I have not written about purchasing new computers for Christmas in a while. Ten years to be exact. Why not? There are so many brands, price ranges, different bells and whistles, people’s needs and more. And the, “What should I include in a new one?” question is again…vast. There are way too many choices today.
People continue to ask, “What brand of computer should I purchase?” I believe that today it is a good idea to buy from a local computer shop; however, today they are few and far between. Some of the big box stores are a good alternative. However, I would not always listen to the salespeople. Check reviews online in many places before purchasing a specific product to see how others like/dislike it.
Today I have a different approach. I am not going to tell you what to buy but give you some options for the type of computer you may choose.
In my mind, there are four major types of computers to consider.
Type 1, which is rarer today than in the past, is the Desktop. They take up lots of space, have an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Once the king of computers today it is the dinosaur. Many times they are more powerful for gaming and graphics but not always.
Type 2, my favorite choice for most people, is the Notebook which most times is incorrectly referred to as a Laptop. There are two versions of the notebook that I recommend. The first is a “2-in-1” which has a foldable keyboard/screen. You can fold them in half looking as if you broke it. The keyboard becomes the bottom and stops typing. This allows you to use the touchscreen as a windows tablet.
The other version of the notebook is the one with a detachable keyboard. Similar to the 2-in-1 but the keyboard can be stored away somewhere else. Most everything you can do on a desktop you can also perform on either version of a good notebook. Here I also include business notebooks. These are usually more heavy duty, have more business apps installed as defaults (Office, etc.) and more expensive. Even though I am not a lover I would place the MacBooks under this category too but generally more pricey.
Type 3 the Chromebook. It looks like a notebook and also comes in the 2-in-1 configuration. Detachable keyboards for Chromebooks have begun to appear recently but do not seem to be readily available…yet. Chromebooks not as quite as functional as a notebook. It basically stores nothing locally on a hard drive but instead, all is in the cloud. Also, you cannot install Windows/Mac apps on it as it runs on the Google Chrome OS. That being said you can still use it for all of the mainstays for most users. There are many “substitute” apps for Chromebooks that replace the ones you may be used to. You can browse the web, email, create/edit docs, spreadsheets, edit pics, and much more. It is a different platform without what you may have been used to on a Windows/Mac machine. Still a great, usually less expensive, option for many users.
The last, Type 4 the Gaming notebook. The name says it all and price-wise the sky is the limit. These are very well built, heavy duty units with high-end graphics, sound, etc. Made explicitly for gamers.
As you can tell from the graphics above they do not look that much different one from another, other than the desktop. However, they all have characteristics to make them desirable to people for various reasons. Those are the main choices. Check online reviews for any and all before you purchase. Also, check warranties and the quality of the service not only prices.
