5 Things Student Must Consider When Deciding To Buy Computer or SmartPhone

This is a guest post compiled by +Ayoola Ayobami  for OgbongeBlog

 As a Student [Most especially, Nigerian Student] there are so many decisions to make when you are studying in Higher Institution or just moving to the University. One of those decisions, is deciding what to buy between a Laptop or a Smartphone - i.e. If you cannot afford both. Basically, you should go for the one you need most and at the same time the one that will affect your studies positively, not negatively.


 According to some international surveys on University Students, Smartphones are causing so much distractions more than Laptops do, whereas many students don't use Tablets at all; maybe because of it's size.

Consider this -  A survey of 100 students at Dongguk University in South Korea said, about 50% of the students uses their smartphones more than five hours a day and 68% rated themselves as being addicted to their phones. The main purpose of the students’ smartphone use was to chat with friends, play games and read news. 70% of the surveyed students feel anxious when their phone’s battery is running out, when there is no fast internet access or when they cannot update their Apps. Moreover, 77% of the students answered that their smartphones causes distraction whenever they are studying or working.

The survey summarized above not only applies to South Korean students but to students generally all over the world. Although the number, size and percentage is higher & lower ranging from one country to another and one university to another.

Apart from the factors mentioned above, another determiner to buying a Smartphone or a Laptop is the price. You can't buy what you can't afford when there is something else your money can buy easily, right ?

But hold on here, there are some important questions every student must ask himself / herself when in a situation like this. Consider the questions listed below and find an answer to them, to determine what is right for you - A Smartphone or A Laptop ?

• Will you have regular access to electricity supply ? Remember that Smartphones generally have longer battery life than Laptops which means a Smartphone will spend many more hours without charging than a Laptop will.

•  How much of a serious student do you intend to be ? Remember that a Smartphone comes with lot of distractions (Chatting on 2go and WhatsApp, Pinging on BBM, Playing Games etc) according to the survey aforementioned. Some of these distractions are quite difficult to avoid whereas the distractions from a Laptop can be easily avoided.

• What course are you studying ? Some courses require regular paper work. A laptop offers a better word processing experience than a Smartphone. It will be much easier for you to edit your work on a Laptop and then print out. Furthermore, there are some complex assignments you can never do with a Smartphone. Imagine a Computer Science given a pure programming assignment.

•  How much have you budgeted for it ? Sometimes, the amount you have to spend on your purchase will determine what you will eventually end up buying. Having only #20,000 with you means you'll probably buy a Nokia Lumia 520 not HP Pavilion G6. Just Measure twice and Cut once !!!

•  Do you have an Internet Connection for your device (Be it a Laptop or Smartphone) ? You really need an internet connection for either of the two in order to do your assignments. Buying a Laptop means you need a USB Modem & Data Plan while Buying a Smartphone means you only need a Data Plan. Well, many universities do provide free Wi-Fi Internet Access for students and if yours is among, maybe you need not to worry about spending your extra cash on Internet Access.

Are you through with the answers to the questions above?  If yes, you should now realize what you need in your University life which should probably be a Laptop.

Generally, It seems like many students need a Laptop for their Academic years in the University while some need Smartphones.

Its now up to you to decide if you are among the many who needs a Laptop, few who needs a Smartphone or most who needs both. Decide and Choose wisely. Wish you success in your studies, Cheers !!!

This post was written by +Ayoola Ayobami . He is a Computer Engineer with passion for blogging and web development. He owns and manages StevenBergy.Com.Ng. You can follow him on Twitter or add him as friend on Facebook.