My son is starting high school next year and Im wanting to get him a laptop for Christmas. It will be used to do assignments and research and I guess some YouTube .
What Laptop Should I Buy for My Son?
Liloveshopping1985 on 07/11/2015 - 09:38
Comments
Chromebook won't run Microsoft Office. I would be absolutely amazed if a high school student does not require Microsoft Word.
It absolutely does run Office. All the MIcrosoft Office Products have a Web based app now.
Free too
https://www.office.com/?WT.mc_id=Office_Products_site
Why would you buy a Chromebook when an Windows powered device goes for $280?
Hp Stream 11, ASUS EEE etc.
I would buy a Chromebook if it was cheap, not because of it's cloud features. But when a Windows device is cheaper the Chromebook is ruled out as an inferior option — it's not as good for productivity.
@scrimshaw: A cheap Win device looks good on paper but frequently they come without sufficient resources to run Windows and all of the apps that need to be loaded onto local storage. Over time they become progressively slower and more problematic.
When it comes to productivity (getting stuff done) a CB is the better option by far.
@scrimshaw:
The HP Stream 11 and ASUS EeeBook X205TA are very similar and good choices for basic school work, but I am not certain that the HP does 5GHz wifi. I have heard of one kid having to buy a dongle for his to get it to work.
The Asus does do 5GHz and was a requirement at my sons school.
I bought the Asus 12 months ago and it has performed admirably with a really long battery life.
The student can get MS Office from the Education Dept.for free, if needed.If it's a video editing or gaming powerhouse you want though you'd better look elsewhere.
Actually if he's going to a public school in NSW Office 365 & Google Apps are already provided in the student portal (cloud). So MS Word is available for free. And this is easily accessible from a Chromebook or any other computer/browser.
A CB is an excellent choice if you're looking for hassle free, instant on, virus free, internet. In the US education market they make up more than 50% of the market. This was written a year ago.
http://www.omgchrome.com/chromebooks-50-percent-education-sh…Here in Australia the sales are ramping up as well.
Sorry, but this is probably the worst advice you could have given. I work for a school and run a fleet of 1500+ Chromebooks - they are slow and practically useless for anything but Facebook. I could list all the problems with Chromebooks - but that's another story. You do not want to waste money on something he can already do on any modern phone. Any decent windows netbook with an SSD will out-perform a Chromebook and be 100x more useful.
I work in schools too. Both Primary and Secondary. And CB's are brilliant! I have no idea how you've set yours up but clearly there is an issue. Ours run rings around Win devices when it comes to speed.
There's no way they would be so popular if what you're saying was true for others. A number of schools have gone 1 to 1 with these, like Arthur Phillip High for instance …
http://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/arthur-phillip.pdfI take it you have never actually used Google Docs/Drive before then? We have a dedicated 350mb up/down line, but it doesn't make a bit of difference because web apps have always had performance issues, things take time to load and the general usability of the UI is laggy compared to something like MS word. They can work well in a 1:1 program for schools, but for general home use they are terrible because it is a glorified web browser. A decent Chromebook with education pricing is still around a min $400 so you are just not getting your moneys worth by investing in what is essentially a giant phone when the alternative is a device capable of doing anything you want it to (given the right internals).
@stealthpaw: As I said before I can only assume that you have serious issues with your setup. If you like you can PM me and if I'm close by I might be able to come out to your school and work out what the problem is.
We use Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Google classroom regularly and don't have these issues you talk about. You are of course aware that we're talking about two different products here. Chromebooks (hardware) and Google Apps For Education (cloud services).
Personally I use a CB at work and another one at home and as I said before they're brilliant.
BTW education pricing starts at less than $260. Retail prices are similar
http://staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=chromebook&star…
or
http://goo.gl/S21e4p
Heck, you can even get a 14" model for under $300
http://www.onlinecomputer.com.au/product_info.php?products_i…Personally I'd go for something like this 4GB Lenovo for $340
https://goo.gl/ObmfnL
I used a Chromebook for a year before I accidentally dropped it pretty badly. It was bloody awesome, fast as anything.
I use Chromebook primarily and that is fine for me because I know what I'm using it for. But for school, you should really be checking with the school what the minimum requirements are. If the school are Chromebook-friendly, the chances are they would already be offering Chromebooks for free or included as part of the tuition fees because they would get massive education discounts for them. Since the school haven't come forward with Chromebooks or suggested Chromebooks as an option, the chances are that Chromebooks are off the table and the school has standardised on something more common, like Windows.
Does his school require a laptop - e.g a certain brand?
Does he mind about mac or pc? What do his friends have?
Best to contact your school first , they will have a list of accepted models and minimum specs your son will need.
Something like this would be a good deal. <14" is very portable. I regretted not getting one!
Loll trol
Get him a 15" laptop. High school kids don't need to take laptops to school.
This is a good buy: http://www.dell.com/au/p/inspiron-15-7568-laptop/pd
High school kids don't need to take laptops to school.
