Comparative Analysis of Laptops Apple - Toshiba - Lenovo

Question: Discuss about theComparative Analysis of Laptopsfor Apple, Toshiba, Lenovo. Answer: Introduction: A laptop is a small, light, portable computer intended for daily use. In modern times, laptops are often termed as Notepads. Laptops are now becoming essential offices, in educational institution and in business transactions. Omans electronic market is expected to have a robust growth in the upcoming 4 years. This process is fuelled by the introduction of new technology. According to the Business Monitor International (BMI) the sales, which is at US $ 828 mn in 2013, is likely to grow by 33% to US $ 1.1 bn by 2017 (Abetti, Sumita and Kimura 2015). The Majan University College, a comparative analysis wanted to replace the old computers in the university with new laptops. As a chief researcher appointed by the university to compare and contrast the specifications and features of different laptop brands Apple, Lenovo and Toshiba. The Director of TAC, Mr. Ian McNaught, has asked for this report which has to be submitted by 6pm on 5th of November, 2016. Terms of Reference: As a chief researcher appointed by the Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) of Majan University College, a comparative analysis is done between laptop brands Apple, Lenovo and Toshiba to find out which brand is best suited to replace the old computers of the institution. Mainly official websites of the brands mentioned is used for the source of information. An empirical analysis on the data collected from the websites on features like appearances, operating system, camera, security, battery life, processor speed, durability, wireless capacity, cost/price of the laptop and warranty provided by the brand is done. The features of the laptop brands are compared with each other based on the information available in their websites. The best-found brand will be chosen for replacement of old computers in the university. The main limitation faced while fabricating this report is time. Due to shortage of time, the data collected is from a secondary source and not by forming a questionnaire. Direct information collected from the customers about their feedback on the laptop brands might give a more clear review about the laptop brands. This time constraint can be overcome with more number of staff. But lack of staff along with shortage of time are the main limitations faced while producing this report. Features: Some of the features of the leading laptop brands Lenovo, Apple and Toshiba, have been compared below. Appearances: Design: The Apple Macbook is designed with retina display and multi-million pixel view to and force-sensing trackpad. The display panel is tailored so that it can swivel up to an angle of 178 degree and can easily be lifted with a single hand. The pixels in 13-inch apple laptops are over 4-million and in 15 inches laptop is over 5-million. A resolution of 2560 by 1600 in 13 inch and a resolution of 2880 by 1800 in 15-inch laptop give accuracy to its image quality (Apple 2016). In Lenovo, the display panel is attached so as it can swivel up to 360 degree angle. The Lenovo laptops are featured with OLED technology (Lenovo.com 2016). The self-lighting technology gives high quality colors and sharp contrast to the display screen. Toshiba Ultrabook is has a fully detachable 12.5 inches display which enables the device for day-to-day purpose. Its light and sleek structure makes its handy and portable (Toshibamea.com 2016). Weight: The Apple Macbook of thickness 0.7 inch weighs 3 pounds and Macbook Air of thickness 2.4 inch weighs 11pounds (Apple 2016). The weight of Lenovo laptops varies from 2.8 lbs 5.1 lbs (Lenovo.com 2016). The weight of 12.5 inches Toshiba laptop is 1.1 kg to 1.4kg (Toshibamea.com 2016). Size: The Apple Macbook dimension varies from 11 inches to 15 inches where as its thickness varies between 0.7 inch to 2.4 inch (Apple 2016). The 14 inches Lenovo laptop has dimension of 13.11x9.01x0.67 (Lenovo.com 2016). The dimension of 12.5 inches laptop in Toshiba is 309x215.2x18.5-21.0 mm (Toshibamea.com 2016). Customers Feedback: Customers are happy with the services provided by Apple Authorized Service Centre. However, service and repair are expensive for Apple products while compared to Lenovo and Toshiba. Lenovo and Toshiba is also known for its customer support service (Montgomerie and Roscoe 2013). Support Service: The Apple experts are always available online. A call from customer support can be scheduled at a convenient time and get answer from their support system. Again, most issues can be addressed through iTunes. The local Apple Authorized Service Provider also arrange for shipment to an Apple Repair Centre (Cooke 2013). The