Portable Computers: Top Picks for Back-to-School

Back-to-school shopping is in full swing as retailers have shelves stocked full of the latest supplies and fashions. As computing plays a large part in modern education, there are also many great deals on new and older technologies to help students succeed in the ever increasing digital world. Here are some thoughts, and a short list of portable computers that students will be glad to have throughout the coming school year and beyond.

If you stand back and take a look at the number of portable computers available on store shelves today; generally speaking, you could probably easily divide the into three different categories. The smallest and lightest being the latest wave of netbooks sporting 10" screens, average sized laptops with 12" - 15" screens, and then, the desktop replacements - laptops which often weigh quite a bit, and feature much larger screens - from 17" - 19". If you wanted to create a fourth category, you could include the iPad, and the wave of yet to be released competitive tablets.

Netbooks continue to be increasingly popular. As an education professional with experience working with students at numerous schools, I tend to see these portables to most. Typically weighing a pleasant 3-4 lbs., they generally feature widescreen displays measuring at 10", and include more than enough power for any form of Internet use, video and audio entertainment, and business applications. The netbooks easily and conveniently fit into crowded backpacks along with required textbooks and other student necessities. As if convenience and portability isn't attractive enough, most fully featured netbooks also carry an affordable price tag of $300-$500. This is nearly half the price of an above-average notebook, and at least a third of the price of a top of the line model.

If there is any disadvantage to be found with a netbook, it would likely be the combination of memory, disk storage, and CPU power. This is strictly in terms of needing to do any computing above and beyond typical daily tasks. This is where a traditional laptop comes into play. The size of the portable does increase, along with power, and price. Graphics processing applications, and software development packages will run much more smoothly and seem more at home on these machines.

This time of year, it is easy to find sales at most major retailers that will satisfy back-to-school computing needs. What should always be considered however, is you get what you pay for. Although most average sized laptops sound appealing at $300-$400, the system specifications are usually quite low, or dated. A best practice is to consider the use of the machine with any current and future needs and requirements. For example, if using Adobe Photoshop CS5 is a class requirement for a design class, then a quick visit to the Adobe website will reveal the required system specifications.

The bottom line? If the need is for general computing with Internet, Email, business application, and basic entertainment such as listening to music. Students will be thrilled with a netbook. If there is a greater need for specific technical software applications, a laptop (notebook) is the way to go.

Some reputable portables worth considering:

Netbooks:

HP Mini 311 series
HP Pavilion dm1z series

A budget conscious notebook for everyday computing:

The Dell Inspiron series.

A powerful ultraportable notebook with touchscreen capabilities:

The HP TouchSmart tm2t series.

For students in a gaming/technology program:

The Dell Alienware series of notebooks, including the highly portable M11x.