Trilliumlady Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 So I heard (maybe here?) about the Lenovo Memorial Day sale being all hyped up. We’re needing to replace our Dell laptop which is a slow as molasses in January and I’ve liked a Lenovo I had before. I’m basically illiterate when it comes to this kind of stuff. For you techies out there, which of their products (that appear will be on sale, greatly) would you recommend for: 1. Basic office use 2. Basic internet use 3. Online classes (DD will be in first live online class next year and I’d want something that will work well for this) 4. No gaming, etc Or should I be looking at something other than a laptop for these uses? Chrome book? No idea how that differs.... Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 When my DD starts at UNC CH in August she will be getting the least expensive Laptop they have in their program. It's a Lenovo ThinkPad. It has a 13.3" display. Small if it is in the house at all times, fine if one is lugging it around all day in their backpack. . I believe it will be just fine for a university undergraduate student. I would take a look at that model, in addition to anything else you are interested in. Good luck with what you buy! I think the below link is the model and configuration she is getting. Hers will have a 4 year international warranty and 4 years of insurance. I always think the suggested battery life of phones and laptops is a lot of B.S. Plan on 1/3 to 1/2 of that if you are lucky. Here's the link: https://cci.unc.edu/product/lenovo-thinkpad-l390-ns/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmomof2 Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 I have the Lenovo 13” Thinkpad Lanny mentioned above for work. I’ve had it for about a year and a half. It’s a great computer, and I’ve had no problems with it at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 (edited) -- Edited May 18, 2019 by alisoncooks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 DS13 is using this model Lenovo - Yoga 730 2-in-1 13.3" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive - Platinum We bought it when Best Buy has it on sale for $650 last August. It has survived public busses, light rail train and rolling backpack on gravel roads. He use it for online classes without issues. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-730-2-in-1-13-3-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-256gb-solid-state-drive-platinum/6201041.p?skuId=6201041 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 We've been very happy with Thinkpads. (DH used to work for Lenovo and found them to be the best for this kind of work.) While we bought directly from them, he does advise that before clicking Buy, you pop over and make sure you can't get a better deal from Amazon or somebody else. People with larger hands will prefer the larger keyboards, but that's something he's noticed only because he has large hands (to match his size 13 feet); I've found all the ones I've used perfectly comfortable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 Does anyone have a model they suggest for 95% of the time at house use? I just need to for writing my blog, email, internet surfing, etc. No gaming, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 @alisoncooks Thank you and God Bless You. At the moment, we are OK, but if something comes up, I will try to PM you. @Ottakee The universities seem to go with the 13.3" display. The Dell Latitude I am using has a 14" display which is probably more typical of what an "Enterprise" customer (corporate or government) would specify when they configure a machine. We have one Dell machine, a "Mobile Workstation", that has a 15" display. You would probably get tired more quickly, if you had to lug that around. If you are only going to use it in your house, or if it will be in the house 99% of the time, a 15" display would be nice to have. With displays, always try to get one that is "Non-Glare" (Matte) and if possible FHD. The other thing one can do is to have a Display in the house and a USB keyboard and a USB Mouse and that makes it into (almost) a desktop machine, but without the Expansion possibility that a good Desktop machine would have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 If that's all you'll be using it for, you aren't going to need much beyond the most basic laptop. A Chromebook would be fine if you don't need to store a large amount of content on the actual machine, but I agree that you should go with at least a 15" screen so the online classes are easy to see. I definitely wouldn't buy anything with less than 12gb RAM, but 16gb would be better because you don't want it to become obsolete too soon. If you're hauling it around a lot in a backpack or whatever a SSD might be a good investment because they're more reliable and don't have all the moving parts of a HDD, but they're also quite a bit more expensive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 (edited) Honestly, I'd probably see if an iPad could meet the need. The 2018 basic iPad is $249 on a lot of sites right now, and has the benefit of being able to use the 1st generation Apple Pencil, which is amazing (and also can be found online for about half the original price - I just picked up a couple for my grandkids). There are so many people on the Mac forum I frequent that use them for educational purposes, and then there are just so many great Apps that can really make them the perfect all-around device. Edited May 18, 2019 by StaceyinLA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 13 minutes ago, kand said: Where did you find the apple pencils for half off? I have bought from eBay, and from people on my Mac forum in like new condition. I paid right at $50. I also just got a brand new in package Logitech crayon, which is made to work with the iPads as well, for $50 on Ebay from Best Buy. I'm anxious to compare it to the pencil - I think it might even wind up being a better option for the grandkids, in which case I'll have Apple pencils to sell. 