Which Laptop? – A Novice’s View! HP Envy.

I’d never really had my own computer. Not a personal one anyway. I had a veritable ‘tech cave’ at work with eight screens and three keyboards for a desk, yes, but nothing at home. When you spend your life at work, your workstation is all you need! Leaving the office for the bar/pub/ restaurant, only to return by 6.30am the next day left little wiggle room in between. When it did I was perma-glued to my Blackberry for work and used my IPhone for minimal play.

Since returning to the real world, having hung up my City boots, I’ve carved my niche in my writing. Not with ink and quill though, so I’ve had to adapt.

This is really about what to buy and what works for a computer for me. I’m two thirds stay-at-home mummy and one third journalist now, so I’m expecting to appeal to to all you like-minded people out there.

I’m going to tell you first off what I chose then I’ll explain to you why. The PC ( yes, PC!) I’m writing this on is an HP laptop. It’s their top of the range, 15 inch screen model. It comes with the new Windows 8 (app based- easy to use and you won’t remember what things looked like before it arrived after a few days use) and the most amazing new touchscreen technology. It also has huge amounts of memory too, which a lot of smaller/ cheaper gadgets do not have as they are generally used for internet browsing, Skype and other social media apps.
I needed a proper computer.

I’m well aware of the way Apple has ‘taken over the world’. I’m not against Mac, we are a Mac family to some extent but I spent my whole working world around PC’s. I know them. They can be far more powerful and are used for so much, more. They are the computer of the workplace, especially in a bank. I find PC’s more straightforward, more dynamic and ultimately more useful so I went with the best of the best. The HP is a real joy to use. I absolutely love the touchscreen function which makes it feel like tablet and PC in one. You get very used to tapping on the screen to open something or when you are surfing the net so don’t dismiss it the technology before you’ve tried it! Suddenly your PC becomes multi-functional and easier and faster to use. The funny thing is that I now find myself tapping on the screen of our old laptop and getting frustrated because it doesn’t work.

So with app based Windows 8 you have everything the family could need from Skype to YouTube to Amazon- all the android apps basically, then you have the power of a PC and the versatility of a tablet. Also, ditch the TV because with HD quality picture and amazing sound you won’t need anything else!

HP Envy available £449 here for mummy bloggers, daddy bloggers and just about any blogger!