Yet Another Laptop Question

December 10, 2018 5:33 PM

What laptop would you recommend for an elderly person, who mostly just uses it for email and Skype?

I'm in search of a laptop for my father, who would basically only use it for checking email and Skype calls. He already has one desktop computer in his "office", and the function of the laptop would be as a secondary home computer that he could keep in the living room and quickly switch on and off when he wants to make a Skype call.

Preferences:
- super simple, I think we're going with Windows since it's going to be hard getting him used to a new OS
- great camera/sound quality for Skype calls
- large screen and large keyboard
- can be heavy and have crap battery since it will be stationary anyway
- no functions or software needed other than handling Skype video calls well
- the cheaper the better, but I understand that at some point you need to balance cost with quality

I found this question, but it's from 2015. Surely, technology advanced since then :)

posted by Ender's Friend to Technology (8 answers total)

Best answer: This is usually what people suggest Chromebooks for. OS is a little different but not much and they are cheap, decently durable and do those things. So like $200 for something like this if he doesnt' care about a big screen. That said if he just literally needs Skype and email might a tablet work for him? I'm a Mac person so I use old iPads for this but an older Android tablet would also work and they cost next to nothing if cost is an issue and an add-on keyboard wouldn't add much.
posted by jessamyn at 5:41 PM on December 10, 2018 [3 favorites]

I think we're going with Windows since it's going to be hard getting him used to a new OS

Is he used to Windows 7 or 10? In the former case, you might need to look for something used/refurbed.
posted by Candleman at 7:19 PM on December 10, 2018

Chrome is bulletproof and will do precisely what you are specifying for a very low price. Best thing, no viruses, period.
posted by jcworth at 8:23 PM on December 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I have to walk my mom through taking malware extensions out of Chrome once a quarter, but that's the worst damage my parents can do on a Chromebook.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:49 PM on December 10, 2018

The video call part of Skype may not work with Chromebooks, or at least I couldn't figure it out when I tried it last year for a teaching observation. Hangouts would have been fine, but the professor doing the observation wasn't familiar with Hangouts, so I ended up bringing in my personal tablet from home.
posted by abeja bicicleta at 3:50 AM on December 11, 2018

This doesn't really answer your question either, but I use my iPad Pro and keyboard for light-duty lapping and it works great.
posted by doomsey at 5:34 AM on December 11, 2018

I'd go for a Chromebox. You can buy a monitor and a keyboard to suit your needs.

Chrom OS is beyond simple. Turn on, click on an app, turn off.

I've used multiple Chrome devices (laptops and a cool Dell Chromebox) and Skype has worked on all of them.

The key is using the Skype web app in the browser.

Not sure about Chromebox, but Chromebooks produced in the last year or so should also be able to run some Android apps, including Skype, although I've found it a little tricky to install them on Chrome OS.

So using Skype in the browser is your best bet.
posted by JamesBay at 12:10 PM on December 11, 2018

Response by poster: Thanks all! I got convinced by all Chromebook recs and got this HP Touch-Screen 14". The screen is smaller than what I wanted, but the video and camera quality seemed much better than in the 15" Acer.
posted by Ender's Friend at 5:30 PM on December 12, 2018 [1 favorite]