😜 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 OP: Mergath mentioned 12 or 16 GB of RAM. That would be nice if one has the $ and the need for it. The machine my DD will receive will have 8 GB of RAM and Windows 10. I think, but am not positive, it can be upgraded to a maximum of 32 GB which should do the job for just about anyone. Also, she mentioned an SSD The laptop DD will receive has an SSD. The advantage is there are no moving parts. The disadvantage is that every GB costs more than it would with a HDD (Hard Disk Drive). (BTW, if you have an SSD in a machine, NEVER use a Utility to Defragment, as you would with a Hard Disk Drive. There is nothing to Defragment and that would quickly ruin the SSD) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliumlady Posted May 18, 2019 Author Share Posted May 18, 2019 4 hours ago, StaceyinLA said: Honestly, I'd probably see if an iPad could meet the need. The 2018 basic iPad is $249 on a lot of sites right now, and has the benefit of being able to use the 1st generation Apple Pencil, which is amazing (and also can be found online for about half the original price - I just picked up a couple for my grandkids). There are so many people on the Mac forum I frequent that use them for educational purposes, and then there are just so many great Apps that can really make them the perfect all-around device. Would there be any reason an ipad would not work for online classes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliumlady Posted May 18, 2019 Author Share Posted May 18, 2019 4 hours ago, Mergath said: If that's all you'll be using it for, you aren't going to need much beyond the most basic laptop. A Chromebook would be fine if you don't need to store a large amount of content on the actual machine, but I agree that you should go with at least a 15" screen so the online classes are easy to see. I definitely wouldn't buy anything with less than 12gb RAM, but 16gb would be better because you don't want it to become obsolete too soon. If you're hauling it around a lot in a backpack or whatever a SSD might be a good investment because they're more reliable and don't have all the moving parts of a HDD, but they're also quite a bit more expensive. So what exactly is a chrome book and how is it different from a laptop? This used to be so much easier.....! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 7 minutes ago, Trilliumlady said: So what exactly is a chrome book and how is it different from a laptop? This used to be so much easier.....! IIUC, a Chromebook is never intended to be used offline--everything is stored in the cloud. That's a deal-breaker for us but might not be for everybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted May 19, 2019 Share Posted May 19, 2019 21 hours ago, Lanny said: The laptop DD will receive has an SSD. The advantage is there are no moving parts. The disadvantage is that every GB costs more than it would with a HDD (Hard Disk Drive). Prices for SSD has gone down and are still going down. While it does cost more, the price of a SSD is not as pricy as before. Besides when you upgrade the SSD on your laptop, the older SSD can be used as external portable storage. 19 hours ago, Trilliumlady said: Would there be any reason an ipad would not work for online classes? Typing responses. My DS14 loves to use his 2 in 1 laptop in tablet mode but has to use his keyboard for typing responses in his math, physics and Shakespeare classes. The onscreen keyboard would have covered some of the screen space and he can’t type as fast on the onscreen keyboard. I have a 12.9” IPad Pro and I have a few Bluetooth keyboards in my house, I still have to prop my iPad Pro up if I want to do serious typing. For leisure typing, I just use the onscreen keyboard. I have iPads from the size of the latest iPad mini to the 12.9” iPad Pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted May 19, 2019 Share Posted May 19, 2019 4 hours ago, Arcadia said: Prices for SSD has gone down and are still going down. While it does cost more, the price of a SSD is not as pricy as before. Besides when you upgrade the SSD on your laptop, the older SSD can be used as external portable storage. Typing responses. My DS14 loves to use his 2 in 1 laptop in tablet mode but has to use his keyboard for typing responses in his math, physics and Shakespeare classes. The onscreen keyboard would have covered some of the screen space and he can’t type as fast on the onscreen keyboard. I have a 12.9” IPad Pro and I have a few Bluetooth keyboards in my house, I still have to prop my iPad Pro up if I want to do serious typing. For leisure typing, I just use the onscreen keyboard. I have iPads from the size of the latest iPad mini to the 12.9” iPad Pro. I have the Apple keyboard that attaches to the pro, and I love it, but I’ve also used a stand with a cheap bluetooth ($12) keyboard for typing as well with non-pro iPads. I was just thinking the 2018 iPad with that Apple Pencil support would be great for note-taking and stuff like that, as well as all the other stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliumlady Posted May 22, 2019 Author Share Posted May 22, 2019 So would this one be sufficient for basic home use/online classes? https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-flex-series/Lenovo-IdeaPad-FLEX-14IWL/p/81SQ000EUS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 10 hours ago, Trilliumlady said: So would this one be sufficient for basic home use/online classes? https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-flex-series/Lenovo-IdeaPad-FLEX-14IWL/p/81SQ000EUS I read the specs. As I recall, that configuration has an HD display. I would *strongly* suggest paying more and getting an FHD Display. Also, I believe it has 4 GB of RAM. I would suggest paying more and getting 8 GB of RAM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 On 5/18/2019 at 12:28 PM, Trilliumlady said: Would there be any reason an ipad would not work for online classes? I did my 2nd bachelor's online and while most of the time I could use an iPad or even my iPhone, for certain things in my course I did need to be on an actual computer. I graduated 2 years ago so I can't remember specifically off the top of my head but it was occasionally an issue (maybe 5-10% of the time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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