Matthew
22-04-11, 10:09 PM
When turning to the internet to buy a new laptop, you are likely to see deals that offer you a free laptop when you sign up for a mobile broadband contract. The question is whether this type of laptop deal is suitable for you. Certainly these deals have proved popular amongst UK consumers, but there are a number of factors to consider before signing up.
For most people, the financial aspect of a free laptop deal will be the key determinant of whether such a deal is suitable for them. If you have limited funds, then a free laptop deal can be one way to spread out the costs of a new laptop. A laptop can be an important purchase for young people and students, who want it to assist with their studies. They may view buying a laptop as an investment, as having their own computer could make their studies much easier.
Whilst a college or University is likely to have computers available for student use, it's still not the same as the total convenience of your own laptop. Even though the affordability of laptops has improved over the last ten years, it's still a purchase in the hundreds of pounds, and the full cost of a new laptop can often be difficult to meet.
It should always be remembered that a free laptop deal is effectively a low interest loan, which will only be offered subject to your credit status, i.e. a credit check will be performed. The fact that the deal includes mobile broadband access increases the value proposition compared to buying just a laptop alone on credit. These deals can be regarded as the laptop equivalent of mobile phone contracts. As with any monthly contract, you should be confident that you will be able to meet all the future monthly payments. For those people that see a laptop as critical to their study or work plans, a laptop contract may be something worth considering.
An important element of the value proposition for these deals is that you are also going to be getting a usable internet connection. So, a major consideration will be the mobile broadband connection performance that the network can provide. The problem that consumers face is that it is difficult to know before ordering exactly how good the connection will be, as mobile broadband performance varies widely. Performance attained can be pretty good, e.g. a 3 Mb/s connection speed, which will give a very usable connection, although you still notice a slight lag when compared to a fast home broadband connection of 6-8 Mb/s.
However, in a worst case scenario, the connection speed can be of no use, as even though a connection can be made, the data transfer rate is so slow that you can't do anything online in a meaningful timeframe, i.e. most people won't wait minutes before a web page loads. Potential customers should keep in mind that mobile broadband is a radio service dependent on the signal from local mobile phone base stations. This means that the broadband speed obtained will vary greatly according to your precise location. Anything affecting the radio signal, e.g. the thickness of your walls or interference from nearby buildings, could mean you don't get the broadband performance you feel is adequate at your location.
Another factor is whether local network capacity is sufficient. This can be a particular issue in areas of high population density, and at peak usage times during office hours. You will usually find that the network will allow you to setup and test your laptop for mobile broadband performance and return it if you find your mobile broadband performance does not meet your expectations.
Make sure you understand the Returns Policy before ordering because conditions do vary between providers. Having to return a laptop is a hassle, so if you can borrow a laptop and dongle for testing, then all the better. You may also be able to get an indication of how good the 3G signal quality is from a mobile phone. Remember to test at a variety of times so you can get a good insight into how well the service will perform for you.
Next on the list is your monthly data allowance. These deals can offer anything between 1GB and 15GB of data usage per month. 1GB is going to be enough for "light" internet usage, e.g. a bit of browsing and checking e-mail, but it's not that difficult to reach this limit if you use your computer a lot. We'd say assess your network choice primarily on what you think the connection performance will be like, and then worry about the data allowance; if you aren't getting good performance then it's pointless having a large data allowance. Also remember to check how much you will get charged for additional data if you exceed your monthly allowance.
Another question to ask is whether your deal offers a laptop of adequate spec for your needs. For users that just want the laptop for basic tasks such as web browsing, e-mail and word processing, a laptop with an entry level processor and 2GB of RAM should be adequate. Most of the free laptop deals offer at least this spec, but our view is that laptops offering 3 or 4GB of RAM will generally give a better computing experience as they are more responsive.
If you need the laptop for more computing-intensive tasks, such as playing games, graphic design, video editing or music production, then you will have to pay closer attention to the specs being offered. You'll need to choose a laptop with a more powerful processor, and we would advise at least 4GB of RAM. These laptops can be found in free laptop deals, but they are not as common.
Finally, once you have your new laptop, my top tip is to invest in an external USB hard drive and back-up all your data to it regularly. Internal laptop hard drives will typically fail after two or three years, so you need to be prepared for this scenario. Happy computing!
