Rohan MathawanComputers and laptops are widely used in school computer classes, are being integrated into educational programs, and are becoming an indispensable means of obtaining information for schoolchildren. And as soon as your child goes to school, there will be a question: what laptop to choose and buy to study at school? But after school, the need for a laptop will be equally high. Your child will enter college or university, where he will have even more work on the computer: search for information on the Internet for essays and term papers, making these works, presentations, printing, typing, etc.
To begin with, let’s define some important criteria that will give us a better understanding of what kind of laptop is better for your child to buy for school and college.
How to choose a laptop for schoolchildren
You need a small, compact laptop which is easy to carry to and from school and doesn’t weigh your child down. It may be worth sacrificing a large screen size in favor of mobility.
As for the operating system, we recommend buying a device with Windows 10, at least 8.1, because 7 is currently not supported by developers. If you choose a laptop without an operating system, you will have to install it manually.
Requirements for the storage device (internal memory) are not high – for an average child 128 GB of memory is enough, preferably on a fast SSD drive, but if the budget is constrained, it will not be a problem to use the old type – HDD. Such modest requirements also apply to hardware – a 2 or 4-core processor clocked at 1.5-2.5 GHz will be quite sufficient.
The video chip is another matter. If you enjoy spending your time playing games, then you’ll want to consider higher-end laptops. In general, it is better to buy one of the budget models for studies, as a school student has no particular need for a powerful computer. With this device, pupils will be able to complete their homework by themselves, without the help of a paper writer or other services.
How to choose a laptop for university studies in 2021
The urgent need for home computers and laptops was felt by schoolchildren and students during the height of the coronavirus pandemic when the usual learning format was replaced by distance learning. Many students who did not have a computer yet began to research the lines on the market. In particular, they should be interested in devices with the following features:
- availability of a comfortable keyboard that can quickly type tons of kilo characters;
- a display that is comfortable for the eye;
- mobility, low weight, and compact dimensions;
- high battery life and durability;
- availability of all necessary ports and interfaces for connecting third-party equipment.
What’s better to buy for studying: a tablet or a laptop? How about a PC?
The direct purpose of laptops is working, business, and study use, among other things. A laptop is first and foremost a workstation, whereas tablets are essentially entertainment gadgets. Why is this so?
Laptops are currently running Windows, macOS, or ChromeOS, which are better suited to learning tasks than Android, used on tablets. Due to their large size and comfortable keyboard, laptops are much more comfortable to work with and perform various tasks which are not possible or extremely difficult to perform on a tablet. A compromise solution is to buy an ultrabook, a 2-in-1 device with a touchscreen and a flip-down or detachable keyboard. Hybrid gadgets such as the Microsoft Surface Go or Samsung Galaxy Book2, Windows tablets that are very lightweight but very expensive, can be a good choice.
A desktop computer is only suitable for studying if you don’t plan to use it outside the home. You’ll get a totally different experience with gaming and productivity (+ durability and reliability), but a desktop will tie you down to your current location.