Community Newsletter: Q&A forum: Laptop recommendation for children

AMASING DEALS! i got a dualcore laptop with webcam, windows vista home premium, wifi built in, 856 mb of graphics, 160gig hardrive data antishock protection, and 2 gigs of ram for only $450 INCLUDING TAX! bestbuy is the BEST

I work at the PC deployment department for a fortune 500 company, and also have a PC repair business on the side where I see many laptops and desktops every month.

If you're getting a portable laptop for your kids, you'd probably want something durable with long battery life above all else, and from my experience I suggest looking at IBM and Lenovo. Time and time again, I've found they hold up the longest over other laptops and have acceptable battery life. The touchpads and trackpoints are also more accurate than others I've used.

--ThinkPad T41--
The IBM ThinkPad T41 is an older model with a ~1.6GHz Pentium M processor, but is pretty rigidly built and can be had for $300 or so online and could handle Runescape just fine. I've had employees send me back their T41's after their 3 year lease expired and after a good cleaning they still function and look like new. 3D performance for their age is pretty mediocre, but this wouldn't affect Runescape performance, as RS is rendered through the processor. More info is available here: http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-t41-2379/4505-3121_7-30567436.html

--ThinkPad T60/T61--
Two of the newer models are the T60 and T61. Cheapest I could find was the T60 for $500. The T60 and T61 come default with Core Duo and Core 2 Duo processors, and also with Radeon x1300 and Intel GMA x3100 video cards, respectively -- but all of the above can be upgraded if necessary. The video cards aren't high-end, but would be fine for light gaming and the Vista Aero interface. If interested in the T61 though, I'd get the 15.4" widescreen, because the 14.1" is rather small.

As far as durability/battery life is concerned, these are by far the sturdiest laptops I've ever held, and I can pick them up from any edge without any chassis flex; however the T61 still feels a bit more sturdy between the two. Battery life is ~4 hours, and up to ~8 hours with the high capacity battery from my experience. The fingerprint scanner is a handy bonus too. More info on the T60/T61 can be found here: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:T_Series

There are some other laptops that I could recommend, but if I were a parent I'd want the laptops to be able to survive drops and rough handling, and IBM/Lenovo laptops have always been very tough. I also don't want to make you read a ten-page post! Hope this helps!

Bob,

I'm also a father, my son's are 15 and 11. I have learned from experience that making a large investment in electronics and handing it over to my kids, was not my best moments. knowing that there is always the chance their going to do something to destroy it, I hovered over them like a hawk. they did not understand the cost invovled. I know intentions are good, but reality is reality. They're too young Bob, but if you are set in getting them laptops, I would suggest the panasonic toughbook. It can take the abuse, and most likely survive. Buy the extended warranty!

You need to consider the fact that down the road it's not easy to upgrade a laptop(s), I would buy or build them a desktop system(s) for home and two portable DVD players for the road or plane. Buy yourself a laptop that fits your needs, they still can use it to check email, surf the net and play games, when your traveling.

You will get more out of a laptop at this point then they will. I would wait until they're in High School to buy them a laptop, this way they can be involved in the purchase, use it in college, and appreciate the value. You will save alot of stress and a load of money, odds being that boys will be boys and things get destroyed.

