The smartphone may be the hub of our digital lives, but the computer still plays a key role. In fact, there's still plenty that's far easier to do on a laptop than on anything else, while tablets aren't yet fully capable of replacing them. That's especially true if you're getting a laptop for work, home, or school.
It used to be that if you want a laptop with power and features, you would need to spend more than $1,000. That's still the case, but today's budget laptops are now plenty capable of doing what most people need — word processing, web browsing, and emailing — thanks to improvements in processors, graphics, and other chipsets, as well as standardization in features like USB and HDMI.
Of course, this is not to say all budget laptops are great — some are definitely better than average, while others aren't worth your hard-earned cash — so you need to consider a few key things before you purchase:
Operating system: There are a few major computer operating systems out there. You're probably most familiar with Windows, as it's by far the most-used operating system, but there's also Apple's macOS, which is found on the company's Mac computers (we didn't include any Macs because they didn't meet our price requirement for a budget laptop). And, the newest, there's Google's Chrome OS, which is targeted to those with basic computer needs revolves around Google's web-based apps (Chrome OS relies heavily on cloud computing, meaning that a lot of the processes happen online).
Specs and features: Some computers are more powerful than others. Things like the processor and amount of memory (RAM) will dictate how quickly your computer runs, while the amount of storage indicates how many files you can keep on your computer at once. There are also other factors, like the graphics chipset being employed. The type of software you run could also dictate how well a laptop's components perform; for example, Google's Chrome browser is notorious for being a memory hog.
The features have also improved. Premium components like a touchscreen and high-speed ports, like USB 3.0 and USB-C, have trickled down from high-end laptops to budget models. As you research, look for these or if the laptop is still utilizing older tech.
Size: Laptops come in a range of different physical sizes, however, the smaller ones generally sit in the 10- to 11-inch range, while the larger ones can get as big as 17-inches. That's handy for watching movies, but it comes at the cost of portability.
Then, of course, there's cost. For this guide, we consider a "budget" laptop to be a laptop that costs about $800 or less — we aimed to recommend those that fall below $600. However, if you can afford to spend more than that, you will be able to get something more powerful and arguably better than the computers on this list.
Updated on 10/31/2019 by Monica Chin: Added new picks and what else to consider. Updated formatting and adjusted prices.
Best Lenovo Black Friday 2019 deals: $99 laptop, $210 desktop PC
Lenovo's Black Friday ad includes a $99 IdeaPad 130s deal.
Dell is usually the first tech company from which we see a Black Friday ad each year, but this year a rival has had its deals leak first. Lenovo's 30-page ad has hit the Black Friday aggregation sites with scores of sales on its laptops and desktops, including the inevitable $99 notebook special.
The deals below were recently leaked. We plan to update this piece over time with official deals, so bookmark this page.
That laptop is the IdeaPad 130s, an 11.6-inch portable with an Intel Celeron N4000 laptop, 2GB of RAM, and 64GB of built-in storage. Lenovo has added a bit of a wrinkle to the deal by carving out three separate chances for you to snatch it as the sub-$100 price point (compared to the current price of $199.99). Not only will it be available at midnight on Black Friday (Nov. 29), but you can also grab it at midnight on Thanksgiving or this coming Monday (Nov. 4) at 9am The catch for early birds is that only 500 units will be available on the 4th and 1,000 on the 28th.
If you'd prefer a bit more power, the value line of Lenovo's ThinkPad notebooks will see an impressive doorbuster price of its own: The ThinkPad E495 (AMD Ryzen 3 3200U processor, 4GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, 14-inch display) is currently priced at $580, but at 9am on Black Friday it will drop to just $299.
That's a far better deal than the Chromebook C330 doorbuster at 8am Black Friday -- Lenovo claims that it's an $80 price reduction to $199.99, but you can purchase one right now on the company's website for $229.99. The C330 "deal" is the type we warn about each Black Friday shopping season: the original list price suggesting a big discount, but the current online price already reflecting a big cut. That 50% off advertised might only be a 10% reduction from today's price. That's why it's fair to be a bit suspicious when you see "lowest price ever" as Lenovo touts a few times in its ad.
Thankfully, the $969.99 midnight Thanksgiving doorbuster price for the 2-in-1 Yoga C930 (Intel Core i7-8550U, 8GB of RAM, 256GB solid-state drive, 13.9-inch screen) is a healthy $155 lower than the current price for that configuration, even if the Black Friday ad suggests the price being discounted is $1,499.
Likewise, the 9am Black Friday doorbuster of a ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Core i5-8265U, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, 14-inch display) for $999 is more than $450 off today's price (compared to the $2,199 original price listed in the ad), whereas the $599 1pm Thanksgiving doorbuster ThinkPad E490 (Core i5-8265U, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, 14-inch screen) is just $75 less than the current price (not the $1,509 listed original price).
Gamers can get $250 off the current price for the 17.3-inch version of the Legion Y740 (Core i7-9750H, 16GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive and 356GB SSD, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 graphics ), which will be available for $1,279.99 at 9am on Black Friday.
Lenovo isn't going as low as $99 for a desktop PC, but $209.99 (compared to $280 current price) gets you the IdeaCentre 310s, which features an AMD A6-9225 processor, 4GB of RAM, and terabyte hard drive. Other desktop deals include the gaming-friendly IdeaCentre T540 (Core i5-9400F, 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics) for $699.99, or $150 off the current price.
You can even get $80 off Lenovo's answer to the Amazon Echo Show, the Smart Tab M10, which comes with a 10.1-inch display, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, and support for Amazon Alexa voice commands for $169.99 starting Thanksgiving at 9am
These are just the highlights of Lenovo's Black Friday deals. You should check out the link above to the full ad -- but just make sure to open Lenovo's online store in another browser tab to see how much you'll really be saving.
0 टिप्पणियाँ