Although it seems as though summer has just arrived, the school season will be here before you know it. Eagerly counting down those days are the millions of young people who will be entering college as an incoming freshman. This is an exciting time in a person's life, and he or she needs to be prepared for all of the issues that will soon face them. Nowadays, one of the biggest issues facing new students is which computing device they will use.
Many news stories and reports have pointed to the supposed death of the PC at the hands of mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. As the number of computing devices on the market rises, consumers are seemingly shying away from laptops and desktops and are instead embracing newer technology.
But, is this a wise choice for college students? Recently, Forbes contributor Gene Marks noted that his three children have elected to universally accept the MacBook as their school computing device of choice. While tablets offer a wide variety of great features, he said laptops are clearly far more ideal for accomplishing major tasks.
“Laptops, like the MacBook, are work devices,” Marks wrote. “They are used to do essays, write papers, surf the web, perform analysis and submit assignments. And it doesn't matter what your specialty is. All three of my kids are taking history, math and science classes and I'm predicting that they all will wind up focusing on either business or science. Whatever the curriculum, they will need a computing device that's a work device.”
Why tablets may be the best choice after all
Although Marks was quick to deride tablets like the iPad as valuable exclusively for accomplishing tasks such as taking photos and updating social media accounts, tablets are a far more powerful device than he and many others might admit. Thanks in part to how many apps are available in Apple's App Store, end users can accomplish just about anything on an iPad that can be done on a MacBook. Tablets are also often more cost-effective than PCs, and are much easier for college students to carry around with them. Plus, All Things D noted that there are a number of keyboard add-ons available today that make it easier to type on the iPad.
So which computing device is actually the best option for today's college students? Ultimately, it all comes down to personal preference and what tasks need to be accomplished. Still, regardless of which option your college students chooses, know that iResQ's MacBook repair and iPad repair services are always there to ensure that these academic devices are in top shape no matter what happens over the next four years.