Best of Luck,
Rob

Bob, firstly, it's no ones business other than your own what you purchase for your own children. Ages 9 & 11--you have my condolences! I love that you said "maybe I'm being delusional"--possibly, but we need to look at what is factual, and what is not. The real stumbling block here is "Gaming". No matter what anyone tells you, the words "Laptop" and "Gaming" don't belong in the same sentence. Any Bob's Bargain Basement Laptop will surf the net and do word Processing, but gaming is an entirely different story and I sense that you are aware of that. That being said, I would first insist that both Laptops have Windows XP Pro installed---not Vista. This is still possible, although you may have to purchase the Vista upgrade for the "future" (after June 30th). A good bet here would be Dell. I have owned three Dell Laptops--the first purchased in 2000 (Inspiron 5000e). My 5000e still works like a charm, although I removed all of Dell's stuff and installed XP Pro. I am one who will probably go from Xp straight to Windows 7. Secondly, with a 9 year old it is possible that his Laptop may occasionally be used as a Frisbee. My top priority, if I were wearing your shoes, would be purchasing both Laptops from reputable companies and ensuring that you have both normal coverage AND also accidental damage coverage. I had one instance with a Black Lab maniac Puppy who thought my Dell XPS-M1710 was home plate and slid into it. When a Black Labs nose hits a 1920 x 1200 UXGA Laptop screen at approx. 12 MPH, damage can (and did) result. I would want this coverage through the manufacturer----not the extended warranty" a store may offer. Please remember, it's not certain that some retail stores will survive this economy, and if the store where you purchase your Laptop's goes belly-up, you could be in for a large headache. Many Laptops can be "user upgraded" at a later date which has its benefits. The price of DDR2 memory has fallen so much in the past year that you should consider 2GBs of memory. One Gigabyte at a minimum is a must. The most powerful Graphic's Card available for the model you choose is also a must. That is even more important then a faster CPU.
I think it IS possible to get what you want, as long as the boys don't intend to play games such as "Crysis". That just simply isnt possible with a lower-end Laptop and even gives my Dell XPS-M1710 Gaming laptop fits. Ive been a systems builder for many, many years, and I do a lot of service work for clients. By far the easiest Laptops I have worked with are Dell, and lets face it, Dell didnt get to be a big as they are because of junk products. I may also suggest that you email Dell (or any other manufacturer) with the same question you asked here. Email Dell, HP, Acer to name a few. With the introduction of 45nm Technology for Laptops, power requirements (and heat output) have eased up a bit and battery life extended somewhat. I would suggest purchasing Laptops with this Technology if at all possible.
Lastly, times have changed since I was a child. My parents purchased one of the first TV sets in our area. I think that if a child is shielded from computers and the Internet, they could be severely hindered later on. Kids today cant believe that a world ever existed without computers---and who was Elvis? So, getting them to learn at a very young age is a smart thing to do. Your prowess as a parent will dictate how they use the Internet. I applaud you for seeking advice and good luck!

Bob's question is one that I see more and more. Protecting a laptop or notebook PC is a big business, everything from carrying cases to ruggedized PC's have been or are being used. I would recommend 2 things: #1. Teach your children that they are working with an expensive piece of technology that is going to be their connetion with the world. Show them the proper way to use, carry and store their laptop. #2. Buy accidental damage insurance for the first year. If the kids forget to take care of their laptops, you will only lose the time it takes to repair or replace. Just remember that if you do #1 correctly, you will never have to worry about #2.
As far as what to purchase, I believe that your requirements will lead you to models in the 900.00 to 1400.00 range. This is the most popular price range and you can get some good deals, just remember to do your research and scan the costomer reviews on CNET or other sources before you put your money down.

Hope that I could be of help!

Larry H.

I'm no expert, but the EEE Pc is a fiarly budget ready-to go notebook system http://eeepc.asus.com/global/product.htm and as you can see from the pictures it's tiny.

Frankly in terms of hardware 'RuneScape' doesn't qualify as 'gaming'. It's extremely light on graphics etc, unless it's changed radically in the 4 or so years since I played it! (Ah memories!) When people talk about gaming pcs they're asking if it will run the latest games found on the store shelves with crazy fps, shadows, blood splatter etc. In which case...a notebook isn't really an option, they need good video cards and those really only apply to desktops.
So in the end it really depends what games you are allowing them to play 'offline' and how long you expect the notebook to last them. I can foresee the 11yr old outgrowing a basic one quickly and requiring a high-end gaming one, which would start at $1000.

Hope that helps!

My kids were young when they started ,too. Never got laptops but had the whole PC problem. Look for some obvious things like a huge hard drive, plenty of ram and core 2 or the latest processor that's out. A fast processor is good to have for gaming, so is alot of ram. Also get something with a pretty good video card. Gaming requires good graphics, net gaming especially. PRICE?? Don't think I've seen good prices for this type of product anywhere. In a laptop you're probably looking at anywhere from 1400 and up. Get something they can grow with. Less expensive, less productive and not up-to-date PC's will probably become dinosaurs quicker.

Lonnie

With Vista quickly becoming your only option, as it is also a hardware hog, you're not going to get anything resonable...the price jump with vista, just in hardware makes any "deal" on the rest insignificant. Also, no child (under age 15) should be alowed there own email address, and I think 13-15 should have a parent-guided email address...buying one laptop may cut your costs, and maybe even help teach some sharing/carring between the two as well...I don't pretend to know your kids, they may be the best of friends so lets not go any further down that road...

On to the next point, durability, there kids...they will break it, so if you do buy them one, or one for each, go to Best Buy, they have a three-year warranty that allows "accidental" damage (dropping, spilling etc) and will replace it no questions asked...but it's more expensive (trust me, you get your money's worth!) Also, have you thought about wireless networking yet?

Good luck, don't want to give you the wrong idea here, just be safe, and don't let them talk to strangers etc etc etc

You had me up until you got to the gaming. For the mundane stuff an Asus Eee PC would do the job. Get the Linux version and your total cost would be around 300$ per unit. (Your cost may vary!) Once you say gaming the price goes up by an order of magnitude or more. Decent gaming laptops start at 3000$ and go up, (wayyyyy up), from there. For a good gaming laptop see Alienware.

