Thinking about purchasing new laptops for your business? According to Decide.com, a price predicting service, the best time to buy laptops for the lowest prices might be right now. The next best times to buy are mid-September and the last two weeks of December.
Why the lower prices? According to Melanie Pinola of PCWorld, “We’re currently in a cycle during which a ton of new and updated laptops are introduced, and so prices are falling. The service finds that consumers who buy now will save around 10 percent on new laptops, a reduction that translates to about $240 for high-end notebooks or $100 for lower-end laptops.”
So, if you are ready to pull the trigger here are seven things you should consider when looking for new laptops.
Basic specifications. Unless you are looking for a laptop for rendering heavy graphics or analyzing big data, most laptop users should concentrate on weight, screen size, memory, and possibly storage reports Sam Grobart in his New York Times article “Seeking a Laptop? What You Need to Know”.
According to Grobart, keep the weight under six pounds and for the vast majority of users a 13 inch screen size “is the sweet spot.” While the processor isn’t a big deal anymore says Grobart the memory does matter and you need 4 gigabytes of RAM. If your business is using cloud or streaming services, storage isn’t a big concern. If not, make sure you get laptops with at least 500GB of storage.
Research the technology you are considering. Invest some time reading reviews by analysts and professional reviewers such as CNET, PC Magazine, Small Business Computing, eWeek and Consumer Reports.
Mac or PC. Determine which makes best sense for your business but with so many cloud and streaming services it doesn’t matter as much anymore which system you go with.
Price. Remember the cheapest solution may not be the best fit. If you are planning on keeping your technology for three years or more, make sure you opt for the “best solution” for your needs. Determine what your new equipment will be worth in three to five years.
Choose your equipment vendor wisely. With all the easy comparison shopping that is available online, make sure to compare costs and warranties across multiple vendors. You don’t want to pay too much, and neither does your financier.
Understand Section 179 benefits. Section 179 allows businesses to deduct the cost of qualifying businesses equipment placed in service in 2012 up to $125,000. The deduction may drop significantly to just $25,000 in 2013.
Carefully investigate your financing options. To learn more about equipment leasing and its benefits, read “8 Equipment Leasing Tips.”