Smartphones of today surely gave run to the ‘consumer laptop’ for its money, but if the last year hasn’t been any clearer – the fact of the matter is that laptops are here to stay for the longest run. No matter how much phones and tablets try to replace the traditional work laptop; it’s still years away from that the affordability of such products competes with the tried and trusty consumer laptops.
Things to look for before buying a consumer laptop could be the size of the screen, does it have good battery life, how repairable it is, does it have the ports that support your peripherals – just some of the things you need to look out for.
To help you make the most of your money here’s an overview covering most brands and laptop models available in the market. Let’s find out which laptop is right for you. First, let’s go over some commonly available series in the market from reputable brands across the globe.
Dell Inspiron Series
Dell has always managed to bring its users amazing technology products such as laptops, screens, top gaming accessories. Much so the dell Inspiron series consists of a versatile family of laptops branding out to 3 series namely:
3000 series: The Inspiron 3000 series comes in 2 different sizes i.e. 14” and 15”. The 14” size further splits into 3 models i.e. 3480, 3481, and 3493 while the 15” also comes with 3 different models i.e. 3580, 3581, and 3593. Dell Inspiron 3000 series laptops have been a popular gadget globally with their 2-in-1 colorful laptops that feature Intel’s processors with an optional touch display.
5000 series: Dell Inspiron 5000 series has a comparatively extensive range of sizes to offer i.e. 13”, 14”, and 15”. These laptops present massive features along with their user-compatible thin-lighter designs, a full HD touch display (optional), longer battery life, and last but not least a vibrant backlit keyboard.
7000 series: Comes with 2 display sizes i.e. 14” and 15” – The lean-light design of the 7000 series and its 2-in-1 Inspiron laptops easily qualify as one of the most premium products by Dell with its high-end features and remarkable operating experience.
The Inspiron series is synonymous with quality 2-in-1 laptops. Available in 3 in-demand colors i.e. gray, black, and silver – fueled by Intel’s Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors. This series is bound to get you excited if you’re looking for a high-end computing performance laptop with exceptional speed, large-sized storage, remarkable battery life, and an amazing display.
Lenovo Ideapad Series
Just as their new slogan “Innovation Never Stands Still” – their laptops are one fine technology recognized for their good price-quality ratio. The Lenovo IdeaPad series are highly functional for any usage such as gaming, text processing, or video/photo editing. The series consists of:
The Lenovo IdeaPad 700 series: Is the classic example of a high-performance laptop ideal for personal as well as professional usage. The series comes with a range of 13”, 14”, 15”, and 17” laptops. Though the series makes use of Intel Core i7 processors as well as an Nvidia GeForce video card but has no multi-touch displays.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 500 series: Can easily be defined as a user-friendly laptop. The IdeaPad 500 series offers a limited range of laptops: 14” and 15”. Similar to the 700 series, these laptops too are equipped with Intel Core i7 processors, AMD Radeon video card but again no multi-touch displays.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 100 series: Comes with a wide range of 11”, 14”, 15”, and 17” laptops designed in the United States. Comes with a relatively slower processor as compared to the above-mentioned supporting the Intel Core i5 processors and are equipped with an Nvidia GeForce video card instead.
HP Pavilion Series
The HP Pavilion Series dates back to the year 1995 when a line of personal computers was introduced to the world by the name of Pavilion Series. This series can be categorized as high-performance laptops that come with an affordable price range. Let’s have a look at some of the laptops from the Pavilion series:
HP Pavilion 13: This is something to offer to young users and students, a handy gadget for studies. With its 14” screen, 128GB SSD, and MicroEdge HD LED Backlit is exactly what the students need to ace their assignments and tests. Its other properties include folding edge, its powerful speakers, and applied security features
HP Pavilion 14: Comes with an Intel Core i5 processor with an estimated 3.1GHz speed, a 1TB storage capacity, and a moderate 8GB RAM.
HP Pavilion 15: Laptop made for the professional conquerors – comes with a stellar 15.6” IPS Touch screen, full HD display (1920×1080), backed up by an 8th generation Intel Quad-core i5 processor – and Windows 10 as an operating system to be a cherry on top.
What Consumer Laptop to Buy?
Well, that is the million-dollar question now, isn’t it? The reason we have stated the above series is to give you an idea that if you stick to models within these series, you can’t really go ‘wrong’ with any of them. Just like the mid-priced smartphone market, the under a 1,000USD consumer laptop market has saturated to the point where as long as you buy from a reputable brand you should be okay. Most of the brands offer similar specs at similar price points, the only defining features are screen technologies, keyboard tactility, and layout, size and weight, and build quality.
How to pick between a Dell, Lenovo, and HP Consumer Laptop?
This answer is always changing but as the current market stands here are the top reasons to pick one over another when it comes to branding. Dell is known to offer the best build quality that will last you years to come, there is a reason that Dell is the most commonly sold laptops on the used market since they just last so long. Build quality is followed by HP and at last is Lenovo with its just okay build quality when talking about the consumer segment.
Flipping it around when we talk about the most bang for the buck even though there aren’t any major differences at this price range, Lenovo always tries to offer a feature or spec extra over others. They strongly believe in offering most performance for the money and oftentimes will have much better on paper specifications, so if their lackluster build quality at this price range is not an issue for you, then it makes sense to go for Lenovo.
Lastly, let’s get to HP; the brand that everyone and no one knows about. HP honestly have respectable devices with no major flaws, the Pavilion series has stood the test of time and still is one the leading consumer laptop on the market; you can consider HP as an all-rounder, their build quality is decent; their specs are not the topmost but pass at this price point and they offer good after-sales support in Pakistan.
Verdict
Judging and suggesting tech in Pakistan is always a challenge, we don’t get that many brands officially over here, and suggesting a consumer laptop means suggesting a brand that can be trusted. Most people buying these laptops buy it as their first laptop or on a tight budget, so first and foremost what they need is trust and practicality from their purchase. We have tried to recommend the series that we believe will last for a long time in the consumer laptop space.
If you are looking for more help with your tech purchase feel free to reach out to us on our social media or via email. Our passion is to spread good tech information where marketing has often misguided many.
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Experienced and energetic marketing specialist with over 7 years of experience – Khayyam loves to share his thoughts on startups, disruptive innovation, and whatever piques his interest.
