Moderators at OzBargain have decided to run yearly polls to decide the best products in popular categories that get asked repeatedly in the forum. Our aim is to have a central thread where users can vote on the items, suggest options and also change their vote throughout the year. The polls will end once the year is over.
Question
What is the best laptop or ultrabook for students under $1000?
Laptops – while certainly not as cheap or ubiquitous as a pen and paper, is still an essential piece of tech for many students going into high school or university.
Laptops are also a mandatory piece of equipment for some high school students and many have BYOD IT programs that dictate minimum spec requirements which can make the task of finding a suitable school laptop tricker.
🔋 One of the most important features for a uni / school device is an all-day battery life, saving you the hassle of having to charge in the middle of your day and also not have to carry around a charger;
💪 Consider the trade-offs between performance over portability. Larger laptops are easier to type on, have a range of storage expansion options and graphics card options, while smaller laptops are more portable and easier to carry around, but usually aren't as powerful.
💻 Some devices have different form factors, ranging from a traditional clamshell, to a two in one detachable form factor or convertible.
Tips: Found a device you liked? You can click on the 'Related Products' section to view current or active deals, and see forum discussions related to it.
- Don’t see a device that you like in the poll options? Make a (sensible) suggestion that fits the $1000 budget and we’ll add it to the list
- You are allowed to change your vote.
How to make a Poll suggestion: Fill out this little box which appears on the top of your usual commenting textbox.
No specific models, and in no specific order (just my preference)
1- HP Spectre X360
2- Lenovo Yoga
3- Asus Transformer 3 Pro
4- Dell Inspiron 13
5- Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12
6- Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 510
7- Acer Aspire S13
I think a 6th-gen Core i5-U* (or better), 8GB DDR3 RAM (or better), 256GB M.2 SSD (or better), 40Wh Battery (or better), 1080p IPS (or better), 11" to 14" (personal preference), 18mm thick (or better), 1.6kg heavy (or better)……. should be targeted as they are the mainstream/mid-range offerings. Hopefully a device fitting the description would be in the $800-$1,200 price range. Of course value depends also on the ports, quality fit-polish-finish, and support.
Not sure if anyone agrees with the points raised here. I'm hesitant to include specific models to the poll.
*The 7th-gen Core i3-U's are pretty awesome: adequately featured, almost as efficient, but more powerful than the Core M7-Y which are really expensive. I would say people should avoid the Core M's/Core i-Y's unless a specific reason.