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Kids are getting more and more computer based work over lockdown so thinking about biting the bullet and investing in a Chromebook (or 2) for them (daughter #1 is going to secondary school in September and they use Google Classroom so a Chromebook seems the best bet).
Want to spend as little as possible on something which is decent and doesn't run like a dog. Current thinking is HP14 (4GB RAM, 32GB SSD) at around £250. Is this a decent choice or should I be looking elsewhere?
Not sure if it helps, but I just bought two of these for my kids schoolwork (they're 7 so mostly browser based stuff - nothing too taxing). £250 each when I bought them - a bit cheaper now. They feel like really nice quality laptops and seem to run quickly enough. They certainly feel like a lot more than £250 worth.
We’ve just bought a Lenovo C340 for the boy after our god awful Toshiba (never again) blue screened again. It’s got a touchscreen with a 180 deg hinge so it converts into a tablet. Seems like a decent bit of kit from the short time I’ve had it. Was hard to get hold of one, they seem popular, used Very.co.uk in the shops end. 🤷🏻♂️ The screen is great which was a worry with a cheap-ish device (£270). It’s guaranteed supported until 2025 which was important for us.
A warning to parents (may not be an issue with older kids) that I wish I’d googled before buying a chromebook. You can set up family accounts, and control screen time, apps and purchases and give your kids their own experience and log in, all managed by the app on your phone BUT, they cannot log in to their school accounts this way. Child google accounts (under 13) do not allow a separate school log in. It’s a pain and a well known issue. You will have to log in to your adult account and let them free in there.
Chatting to a mate who manages a suite of Cab's for a college he said get the best processor you can and no less than 4gb ram. The rest is personal preference but a long support time is good.
markwsf - thanks for the link, I've read a few reviews and taken a punt on a couple of those Lenovos, should arrive tomorrow.
pictonroad - I couldn't find any of the C models at anywhere near the price you had. The S should be fine for our needs anyway. really useful info on the support issue too, a bit of Google-fu helped me understand the importance of this and happily the Lenovos seem to be supported for a few years yet.
Re child accounts, I've had the same issues with Kindle Fire, the kids service is mega locked down and I've had to remove recently so they can access the web for their school work. Hopefully this use will transfer to the Chromebooks and I'll just have to monitor them.