The Best Tablets And Laptops For Students

These days a computer is an absolute must for university students, with so much of life now taking place online. Unfortunately as a student, you’re probably not rolling in cash – so how do you find a computer that fits your needs but is still within your budget?

Firstly, work out what you need your computer to do. The basic functions a student needs are word processing and internet access – probably both at the same time. If this is all you require your computer to do for the next three years, you have a lot of choice; you’ll only require a basic laptop, which you’ll find at a bargain price.

At under £300, the HP 655 laptop offers a 15.6 inch screen and 2GB of RAM. This is the perfect budget solution if your basic requirements are word processing, emailing and browsing sessions. But don’t expect miracles; this computer is not going to support serious gaming. However, the battery offers up to six hours life, which is ideal if you’re heading out and about.

If you plan on carting your computer across campus, you may appreciate something a little lighter than this HP’s 2.3 kilograms, such as a netbook or tablet.

An important thing to note with netbooks is that they mostly only offer 1GB RAM – less than the HP 655 laptop – but they’re ideal for tapping away at in lectures, and won’t give you backache. What they lack in power, they make up for in battery life. At £251, the Samsung NC110 offers over 10 hours unplugged, and weighs just 1.17kg.

Then there are tablets – superb pieces of equipment with hundreds of innovative apps to boot. Add a keyboard to the Lenovo IdeaPad and you benefit from a mini workstation that weighs just 750g, and unlike Apple products, even supports Flash. It’s worth your time checking out online retailers, such as Ebuyer, as you can browse their full range of electrical goods (including all that is mentioned above) and delivered straight to your door without leaving your house!