Which laptop for dd?

[Dancergirl]

We are thinking of getting a laptop for dd2 (13, Year 8). To be used for schoolwork and play (YouTube etc).

She has some money saved up, which she might use some of and we might top it up for a birthday present, haven't quite decided yet.

The big decision is whether it's worth paying more for an Apple macbook. A friend of mine is very much into Apple and says (in her opinion) it's always worth paying for as they're so much better and also have good resale value.

When we bought our older dd a laptop a few years ago we didn't consider Apple and bought her a decent (ish) one for about £350. She says it's 'ok' but a bit slow.

I am very untechy so please bear this in mind when replying please!

We just did this purchase for our ds same age as yours. My husband is techy, loves his iPad, but would never buy a MacBook because of the price. My personal feeling is that if they are given too much, they won't ever appreciate a purchase when the are old enough. And also they are 13 and tech will change, and they might prefer an IPad to a lap top when it gives up the ghost.

Dd is very unspoilt so I wouldn't worry on that front. I did actually think about an iPad instead but a laptop is much better for homework.

What did you buy for your ds floo?

We bit the billet at the same age for DD and got a Mac book. She has had it for over three years now and no problems at all, no slowness and no moaning for an upgrade when she went into the sixth form. She loves it as does her sister who has now gone to uni with hers, also 3+ years old and still great.

We bit the bullet

Lenovo.

store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=P7S76EA&opt=ABU&sel=NTB

Something like the HP above converts from tablet to laptop

We went to John Lewis today and had a good look there and a chat with the sales assistant. We looked at Apple MacBooks, a non-Apple decent laptop (can't remember the make) for about £500 and also a chrome book for £200. Don't really understand the difference between a chrome book and a laptop, but in any case, dd is really keen on a macbook.

Having used both apple and PC laptops (and just an ipad, argh) I think apple but they're very expensive and I don't think the spec is that great for the money. What they do offer is better battery life on the whole, and usually they last well.
Word of warning, at that age I think pay for accidental damage cover. I didn't pay for that on my macbook air, and one tiny drop of water has killed it (less than a year in) which they won't cover.

Also I find the keyboards on macbooks to be absolutely terrible to write on.

The reason I hate PC is that they just .. break.. and also windows. I can't stand windows any more. Windows 7 was the last bearable version.
A windows laptop I've been thinking about to replace macbook (though I think I am going for macbook pro) is an HP envy one. Still expensive but less so (about 600-650) and better spec. If only I hated windows less and all my things were compatible. hmm. Here it is HP envy

Dancergirl, chromebooks are enticing because of their price and portability and battery life. But you can't save things to them, everything has to be completed using google docs and so on online. If mainly working online, it's fine, but won't give full functionality of a laptop for things like homework unless always guaranteed an internet connection. I think..

oops, just saw date on this thread sorry!

I have a Chromebook and it does have some limited storage and will work offline. When they first came out they did have those limitations but I think they changed it because that was just so restricted. Having said that, I wouldn't get one again (well, it was a present). They're crap for gaming and not that fast usually.

I'd get a good windows laptop - more games and more likely to run any substrate she might need for school. Macbooks are lovely, but there's no options at a lower price range.

Ugh, same here leghoul.

I came on to ask exactly this question.

I have a MacBook but it's my work one and I'm sick of it not working because of something kids have downloaded.

I don't like the look of Chromebooks but haven't the money to buy the kids a MacBook (they are only 10 & 7)

The battery life on many windows laptops is v poor. And post-windows 7, everything is made for touch screen nonsense. I don't want to use my phone to work on. Thanks for telling me that about chromebooks, I wasn't completely sure but was put off by reviews I had read. I need to be able to edit documents offline, at the very least.
I'm not totally sold on retina screens either, for macbooks, as they consume lots of power.
WLTM: functioning laptop that doesn't think I want to use it as a tablet, that doesnt crash or come with lots of silly software, that connects to the internet and stays connected, a day-long battery, not too heavy, no loud fans, enough storage, and a decent keyboard to type on

Have you looked at ultrabooks? You don't have to use the touchscreen.

NO TOUCHSCREENS
No I don't think I have, really. I haven't seen that many around - I remember maybe 4/5 years ago I saw some and thought 'ooh they're so thin' Will take a look!

They're light and quiet. I don't know what you mean by "enough storage" - they won't have terabytes. But there are a fair few models about now. You'll struggle to find one without a touchscreen, I imagine, but I think you can turn it off in settings. Look carefully at reviews about keyboard quality.

Windows 10 isn't toooo bad...

The dell xps 13 comes in a version with a non-touch, non-hi-res screen. It's a lovely machine.

Thanks all, didn't realise the thread had been resurrected!

Anyway after all that, dd has her heart set on a macbook so we're going to buy a reconditioned one from Hoxton macs.

Sorry for resurrecting thread
thanks, I think I'm overly traumatised by windows 8
will look at dell and ultrabooks before apple store spell comes over me again!