Technology For College

This month I’ll cover the question of what is on offer in computing for those off to college. If you are a regular reader you’ll know I’ve covered this topic before but I am revisiting it based on the devices that regularly land on my desk for repair. In the end you will make the decision but this article will hopefully make the rather murky area of technology a bit clearer.

Tablets & Hybrid Laptops.

I’ve looked at the offerings in both of these areas from the major manufacturers.

My view on them is that they are NOT suitable for a student as they are neither robust nor designed to last. I always view these devices in terms of their reparability and durability. For the most part the cost to repair them exceeds their value. Thus avoid all low end tablets and hybrid laptop tablets. The hybrid laptops are a combination unit featuring a detachable screen and keyboard. On closer examination they are simply tablets with a keyboard. All of the components for the unit are crammed into the screen. Thus a knock or drop to the screen can render the device fit only for the bin.

Laptops

The term laptop is now a muddled area as the lower priced units have now been stripped of so much hardware and functionality.  I cannot in all honesty say they meet the criteria as a portable computer. They are cheap but that’s not surprising seeing as how there’s not much in them besides a cpu/screen and a few usb ports. Some don’t even have a hard disk which is an accident waiting to happen. If a fault develops in the units equipped with solid state drives (which is the same type of storage as is used in smartphones/tablets) you will lose everything stored on that device. A nightmare for a student who has failed to backup their documents. 

If you want a decent reliable robust laptop you are going to have to buy direct from a manufacturer on the internet. You’ll need to carefully select the model you want as you’ll be offered from cheap to outrageously expensive models. With a little care and attention you can get into a decent business class laptop for between 500-700 euro.

Conclusion:

When it comes to technology the growth of phone and tablet use has caused the computer manufacturer’s to respond with cheap lower end laptops and hybrid tablet/laptops as their primary offerings. To avoid the trap you need to carefully select the model you want based on your budget and how long you want it to last.