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Editors note: This post was submitted by one of our readers; Marc JH
It can be a daunting task these days to decide the best laptop for college students. Are the more expensive ones better? In a lot of cases, it may not be so true. For most college students, cheaper is going to be better. And, with todays disposible socitey, this is a good rule of thumb for laptops.
The average college laptop will only have a life of a few years at best. Let’s face it, that can of soda that dumped into it sure didn’t help to extend that life any. Neither will the fall off the table at the Student Union Building. So look for a good, tough laptop that does not cost a fortune, as you will probably need to replace it at least once before your college career is over.
A new trend is to go with a Netbook, or an ultra small version of a laptop. And there are good and bad points on these. One, the lower price is a good incentive to check them out. And the smaller, lighter size is another good point. But most of them do not have CD/DVD drives. So using any type of software is out of the question unless you can access it online too. And the smaller screen on a killer crunch study night could get to be annoying as well. It is probably better to go with one of the smaller screens on a regular laptop.
There are also some very light and very well equiped best college laptops out there that come with a hefty price for their portability. These are high-end models, that will cost a considerable bit more. There again, you will have to make the final decision on what you are willing to spend, and these loaded laptops are wonderful, but the price is a concern, and if you are looking at possibly replacing it half-way through your college experience is that going to be worth it, having enough memory to download half the documents in the free world, or play the latest, most graphics intense version of a video game? Really, do you NEED 1,000 songs on there? Get a smaller, less costly version for your college classes, and get that big old beast after you graduate!
Most of the budget laptops are bulkier, and do not have alot of the features that will allow you to be a gamer on them, but if you are just looking for a basic laptop to take to and from class and use for your studies, there are some GREAT deals out there. Check the “Bigbox” stores, as well as online sites, as they will often put out internet-only deals that can save you a ton of cash! Watch the advertisements, and go to stores and look around. See what is out there, and make notes of the ones that you might be interested in. Start a little bit before you need it, like at least a month before you go to school, so that you can price shop, and get the laptop and get it set up and ready to go and be familiar with it before you have to use it in earnest.
One thing that I think I would avoid however is purchasing a USED unit. Those can be tricky. Even if they are certified that they are refurbished, do you really want to take a chance on that laptop with ALL of your term paper in it crashing and dying? I think that new would be the best choice here. Yes, new ones can crash too, but you do get tech support for usually one year, so there is at least a hope that you might can recover something.
Deciding the best laptop for college students really has to depend on the student and the budget that they are willing to put out there! Deals can be had, it takes a little effort, and you have to keep your eyes on the prize. Go for lower costs, and less bling, and you will have a nice little unit that will serve you well! Good luck, and happy shopping!
Reader Question: What do YOU look for in a college laptop? What features are important to you?
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In January 2010, Apple’s owner, Steve Jobs, announced their newest technology yet: the Apple iPad. When he initially announced the launch of this new fantastic piece of technology he raved about all the capabilities it can perform. The Apple iPad is similar to that of the iPhone, although much larger and now in laptop form. It contains practical applications targeted towards the younger population, more specifically teens and young adults hence perfect for college students. Its versatility and user-friendly applications targeted towards the younger population is what makes this computer a great college laptop.
Hard Cover Books are a Thing of the Past
University students have many books to carry that can weigh between 10 to 20 pounds per book. Just as people can read books on the iPhone, University students will be able to read their textbooks in an eBook format on a much larger screen and only need to carry around a 1 ½ pound “textbook” rather than three or four 10 pound textbooks while accessing all of their reading materials for all their classes on this one light weight “textbook.” With the great selection of iPad messenger bags on the market it should be possible to have a virtual library of textbooks all weight less then that of a laptop!
Convenient Note Taking and Calendar Applications
Another feature that makes the Apple iPad a good college laptop is that it provides that same user-friendly capability to take notes and have them stored in one compact location. University students will love this feature because all of their notes will be kept in that one location. You can email notes to classmates without the worry of getting your hardcopy notes back. The calendar feature is extremely useful for college students as it easily allows them to plug in all important dates for exams, assignments, and meetings; they can easily plan out their own timeframes of when to begin working on an assignment, dates of important exams, study group dates, and social events.
Video and Photo Applications
It’s no secret that today’s teens and young adults are addicted to iPods, You Tube and iTunes as well as taking pictures. The great thing about this computer is that you can watch your favorite videos on a clear and crisp 9 ½ by 7 ½ inch screen. Also, the iPad gives you easy access to purchase and download your favorite music on iTunes and listen to them in high quality through your iPad. This laptop can also be used as a digital picture frame when not in use.
The Apple iPad makes for a good college laptop for any college student. The price runs from $500 to just under $850 and is reasonably priced compared to other laptops, especially for all the features and applications it has. Is the Apple iPad a good college laptop? Absolutely! You get a great high quality laptop with optimal features and will meet the needs of any college student.
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If there is one thing that has changed in recent years when it comes to being at college, it is the use of technology to deliver learning materials. There is also the prevalence of social networking sites such as Facebook, meaning that is now more essential than ever for students to have a laptop or WI-FI enabled device to get the most out of their college experience.
Colleges throughout the world now deliver not only lecture notes, but entire lectures online. Gone are the days of submitting printed or hand written versions of your coursework, as essays and projects are now delivered electronically. Indeed, many universities now make the ownership of a laptop compulsory for all students.
The advent of tablet PCs a number of years ago gave way to a new way to interact with your computer, and ultimately the content it contains. Early adopter technology students saw the appeal of a small touch screen device for taking lecture notes or checking facts on the web during lectures. With the release of the Apple iPad, there is now an even easier and sleeker way to access your entire course and social materials.
You can use your iPad for everything you would need for university. Need to take notes in class? You can use the inbuilt note and word-processing software, along with any number of third party apps available online. If you need to email your friends for a night out or hook up with some family overseas you can do that all from your iPad. Tired of lugging around all those heavy books? No problem, just download them as eBooks from the new Apple iBook store if they are available, or obtain PDF versions online and load them in to the Stanza app from the App store. Imagine, contained within this small device with a very functional 9.7inch screen you can have all your reading material, course notes, social communication, entertainment, music and photos. Packing for university or college has never been so easy. Just toss your iPad in your bag, housed of course in a protective case, add a few clothes and you have everything you need for your semester at college.
If you are concerned about writing long essays on your iPad, there is no need to worry. For those who don’t like the innovative onscreen touch keyboard you can hook your device up to one of the iPad keyboard docks and you have a fully functional external keyboard to tap away on.
The IPad could very well be the best laptop for college students. Compared to a fully fledged Macbook, the iPad is more portable, user friendly and cheaper. When you combine it with all the iPad accessories you have to choose from, it could well be the must have accessory for your college computing needs.
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