While there are no major developments in the laptop industry, people looking for a new portable machine should make sure that they look into the latest processors and graphics innovations, according to an industry expert.

Walter Mossberg, writing for the Wall Street Journal, said that Intel’s new Core series of chips are all faster and more efficient than their predecessors, with the i5 and i7 all featuring ‘turbo boost’ which improves speed when it is most needed.

“For the most common tasks – even video playback – integrated graphics, which lack their own dedicated memory, are adequate. So-called discrete graphics, which are almost like having a second processor, are more potent, especially for games,” he added.

Furthermore, Mr Mossberg added that Windows’ new operating system is now “quite competitive” with Apple’s Snow Leopard programme, with computers running the Microsoft option available for much less money.

Answering a customer query on Computer Active, one reader was advised recently to think about buying a new computer instead of just upgrading certain hardware elements.

People looking to turn their new laptop into a music centre have been told that Spotify has taken a “huge step forward” in a bid to beat Apple’s iTunes at its own game, according to an industry expert.

Paul Brindley, managing director of Music Ally, said that a new update to Spotify will see it become the default media player on a computer, even for songs which are in iTunes.

He added that this could start off a cat-and-mouse battle with iTunes, with the Apple service possibly looking to do something with its future updates to offer the consumer more.

“It absolutely does set Spotify up one step ahead of iTunes. It would seem to also be setting them up to do what one might expect iTunes to do following [Apple's] acquisition of Lala,” he added.

Mr Brindley’s words came after Spotify announced a “major evolution” of its music streaming service, which includes the largest feature upgrades since it launched two years ago.