Technical specifications
Processor
Processor is the most important part of the laptop. AMD and Intel processors are the most popular. Intel Pentium and Core i3 are good for normal usage. For advance uses and gaming Intel Core i5 and Core i7 are better choice.
AMD A4 and A6 are good for normal usage and you can opt for AMD A8 and A10 for high-end use of laptop.
RAM
Random Access Memory (RAM) is responsible for loading programs, files etc. More RAM makes operations faster. For normal routine use, 2-4 GM memory is good enough. However, if you use your laptop for work which includes working on several memory extensive programs simultaneously, image and video editing, gaming etc, you should go for 6 or 8 GB RAM. You can opt for 12 GB or more if your work demands more memory extensive operations for long duration.
Graphics Card
Graphics card is responsible for rendering of image frames to display it on the screen. A graphics card is inbuilt in the motherboard of the machine which is sufficient for watching normal multimedia videos, images and basic use. For high-end gaming, video editing, animation design etc. you should go for a dedicated graphics card of 1GB - 3GB.
Storage
It is the hard drive size of the laptop. It decides how much data you can store on your laptop. Laptops come in various storage capacity ranging from 60 GB to 1.5 TB. You can choose it based on your data storage requirements. For normal use, 256 - 500 GB is good enough.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard of the laptop should be ergonomically designed. Specially in case of small laptops, the keys should be spaced out properly for efficient use.
The touchpad of laptop should be sensitive enough to sense the gestures like pinch to zoom and multi-touch. It should give correct cursor position on touch.
Brand
Do consider the brand of the laptop before buying it. Check the availability of service centers of the brand in your area and reputation of the brand for the product and well as its maintenance support. You would not want to end up travelling 3 hours to reach a service centre for your laptop.
Type
NetBook - Small and lightweight laptops which are good for normal use like surfing on internet, watching movies, photos etc. They are cheaper.
UltraBook - They are lightweight, sleek and stylish in design and come with high-end specifications. They are expensive and good for executive use.
ChromeBook - They come with Google Chrome OS and are specially designed for browser based online operations. They do not support many windows capability but are good if you mostly use it to access social networks, internet surfing etc.
NoteBook - Medium or high-end configuration machines which are as good as desktops in functioning. They are good for work or home entertainment purpose.
Convertible - They usually come with a detachable screen which can be used stand alone with its touch screen or a rotatable screen which can bend back up to 360 degrees. You can use it as a laptop or a tablet.
Features
TouchScreen - Touch screen laptops like smartphones, are more intuitive to use. However there are very few options available for touch screen laptops. Currently, only Microsoft Windows supports this feature,
Fingerprint readers - Fingerprint readers offer higher security to your laptop as it will unlock the laptop only if the fingerprint matches. If you keep lot of sensitive information in your laptop and travel frequently, you may choose this feature.