The best laptops for college-bound kids
Students Gadgets9 May 2011
It’s that time of year again. Millions of high school seniors are graduating. That also means parents will be buying new laptops for their college-bound kids. Colleges and academic departments usually offer basic laptop specifications. Here are some suggestions as to what and which kind of laptops one must prefer to buy.
Macs
The right Mac laptop is really a matter of preference. All current MacBooks should meet schools’ general requirements. The entry-level MacBook ($1,000) features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It has a 250-gigabyte hard drive and 2GB of RAM. Rounding out the specs are a 13-inch LED-backlit screen, DVD burner and built-in webcam. Wireless networking is standard.
The MacBook Pro gives you more power and a nice aluminum body. The base model ($1,200) has an Intel Core i5 processor and 4GB of RAM. Graphics are stronger, and the hard drive is 320GB. There’s also a slot for SD cards and a backlit keyboard.
The MacBook Air (from $1,000) is less than ideal for students. But, there’s limited storage and no disk drive. Plus, the screen is on the small side.
Windows
Choosing a Windows machine is more complicated. You’ll find a variety of form factors from many manufacturers. Specifications vary widely, and there are a few different versions of Windows. So shop carefully!
Tablets
Your grad may want a tablet computer like the iPad. These are intended to be used in addition to a laptop. They really can’t replace laptops due to design limitations. Screens range from 7 to 10 inches. The processor and RAM will be fairly limited. Also, you’ll need to add a keyboard; touch screens aren’t conducive to serious typing.
Educational discounts
Don’t forget to claim your educational discounts. You can save $100 or more on a laptop; discounts on software are even higher. For example, you can save $700 on Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended.
Tags: academics, colleges, educational loans., lap-tops, Macs, students, Tablets, windows