The Starter Laptop
HP Starter €299
• Intel Celeron• 32GB of storage• 2GB ramStarting college and looking for a laptop for taking notes and writing assignments? The good news is you don’t need to spend a fortune and you can get yourself quite a stylish machine. Whether you opt for the funky pink or blue, the HP Starter laptop looks fantastic and at €299 the price makes it even more attractive. This is a machine that will get the job done if you’re just looking to do word assignments and browse the internet. Be aware though that it doesn’t have a lot of storage for photographs or videos, and with 2GB of ram it won’t have super speeds, which can be irritating if you’re up against a deadline. It does, however, come with one year’s free Windows Office, so you can start working as soon as you make the purchase.
Lenovo B50-30 €299
• Intel Celeron• 500GB of storage• 4GB ramThis Lenovo laptop might not look as attractive, but it is more of a workhorse. Lenovo are known for being corporate computers and are built to last, so you would hope to get three of four years out of one. It might not set your world on fire, but it’s got a lot more storage and is twice as fast.
The Upgrade
Asus Everyday laptop €479
• Intel Pentium• 1TB of storage• 4GB ramToshiba Everyday laptop €499
• AMD A6 Quad• 1TB of storage• 4GB ramIf you’ve got a slightly bigger budget, or got through the first few years of college with a starter laptop and are looking to upgrade, then the Asus and Toshiba Everyday laptops are good options. Both have double the storage of the HP, so if you’re in a course where you need to store bigger documents these will suit you.
And with double the ram, they will work twice as fast. The Toshiba laptop is slightly more expensive, but the AMD A6 Quad is a better processor. It also comes in a sophisticated white colour as well as red.
The Techie Machine
HP Pavillon Laptop €629
• AMD A6• 1TB of storage• 4GB ram• 2GB dedicated graphics cardIf you’re in a graphic design or music course, or you’re involved in gaming, there is a good chance that over the course of your college life you may have to take the hit and spend your hard-earned cash on a high-end laptop.
If you can’t stretch to an Apple, then the HP Pavillon Laptop at €629 could fit the bill. These high-end models have much fewer issues, so a lot less stalling and no buffering while you’re watching videos online. With the graphics card it means you can do work with Photoshop, for example. Again, you’re stepping up in terms of your processor and it also comes in an array of colours.
MacBook Pro €1,249
• Dual Core Intel Core i5• 500GB hard drive• 4GB ramThe leap to Apple is a big one, double the cost in fact. However, its high level of quality means you could get anywhere from five to 10 years out of this powerful machine.
You don’t have as many extras to pay for with a Mac. It works on an IOS system instead of Windows, and as Apple has its own software, you won’t have to fork out so much on an anti-virus. It also includes an equivalent of Microsoft Office, so that’s a purchase you don’t need to factor into the overall price. Most importantly, Macs are very reliable and powerful, and really suit students that have to edit videos or music or Photoshop images. It is a significant investment, so perhaps talk to your lecturer about your course requirements first.
The Tablet
iPad with wifi
• 32GB €459• 64GB €509Surface 3 €609
• Intel Atom X7 Processor• 2GB ram• 64GB storageWhen people think of tablets, the word iPad immediately comes to mind. While it is a great tablet, you need to ask if it’s really the right option for your college course. The Microsoft Surface 3 is a tablet, but it does everything a laptop does. While you can buy a keyboard for both tablets, the Surface 3 appears to be more user-friendly for college courses and comes with Microsoft Office already installed.
It also comes with a 10-hour battery life and an e-reader, which works for reviewing papers.
Tablets are going to be more expensive than laptops, but you’re paying that extra bit more because it is so light and easy to transport – perfect if you have a long commute. CL
>> Consumer rights
MABS Offering More
The Money Advice and Budgetary Service (MABS) is a great support if you run into financial problems and now its service is set to be extended further. In the next few weeks, struggling homeowners can turn to MABS for advice with regard to mortgage arrears. And if the situation has gone to the point of the mortgage arrears resolution process (MARP), MABS will also be able to advise whether the offer on the table from the lender is the best and most sustainable option. For further information, log on to www.mabs.ie
Ryanair Set to Extend
Michael O’Leary is at it again, offering more flights for cheap prices. It might not be everyone’s favourite airline, but over the next year it is set to increase its flight numbers by 15%. A direct Dublin to Amsterdam flight is first on the list, with even more flight options for Berlin, Brussels, London Gatwick, Madrid, Malaga, Manchester and Venice. Ryanair expect to bring 11.75m passengers in and out of Dublin in 2016, an extra 1.1m more than this year.
Mums unhappy with Maternity Benefits
Maternity leave should be all about the mum and her new baby, but money worries appear to have a big impact on this special time, according to a survey by RecruitIreland.com, in collaboration with mummypages.ie. It shows that 61% of mothers experienced financial difficulty during their leave, while a further 91% said they simply could not afford to live on the state benefit of €230 a week. As a result, 43% of said they have delayed having children because of money.
