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How to Choose the Best Laptop for a Writer
Stephen Mash
|
January 12, 2023
The joy of writing is that you can do it almost anywhere. You may write at a desk, on the sofa, in bed, in a hammock, or even on the warm white sand of a remote desert island.
Finding the best laptop for a writer can be challenging due to the overwhelming range of models and specifications available. However, ultimately, the best laptop for writing will be the one that is easy and comfortable to use in your favourite writing location.
We offer a great range of laptops to suit the needs of writers with the features you need and at a range of budgets. Here, we aim to help you find the best writing laptop from the HP range for your everyday creative needs.
Writer's computing needs
Writing on a laptop has four clear requirements:
- First is a comfortable keyboard to use wherever you choose to type.
- The second is a screen that displays the text crisply and clearly.
- The third is a battery that will keep you working when you're out and about.
- Last is a method of storing the written work to minimise the risk of accidentally losing it.
Whilst these requirements seem apparent, finding the right solution for the best writing laptop is often more complex.
Keyboard comfort
Let's start with the keyboard. Not all laptop keyboards are the same. Some compact laptops have compact keys close together to fit in the available space. Others may have keys that register key presses without tactile feedback, such as the movement of the keys.
The needs of the writer are typically based on what they are used to, so if you usually use a full-size keyboard, then adapting to a different size can be, at best, annoying and, at worst, stop the flow of your writing when you keep pressing the wrong key by mistake. The key to productivity is a keyboard that is comfortable to use.
Another consideration with laptop keyboards is the backlighting of keys and the legibility of the legends on the keys. Suppose you're using the laptop in low-lighting conditions. Being able to see keys easily can be crucial. Unless you're a competent touch typist, time spent trying to find a particular key because you can't make out the legends can disrupt the writing process.
When writing at home, there's always the option of using an external keyboard. There are plenty available that can be plugged into a laptop or connected using wireless technology. This allows you to use a full-size keyboard with responsive tactile key movements. However, this may not be a practical solution if you write on the move, particularly in a car or train.
Clear display
Next on the list of requirements is the laptop screen. Writing is subtly different from other computer applications because the user typically looks at letters against a plain background. Unfortunately, this high-contrast monochrome imagery tends to exacerbate display issues, such as blurring, ghosting and bleeding of colours.
Consequently, it's essential to have a screen that can deliver a high-quality representation of text. However, there is an additional challenge for laptop users because you may often want to view the screen under a range of lighting conditions.
For example, you may use the laptop in the semi-darkness of an aircraft cabin as you catch up on a travel writing assignment. Or you may use it in the bright sunshine as you sit outside to write.
Straining to see what you've written on a screen affected by glare or reflections can lead to eye strain or other forms of computer vision syndrome. If you often work in the open air where the sunshine is bright or in a dark room next to a window with sunlight streaming through, then screen quality will be critical.
Poor screens can typically result in eye discomfort that leads to long-term vision problems. So we offer laptops for writing with crisp, sharp, bright displays with anti-glare coating and innovative low-blue light technology to reduce the risk of eye strain.
Life away from sockets
Next comes writing away from home, where the portability of a laptop comes into its own - being able to work anywhere is one of the key benefits of using a laptop for writing, but only as long as the battery lasts. Travel writing on an old clattering train, working at a table outside a chic café or sitting in the shade of a majestic tree in the local park is great if you've got excellent battery life.
If you're often working for long periods in locations without a power socket, you'll need a battery that keeps the laptop working for as long as you need. Also, if you're working outdoors, chances are the screen brightness will be set high, which can significantly impact the battery life. Check the manufacturer's specifications carefully if this is a vital factor in your best writing laptop buying decision.
Keeping your work safe
Finally, there is the issue of keeping your work safe. There's nothing more infuriating than spending hours on a writing assignment only to find that pressing the wrong key or running out of battery power means you lose the lot.
Having to retype your work, desperately trying to remember the words you crafted, can be disheartening. Waking up the next day to find the previous day's work has vanished can be soul-destroying.
A good laptop should first have local storage to keep your files safe. A solid-state drive (SSD) or moving hard disk drive (HDD) with knock protection is essential. Next, you want to write using an application that continually saves your work, so pressing the wrong button will only lose a few minutes of typing.
However, you want a laptop that can save a copy of your work somewhere safe, such as in a cloud-based storage solution. This step ensures that your work is safe and recoverable, whatever happens to your laptop.
Leaving the laptop on the train or having it stolen doesn't mean losing your beloved writing. Instead, get another laptop; your work will be there, ready for the next chapter or that final proofread.
Of course, you'll want to ensure this off-laptop copy is secure so no one can steal a copy. The solution should use robust encryption technology when copying the files to and from the laptop to wherever it sits.
Choosing the best writer's laptop
We have provided this list of recommendations for HP's five best laptops for writers available in the UK for a range of budgets. These laptops offer the features you'll need to ease your writing process. The HP website offers further help by allowing you to set a broad range of filter options to perform your search and find the perfect laptop.
Choosing the best one will be down to which best meets your needs and how you prioritise the critical requirements.
The best 5 laptops for writers from HP
We have a range of laptops available that deliver the performance and features you'll need, from a comfortable keyboard and clear display, to battery life and security.
Best big-screen laptop
The HP 470 G9 FHD Laptop provides a large 17-inch diagonal display in Full High-Definition (FHD) if your priority is a clear screen. It also delivers impressive performance and ample storage with an SSD. It also has HP's Fast Charge technology to keep going for long periods with quick recharging.
Best big-screen convertible laptop
If your priority is a clear screen in a thin and light convertible case, then the HP Spectre x360 OLED Convertible Laptop comes with a 16-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio that you can use in landscape or portrait layout thanks to the touchscreen technology.
The screen delivers impressive visual quality with 178-degree wide-viewing angles, so it adapts to whatever position you write in, even lying down. So if screen positioning is critical, this may be the best laptop for writers like you.
All HP's laptops include the QuickDrop function so you can wirelessly share documents between your laptop and other devices.
Best midsize laptop
If you're looking for all-around performance on a budget, then the HP Pavilion 15-eg2017na Touch Screen Laptop is hard to beat. It comes with the latest 12th Gen Intel® Core™ processor and a crystal clear and vibrant FHD touch-sensitive screen. In addition, the battery will keep you working for over seven hours between recharging.
The hard disk drive storage includes the HP 3D DriveGuard feature that keeps your writing safe from accidental bumps and knocks by locking the spinning hard drive to prevent damage.
Best compact laptop
If you're looking for a compact laptop that's easy to carry around, then the HP Stream Laptop makes the perfect travelling companion. The compact 11.6-inch screen may be small, but it is high-definition and includes HP's anti-glare technology. It also has an impressive battery life of over 13 hours to outlast the most demanding writing sessions.
Best compact tablet
If you're looking for laptop features in a tablet format, then the HP Tablet 11 is the perfect option. Its power comes from Intel's Pentium® processor and 256GB of robust SSD storage.
The tablet includes HP's connectivity features, allowing you to easily link to other devices to share documents or even connect to a larger screen. It also comes with a kickstand that will enable you to work in portrait and landscape formats to suit your work style.
Summary
Writers looking for a new laptop need a device comfortable for long sessions in whatever writing environment they choose. Long periods of typing will quickly expose laptops with difficult-to-use keyboards or poor displays. The problem is that such deficiencies will make the laptop impossible to use without risking the user's long-term health.
Choosing the best laptop for writing will require identifying your priorities as a user, which could be a large screen to make the text easier to see or long battery life if you write in the park or on a beach.
If you are looking for a good laptop for writing, we have a model that will be perfect for your particular needs.
