College Laptop Guide
If you’re headed to college, besides new clothes, bedding, and a shower caddy, the one thing you definitely want to bring with you is a new college laptop computer. But as a new student dealing with tuition and room and board, you’re also going to want to save money. What are some of the ways that you can accomplish both of these goals?
First, consider that you don’t necessarily have to have the newest and most trendy computer. If you are not going to be doing complex programming—in other words, if you’re like most students, using your computer for word processing, surfing the Internet, sending email, and for music and videos—you can likely get by with a less expensive machine than others might need.
Second, less expensive brands can be just as useful as some of the trendier, more expensive models. For example, you might pay upwards of $1,000 for a basic Apple MacBook, even with Apple’s student discount. But if you’re on a budget and looking to save money on your laptop, why not compare it to models put out by Dell, Toshiba, or even Acer? These days, all of the programs you’d want to run are likely available for just about any machine running any popular operating system, so you’ll probably be just as happy with another brand.
Third, shop online. Laptop computers like the one you’re buying for college are commodities. That means that they’re the same thing whether you buy them from one retailer or another. So, you should use that to your advantage by comparing prices online, and even ordering direct from the manufacturer where that’s available. You’ll be amazed at how much money you can save by doing this.
Fourth, if you’re really on a budget, consider purchasing a used laptop for college. You can often find good deals on eBay and craigsist, where you’ll be able to buy your college laptop for $200 or less. The drawback is that there won’t be a warranty, of course. However, if you do go with a used machine, be sure you’re buying a modern enough version to meet your needs; there’s nothing worse than ordering a laptop only to realize it doesn’t have a wireless internet connection for example, because you’ve never seen one so old that it didn’t have one! Also, be sure to reformat the hard drive and add your own software once you buy the laptop. You never know what kinds of sketchy viruses the previous owner might have downloaded by accident, but by formatting and starting over you can enjoy an almost-new laptop experience!
A word of caution: You may be tempted to consider buying one of the less expensive netbook laptops for college, which can run as little as $300 or $400 for a brand new machine. However, if you’re strongly considering this, make sure you go into the store and play around with them for a while. Those small keyboards and tiny screens might be okay for occasional use while traveling, or as a backup machine so that you don’t have to rely completely on the desktop computer back in your dorm room. But if you’re going to be writing papers and virtually living with your computer as many college students do, you might find that a netbook simply isn’t big enough to fit your needs.
One last tip: Call or email the bookstore at your new college and tell them that you’re planning to buy a new college laptop. You may find that they have great deals for new students that could beat anything you’d find anywhere else. No matter when or where you get your new laptop, though, make yourself a promise. When you outgrow it, keep it. Stuff it in the back of a closet somewhere. Someday years from now, you’ll get a kick out of booting it up again to read all those old papers you wrote back in college. You’ll look back with nostalgia at a machine that will be an antique then, and you’ll smile as you think about all the things you learned while using it.
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Best Laptops For College Students: Apple Macbook
One of the best laptops for college students is the Apple Macbook laptop. The Apple Macbook is Apple’s most affordable laptop yet it still features the high quality components and the highly acclaimed Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system that people have come to expect from Apple. The Macbook comes in a small 13.3-inch package that makes mobility simple. This will make transport of the Macbook to all areas of campus, including on trips home, a breeze.
The Macbook also features a built-in seven-hour battery. This will give students flexibility in their use of the laptop away from the dorm. It will allow them to venture out to class without a charger or any sort of wires. This makes setup in classrooms simple since the computer will go from sleep to active in a matter of seconds.
Like other Apple laptops, the Macbook features a wireless ethernet card that allows students to network with their school network connections. This is important to a student because it enables wireless connectivity everywhere they may want to go.
In addition to the hardware specifications of the Macbook laptop, the Snow Leopard operating system supports various graphics and advanced media programs, which are of particular use to graphics design students. As anyone in the design community will tell you, Macs are the premier graphics design vehicles and there are many programs that run exclusively on that platform.
Besides being incredibly useful in the classroom, Macs are also great entertainment devices for students. Given the constraints of cramped dorms, the Macbook is useful in providing an entertainment center to students. It is versatile enough to serve both as a television from which to stream and watch movies, a stereo system from which to download, listen, and store music, and lastly as a gaming platform in which students can play games on.
The Apple Macbook’s greatest asset to students is its price. It is competitively priced at under $1000 for its base models. Should the student or user require additional memory, hard drive space, or software; the user is able to customize their laptop to suit their needs. Additionally, Apple offers amazing student discounts that further reduce the price of their computers thereby making them even more affordable. Check the back to school laptop sales for even more of a discount.
The Apple Macbook is clearly the laptop designed for the contemporary college student. Its multiple uses, both for schoolwork and for entertainment, combined with its incredible value make it a best buy for any college student.
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Laptops For College
Choosing a laptop for college can be a complicated thing. There are so many options out there, offering such a vast array of capabilities, features, and bells and whistles that selecting the right one can be daunting. Laptops can run anywhere from about $300 to $2000 or more, and that price difference often has less to do with quality and reliability than with features and capabilities you may never need or use. How, then, should you make your choice? Read our tips for choosing the best laptops for college and use the coupons and codes listed here to save even more money!
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The first thing to do is to develop a clear sense of exactly what you need. If you are primarily concerned with the basics, like word processing, internet access, wireless, et cetera, you may be fine with something as inexpensive and simple as a netbook. These are extremely compact, relatively no-frills laptops intended for basic needs. Unless you plan to study something like music or video editing, which may involve more elaborate software and capabilities, a netbook should meet virtually all of your academic needs.
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For most courses, you will only need to be able to write and edit on your computer, to participate in online discussion groups, and to e-mail, and almost any currently sold laptop will allow you to do those things. If you intend to study music or something involving video editing, you may need to do some research into higher-end laptops with more memory and possibly with more software included at the time of purchase. If you know your potential major and believe it may require particular computer capabilities, you might contact a professor or department chair to inquire about recommendations.
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Aside from academic needs, of course, you may want to consider other uses for your laptop. If you are interested in watching streaming video, for example, you may want to select a laptop with HD (High Definition) video capability, or higher-end wireless technology. You might also think more about audio and speaker quality than you would if you were thinking of your computer as a primarily academic tool.
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Once you figure out what features and capabilities you need, do some research about what brands are most reliable and represent the best deals. Consumer Reports is a good site for product reviews, and customer reviews on sites like Amazon.com can give good guidance. Hewlett Packard, Toshiba, and Dell are all reliable and well-reviewed throughout the range of laptop options, but each produces some specific models that are superior to others. You will also need to decide whether you want to go with a PC or a Mac. Both have advantages — PCs tend to be loaded with software that will be compatible with what most others have (like Microsoft Word), while Macs tend to be very good for music recording and similar applications.
In closing, choosing the right laptop for college comes down to three steps: decide what you need for school, decide what you want beyond those necessities, and do some research to find out who makes what you need best for the best price. If you think of the process systematically like this, you should be able to make a solid choice with a minimum of worry.
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