No one is 100% sure what school will look like this year, which is why back-to-school sales are more important than ever. The lack of certainty about school during the pandemics makes the reliability of our tech that much more important. Right on cue, Dell is here with their some amazing discounts on computing and peripherals, including some amazing laptop deals. Whatever your school situation this coming fall, the best, most efficient computing power will be at the top your list of needs — and Dell is here for it.
Wireless accouterments can make all the difference between a depressing dorm setup where you feel chained to your desk and a computer and entertainment system that you can’t wait to log on to. A wireless mouse and keyboard are key variables in this equation. The keyboard is sleek and compact and can be the ideal addition to your desktop or tablet — and with muted typing, it’s ideal for room share situations, or just to keep your focus on what you’re doing. The wireless mouse promises smooth, accurate scrolling, and lets you manage your apps — whether browsing or doing schoolwork — from anywhere nearby. Setup is a cinch, and both wireless devices provide up to 12 months of battery life, which is incomparable. Imagine a whole year, never mind a whole school year, without having to replace batteries (it arrives with batteries for both in the box).
Contemporary computers can only be as good as their screens, and Dell’s 24-inch LED-backlit monitor can match or augment anything your computer throws at it. This screen is a student’s dream; its 24-inch LED-backlit monitor has 1,920 x 1,080 resolution (Full HD); that’s a 16:9 aspect ratio for all your viewing pleasure. It doesn’t matter if you’re using standard office software — for presentations, crunching numbers, or writing papers — this screen will give you the clearest, brightest picture. It also has a 60hz refresh rate, which is superb for gaming, as well as fast action. The IPS screen has 178 degrees of viewing angles, which means that when it’s time to relax, or entertain, you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite content from anywhere in your dorm or common. In terms of connectivity, there are two HDMI ports and a VGA port, so that this monitor is going to be friendly with any laptop, console, or desktop, as well as any camera, if your work requires video or image editing. A great monitor can really help with both schoolwork and casual computing — changing a laptop into a home office or entertainment system.
For everyday student needs — which, unless you’re studying to be an audio engineer or video editor, pretty much over everyone — you don’t need to break the bank on a PC. Dell’s classic Inspiron is a solid, versatile machine, especially for under $400. It’s plenty powerful, boasting an Intel Core i3-9100 CPU, which is back up by 4GB of RAM. Meanwhile, it doubles down on its dependency with a 1TB 7,200rpm HDD; this is a more than generous amount of storage space, that can move data at impressive speeds. If you’re the kind of student who likes to game, there’s an Intel UHD Graphics 630 with shared graphics memory, which is helpful in that department. This Inspiron comes with a wired mouse and keyboard; add to that some speedy wireless and Bluetooth, as well as a 12-month subscription McAfee LiveSafe, and you’re all set for school in September.
Now, if you’re less of the kind of student who “likes to game,” than an actual bonafide gamer, the new Dell G3 15 Gaming Laptop could be for you. It’s basically the inverse of the Inspiron (this gaming laptop is 70% gaming, 30% everyday computer). It has a more discreet GPU and larger display than many of the other gaming laptops out there.
It’s plenty fast, with a 10th-generation Intel Core i5-10300H CPU and they’ve spared no expense with the graphics, supporting them with Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU. All these impressive specs are backed up with 8GN or DDR4 RAM, and a 256GB SSD, which will take care of you and all the newest, fastest games with the richest graphics. We love the IPS display, the 15.6 inches of which are killer for gaming. But it’s also equipped for everyday uses: You can rely on it for making presentations, number-crunching, writing papers as well as all your Zoom and other communication. Gaming laptops of this quality are usually in the $800 range, this one is a steal for $666 when you save an extra 10% using the SAVE10 at checkout.
The most popular of Dell’s laptops for a reason. It’s the baby bear of their laptop offerings: Not too big, nice and powerful, sleek and portable — just right. There’s a good way to make sure a student has everything they need in a laptop — give them more than they need, and this laptop does just that. It has a 13.3-inch Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 touchscreen, which is ultra responsive and boasts brilliant colors. The keyboard is sizeable and user-friendly (big keycaps). It has a 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor and 4GB of RAM, which is more than any student will ever need and will guarantee lightning-fast and uninterrupted performance. In terms of storage, it has a 256 GB PCIe SSD, making backups and other file transfers fast as can be. As for that other all-important element for students, battery life, with the XPS you can count on 12 hours.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.