Shopping for tech devices this season? Here are a few things to look for to help you make smarter decisions and make sure your tech dollar is going to features you really need.
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Laptops
A lot of people buy laptops for form factor, not necessarily mobility. They’re small, light and you don’t have to be tethered to your home office. Three key features make the most difference in both performance and price.
Processor
The biggest factor in the kind of processor you’ll need is what kind of user you are. If you are a major gamer, do a lot of video encoding and editing or use high-end CAD design tools, you will need high clock speed and quad-core capability. That means the processor can handle four sets of instructions at the same time. But if you are primarily Internet browsing, emailing, handling photos, text processing, using spreadsheets and maybe streaming the occasional movie, you can go dual-core and have all that you need. Learn more about processors if you really want to know: http://goo.gl/smHf9C
RAM
That’s the actual memory programs use to operate. Don’t walk out of the store with anything less than 8 MBs because programs get bigger and bigger whether your needs change or not. Max out the RAM in the beginning; it is often cheaper than buying short and adding it later on. Less expensive laptops may not offer a lot of RAM capability or be limited in upgrading capacity. If you’re a power user, pop for the most RAM you can.
Hard drive
Solid-state drives make everything faster and snappier, and they are light – a big reason behind the smaller form factors. And with no moving parts, they are also very durable. But they’re going to be a good bit more expensive, and they usually don’t hold the terabytes (TB) of data their standard hard-drive brothers do. The average size you’ll see for an SSD is 128 GB – where 1 TB (four times the size) is more the norm and less expensive in a standard drive. You may have to ask to get a 256 and most of us can’t afford the 500, even if you can find one. My advice: Buy the 128 GB SSD and spend another $50 on a 1TB external hard drive. You’ll have more than enough room for storage and some space for an external backup (you are doing backups, of course).
Ports
That external hard drive is going to need to connect via some type of port. Ports add weight and size to laptops, so you will find a lot of models with just one or two USB ports and a display port for connecting to external video sources. Another way laptops shed a lot of pounds is by leaving out CD/DVD drives. Think through how many peripheral devices (drive, DVD, external monitor, printer, camera, gaming mic or joystick) you have and how many need to be connected simultaneously.
Mobile Devices
One place tech sales folks will drive up your costs significantly for tablets and phones is on data plans. Yes, streaming video, music and gaming will eat up a lot of data. But the question isn’t how much you use, but where you use it. If most of your streaming is at home or work and connected to a Wi-Fi network, this is NOT counted in your data plan. Your provider can tell you – or you can find it online in your account – exactly how much data you are using on the network. Don’t buy more than you need. Those costs are the gift that just keeps on taking… every month.
Power
There’s no getting around it, all of these gadgets need power.
Portable power banks are great for traveling or getting through a long day on the road. I have one made by Satechi that has a high power port for a tablet and lower power port for a smartphone. Fully charged it stores enough punch for about 9 hours of charging. That’s 2-3 charges for two devices. Here’s a price/feature comparison of some top models: http://goo.gl/bGRfmN
And even with ready access to outlets, how many times when you are traveling have you had to unplug lights in your hotel room, in order to plug in your phones, tablets, and laptop? There are a number of new devices on the market. Here’s a look (http://goo.gl/XQ5RFD).
2-in-1s
Tablet or laptop? You don’t have to decide. 2-in-1 or convertible laptops that can either flip the screen over or detached from the keyboard completely to be used in tablet mode are gaining in popularity since Windows 10 was released. This may be just what you are looking for but not if you trade laptop functionality or power for convenience you might rarely use. If you think a 2-in-1 is for you, check out this comparison from Consumer Reports: http://goo.gl/OOjaEN.
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Portfolio wishes all UBJ readers a very happy holiday!