Depends on the school of course but our school(Qld) requires laptops to be at school every day.
Yeah, I was just ranting. I'm seeing so many schools these days have this as a requirement.
I would only send my kids to a school that didn't have this stupid requirement. I want them to study science, english and maths properly and you don't need a laptop in the classroom for those classes.
I would only send my kids to a school that didn't have this stupid requirement.
Why is it stupid? Using technology is the way forward. Even if they don't use their computer for everything they'll still use it for all of the above subjects.
Because by the time they leave high school they will be hunched over with myopia -20.
Learn with a pen not with tech rubbish. And you know they will only use it for social rubbish and porn anyway.
Tech in schools should be heavily cut back.
Not like you learn anything in school anyway. They still teach those useless subjects like visual arts and music? And maths everyday even though you will never use 90% of it unless you head into a specific degree … . . pfft.
And who pays attention with all those laptops they are constantly staring at that autocorrect?
Just because you take a laptop to school does not mean you use it in every class…
I used a compulsory school laptop for years 11 & 12. They were neutered a bit (although those who knew a little could get around most of the locks). But in reality scientific calculator went to maths, laptop stayed in bag. Laptop came out for English & CAD, laptop went in bag for most of art - you get the gist?
A laptop is a tool, just like a pencil, but more profoundly useful and I learnt just fine with one and without. It amazes me how people speak down about learning tools and methods without actually experiencing it themselves.
There's a couple of good options in the $500 range.
Traditional laptops
Dell Latitude 3340 with i3 and 4GB RAM, standard 5400RPM drive
Price: Between $499 ~ $550 if you get it refurbished via Dell Outlet
Build quality: ★★★
Performance: ★★★
Battery life: 6 hours minimum
Weight: Less than 1.8 kilograms
Extras: NoneThinkpad E450
Price: $499 or 484 with Education Portal savings for Celeron version, $599 for Core i3 version
Build quality: ★★★
Performance: ★★ (celeron) ★★★ (Core i3)
Battery: 6 hours minimum, 9 hours maximum with power saving
Weight: Less than 1.9 kilograms
Extras: $22 extra to add Next Business Day warranty careHP 250 Braswell Celeron
Price: $339, with 2.5% cashback
Build quality: ★★
Performance: ★★
Battery: 5 hours minimum
Weight: Aprox 2 kilograms
Extras: NoneConvertibles and 2 in ones
ASUS Transformer Book Flip
Price: $498
Build quality: ★★
Performance: ★
Battery: 7 hours minimum
Weight: Aprox 1.2 kilograms
Extras: Office 365 SubscriptionLenovo Yoga 300 11"
Price $550
Build quality: ★★
Performance: ★★
Battery: 5 to 6 hours
Weight: 1.3 kilogramsI've in the market as well for my daughter, and after endless looping and searching I've decided on an E450 but upgrade to an i3 and a full HD screen and a 128Gb SSD, which takes it to $749, or another $50 for an i5. She just wants rather than needs a laptop though, as she's not yet In high school when she'll be required to have one. But I decided to get her a reasonably decent machine so it will last a few years and so that her experience computing is not mainly frustration.
My other daughter just changed schools, her first school required a specific 15" HP laptop, which was just incredibly heavy (and she had to take it in every day) while the new school requires a MacBook Air, which my daughter likes a lot better, mainly because it is so much more transportable.
+1 for the Dell latitude from the Dell outlet. Bargain price for the specs. Plus the battery life is very good for school students. And the biggest advantage is that they are very rugged and can take most drops and bumps in a school bag.
I would go for Dell XPS 13 or Dell Latitude E7250 with 3-years Pro support.
If he's ever likely to need to take it to school then battery life would be a big consideration.
This site does a nice summary and also gives some good laptop suggestions regardless. As you haven't specified a budget there's cheap through to super expensive options here too.
http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/all-day-strong-longest-las…
Surface Pro?
Orvjys
Surface Pro 3 is good.
I have a son going to Sydney Boys High, and yes, they are required to bring laptop to school.
1. Get something light.
2. Get something with good battery- but the usage is not six hours. Anything that lasts two- three hours without charge should so.
3. Get something sturdy. You do not want to send the laptop for repairs every month.
4. Get a warranty. Kids are kids.
All the best.I'd get a laptop with 3 year accidental damage warranty then sell it after it's finished warranty for probably half the price and then buy another one for another 3 years. For grades 7-12 the second warranty will end just as your son finishes High School. Then he can learn all about being responsible for it after because he'll probably need it for uni/resumes. I'm not 100% sure but I think the 3 vendors offering Next Business Day repairs are Dell, HP & Lenovo.
BTW the major models I've seen schools use when purchasing are the Latitude 3340, Latitude 5440 and the Latitude 7240 (as far as Dell are concerned). The kids all seem to prefer the 7240.
Be careful though and check with the school as the other guy said. Some schools only support 5Ghz wireless, may need Windows Pro version, etc.