Bob,your kids are 9 and 11. I've bought my three kids laptops for use in high school and college. They needed them to bring to class for taking notes, and for use in their study hall. I bought two the high schoolers laptops from an office supply chain store and got a pretty good deal on a low end computer (at the time better than what Costco had in stock). You can get a pretty good, functional computer, with just an OS and standard OEM utilities, for around $500. Don't get one with MS Office installed, because if you buy it off the shelf instead, you get a license for MS Home Office that covers up to three home computers (for personal and student use only). If you get it with your computer, the OEM licensing terms are usually different.

One of my sons plays World of Warcraft on his low end ($500) laptop, without issues. The biggest issue for online gaming is usually the internet connection. A wireless "N" level router can give pretty good through-put.

Before my kids needed to take their computer to school, they used our family desktop, which we outfitted as a gaming computer in the medium to high end range. A desktop costs a third to half the price of a similarly equipped laptop, are much easier to upgrade, and much less likely to be dropped or stepped-on by a 6th grader. My kids didn't need to take a computer to school before high school, and I'm not sure their schools would have even allowed it. So while laptops are sort of fashionable, they're not always the best or most practical solution to your kids' computing needs.

While the advice for most adults is buy as much computer as you can afford, when buying for young kids, I suggest buying as little as you need. Then assume your kids will be kids and, if you buy them laptops, figure on one or both of them needing to be replaced every year or two.

You are being delusional for a couple of reasons. First of all, NOTHING can survive the beating of 9 and 11 year old. Humans have yet to invent something that can. Dell, however, offers accidental damage protection for not a lot of money which means they will replace the computer for any reason. Second, gaming laptops are not cheap and very heavy. You're probably looking at 8lbs+ and $2K+. Unless you consider $4K a reasonable monthly payment for new laptop, get the accidental damage protection.

To be used by a young boy, a laptop has to be "soldier-proof". It WILL be dropped, thrown, used as a step and otherwise tested up to, and beyond destruction.
In the UK, IBM used to market a series of "tough PC" Laptops, called, I believe, Toughbooks. They probably also do so in the US of A, try the modern spelling and look for Tuffbooks, or similar distortions of the words. Certain other companies specialise in toughened, metal or even Kevlar bodied Laptops for heavy duty industrial use. The armour plating carried a premium, however.
To run all the applications named, with the exception of gaming, a low-specification 486 or even 386 would be adequate. To run games, however........ Just buy the fastest Laptop with the most memory, and highest specification display that you can afford. That might be just sufficient for a few months, before the next game comes out!
I always ensured that my children had better specification PC's than I did, that way, they did not mess mine up.
Mo.

My granddaughter, 14, has had one for two years. It has been perfect for her needs (primarily what you stated, minus the gaming). My 11 yo grandson has a Mac pc and loves it for gaming. The Mac laptop was purchased through Ebay and is just the right size for a teenaged lap.

Peg

Usually you can get a good priced laptop for "kids" from Dell and Sony. They also come with decent graphics processors so that your kids can play Runescape or what ever they wish. Now granted they are not going to be pure powerhouses and be top of the line but still they are good for want you want them for. Also i would recommend a small screen because usually the bigger the screen the bigger the hole in your wallet.

You can go larger if you want to, but keep in mind the weight of the laptop so your kids will be able to carry it around. This means that you won't be able to go with the XO or Eee PC that are cheap. They, however, lack a key component that could prove crucial on long trips. You will want to have a DVD-rom drive, and because of the ubiquity of DVD burners, you will probably end up with one. With prices as low as they are, you probably will not mind.

From what I gathered from the Runestone website, the game is just complex Java code. So any laptop should have no problem running the game. All computers run Java fine. So when you are comparing different laptop, you just need to find one that can handle Vista. Stay away from Celeron processors. They may have a fast speed, but don't have any power to back it up. Via processors are better, but I won't go for that either. Stay with Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD X2, they will be your best bet at having a decent machine for what you want to do with it. Vista Home Premium requires a minimum of 1024MB (1GB) of RAM. Go for at least 2GB of RAM. Laptop graphics cards share RAM from the system taking at least 32MB (usually 128MB now).

The other requirements don't affect the performance of the system much and are usually just a matter of preference (Hard drive storage or if you want to upgrade to Draft-N wireless network interface card "NIC") I do suggest ordering the laptop directly from the manufacturer so you have more of a choice for a laptop and so you don't have to settle for what stores tell you that you want.

You can get the full get the full list of specifications on Microsoft's website:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/systemrequirements.mspx