Starting university is an exciting time for anyone, but there are many things that you will have to consider before you leave home behind and travel to your university to start the new term. One of the most important things of all is which type of computer you should buy to assist you with your studies: a laptop, a netbook or a tablet?
Here are some of the main considerations with each one to help you make the right decision.
Portability
One of the first things that you should think about is how portable you need your computer to be. A laptop can be very portable, but a netbook is smaller and a tablet is even smaller and lighter still. All of them are a good option if you want to take your computer to lectures, but a tablet is probably going to be the most convenient option here.
You may even want to look into investing in a tablet that comes with a stylus so that you can use it to make notes by hand rather than having to use a keyboard.
Power
When it comes to power, netbooks and tablets pale in comparison to laptops. Laptops can be very powerful indeed, but in return you will often have to pay a premium for them. Although you may want something powerful, you should remember that you may not actually need a powerful machine.
Most of the activities that you will be using it for are taking down notes, writing essays and using the internet, in which case you probably won’t need a powerful computer to start with. In this case, you may be better off choosing a netbook or tablet and spending less.
Internet Connectivity
This is going to be crucial when you choose a computer to help you with your studies. Access to the internet will probably be vital for research purposes, but you may also want to use your computer to watch TV catch-up services or read the news.
Nearly all computers now come with built-in Wi-Fi, but if you are buying an older computer second-hand then make sure this is one of the features it includes. However, another thing that you may want to consider is mobile broadband. This will provide you with greater freedom to access the internet wherever you are, which may be useful while you are studying at university. A tablet may be the best bet here because you can find one with mobile broadband built in. However, you could also buy a dongle to use in your netbook or laptop.
Price
Price is going to be one of the big issues for you when choosing a computer. Tablets may win here because prices have gone down considerably over recent years. However, if you plan to do much typing on your computer, a tablet may not be the most convenient option.
Another option to consider is to buy a laptop that has been refurbished. This will allow you to get hold of a great laptop for less than a new model, while still enjoying all the benefits of having a new computer.
Netbooks are fairly cheap these days as well, but with a refurbished laptop you really don’t need to spend too much to get your hands on a powerful and efficient machine.
Choose the Right Computer for Your Studies
Choosing a computer to take to university used to be simpler, but now there are many different options to choose from. Keep the above considerations in mind when you choose your computer, and they should help you to make a decision on choosing the right computer for your needs.
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