Things have come a long way in a decade, when it comes to computer choices for families, and to computer prices for families. In the early days of personal computing, a decent system cost a pretty penny...we spent well over $2,000 for our first system, with a 3GB hard drive! That's laughable, now, as even the simplest mp3 players surpass the storage of that early device. 4 years later, the expenditure for a much better system was half as much. In the most recent years, great deals abound year round, with the very best coming at back to school time, and on Black Friday, where the relationship between price and hard drive space are even better.
Whether you are searching for a cheap computer for your tween, or just trying to keep your costs low as you find a durable, quality computer, it's good to have this perspective on the improvements that have been seen over the years. The next thing to keep in mind is the goals for that computer. Are you looking for an educational computer for your tween to use in doing school research, learning games, and word processing? Are you looking for something that will adapt to complicated gaming?
As a parent, I don't like to encourage much computer game play, and so our household needs won't entail the kind of memory needs that some of the popular pc gaming entails. I do like to allow puzzle games, and a little bit of free time on the computer, but my preference for gaming is in the context of educational venues. At this stage, a slightly outdated pc still handles the needs of the kids in the house, including the tweens. The low cost systems sold during a Black Friday or Back to School sale are sufficient for most educational needs. Look for bundled deals which include monitors and printers, to make the most of sales, as both of these components have a tendency to wear out within a couple of years of use. If the cost is affordable, keep the upgrades in mind, as bigger screens, more memory, and such features are most likely to be big draws.
A desktop system is a good choice for a computer system to be shared by a family, including a tween, and is a great way to curtail activity, while keeping tween computer time to a limit. Parental oversight, not the favorite of the tween, is important, and much easier to handle with a centrally located desktop pc for tween and family. ( Read through the list of Amazon's best selling desktop computers, and find customer reviews.)
All in One systems are space savers, and still provide a central computing experience. Again, the deals are going to be best on these during the post-Thanksgiving shopping of Black Friday, and during the Back to School promotions of July and August. It's wise to spend extra for extended warranties on such a system, as the failure of one component affects the entire unit. The HP Omni, shown at left, has outstanding reviews at Amazon, and the space saving design, along with the serious work environment the desktop creates, are great features, whether in a tween pc, or a family pc. Comparing the cost of a desktop and monitor, sold separately from each other, this example is very cost efficient.
Touchscreen computers for tweens are attractive, for the additional interactivity, but may be on the pricey side, if you are looking for a cost cutting tween computer choice. Tablet PC's for tweens are great as an additional educational tool, but as a main computer, not the best selection.
Laptop computers are popular for all who use computers, and give a mobility that a desktop does not. If you are interested in a cost effective tween laptop, then keep the size of the laptop in mind. A 17" laptop has a great screen size, but is awkward for a tween to handle. Fortunately, the relationship between price and size is usually comparable, and as screen size decreases, so does the price. 14-15" is a better handling size, if your tween will be moving about with his or her computer. With electronics for tweens, sometimes the small sizes cause concern for parents, with regard to eye strain, but in this case, smaller tween electronics are less likely to be dropped or damaged. Beyond this, a laptop usually includes a dvd drive, perfect for educational disks to be incorporated into tween learning. Again, there are frequently great deals all year long, with plenty of drive space and memory. Watch for some especially good deals during Black Friday sales and Back to School promotions. (Find Amazon's list of current bestselling notebooks and laptops.)
For the household on an extremely tight budget, a netbook is a great tween pc choice, as the memory and storage are reasonable, while prices are also reasonable. Come Black Friday, many people speculate that there will be huge deals, even $100 netbooks, featured in the sales circulars. However, the only ones that have broached these low price levels in recent years have had very low memory and hard drive capacity, and have been off brands. Though price is important, it's not a great investment to purchase such a deal if it won't serve your needs. Comparatively speaking, most brands of netbooks have basic models at the $250 price range, with plenty of memory and hard drive space. These won't serve the needs of the pc gamer, per se, but will be more than adequate for a tween's base educational use, including the ability to incorporate Microsoft Office software, and to handle other relevant research. The ASUS featured at left has 250 GB Hard Drive, and 1GB memory, expandable to 2 GB...equal to the capacity of my 4 year old desktop, and a fourth of what the desktop cost at the time. If you are looking for the most cost effective computer for your tween, a netbook is going to save quite a bit of money, and should last through much of the child's public school education. It's wise to invest a little bit of the savings in an extended warranty, as accidents can happen with any tween electronic device, more so if it's a portable gadget.
If you are looking for a supplemental computer for your tween, a tablet pc for your tween may be a great choice. For my thoughts on tween tablet pcs, check out the following posts:
Pros and Cons of iPad for a Tween
iPad for Kinesthetic Learners
Alternatives to iPad: Tablet PC Choices for Tweens