I agree with Voolish. Having worked in educational IT for a 15 years and I have seen it all. Most retail models are designed to sit at home on a desk. The hinges are designed to be opened a few times per day. If you buy a cheap retail device expect to replace it every year.
If you want a device that will last 3 years of kids use buy a Lenovo 11e or maybe Dell Latitude 3160. 3 year onsite warranty and ADP means you know what you are spending upfront without any surprises in year 2 and 3 of the device. Also I recommend the 11.6" range. It seems small at 1st but larger laptops lead to kids with back aches.The school I used to work for rolled out Latitude 13 7000 series. These are outrageously expensive, but they are very lightweight and can be specced with Core i5 and 240GB SSD. However we didn't upgrade the displays so they ran at bog standard 720px.
Overkill for many students but some kids did actually like the machines and commented that it was better than what their parents were using at home!
How much are you willing to spend? then go from there, few hundred…thousand?.
Remember a Laptop should last around 3 yrs so it should be powerful enough to last the few yrs.
The laptops recommended by schools are horribly overpriced.
You end up paying more for useless software you'll never need.I'd recommend the Asus transformer t100, it's no heavier than a textbook, lighter when the keyboard is detached, touch screen + comes with lifetime Microsoft office pre-installed. Battery life is 7-8 hrs.
The T100 is on the way out to being replaced by a newer T100HA, it's the Cherry Trail version running a X5 or X7 processor (rocking this time, 4GB of RAM, which is a welcome upgrade) as well as USB type-C
http://www.computershopper.com/laptops/reviews/asus-transfor…
It should come post christmas.
Indeed, it was announced early in the year just as I was in the market for one but couldn't wait cus of uni :-(
2gb of memory does set things back when having multiple windows open, however it will suffice for simple tasks. Plus a price drop to sub $400 is expected and nice :-)
Dell Alienware gaming laptop
Smell trouble
I smell a burning smell
Make sure you check up on your schools enrollment information to see if they require a certain netbook for school - if they do then you're not going to be able to purchase anything but what they recommend (even if it's not great) if he wants to use it at school / on the school network - I work for the department so i can guarantee you this. Something else to note is if the device is ever badly damaged and it needs to have parts replaced, if you buy from the school supplier then repairs are going to cost a lot less as most of this work is done in-house without labour charges etc.
Otherwise i'd recommend getting a good netbook/notebook/laptop for around $3-400 and swapping out its HDD for an SSD (if applicable and you are capable).
A MacBook Air would also be good, but you're going to dealing out a lot more cash for something that is essentially the same apart from aesthetics and build quality.[EDIT]
Repeating what i said above:
I work for a school and run a fleet of 1500+ Chromebooks - they are slow and practically useless for anything but Facebook. You do not want to waste money on something he can already do on any modern phone. Any decent netbook with an SSD will out-perform a Chromebook and be 100x more useful.I work for the department
Which Dept?
so i can guarantee you this.
Simply not true of all schools.
A MacBook Air would also be good
I agree. But Macs are considerably more expensive.
I work for a school and run a fleet of 1500+ Chromebooks
Surely your school must have done some testing before buying 1500 units.
Which Dept?
TSSP
Simply not true of all schools.
If they are following standard DEECD operating procedure then a BYOD program will be either a Chromebook (nullifies the debate) or a windows device managed by the school network.
Surely your school must have done some testing
I was not here when management made the decision.
A fleet of Chromebooks is fine, i'm not debating that because they are for school work and that's all - but for at home students should work with a Windows device, it gives them a lot more freedom and prepares them for the corporate sector where alternative operating systems are rarely used.TSSP
OK, so you're in VIC. I'm in NSW.
it gives them a lot more freedom and prepares them for the corporate sector where alternative operating systems are rarely used.
I guess this is where we disagree. Amongst many others some of the main attractions for CB's are simplicity of use, reduced administration costs, and most importantly of all Productivity. Getting stuff done quickly and efficiently.
On the cloud services front millions of businesses and government organisations including the majority of Fortune 500 companies use Google Apps. Some organisations such as the British Tax Office (HMRC) have chosen to move away from MS to G Apps. So using CB's and GAFE is preparing students for the real world.
At the end of the day there will always be pros and cons for using any operating system or Office suite. There is no one size fits all. The only point I would make is that in my experience the Google offerings are first class and as a result we use them on a daily basis.
ASUS G752
We never used our laptop or brought it to school UNLESS the teacher said to. Our school gave us macbooks, and we only every kept them at home, so don't go for a tiny portable one because it'll mostly be used at home.
I would say a macbook air 13" (not the "new macbook") would be perfect for everything
I agree, we did the same in high school. I was in the year when they first rolled out the free laptops.
macbook 13" is perfect.
If he isn't doing anything at school that need processing power (like CAD for engineering) just get a Chromebook - they can be around $250-$350 and are great for internet based applications - down sides are small storage and slower processors up sides are instant boot up and purpose built applications