The Starter Laptop
HP Starter €299
• Intel Celeron• 32GB of storage• 2GB ramStarting college and looking for a laptop for taking notes and writing assignments? The good news is you don’t need to spend a fortune and you can get yourself quite a stylish machine. Whether you opt for the funky pink or blue, the HP Starter laptop looks fantastic and at €299 the price makes it even more attractive. This is a machine that will get the job done if you’re just looking to do word assignments and browse the internet. Be aware though that it doesn’t have a lot of storage for photographs or videos, and with 2GB of ram it won’t have super speeds, which can be irritating if you’re up against a deadline. It does, however, come with one year’s free Windows Office, so you can start working as soon as you make the purchase.
Lenovo B50-30 €299
• Intel Celeron• 500GB of storage• 4GB ramThis Lenovo laptop might not look as attractive, but it is more of a workhorse. Lenovo are known for being corporate computers and are built to last, so you would hope to get three of four years out of one. It might not set your world on fire, but it’s got a lot more storage and is twice as fast.
The Upgrade
Asus Everyday laptop €479
• Intel Pentium• 1TB of storage• 4GB ramToshiba Everyday laptop €499
• AMD A6 Quad• 1TB of storage• 4GB ramIf you’ve got a slightly bigger budget, or got through the first few years of college with a starter laptop and are looking to upgrade, then the Asus and Toshiba Everyday laptops are good options. Both have double the storage of the HP, so if you’re in a course where you need to store bigger documents these will suit you.
And with double the ram, they will work twice as fast. The Toshiba laptop is slightly more expensive, but the AMD A6 Quad is a better processor. It also comes in a sophisticated white colour as well as red.
The Techie Machine
HP Pavillon Laptop €629
• AMD A6• 1TB of storage• 4GB ram• 2GB dedicated graphics cardIf you’re in a graphic design or music course, or you’re involved in gaming, there is a good chance that over the course of your college life you may have to take the hit and spend your hard-earned cash on a high-end laptop.
If you can’t stretch to an Apple, then the HP Pavillon Laptop at €629 could fit the bill. These high-end models have much fewer issues, so a lot less stalling and no buffering while you’re watching videos online. With the graphics card it means you can do work with Photoshop, for example. Again, you’re stepping up in terms of your processor and it also comes in an array of colours.
MacBook Pro €1,249
• Dual Core Intel Core i5• 500GB hard drive• 4GB ramThe leap to Apple is a big one, double the cost in fact. However, its high level of quality means you could get anywhere from five to 10 years out of this powerful machine.
You don’t have as many extras to pay for with a Mac. It works on an IOS system instead of Windows, and as Apple has its own software, you won’t have to fork out so much on an anti-virus. It also includes an equivalent of Microsoft Office, so that’s a purchase you don’t need to factor into the overall price. Most importantly, Macs are very reliable and powerful, and really suit students that have to edit videos or music or Photoshop images. It is a significant investment, so perhaps talk to your lecturer about your course requirements first.
The Tablet
iPad with wifi
• 32GB €459• 64GB €509Surface 3 €609
• Intel Atom X7 Processor• 2GB ram• 64GB storageWhen people think of tablets, the word iPad immediately comes to mind. While it is a great tablet, you need to ask if it’s really the right option for your college course. The Microsoft Surface 3 is a tablet, but it does everything a laptop does. While you can buy a keyboard for both tablets, the Surface 3 appears to be more user-friendly for college courses and comes with Microsoft Office already installed.
It also comes with a 10-hour battery life and an e-reader, which works for reviewing papers.
Tablets are going to be more expensive than laptops, but you’re paying that extra bit more because it is so light and easy to transport – perfect if you have a long commute. CL
>> Consumer rights
MABS Offering More
The Money Advice and Budgetary Service (MABS) is a great support if you run into financial problems and now its service is set to be extended further. In the next few weeks, struggling homeowners can turn to MABS for advice with regard to mortgage arrears. And if the situation has gone to the point of the mortgage arrears resolution process (MARP), MABS will also be able to advise whether the offer on the table from the lender is the best and most sustainable option. For further information, log on to www.mabs.ie
Ryanair Set to Extend
Michael O’Leary is at it again, offering more flights for cheap prices. It might not be everyone’s favourite airline, but over the next year it is set to increase its flight numbers by 15%. A direct Dublin to Amsterdam flight is first on the list, with even more flight options for Berlin, Brussels, London Gatwick, Madrid, Malaga, Manchester and Venice. Ryanair expect to bring 11.75m passengers in and out of Dublin in 2016, an extra 1.1m more than this year.
Mums unhappy with Maternity Benefits
Maternity leave should be all about the mum and her new baby, but money worries appear to have a big impact on this special time, according to a survey by RecruitIreland.com, in collaboration with mummypages.ie. It shows that 61% of mothers experienced financial difficulty during their leave, while a further 91% said they simply could not afford to live on the state benefit of €230 a week. As a result, 43% of said they have delayed having children because of money.
SHARING OPTIONS