Carpe Techno

With the holidays coming soon, offering a laptop to a loved one is a great idea provided that you do not fall into the many mistakes one can encounter while shopping for a gift laptop.

Dave Taylor outlines the top ten mistakes when buying laptops as gifts and gives many heads-up to ensure maximum success for your holiday shopping venture

Here are the ones I found interesting:

#1 - Not knowing how your recipient will use the laptop:

There are so many different laptop choices which are meant to fill specific needs that it is crucial to know exactly how your gift recipient will use the new computer. The most important things to know include: How often and how far the laptop is likely to be transported; what kinds of activities the computer will be used for.

That’s pretty obvious, don’t purchase a 128MB RAM laptop to a 3d artist.

#4 - Giving an outdated laptop:

Technology changes quickly. We often joke that as soon as you go through the checkout line, your new purchase is already outdated; and while this is not exactly true, shoppers still should keep it in mind. There are some real bargain deals available for cheap laptops!

Make sure the laptop you’re buying is good on the longterm by making a thorough research on what’s coming soon.

#10: Going it alone

Find a savvy friend or family member and go shopping! There is nothing better than having a knowledgeable coach by your side as you poke and prod and consider. While the salespeople at the store are there to help you, there is no doubt that someone you know and trust can give you a lot more help because, after all, the salespeople are there to sell to you.

VERY true. especially in Lebanon, where I live, the salespeople can be extremely dishonest or ambiguous and try to push you in overspending on the gift.

for the 10 mistakes, read the whole article here

So, what are YOUR laptop-shopping tips?