Servicing two computers gets cumbersome, especially if the same game is played on both.

[NumLock21]

16 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

 

They also make a server: http://us.getac.com/notebooks/x500-server/features.html. Which is actually the size of a cell tower...

 

And a thinner notebook/tablet/convertible: http://us.getac.com/notebooks/v110/features.html

 

And tablets and phones, IIRC. 

Looks like panasonic made the chassis for them. Cause it's the exact same as their Toughbook.

 

Just now, loPro said:

Well it's bulky so I didn't miss out on much. I'm interested in something no bigger than a predator 15 with a GPU as good as a 1060 or better. Business laptops don't even have "gaming" cards, they either have no discrete card or come with a firepro or something. 

HDMI In wasn't popular so all of their new ones don't have it. As for SIM slot, it's also rare. Better to just to sign up with your mobile carrier and use their USB mobile hotspot device.

[Mira Yurizaki]

3 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

Better to just to sign up with your mobile carrier and use their USB mobile hotspot device.

I think this is why SIM slots in laptops aren't popular. It's seems more convenient to get a mobile hotspot because then any device that could use cellular service can tap into it. And you're only paying for one extra device rather than the X number of devices you would be adding otherwise.

[NumLock21]

Just now, M.Yurizaki said:

I think this is why SIM slots in laptops aren't popular. It's seems more convenient to get a mobile hotspot because then any device that could use cellular service can tap into it. And you're only paying for one extra device rather than the X number of devices you would be adding otherwise.

Cause most of the time, it's not compatible or supported. I remember one of them, that only works with Gobi internet and nothing else. Sony Vaio SZ, even has the antenna.