Tag: laptops for work

  • When is the best time to buy a new laptop? Plus our top laptop picks by category for 2024

    When is the best time to buy a new laptop? Plus our top laptop picks by category for 2024

    With Amazon’s Prime Day starting next Tuesday we know a lot of people will be interested in taking advantage of any laptop sales the e-commerce giant will have available to refresh an older device or bump up to better hardware, but is this the best time to buy a new laptop?

    There are actually several times throughout the year we see laptop (and devices in general) sales spike, including:

    1. Back-to-School Season (July to September): Retailers often offer discounts to attract students and parents preparing for the school year.
    2. Holiday Sales (November to December): Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) offer significant discounts. Christmas and New Year sales can also be a good time to find deals.
    3. New Model Releases: New laptop models are usually released in the spring (April to June) and fall (September to November). Purchasing a laptop just before or right after new models are released can lead to discounts on older models.
    4. End of Financial Quarters: Retailers and manufacturers may offer discounts at the end of March, June, September, and December to meet sales targets.
    5. Annual Tech Events: Pay attention to major tech events like CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in January. After such events, you might see price drops on older models.

    For Windows devices in particular, we often see a lot of new releases coming around in October when Windows big feature updates for the year typically drops (and if you’re still on Windows 10 which reaches end of life October of next year, this is a great time to upgrade to a Windows 11 or Windows 11 ready device).

    For our personal laptop recommendations, we’re both a Lenovo and Dell partner and recommend the following from each brand, first from Lenovo:

    1. Best 2-in-1: The Lenovo Yoga 7 functions in both laptop and tablet mode and is a great option for creative roles with it’s built in stylus and faster processor.
    2. Best Daily Driver: The Lenovo ThinkPad is an all-around great day to day model with long battery life and rugged components (especially if you spend a little more for the T series models).
    3. Best Workhorse: The Lenovo X1 Carbon is designed with business use in mind and the hardware can be upgraded for even the most demanding load with options for more RAM, faster processors and high powered video cards that will make this laptop work as hard as you do.

    If Dell is your favored brand we have a couple of recommendations for them as well:

    1. Best 2-in-1: In the 2-in-1 category from Dell we have the Dell Latitude, Dell even one ups Lenovo with the ability to fully go tablet mode and remove the keyboard entirely while keeping the same impressive performance capabilities.
    2. Best Workstation: The Dell Precision is Dell’s daily work model, with the focus spent here on providing just enough power to complete all your daily tasks and in whatever form factor you prefer (this model ranges from a travel sized 14 inches up to 17 inches for better viewing capabilities).

    While these are just some of our recommendations in a nutshell, Valley Techlogic clients receive the benefits of our procurement services which include helping them select a device that’s perfect for them and their workflow down to the smallest detail. If you would like to know how Valley Techlogic can assist you with making hardware choices for your business and more, schedule a consultation with us today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, leading provider of trouble free IT services for businesses in California including Merced, Fresno, Stockton & More. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/valley-techlogic-inc/.

  • Purchased a new laptop? Five steps on how to set it up to maximize your productivity.

    Purchased a new laptop? Five steps on how to set it up to maximize your productivity.

    If you’ve purchased a new laptop recently (or if you’re in the market) you may be wondering what to do with the fresh new start you now have on your hands.

    However, there is the matter of your old laptop before you do anything with your new one, before you send it to e-waste or hand it off to the next person you want to make sure any files you’ll need now or in the future have been taken off of it and stored either directly onto your new device, into cloud storage, or even onto a portable hard drive. Once all of the files have been backed up and you can then safely wipe it to ensure no personal data remains (or have your IT team handle this if you’re unsure).

    Now that the matter of your old laptop has been settled, we can move on to our five tips for maximizing your new laptops potential and setting it up as a new productive workspace:

    1. Perform Any Necessary Updates: Nothing is worse than getting settled in and ready to use a new device only to be prompted that you need to update RIGHT NOW. That’s why we suggest getting this out of the way and performing any necessary updates right out of the box, it may seem a little counterintuitive that a brand-new device would need updates right away but generally they’re packed up by manufacturers with just what you need to get it turned on – all the configuring comes later.
    2. Uninstall What You DON’T Want: This is also a good time to uninstall any pre-configured programs that you don’t want, like an anti-virus program that’s different than the one your company uses or programs that are really more of an advertisement for the manufacturer. Again, reach out to your IT team for assistance if you’re unsure what’s okay and not okay to remove.
    3. Set Up Backups for This New Device: If you’re using Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace your office probably has backups that would cover your new device, so you’ll want to set these up so any files you bring over or create on your new laptop are backed up as well.
    4. Install Your Productivity Software: Microsoft 365, Adobe, your preferred browser, applications for your VoIP provider, anything you need to do your job day to day can safely be installed at this point in the process.
    5. Finishing Touches: Lastly, you can setup your laptop in appearance, setting up dark mode where applicable, changing your background, setting your preferred font size. All the finishing touches that will make working from this new device feel streamlined and familiar (but with the added boost of having a newer, more capable device).

    On the back end, your IT team should be setting up the tools needed to keep your new device safe such as end point protection, virus scans, malware detection and more. They may want to perform these updates right after any necessary updates to the operating system have been completed or they may want to as soon as your device will be connected to your office network. It’s a good idea to work with your IT team on setting up your new device in a way that’s both productive AND secure.

    If you don’t currently have an IT team or the one you work with does not provide new device support, reach out to Valley Techlogic today. In addition to customized procurement advice and support, setting up new client devices is an included service in all of our support plans. Setup a consultation with us today to learn more.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, leading provider of trouble free IT services for businesses in California including Merced, Fresno, Stockton & More. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/valley-techlogic-inc/.