Looking for laptop in $500-600 range for my mom

$500-$$600 is a lot of money for a laptop these days. With what your mom will be using it for it is an overkill even with laptops costing at the $300-$350 mark.
Just look at these devices as disposable work tools, once the battery goes in 3-5 years just chuck it out and buy a new one which at that time will have the newest OS and CPU.
Just get one at the lowest price you can find is my best advice, it doesn't matter what brand or how fast the CPU not to get too technical as entry level CPUs are already an overkill for 95% of the population.

my mom got an refurb ipad air few months ago and hasnt touched her pc since then..

1) find out the size of the laptop she would like, as there is a big difference between an 11-13" and a 14-15", especially with the whacked-out wide-wide-widescreen displays they use now.
2) same thing with weight. if she needs it to be portable, stay around 3-4lbs.
3) determine the type of keyboard needed - this is a big one, as I despise bilingual keyboards so if you need an english one, be sure to buy at an online store like microsoft or confirm the model you are looking at has an english kb. the cheaper the laptop, the more like staples/bb/walmart only has it in bilingual.
4) screen size/resolution - is low resolution 1366x768 15" fine or does she want something better?
5) buy intel, stay far away from amd. trust me.
6) count on 4gb minimum memory and a dual core 13/i5 or quad core pentium

check this link out to see what sizes and types you can get for your money:

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msc ... D.64517600

spena wrote: ↑my mom got an refurb ipad air few months ago and hasnt touched her pc since then..

iPad would be absolutely terrible for this application. For starters I know a friend who works as a teacher under TDSB, none of the internal websites run properly on his iPad.

OP might want to elaborate a bit more. Does she need to carry it around, back and forth to and from school? Does she prefer a bigger screen if not carrying it? Doesn't sound like power is a huge concern, so either something with a 15" screen and an i3/i5 if it's a desktop replacement, or the newer 13.3" Ultrabooks with Core M would fit the bill.

how much of her work is done online? For many parents, Chromebooks are often a great solution. they are virus resistant. boot up quickly with long battery life.

and, for us the kids, we don't have to worry about providing all the tech support after purchase

sprung wrote: ↑how much of her work is done online? For many parents, Chromebooks are often a great solution. they are virus resistant. boot up quickly with long battery life.

and, for us the kids, we don't have to worry about providing all the tech support after purchase

Read my earlier point about the intranet sites... Not surprised if some sites required Internet Explorer. School board computer tech isn't exactly cutting edge.

Just buy any pc online for 400-500 range. Any store really. I personally prefer asus msi or lenovo

Don't buy from Best Buy, Staples etc. They come with loads of bloatware which make the laptop slower than it should be.

Buy from Microsoft Store, their laptops have no bloatware, plus they have a 30 day return policy. Also, since your mom is a teacher, she would get 10% education discount.
In your price range, you can look at these laptops:

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msc ... .305582500

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msc ... .313368600


Both have Full HD 1080p IPS touch screens. Anything cheaper would have 720P TN screens, which are mostly bad.