Suggestions on What Kind of a Laptop to Buy for a 16 Year Old?

I just bought a Dell Inspirion 15 and absolutely love it. Very easy to use, the kids love to use it. I wouldn't get a "netbook" - too small.
Some laptops I looked at seemed so cheesy (cheap). The Dell is wonderful. Good luck

Dell is good. H.P. is good too. Look for the ones that are on sale at Best Buy. The sales person should be a good person to start with. Most lap tops are perfected today. I'd ask them about adding parental blocks software. 16 yrs. old is a prime age to visit inappropriate sites. It doesn't even have to be intentional either. My daughter was doing a project and Ms. Nevada came popping up in the nude. Watch out. My computer has a password on it so it can not be turned on by my children if I am not home. They don't like it and your son might not either. Try not to accuse him of doing something he has not done. Tell him that things can pop up without him doing anything. It's a good software that protects the computer from viruses too.
Good Luck,
Sue

First, laptop and notebook are pretty interchangable. A "netbook" is a mini-notebook. They are very small, great if you are on the road or just need to check something quick, but I've found they are too small for everyday use.
Dell laptop are awesome. They are very sturdy. Your best bet is to look at what he is going to use it for. Does he play games? will he be using it for school? Is he going to watch movies or play music on it?
Without knowing these, I really can't give you a specific laptop to look at, but I can tell you for one that will last a good long time, look at getting him the fastest (you'll see gHz) and the most memory (RAM)
Feel free to send me a message if I can help more :)

I will tell you that if you can afford it buy a MAC. MAC's don't get virus' from the internet. Most games and other software you can buy will work on both windows compatible computer and MAC now. MAC's are very easy to operate, when I worked as a DSL tech (on Windows) my calls were often 2 hours long, as soon as I moved to MAC support my calls went down to about 15 minutes.

There are basically 2 different kinds of computers. Windows compatible and MAC. Windows computers are IBM, Dell,HP, E Machines, Acer, etc...they all work off the same basic hardware base.

MAC works on it's own system and since it does, the virus' just can't communicate with it.

There are routers you buy to network all your computers together. If you have network service you might want to call them and find out about networking. With the company I worked with you had to buy your router from them if you wanted support. What I mean to say is, if your internet isn't working and you call for support and say something like "My internet isn't working" and they say check the lights on your modem and they are okay then they'll try several different things. If you didn't buy your router from them they won't know how to troubleshoot it and you will have to make a direct connection from your modem to 1 computer. It's just WAY easier to just buy the router from your internet provider. In my case our town has free wireless internet so I don't have a provider.

I think places like Staples and other business supply stores that do repair computer work really have good information for you.

A desk top computer has several pieces, a keyboard, a monitor, a tower with lots of stuff inside, and sometimes things like printers and fax machines.

A laptop will fit in your lap and is almost always wireless only. They come in various sizes and some have wired mouses and others use a small square place beside the kieybord and you use your finger to direct where you want to click.

Netbooks are small, like a large billfold and the screen is tiny but they fit in a backpack or purse and are easy to carry all day but are very tiny to try and read.
===========
To be honest your software system (what you use on the computer) needs to be somewhat customized. If he really is going to do just homework and email to friends then he can have a much simpler system. if he's going to go online places like facebook or myspace and visit with friends, play games, etc...he needs a lot more memory and stuff. I love facebook and all my grandkids have accounts, we all play games together. So, talk to the sales person about what you think you need and decide how much to spend after that.

I am not too computer oriented but last year hubby went out and bought two of those ACER laptops from Walmart one for himself and one for our 20 year old. THey both love them. My mom also has one and so does my aunt.

Hi, I would second a Mac except that he already has experience on a PC (the abbreviation for the "other" operating system) and he may not want to change although it will fairly easy for him to change. It is true that you cannot get a Mac for less than 1000. BUT unlike PC laptops, Macs come with TONS of software that just works as soon as you turn on the computer. You do not need to buy it and then decide what software to put on it. e.g. if he is in to music, they come with a program called GarageBand, and iTunes. If he's in to video or photography, they also come with iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD. etc., etc. If you stay with a PC you should research the difference between Windows 7 and Vista. Vista is the older operating system BUT most people I know prefer it to Windows 7 because there are fewer bugs (issues) that need to be fixed. Does your son have any ideas about what he wants based on what his friends may have?

