Review of Gigabyte U2442D-CF1 14-Inch Ultrabook (Aluminum Champagne Gold)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,099.00
Sale Price: $969.95
Today's Bonus: 12% Off

This notebook could be improved in a number of ways, but since there's nothing else quite like it, I give it a full 5-stars.

Asus was supposed to release a similar notebook, as were a couple other manufacturers, but they turned out to be vaporware.

I searched high and low for a lightweight/ultraportable with a decent resolution (greater than 1366x768, this one is 1600x900) and a proper dedicated graphics card (2gb GT 730M).

The GT 730M is more than just a rebadged GT 640M as some sites have called it, it's has a higher stock clock speed (725 vs 625)putting it closer to the GT 650M and some reports have referred to the core as a GK207 vs GK107, w/ 24 ROPS vs. 16. I haven't yet figured out how to verify this, nor have I been able to get the latest drivers directly from Nvidia to load. On the subject of drivers, Gigabyte offers Windows 7 versions of all the software, drivers, and even a Windows 7 bios so you don't have to use Windows 8 if you don't want to.

The notebook really is light weight and runs quite cool. The stock msata SSD is the tried and true Crucial M4 which doesn't have the top benchmark numbers, but in real world use, it's a rocket. The notebook also has room for a second normal 7 or 9.5mm hard drive which is completely unheard of in a 'true' ultrabook. I believe the Gigabyte U2442D doesn't get to wear an "Ultrabook" sticker because it comes with an i5 instead of an i7, however the i5 is much faster than any of the low voltage dual core i7's and many of the previous regular voltage dual core i7's. i7 used to mean 4-cores with hyper-threading flagship performance, but now it just means at least $200 more on the sticker price.

A few things to consider if you're looking to purchase one of these notebooks; the aluminum lid has a gold-ish tint to it and the rest of it is just grey plastic. It doesn't really look premium and I slapped on a skin for the lid and a few stickers on the palm rest to keep it from getting scratched up too quickly. The screen is a traditional matte which is great for glare, but not so great for keeping clean or getting the sharpest colors. The notebook comes with Windows 8, which really sucks for productivity (but most computers come with Windows 8). The Nvidia Kepler architecture is great for gaming, but even with 384 Cuda cores, it sucks at openCL so GPU acceleration of programs like Matlab, Solidworks, Photoshop, Ansys, Comsol, etc aren't going to really benefit from the dedicated card like they would with an ATI/AMD dedicated card of the same level.

At the end of the day, it's a very capable, very light weight notebook for playing and getting work done. When the box arrives you will not be disapointed, the packaging is sharp and Gigabyte throws in extras like a very nice leather sleeve and a keyboard cover/screen cloth.

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Had high hopes for this model, but alas -quality control is apparently a severe issue with Gigabyte's laptop line.

At the time of purchase, over two months ago, this ultrabook did occupy a unique place with features others did not have and a low price. It's poor screen quality is its one obvious fail.

However, within one week, it inexplicably failed to turn on or show any sign of life when plugged in. Gigabyte issued a RA# and it was sent back via slow UPS on their account. Two weeks later, they reported no problem and send it back.

However, the same problem occurred after 3 more days, rendering the unit useless. It was sent back again and Gigabyte tecch said they had now figured out the problem and I would have to get a whole new unit, losing my HD setup and info.

A new unit was sent to me, 6 weeks after purchase with time spent on using it amounting to less than a week.

Turned it on and there was a big dead green pixel in the middle of the screen. Haven't seen that in a new laptop for many years. With no way of fixing the totally dead pixel, I had to return it yet again.

This time I asked for a refund, which had to come form GB because they had sent a new unit and the seller could not refund for that. Getting a refund from Gigabyte is not an easy feat -seems to have to go through Taiwan management .

Nine weeks after purchase, I am left with no answer to emails about when or how the refund will be issued. Chuck, the lone man in LA handling such customer service, seems to be an honest enough guy, but Gigabyte management and policies -and obviously Quality Control -are a clear fail.

Reviews of Dell Inspiron i1564-8634OBK 1564 15.6-Inch Laptop (Obsidian Black)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $799.99
Sale Price: $635.00
Today's Bonus: 21% Off

My wife's desk top tower finally had enough. Because of her work as a grade school teacher she had a school assigned laptop and had come to really appreciate a laptop's utility and convenience. We examined features, prices, etc on every laptop in the $800 and under price range and picked this model Dell from Amazon. We've both been blown away by it's display clarity, speed, ease of use, and features like full numeric keypad, built in camera, as well as the features of the loaded Windows 7 OS.

As for Amazon's performance as a seller? Exceptional! I can't promise this will be your experience, but we took the "free shipping" option available at the time, and got the computer "the next day!" This is a fine computer at a great price from an excellent retailer.

