Students Prefer PC Notebooks to Netbooks and Both to Apple

A new study by consumer electronics seller Retrevo indicates that most students are buying PC laptops over Apple MacBooks. Economics are playing a big role in this as 58% of students surveyedplanned to spend less than $750 and only %18 had a budget over $1000. Refurbished MacBooks are usually found for $800 – $1000, and new systems cost hundreds more. Almost 50% of students are buying full-sized notebooks, and a third are opting for low-cost netbooks.

Though they can get most popular netbooks for under $450, sometimes closer to $350, how many of the 34% planning to buy them are shopping for a primary system? We talked to several graduate and undergraduate students about their laptop choices and found that, while netbooks are desirable, those on a tight budget would still choose larger systems.

Samantha, an NYU student, just bought a new laptop for school. She looked for a machine with a decent-sized screen, long battery life, and a large The storage device that holds your OS, programs, and data.
Learn Morehard drive. “I use my laptop for just about everything. I wanted one that was going to be light enough to carry around with me, but I also wanted the screen to be big enough to play DVDs on and use continuously through the day.” Price was another big factor, as was battery life. “With my old laptop I’d have to carry the power cord around with me, but with my new one I don’t have to worry about it.”

In the end she settled on a 15.6” Acer Aspire Timeline 5810T, which she got for $600. “I considered getting an Acer Aspire One netbook just because it was so cheap, but I decided I’d rather have a more powerful machine since it was going to be the only one I had.”

Most of the students we talked to rated good performance and power at the top of their must-haves when choosing a laptop. “I would probably go with a laptop that had a lot of power, even if it cost more, because when it comes down to it, you get what you pay for,” said Kyra, a graduate student from New York City. “I would rather have a computer that would last me a few years at a higher cost; less headache, and in the long run probably cheaper.”

MIT student Nivair said that processing speed would guide her choice. “I tend to run multiple programs and multiple browser tabs. Plus, I like to be able to do MATLAB and XFOIL on my computer so I don’t have to run to a lab.” A low-powered laptop like the $349 Toshiba Satellite L355 ($348.00) wouldn’t work for her, even with the 17” screen, due to the processor. She didn’t completely dismiss the idea of owning a netbook, though. “Netbooks are handy and so light,” she said. But admits: “I still like taking notes the old-fashioned way.”

Although netbooks are easy to carry, their small screens kept them from being anyone’s choice for a primary machine. Duke University student Ashley said she would go for the L355 over a netbook if her budget was that limited. “I need a bigger screen to work on papers and projects because of my vision.” With a larger budget she would opt for a laptop with better specs, but would consider a netbook if she had enough left over to purchase a companion device.

Next to power, affordability and screen size, everyone we talked to valued large hard drives. Northeast Iowa Community College student Beth wants “plenty of memory for pictures, documents, and music.”

Given these considerations, it’s not surprising that most of the students Retrevo surveyed chose full-size laptops. We suspect that most of the netbook sales are for secondary machines. Inexpensive and portable, even Nivair admits that a netbook would be great for taking notes in class.

The netbook space is changing so rapidly that by this time next year students may be opting for powerful and inexpensive netbooks, like the Ion-equipped 11 – 12-inch offerings from Lenovo and Samsung, or lightweight CULV systems, like the Dell Inspiron 11z ($399.00). If so, Apple may fall even farther behind in educational sales, which lately are flat or declining.

The Apple MacBook made our list of Best Back to School notebooks, but is definitely one of the more expensive systems. Students looking for a system big on power but light on weight and price should consider the Dell Inspiron 15 ($449.00). For all-day battery life and portability, check out the Acer Aspire Timeline 3810TZ. The Toshiba Satellite L355 offers plenty of real estate for very little money. If you are going for a netbook, the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA and Toshiba mini NB205 ($399.99) offer about 9 hours of battery for around the same price.

Image Credit: maebmij on Flickr