You should ask the people in the computer store what would be ideal for your son. Find out what he will use his laptop for ie: is he using it for school/college or recreation ie: music, internet. As a standard go for at least 2 Gigabytes of RAM (random access memory) this is the best minimum you can get in order for a computer to access many files at once with ease, the bigger the RAM the less likely your computer is to stall,glitch or cock up. But the higher the RAM the more expensive your laptop will be.

Generally the cheaper laptops include less memory, less RAM and work better for things like the internet or listening to music. If your son plays online games youll need to look for a laptoop with a Graphic Card. Your best bet is to go into a store with a budget, and a list of what your son will use the computer for. Never spend over yoyur budget and if you hear the guy/lady talking about things on a laptop that you know your son will not need then avoid the model. And also, there are a few good brands of laptop, i have heard that Dell install viruses onto their computers so that in a matter of months they mess up and you have to replace them
but i dont own a Dell so i dont know if its true. Acer is a good brand, also Toshiba or if you fancy spending alot on a graphics-based computer an Apple Mac notebook is a good buy albeit pricey.

Im using a Sony vaio. I love it and it wasnt really too pricey.(700 euro)

it all depends on your son at the end of the day, his preferences in terms of use of the computer and your budget.

happy shopping

Yes Dell is good...and a notebook is a laptop....however a netbook is a way small version of a laptop and are probably not what your son is looking for. Most all laptops are perfectly suitable for your son so you do not have to worry about any technical stuff. I would go to "BestBuy" (if you have them in your neck of the woods)..they have the best deals (around here)usually...we bought 2 Toshiba laptops a couple Christmas' back for under $300 each....I say you look around and go with the cheapest one!

You could always go to the Dell website or the Best Buy website...you should be able to find one easily... for under $400 that any kid would be grateful for! *This of course is for a PC...you still can not get a Mac laptop for anything less than $1000

We are a laptop (notebook) family. When my 15 yr old was 12 we got a Dell Latitude for her ($1800 loaded for her) It is a little heavier and sturdier than my Dell XPS ($3000 loaded) and hubby's Dell ($1200 loaded) I forget the model.

As you can see, pricing has come WAY down since I got my Dell.

We bought both daughter's and my computer via Dell directly. They come pretty well equipped with programs good for students. Daughter does a lot of power point for her school work. Depending on your budget, you can add or decline several options. Ours are loaded with the works, we got a 4 yr warranty for anything. which is GREAT. When daughter's hinge was coming loose, Dell sent a serviceman to our home within 24 hrs to repair it. The same happened when hubby got a new keyboard. The same Dell man was here within 24 hrs.

Hubby got his Dell at Best Buy and we are very happy with it as well. He does have the red carpet warranty plan which covers everything. We have bought a lot of big ticket items from Best Buy and never had any issues.

Of course, we are wireless so we work where ever we need to in the house. The laptops are convenient, easy to use and we love them.

We look at things this way when about to purchase a new item that is fairly expensive.......Buy the absolute best you can afford at the time. You won't be sorry.

Another note on Dell.......we have 2 of their 46" plasma TV's that are excelllent. We believe Dell is a good product. Make sure you buy it from a very reputable place such as Dell direct or Best Buy....NOT WALMART (you'll get a Dell name but not the quality)

Good Luck

We all use Mac in our house but my mother uses a Dell laptop and loves it. She doesn't do much except word processing and email and doesn't need a lot of capability. I agree that you should identify what your son will need this for - and you should assume he'll be taking this to college. I wouldn't go to Staples because they don't really specialize in computers - I'd go to a place like MicroCenter in Cambridge (I think they have other locations). They have everything, and that's where the Mac store referred me when I needed to get a new hard drive on an older model Mac. They have phenomenal repair/service too. If they don't have the best prices, you can shop around once you decide on what you need. The only problem my son has had with Mac is that the college computer service centers (almost every college has them to help kids with tech support) don't know a lot about Mac. You're probably better off with a Dell or other Windows computer for that reason. Good luck.

Macs are great, but if you are a PC family there is a little bit of a learning curve. Dells are also great if you order them online because you can do a lot of customizing. Having said that, and as another mom pointed out, what is best for your son depends upon what he will be using the computer for (gaming, homework, internet, digital art,...). The only things that I would recommend to avoid PCs that run on a Windows Vista platform (most should now be windows 7), try to get an intel processor (rather than celeron), and at least 160 GB hard drive. Most important for a laptop is the battery - make sure it gets at least 6 hours. Eventhough the manufacturer may claim a 4 to 6 hour battery life, they usually only live up to 70% of that.
Good luck.
C.