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This is a great laptop that provides good performance comparing to the price.

Disadvantages:

Dell bloats the OS with unnecessary software that caused some crashes. I removed almost all Dell's software and now everything works fine.

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I have been looking for a new laptop for a couple of months. I needed the best price for a laptop that suited my business needs. This turned out to be just right. I needed the large HD and lots of memory. However, I lug it around a lot, so it had to be pretty light-weight. Dell has good support, the price was good and setting it up was so easy and almost automatic. If I had to buy again, I would buy this computer. Special feature: Very few laptops have a keypad, so felt lucky that this one included it.

Honest reviews on Dell Inspiron i1564-8634OBK 1564 15.6-Inch Laptop (Obsidian Black)

I've now owned this computer for six months. My hard drive has failed once already and I'm certain it is going to fail again. It overheats whenever you run more than one program at a time. It has downright stupid fan placement. The touchpad is complete garbage and skips all over the screen while you are trying to type an email or a letter, often erasing all your work. Customer service has awful English skills and is nearly useless. I paid $600 for this and I desperately wish I could get my money back.

You might like this right out of the box, but give it six months and you'll regret your purchase.

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I've had this computer for almost 3 years and finally will be able to get a new one in about a month. I didn't even know if this computer was still for sale considering it's getting rather old for the computer world. I've never had anything good to say about this laptop. The DAY after the 14-15 day return policy it died. I went through a month plus of b/s with Dell and then finally got it fixed. It freezes, crashes, key board stinks, mouse stinks, battery went to crap within the first year, etc etc etc. Overheats almost every time I use it (it's about burning the poo out of my leg right now), too embarrassed to even take it to classes with me. I paid 600-700 for this computer, never ever again will I spend that amount of money on a laptop and certainly will be getting a different brand.

Reviews of Toshiba Satellite L555D-S7930 TruBrite 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - 2

Customer Ratings:

I purchased this laptop as a replacement for my 5+ year old Dell Inspiron. Having recently had some bad experiences with Dell, I decided to try a Toshiba.

It's a good laptop for someone who isn't a road warrior-both the size and relatively short battery life make it less than ideal for lots of travel. Both of these problems stem from its very large screen (big screens tend to consume a lot of power), which is its biggest selling point. The large screen is great for work and watching films.

On the down side, the built-in speakers provide poor sound quality, which is not a problem if you use head phones.

Another minor drawback is the mousepad, which is positioned in such a way that your wrist is likely to tap it when typing, causing the cursor to jump inappropriately. You can tweak some settings on the mousepad's sensitivity to minimize this effect.

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Toshiba Satellite L555D-S7910 17.3-Inch Laptop Black/Grey

Toshiba makes a decent laptop, but if you buy one of their products do not think for a moment that your warranty will be honored! I had an adapter cord (and transformer) that failed, and it has now been over 2 weeks that Toshiba has been "unable" to send me a replacement cord. They claim it is on "back order" with no date in sight as to when the part will be available. Of course (they tell me) I can go into a store and buy a replacement part myself (over $100) but they will not reimburse me for that I will simply have to wait for the back order in order to have it replaced under the warranty provisions. In essence, they are telling me that in all of North America they cannot put their hands on one of their own power cords, even though I could just walk into any store and buy one myself! This, they say, is their "policy" and the policy cannot be changed. In my book, this is not "policy" but rather consumer fraud buy their product, assume that you have a warranty, but when it comes to fulfilling their warranty obligation you're told to wait indefinitely or just go buy the replacement part out of your own pocket. Frankly, I had expected better from a company like Toshiba, and my experience has made me conclude that I should never consider buying another of their products ever!

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This is my 6th Toshiba Satellite laptop. Bought first one in 1998 when I was driving a truck. Have never had a problem with customer service with Toshiba as one other person has said. Lost my hard drive somewhere between Chicago and San Antonio, when I got to San Antonio on a Friday afternoon at 3:00.pm they got me in at 4:00.pm and it was fixed and I was ready to go by 6:00.pm The only time I had to wait on a part was in Charlotte, NC on a Friday for a new screen and I was at my sister's house anyway and it was ready to go by 10:00 .am., since it was all under warranty never paid a cent for repairs or parts. I am happy with this laptop because I do like the bigger screen. The one drawback that I can see is the touch pad because it is in an awkward position but you can fix that by buying a mouse and turning the touch pad off. Simple easy solution to a minor problem. The last one cost $3600.00 5 yrs ago and had a lot less on it so the price is reasonable. I would recommend this product for someone who likes a big screen.

Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite L555D-S7930 TruBrite 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - 2

Pros:

* 17,3 inch flat screen!!.

