Looking for suggestions on a tablet for my granddaughter to use for school (college). It has to be able to: *have Ereader *powerpoint *have an usb *video chat *good battery life (@6 hrs)
And anything else a college brat needs(?) Trying to stay between $400-$700. Any recommendations ????
Thanks in advance!
The best recommendation would be to check with her school to see what they recommend (or perhaps even require). If they're mostly Mac based a super great Windows laptop may put her at a disadvantage. Conversly if they're mostly Windows based, the best Mac may also put her at a disadvantage. Be aware that different study areas in that college may have different requirements. An education major may require a Mac while an engineering major may require a high end laptop (that can be booted with Windows for some applications and Linux for others).
Often times, the school bookstore may have special deals worked out with their suppliers to provide bundles of hardware & software necessary at good prices. They also may sell a standard older model laptop for more than you can get a newer & better one online. It's good to check, but counting on them to have the best deals is as foolish as counting on them having the worst deals, you can never tell!
One thing that you should think about is matching what they bring to school with what the school expects students to have. This provides several benefits. First, they use what others use so help is as easy as asking around. Problems may not arrise during the school support departments hours and having what many other students have increases the chance of someone in the dorm being able to help. Second, a standard supported system allows the school's help desk to more easily resolve any issues. It also minimized issues finding, installing, and configuring what software may be needed for a class.
The same holds for what smart phone they get. If you get great service using AT&T at home, but their college is in an area were AT&T service is spotty, at best, it may not be the best choice. You don't want to pay roaming charges for her to talk hours on end with her friends from high school that attend another college. Support is also important here as well. Having that phone use the campus WiFi network instead of the billed per byte cell phone network is critical for their data plan. The standard iPhone or common Android phone is probably a better choice than a super new, super fancy, super cool phone that may or may not become popular.