Chris High is a Technology Correspondent writing for a Free Laptop Deals (http://www.mobilebroadbandlaptops.co.uk/) website.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com (http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_High)
Original Article Source (http://ezinearticles.com/?Is-a-Free-Laptop-Deal-From-a-Mobile-Broadband-Provider-Right-For-You?&id=5910184)
For most people, the financial aspect of a free laptop deal will be the key determinant of whether such a deal is suitable for them. If you have limited funds, then a free laptop deal can be one way to spread out the costs of a new laptop. A laptop can be an important purchase for young people and students, who want it to assist with their studies. They may view buying a laptop as an investment, as having their own computer could make their studies much easier.
Whilst a college or University is likely to have computers available for student use, it's still not the same as the total convenience of your own laptop. Even though the affordability of laptops has improved over the last ten years, it's still a purchase in the hundreds of pounds, and the full cost of a new laptop can often be difficult to meet.
It should always be remembered that a free laptop deal is effectively a low interest loan, which will only be offered subject to your credit status, i.e. a credit check will be performed. The fact that the deal includes mobile broadband access increases the value proposition compared to buying just a laptop alone on credit. These deals can be regarded as the laptop equivalent of mobile phone contracts. As with any monthly contract, you should be confident that you will be able to meet all the future monthly payments. For those people that see a laptop as critical to their study or work plans, a laptop contract may be something worth considering.
An important element of the value proposition for these deals is that you are also going to be getting a usable internet connection. So, a major consideration will be the mobile broadband connection performance that the network can provide. The problem that consumers face is that it is difficult to know before ordering exactly how good the connection will be, as mobile broadband performance varies widely. Performance attained can be pretty good, e.g. a 3 Mb/s connection speed, which will give a very usable connection, although you still notice a slight lag when compared to a fast home broadband connection of 6-8 Mb/s.
However, in a worst case scenario, the connection speed can be of no use, as even though a connection can be made, the data transfer rate is so slow that you can't do anything online in a meaningful timeframe, i.e. most people won't wait minutes before a web page loads. Potential customers should keep in mind that mobile broadband is a radio service dependent on the signal from local mobile phone base stations. This means that the broadband speed obtained will vary greatly according to your precise location. Anything affecting the radio signal, e.g. the thickness of your walls or interference from nearby buildings, could mean you don't get the broadband performance you feel is adequate at your location.
Another factor is whether local network capacity is sufficient. This can be a particular issue in areas of high population density, and at peak usage times during office hours. You will usually find that the network will allow you to setup and test your laptop for mobile broadband performance and return it if you find your mobile broadband performance does not meet your expectations.
Make sure you understand the Returns Policy before ordering because conditions do vary between providers. Having to return a laptop is a hassle, so if you can borrow a laptop and dongle for testing, then all the better. You may also be able to get an indication of how good the 3G signal quality is from a mobile phone. Remember to test at a variety of times so you can get a good insight into how well the service will perform for you.
Next on the list is your monthly data allowance. These deals can offer anything between 1GB and 15GB of data usage per month. 1GB is going to be enough for "light" internet usage, e.g. a bit of browsing and checking e-mail, but it's not that difficult to reach this limit if you use your computer a lot. We'd say assess your network choice primarily on what you think the connection performance will be like, and then worry about the data allowance; if you aren't getting good performance then it's pointless having a large data allowance. Also remember to check how much you will get charged for additional data if you exceed your monthly allowance.
Another question to ask is whether your deal offers a laptop of adequate spec for your needs. For users that just want the laptop for basic tasks such as web browsing, e-mail and word processing, a laptop with an entry level processor and 2GB of RAM should be adequate. Most of the free laptop deals offer at least this spec, but our view is that laptops offering 3 or 4GB of RAM will generally give a better computing experience as they are more responsive.
If you need the laptop for more computing-intensive tasks, such as playing games, graphic design, video editing or music production, then you will have to pay closer attention to the specs being offered. You'll need to choose a laptop with a more powerful processor, and we would advise at least 4GB of RAM. These laptops can be found in free laptop deals, but they are not as common.
Finally, once you have your new laptop, my top tip is to invest in an external USB hard drive and back-up all your data to it regularly. Internal laptop hard drives will typically fail after two or three years, so you need to be prepared for this scenario. Happy computing!
Chris High is a Technology Correspondent writing for a Free Laptop Deals (http://www.mobilebroadbandlaptops.co.uk/) website.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com (http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_High)
Original Article Source (http://ezinearticles.com/?Is-a-Free-Laptop-Deal-From-a-Mobile-Broadband-Provider-Right-For-You?&id=5910184)