ProudGrandma Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 We are needing to get our daughter a new computer for college. There are so many options. We are right now leaning towards a chromebook...because it's lightweight, has options like touch screen, tablet like functions. My daughter will have an android phone so I think these 2 things will work with each other (or at least that is what I understand). So can someone here give me some opinions and thoughts on the matter. She will only need this to do school...type papers etc. She doesn't need to run programs or anything like that. thanks for your help! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 That's what my dd did. It was perfect. It absolutely had everything she needed, and the good thing was that because Chromebooks don't hold the programs themselves, it was basically problem free. Wi-fi was available throughout the campus so that part was never a problem either. (Chromebooks need wi-fi.) She was very, very pleased with her lightweight, inexpensive, easy-to-use Chromebook. Before her senior year, she did finally change over to a Mac laptop because she's a graphic designer and needed programs that the Mac has. But she always felt her Chromebook was perfectly adequate. We did a lot of research on which specific Chromebook she should get, and ended up getting this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H7WF22K/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 That was a few years ago and it might not even be available anymore, and there have probably even been improvements! But it was a very good one for her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 thanks. We are looking at the 2018 version of what you got your daughter...so thanks so much. I appreciate your input. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 I think the university may have requirements, depending on the Major. But, if not... I am beginning to think about this for my DD. She is submitting university applications now. The old (Enterprise class) laptops we have are too heavy to lug around all day and don't have the battery life that a Chromebook would. The best thing about the Chromebook to me, is the long battery life. The worst thing IMO is the need for WiFi, but on a university campus, that should be available. The idea of having ones stuff "in the Cloud" is very appealing, if the machine should croak. If everything is in the Cloud, one can beg borrow or steal another machine and have access to their data. If a hard disk drive crashes, then one is up a creek without a paddle. The Chromebook is simpler and less problematic in the event of a failure. NOTE: If she does not go with a Chromebook, I strongly suggest that she back everything up to the Cloud. To Dropbox or to Box or to some other Cloud. She can use the Free Online version of Microsoft Office and there are a bunch of other things when you log into your Microsoft account. The first reply linked to an ACER Chromebook. I don't associate ACER with high quality, but my wife bought a very low-end Acer Windows Mini Laptop for DIL, several years ago. As far as I know, it has been trouble free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 My kid has used a Chromebook for his entire two years of community college. No issues except when he took programming so needed to use our desktop. So I'd say it depends on the course of study, and as Lanny said, any school requirements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 3 hours ago, kfeusse said: We are needing to get our daughter a new computer for college. There are so many options. We are right now leaning towards a chromebook...because it's lightweight, has options like touch screen, tablet like functions. My daughter will have an android phone so I think these 2 things will work with each other (or at least that is what I understand). So can someone here give me some opinions and thoughts on the matter. She will only need this to do school...type papers etc. She doesn't need to run programs or anything like that. thanks for your help! If you go that route my son has one he wants to sell. His dad bought it for him without asking ds and ds has never wanted it. I can’t say he doesn’t like it because he literally never used it....maybe 2 hours worth. He convinced his dad to buy him what he wanted and told ds he can sell the chrome book . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 I've had an Acer Chromebook for over two years (almost 2.5 years, I think) and I love it. It's far and away the best computer I've ever had for my needs. It's simple, it flat out works and the battery life is unbelievable. I haven't detected any noticeable deterioration in battery life yet. I use Google Drive, which makes it very easy to access documents and pictures on either my iPhone, iPad or Chromebook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 (edited) Scarlett I am going to PM you...so we can talk about this. thanks. Edited October 17, 2018 by kfeusse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 (edited) .. Edited October 18, 2018 by Scarlett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 (edited) ... Edited October 18, 2018 by Scarlett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Sorry for the deleted posts. I kept trying to post the link without it going straight to my amazon account. Still not sure what I sent to Kfeusse in PM. LOL. Anyway we paid 428 for it in December of 2017....but now when I click on that item number from my order it shows me it is now priced at $593. Very confusing. I THINK they upgraded the keyboard since we bought it, so that the $593 version has a back lit keyboard. That doesn't seem to explain the price increase of $165. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 My son's is a Samsung Chrome. I didn't realize that. Hmmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted October 18, 2018 Author Share Posted October 18, 2018 this looks like a nice computer...just really out of our price range..... Sorry about that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 9 minutes ago, kfeusse said: this looks like a nice computer...just really out of our price range..... Sorry about that. I understand. I do wish I could figure out what it is actually worth. So confused. These type of products don't usually go UP in price. And yet this one seems to have done just that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 57 minutes ago, Scarlett said: I understand. I do wish I could figure out what it is actually worth. So confused. These type of products don't usually go UP in price. And yet this one seems to have done just that. Sometimes/Frequently when a product is no longer on the market, someone will have 1 or 2 and they list them at prices that are much higher than what they cost when they were on the market and brand new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 7 minutes ago, Lanny said: Sometimes/Frequently when a product is no longer on the market, someone will have 1 or 2 and they list them at prices that are much higher than what they cost when they were on the market and brand new. But it is still on the market. Same model number as what Amazon billed us for in December 2017. But it went up in price from 423 to 593. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071LB1GG4/ref=od_aui_detailpages02?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is the link to the one that Amazon says we bought in December of 2017. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 8 minutes ago, Scarlett said: But it is still on the market. Same model number as what Amazon billed us for in December 2017. But it went up in price from 423 to 593. As you wrote, that would be highly unusual, if it had the same specifications. Usually Consumer Electronics products go down in price, with time as newer models with better technology come onto the market and at lower price points. I suggest you check for that model on eBay. I have more trust now in eBay than I do in 3rd party sellers on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scholastica Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Also, be careful about counting on wifi on campus. Unless you know for sure that the college your dd is attending has great wifi coverage, I would be wary. There are still many places where high speed internet is not available or unreliable. My ds goes to college in a rural area and the wifi is often spotty on campus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 I love my Chromebook! My kids have school issued Chromebooks that work great, but my dd17 ran into a problem with the Chromebook and college courses. She had to turn in homework online in Word format. It wouldn't accept Google Docs. I know you can use OpenOffice, but it doesn't have as much as regular MS Word. Maybe someone here who is more computer savvy has advice on this issue. She ended up having many steps to get it turned in. Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 8 minutes ago, Lanny said: As you wrote, that would be highly unusual, if it had the same specifications. Usually Consumer Electronics products go down in price, with time as newer models with better technology come onto the market and at lower price points. I suggest you check for that model on eBay. I have more trust now in eBay than I do in 3rd party sellers on Amazon. Kfeusse, sorry to thread jack---I think I solved the mystery. It was apparently used when ds bought it! I have no memory of that at all! But that would explain it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted October 18, 2018 Author Share Posted October 18, 2018 no worries, scarlett....this is all good conversation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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