Local Life - Wigan - October 2019

48
Tech for the New
Term
It’s that time of year again: schools, colleges and
universities are readying for a new term and parents
are running around trying to get everything their
children need. Increasingly that includes technology,
whether that’s a basic laptop for younger children’s
homework or an all-rounder for studying, social
media and streaming video at home or in student
accommodation.
It’s worth thinking about streaming video if your
children are staying away from home, because
you can get almost all the TV you
want for free,
entirely legally,
via the internet and
most catch-up TV apps (BBC
IPlayer does need a licence). There’s no
need for a pricey Sky or Virgin contract, just a
decent broadband service. If video is going to be a
key thing, make sure whatever you buy has a goodsized
screen or buy a Chromecast, which enables
you to stream video from your computer to a TV.
The best all-rounder is a Windows 10 laptop – the
Acer Chromebook is a cheap option with a long
battery life for lectures and beyond, while the Dell
XPS 13 is a much pricier option at £1,199 but offers
a full touchscreen and beautifully refined graphics.
a powerful laptop. It’s pricey though (from £769)
with another £179 for a keyboard cover or £89 for
the Apple Pencil.
Kindles can be a more lightweight alternative
to hefting heavy textbooks around, with over 3
million eBooks to choose from in the Kindle Store.
It’s worth checking your insurance policies too,
especially if your children will be moving out for
college or university. Your home insurance might
already cover your children’s gadgets when they’re
away from home, but don’t assume that’s the case
- and if they do, check the excesses, which might
be higher than the cost of repairing or replacing
a gadget. The same applies to any contents
insurance you may take out for your children’s
accommodation. Lots of companies
have insurance policies specifically
designed for students’ computers
and smartphones, and sites such as
money.co.uk enable you to compare
the cover, cost and excesses quickly. We’d
particularly recommend insurance that covers
you for accidental damage: if something can be
dropped, smashed or accidentally covered in
liquid, it probably will be.
There’s another option: tablets such as the iPad.
Previously we’ve said they aren’t really ideal for
serious work but that’s changed with the arrival
of the iPad Pro, which is a genuine alternative to