Thickness-----as well as the configuration

need to see 3 things configuration,battery life & thickness

First you have to see the brand. you may get the idea of the value of that laptop in the market.i think you should see the cnfiguration.then look at its physical appearence.check its weight so that u can carry it easily with you.

Bear these thoughts in mind when buying and using notebook PCs.

Consider the travel weight. Compare travel weights, not system weights. That's the notebook (system weight) plus the power adapter (typically 0.75 pounds). For one-drive systems, add an expansion slice for the optical drive (2 to 3 pounds). If the vendor quoted the weight with a weight-saver bezel (translation: a blank plate in place of the optical drive) you may have to add the weight of an internal CD or DVD drive (0.5 pounds).

Don't get hung up on small weight differences. What really counts is the total weight of the bag you sling over your shoulder. On its own, a 5-pound notebook with a nice screen and two drives weighs 25 percent more than a 4-pound system with a smaller screen, smaller keys, and no DVD drive. But notebook bags weigh 2 to 5 pounds and all your other stuff (power adapter, cell phone, music player, paper documents, and paperback novel) adds 2 to (gulp) 10 pounds. A heavier notebook might add an a ...more

While buying laptop one should See the wight and design of laptop as well the capacity of hard disc -120 GB/ram 512/Optical Drive DVD multi drive /card reader /Pcmci slot / vga out /4 usb/ /wifi/infrared facility is provided or not web cam could be optional/ next we should focus on the battery back up it should not be less than 2.5 hours , we can go for 12" or 14 to 15" wide screen lcd screen/ and the most important feature the service availabilty of the brand we are going to purchase and it performance in the past in terms of durability and services at last we should concentrate if any data card or pendrive is provided free as seen in advertisement.

Cash in hand

Configuration
like hard drive, ram, proccessor.........battery back up................size, weight, cost.........company.

The screen resolution and type, processor and and ur requirements

While buying laptop one must see all these points-
1 Your need for laptop (means for general office work, for designing or for entertainment).
2 Your budget for buying (if u have much amount then go for latest technology or good brand)
3 Your circumstances- You are going to travel much or not.(According to that- Choose the features like-wieght,screen size,battery backup etc.)
4 Last thing is add on features like- Dvd burner,Ram size,HDD Capacity,Processor speed,most important Graphic cards etc.

In my opinon ACER is providing good Features versus Value. Their Aspire series 5633 and 9300 series are multipurpose use according to user & economical as well.

Configuration , price ............