8. Where To Buy

Many colleges and universities offer name brand PCs at reasonable prices. However, don't assume that you'll get the best prices at your school. I have a friend who just purchased an HP notebook at his university's student store. He bought it and then asked me if he got a good deal. Sadly, I had to tell him he paid about $300 more than he would have paid buying it from HP or an authorized HP dealer.

So, be sure to check out the vendors we've listed here. You can quickly compare prices, find the lowest one and then compare that price to the one your school offers. When you're comparing prices, don't forget to factor in shipping and sales taxes.

HP's Compaq Presario V2000z notebook.

Also, the newspapers and most people's snail mailboxes are generally full of ads for low cost notebooks from Internet and brick and mortar vendors such as Best Buy, OfficeMax, Staples, Circuit City, Dell and CompUSA. Remember that there might be mail-in rebates involved and there are some misleading ads. For example, as I write I'm looking at a Best Buy Sunday newspaper circular for a Toshiba Core Duo notebook with 512 MB of memory and an 80 GB hard disk drive. It's advertised for $599.99.

Sounds great, yes? Well maybe not. The regular price is a more likely $939.98. This one is difficult to fathom, but it looks like you pay the regular price for the notebook, $939.98, and get for free a Canon All-In-One printer Best Buy claims is worth $339.99; $939.98 - $339.99 = $599.99. It's my guess that Canon gave the printer to Best Buy for nothing or near nothing just to build up the stock of people buying ink cartridges for it. Finally, you better hurry up to the nearest Best Buy store. In small type the ad says "Minimum 6 per store. No rainchecks." That probably means "6 per store and no more."

Conclusions

Buying a decent notebook computer for less than $700 is definitely possible. After assuring the notebook you like has all the components and features you need and adding or replacing any components to customize the notebook to you liking, compare prices, select the right vendor and buy the sucker. All along the way, remember that there is no ideal computer. The goal is to find the notebook that requires the fewest compromises on your part.

There are two stories in our back to school special. This one is about buying a notebook computer for less than $700. The other story is about mobile computing accessories.

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