Cheap Laptops: Are They Worth The Money?

Remember last year when a sale featuring laptops priced
at $500 caused a stampede in one store. What a difference
a year makes!

Laptop prices have been steadily dropping, falling below
those stampede prices in some cases. As productions costs
come down and the marketplace is flooded with all makes of
laptops, you can expect laptop prices to drop even further.

No news there, most products come down in price eventually,
electronic products are no different. Actually, they seem
to come down in prices more rapidly.

This is written by someone who bought a $1000 VCR -- now you
can get the same VCR for under a hundred bucks. If you can get
anyone to buy it. For that matter, do they sell VCRs anymore?

Technologies change all the time.

Have you bought a TV lately? You may have been surprised
at the different ones ( Plasma, LCD, Rear Projection )
and just look at the prices on the old fashion TVs, they
have become downright cheap, compared to what they once
were.

When one technology is replaced with another you can
usually find some nice discounts and cheap prices.
Many consumers confuse the word cheap with poor quality,

don't make the same mistake. In most cases, you're still
getting a high quality product; just at a lower price.

There is a similar thing going on with laptops or
notebook computers. A few years ago, compared to
buying a PC, buying a laptop was very expensive.

Now laptop prices have fallen. New technologies
have come on stream, most notably the new Intel
Duo processor. Rightly or wrongly, it makes a lot
of older laptops somewhat obsolete. But these older
laptops are still high quality products that you may
be able to purchase at a cheaper price.

But the million dollar question remains -- are cheap laptops
worth your hard earned money?

Yes and no.

As a prudent shopper you have to be careful and know exactly
what you're purchasing. A cheap laptop that will break or not
perform up to our expectations is not cheap - just a waste of
your hard earned money.

So you have to be careful and play it safe, always go with
a high profile laptop maker. HP, Sony, Apple, Toshiba,
Dell, Panasonic... many of these companies do sell inexpensive
laptops. They also sell perfectly fine refurbished laptops
that you should also consider if you're interested in buying
a cheap laptop.

Many of these big name laptop makers do offer special deals
and discount coupons. Many good quality laptops can now be
bought for well under $1000. No matter what type or kind of
laptop you buy or from whom, always check the warranties and
know exactly what is covered should you run into problems with
your newly purchased laptop.

Value for Your Money

However, you must always try to get the best value for
your money. You must comparison shop and look closely at
what you're getting for your hard earned cash.

Look at the processing speed, look at the amount of
RAM, look at the graphics and visuals/display, try
out the feel and touch of the keyboard and touchpad
-- do they meet or perform to your satisfaction?

Look closely at the different features and ask yourself:
do you need a wireless connection? do you need a large
hard drive? 40-80-100 gigs? do you need a DVD burner?
do you need long battery life? (if you're just using your
laptop as a desktop replacement and it will be plugged in all
the time, long battery life may not be that important).
What connections do you need? How many USB ports?
Firewire?

Keep all these features in mind when buying your laptop.
A cheap laptop isn't cheap if it doesn't give you all
the features you want. To be fully satisfied with
your purchase, your cheap laptop must have all your
requirements (things you just can't live without on your
laptop) included in that cheap price.

In other words, you must make sure you're getting good
value for your money. Make sure you're getting a high
quality laptop with all the features you need or require
in your laptop for a decent price.

Only Buy What You Need

Why buy a fully loaded laptop when you will never
use a webcam or DVD burner. Why buy a 100 gig hard
drive when you don't and will never need all that
storage space? Instead, find the features you want
and then go bargain hunting for a laptop within your
price range.

Shop Around, Shop Around, Shop Around

The Internet is an excellent place to start your
comparison shopping for a quality inexpensive laptop.
Most, if not all of the major laptop makers have online
sites where you can find some great laptop discounts
and laptop deals. Many online stores and affiliate
sites will also give you some great laptop bargains,
so shop around.

Dell is well known for its online laptop coupons
and discounts. Using Dell coupons will get you
a cheaper laptop. Many other laptop makers like
Toshiba and HP offer great online deals and discounts,

so make sure you look around before you buy
that cheap laptop.

And don't forget eBay, but be careful of what
you're buying and always thoroughly check out
the seller as well as the product. Remember
"It ain't cheap if it doesn't work!"

Still, if you're on a limited budget it pays to do
your homework and shop around. There are some great
bargains to be had, but don't be fooled by all those
low prices. Just make sure your cheap laptop has all
the features you need or can comfortably accept without
too much disappointment. Make sure your cheap laptop is
in fine working order and has a nice warranty attached
to it.
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