support service of the the Lenovo laptops comprises of technical support, manuals and support resources. A technical agent provides technical support over telephone. Manuals are downloadable from internet. Toshiba has entered the Middle East many years back with its regional headquarters in Dubai. Toshiba Support Forum is created for the customers and it is eager to share knowledge, talk over technologies and solve problems. Toshiba also facilitates telephonic Technical support system and downloadable manuals (Ramanathan 2015). User Friendly: The Apple Macbook is designed so that it can connect with huge amount of storage and can add a PCI expansion chassis. All the models are provided with 2 ports, two USB 3 ports, a HDMI port, a SDXC card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack (Apple 2016). The touch-screen property makes Lenovo laptops user friendly. The Lenovo laptops include a stylus pen that recharges itself when connected and can be used for next 100 minutes (Lenovo.com 2016). It helps in drawing and making notes. The touch screen technology provided by Toshiba makes it user friendly. Graphics adapter card Intel HD Graphics 5300 is also present in Toshiba laptops (Toshibamea.com 2016). RAM: The Random Access Memory (RAM) provided by Apple Macbook is 2GB GDDR5 that gives better performance while playing high-resolution games (Apple 2016). The Random Access Memory (RAM) in Lenovo laptops is 16 GB DDR3 (Lenovo.com 2016). The Random Access Memory (RAM) in Toshiba laptops is 4GB (onboard), LP-DDR3 (1,600 MHz) (Toshibamea.com 2016). Memory Storage: All most all models of Apple Macbook come with memory storage of 16GB which is superfast memory (Apple 2016). The memory storage available is up to 512 GB PCle NVMe SSD in Lenovo laptops (Lenovo.com 2016). The memory storage available between 128 GB to 750 GB in Toshiba laptops (Toshibamea.com 2016). Camera: The Apple Macbook is equipped with FaceTime HD Camera with image sensor to produce accurate colors and low level of image noise in low light. This helps to give sharpness and reduce motion blur. The face detection feature is also available which complement the face and skin tone (Apple 2016). The camera in Lenovo laptops is of 720 pixels (Lenovo.com 2016). The webcam in Toshiba laptops is featured with both 2D and 3D mode to capture still photographs and record videos (Toshibamea.com 2016). Wireless Capability: The Apple Macbook is equipped with 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology helps to stay connected without network. If MacBook Pro to 802.11 ac Wi-Fi base station for example AirPort Extreme or AirPort Time Capsule, it gives 3x faster wireless performance (Apple 2016). With LTE-A, an advanced technology mobile broadband, the Lenovo laptops gets connected to internet. The optional WiGig Dock technology helps it to get connected to other devices (Lenovo.com 2016). Bluetooth 4.0 + LE and Wireless LAN are available in Toshiba laptops. It is also tailored with Intel WiDi and wireless display ready technology (Toshibamea.com 2016). Processor Speed: Apple Macbook, with 13 inches display, uses fifth-generation-core Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor. The speed of the processor used in 13 inch Macbook has a speed up to 3.1GHz, shared L3 cache up to 4MB, Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.4GHz. The 15-inch model uses fourth-generation quad-core Intel Core i7 processors make work quicker with complex tasks. It has speed up to 2.8GHz, 6MB shared L3 cache and Turbo Boost speed up to 4.0 GHZ (Apple 2016). The Processor used in Lenovo laptops is 6th generation Intel 7-6600U with vPro, which facilitates manageability features and enhances security (Lenovo.com 2016). The processor used in Toshiba laptops is Intel Core M-5Y31 with Turbo boost Technology 2.0 (Toshibamea.com 2016). Security: Apple Macbook OS has built-in security features to prevent malwares affecting the software. Apple also keeps on updating their operating system whenever a new threat comes up. is a quick patch up for the loopholes (Apple 2016). Lenovo laptops has layered security system. SecureDoc technology provides full support to the management of self-encrypted hard drives. Computrace theft management technology automatically deletes data in case of emergency. Sophos malware technology acts as a powerful weapon against viruses malware and trozans (Lenovo.com 2016). Toshiba laptops uses network keys while connecting to the internet. Internet is the main source of viruses. This network key acts as a firewall to those malwares and viruses (Toshibamea.com 2016). Battery Life: The 13 inch MacBook battery last up to 10 hours where as the 15 inch model battery last up to 9 hours. They provide 12 hours and 