* Fast!.

Cons:

* The originall battery life, just 2 1/2 hours.

* Webcam low def.

* Office's 60 days trial.

* Not pre installed antivir.

In general I'm happy with my laptop. Most of the cons are things that I can fix or buy.

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I hate this piece of crap computer... I will never buy another Toshiba Satellite again. The last one I had was a Satellite P205D-S7454. It died after one year, due to a product-wide problem in the BIOS causing the computer to "think" it was overheating & shut down. I replaced it with this one... BIG mistake. Now after only 1 year, it too has crashed due to failed memory that I now have to replace. It constantly shuts down on me, or restarts, or freezes. It has become nothing but a glorified paper weight that SOMETIMES allows me maybe an hour's worth of work before shutting down on me again. The SECOND the warranty is up, this stuff starts happening on these computers. I am computer savvy... I know what I am doing, and these computers are a disgrace. I had dead pixels on the screen within 1 month of receiving the pc. The mouse pad is in a really awkward place, causing you to constantly click into different programs & start typing god-knows-where. EXTREMELY frustrating. Oh and the speakers... the horrible, awful speakers... there is hardly any volume, and you can't hear a thing unless you're wearing headphones (and I am 28 years old, with no hearing problems). This thing is also a terrible fingerprint magnet... the display & pc itself look disgusting & require cleaning constantly. I am replacing this PC with a different brand and am never looking back. I would NOT recommend buying this computer, although laptop reviews rarely tend to be useful, since the jerks at big name brand stores NEVER sell anything but brand new models... meaning there are no reviews to be found on them... meaning you are on your own to find out after a year if they are worthless pieces of junk or not, like this one. I hate this computer, I hate Toshiba, and I will never, ever buy from them or recommend them again. I would STRONGLY advise the same for others.

HP Folio 13-2000 13-Inch LED Ultrabook - Core i5 i5-2467M 4G RAM Reviews

Customer Ratings:

Once in a blue moon I come across a laptop that fascinates me. The HP Folio 13-2000 is surely one of the more impressive models available on the market. HP has packaged powerful components into a very elegant yet sophisticated system.

At the time of this writing, Intel had recently announced that they would be beginning their "Ultrabook" laptop initiative to place systems on the market that would compete with Apple's thinner Macbook Air series. As a disclaimer, my years of experience with computer systems have been spent in a Windows environment, so this review will focus strictly on the HP Folio rather act as a side-by-side comparison with Apple's Macbook Air products.

In the original box and packaging, the Folio is held in place by two pieces of foam on each side, with space between the Folio and the cardboard box, which I suppose is a good thing in the event it were to come into contact with some blunt force. Aside from the Folio itself, a power adapter and packet of papers are included in the box.

Upon physical inspection, the Folio is very solid to the touch. Unlike my previous Asus netbook, the laptop casing is not flimsy at all and very resistant to bending. As shown on the Specifications page for the Folio on HP's website, the Ultrabook measures 8.67 inches in width, 12.54 inches in length, and 0.7 inches in depth. Needless to say, the Folio is extremely thin. On top of that, its weight at 3.3 pounds is noteworthy. The left side has the RJ-45 (Ethernet), HDMI, USB 3.0, and SD memory card ports; while the right has a USB 2.0 port and headphone jack. Interestingly the Folio lacks a Kensington Security Slot; whatever the reason for its absence, I will assume that owners of this superb computer system will rarely leave it out of sight for any period from would-be thieves.

The top of the Folio has a very nice metallic silver finish with the HP logo embedded in the center, and the bottom contains the usual assortment of exhaust ports and stickers.

Starting up the Folio for the first time would be when things got very interesting. The startup process itself, from BIOS to the Windows loading screen, was very fast, which should not be too big of a surprise since HP as put a Samsung SSD inside. Even though I managed to finish the Windows setup without any issues, the HP registration program that followed was a complete disaster. As I tried to enter my information into the contact information fields in the registration program, the HP program suddenly froze, leaving me no choice but to abort it and register the traditional method (via HP website). Compared to my past experiences with HP computers, there is significantly less bloatware and other programs installed, but they still remain nonetheless. Certain things about HP's software was particularly annoying, notably HP including an entire program solely dedicated to opening PDF files (e.g. User manual) was totally unnecessary. For an Ultrabook that's supposedly designed for powering through the "workday," the extra software can really drag you down.