9 hours of iTunes movie playback respectively (Apple 2016). Battery life is approximately 11 hours while unplugged in Lenovo laptops though subject to usage, settings and other factors (Lenovo.com 2016). Battery life is approximately 9 hours in Toshiba laptops (Toshibamea.com 2016). Durability: The Apple Macbook body is aluminum made, giving it solid and cleaner look than compared to other laptops with plastic bodies. The aluminum cover will not crack when dropped but is more prone to scratches. Its lighter and leaner look makes it a sturdy and well-built laptop (Apple 2016). The Lenovo laptops are thin, light and durable. They are tested against military specifications to endure extreme situations (Lenovo.com 2016). The display screen in Toshiba laptops is covered with IOX glass and LED backlightining with aspect ratio 16:9. This supports the display screen from cracks when dropped (Toshibamea.com 2016). Cost / Price: The price of Apple Macbook range varies between OMR 342 to OMR 418. The price of the Lenovo laptops ranges from OMR 68 to OMR 400. The price of the Toshiba laptops ranges between OMR 93 to OMR 300 (Firend and Altiman 2012). Warranty: The Apple Macbook comes with 90 days of free telephonic support from direct technical experts and a 1-year limited warranty. With the availability of Apple Care Protection Plan, one can extend warranty up to 3 years (Apple 2016). In Lenovo, the warranty period is a fixed period of 1 year from the date of purchase. Lenovo Protection Plan covers battery failure, touch screen malfunction, camera malfunction, cracked screen and headphone jack failure (Lenovo.com 2016). Toshiba offers a 2-year international carry-in warranty. It also provides a large range of services for warranty up gradation (Toshibamea.com 2016). Software (OS): The operating system used in Apple Macbook is Mac OS X El Captain (Apple 2016). The Lenovo laptops use Windows 10 Pro Operating System (Lenovo.com 2016). The Toshiba laptops use Windows 8 Pro 64-bit Operating System (Toshibamea.com 2016). Industry Ranking: In Oman, Apple is one of the most trusted brands just preceded by Samsung. Lenovo is well known in consumer electronic business. Apple ranked first worldwide in 2016 (Menzel 2013) whereas lenovo is ranked 43rd worldwide. Compared to Apple, Toshiba has ranked 10th worldwide in production of laptops worldwide in 2016 (Firend and Altiman 2012). Recommendations: Lenovo and Toshiba laptops do not have the brand name as compared to Apple leaving space for Toshiba and Lenevo to improve and rise in their ranking list. Camera quality in Toshiba laptops not as good as in Lenovo and Apple Macbook. Though the design and the display screen in Apple Macbook is much ahead of Toshiba and Lenovo in terms of technology, its cost is also higher than the other two brands. The battery life is almost similar in all three laptop brands but Lenovo laptop provides the higher version of Operating System than in Toshiba. Apple uses a different operating system which is more advanced than the other two. The processor used in Apple MacBook is technologically higher than Lenovo and Toshiba. In terms of both providing customer service and prices of laptops, Apple is more expensive compared to the other two brands. Lowering the price might help Apple to capture the customers with low budget. Memory storage facility as provided by Apple is only 16 GB, which is much lower compared to other brands. Hence, Apple is the recommended brand that should replace the old computers in Majan University College (Salciuviene, Lee and Yu 2012). Conclusion: A comparative analysis of the features is done between Apple, Lenovo and Toshiba laptops. The prices of laptops often vary depending upon the features, technological advancement. Comparing the features like Operating System, RAM, appearances, memory storage, price level, customer feedback, support system, warranty, durability, processor speed, industry ranking of the laptop brands are compared here to find out the best brand that can replace the old computers in Majan University College as requested by the Technology Advisory Committee. It is found that Apple will be the suited brand for replacement, which will enhance the process of teaching and learning and thus improving the whole education system (Gellert 2016). RAM, operating system and security is well advanced in Apple laptops compared to other laptops. References: Abetti, P.A., 2014. Informal corporate entrepreneurship: implications from the failure of the Concorde alloy foundry and the success of the Toshiba laptop.International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management,4(6), pp.529-545. Abetti, P.A., Sumita, U. and Kimura, Y., 2015. 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