On another note, Windows 7 Professional is absolutely necessary for those needing to join Domains in business environments. With a 64-bit operating system installed, the Folio has 4GB of DDR3 SRAM; HP states on the website for the Folio that the RAM has been downgraded from 1600 MHz to 1333 MHz. The 13.3-inch LED display is marvelous to look at, without any significant strain on my eyes; changing the display settings will be necessary, as is necessary for any new computer out of its box. I was initially skeptical about purchasing this particular model due to its 128 GB SSD, but with all of the latest updates and drivers installed, there is still a significant amount of space remaining approximately 100 GB. Returning to my point about HP's disappointing software, the Folio is configured at factory automatically for a recovery partition that is used by HP Recovery Manager. I should also point out that Recovery Manager is essentially useless for most users who have at least some experience with both Windows 7 and setting up backups. For inexperienced users, I would recommend leaving Recovery Manager installed in the event that you might need to return the system to its original factory configuration. I personally recommend installing CCleaner by Piriform after the initial setup of the computer so unnecessary files are removed automatically.

Regarding performance of the Folio, I would not recommend purchasing this system if you plan on doing any serious gaming on it. Again, I want to emphasize that this is a more business-oriented computer system, rather than one that targets mainstream consumers. While this particular Ultrabook only uses the quad-core 2nd generation Intel Corei5 processor, there will be more than enough power to get through whatever you need to in a day at the office. Unless you are running the system with display brightness set to maximum and CPU usage at 100% across the board, the Folio will fetch you several hours on battery power alone. HP estimates approximately 9 hours, but I have yet to test this out.

I will designate this last segment to what I think is the most interesting piece of hardware HP included in this ultrabook. For those who are somewhat familiar with computer security, a TPM 1.2 security chip is pre-installed on the motherboard at the factory. To minimize technical jargon and complexity, the TPM chip essentially a security chip that prevents tampering with the computer system. Its true potential is unlocked when it is paired with Windows BitLocker (available only in Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise). With BitLocker enabled, the TPM chip ensures that no hardware settings were altered between the last shutdown and next powerup. Note that BitLocker supports full-disk encryption, for those who need it.

While this is undoubtedly a superb system, a four-star rating is warranted since the shoddy HP software simply will not warrant a five-star review. However, for would-be buyers, HP's failure in producing functional software should not overshadow the many other great features offered by this ultrabook.

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This is by far the best laptop that I have bought to-date. It is light, sleek, functional, super portable, and the battery last longer than any battery on any device I have ever had. It goes for at least 8 hours without needing to be plugged in. If you are looking for a ultrabook because of the poratablity but do not want to compromise on performance, style, or functionaly then look no further.

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HP Engineering provides a wonderful design with a nice layout, good screen resolution, excellent wireless and enough ports (USB2, USB3, HDMI, etc.,) to provide great flexibility to connect to almost any device.

The problem that we encountered was the additional HP installed software provided for customer support seems to have conflicts with the Windows 7 operating system. The result is a repeated blue screen and a system dump. The problem only worsened when we had to engage HP customer support (located in the Philippines). The agents were friendly but unlike Dell they did not really understand the configuration of the PC (e.g. Dell service tag) and as of this writing have not resolved the PC issues. After four sessions of trying to work with HP technical support and 12 hours of wasted time, I am beginning to lose interest in HP products. Their resolution finally was to send me a pre-paid box to return the PC to their repair service center with a promise that I would have it back in a week. Poor consolation for the amount of trouble that the HP product support has caused and a very weak comparison to the Dell support that we have received over the years.

Honest reviews on HP Folio 13-2000 13-Inch LED Ultrabook - Core i5 i5-2467M 4G RAM

This computer is exactly what I was looking for in a traveling computer. It's screen and keyboard are the right size and is pretty fast. I looked at other computers and at the Ipad, but this one fits my needs much better. Now when I travel, I leave my larger laptop at home and take this one instead. The battery life is also amazing, and this computer only weighs 3.3#! Hard drive is small so I bought a couple 32 GB SD cards to store files on.

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This is HP Folio 13 the best Ultrabook, compared to all other brands of Ultrabook. Why is this is so good and why it's getting so many glowing reviews, an average of 4.8 stars out of 5 stars? This is why:

1. Windows 7 Professional. It's not Windows 7 Home or Windows 8 (which is horrible to run software or do usual business tasks). I was actually thinking of getting a MacBook Air but need to install Windows 7 Pro and Parallels into a Macbook Air that would set me $360.00 back.

2. It is superfast, boots up and shuts down super quick just like your smart phone (iPhone, Andriod or Blackberry). I hate laptops that that forever to boot up or shut down. Finally an Ultrabook that boots up like a Smartphone or iPad.

3. It has SSD instead of HD. I hate hard drives because it is noisy and breaks down. SSD is the way to go. Macbook Airs are all SSD.

4. Superlight. I hate heavy and bulky laptops.

5. Superlong lasting battery. The battery goes for 7++ hours!

6. Responsive mousepad and keypad. No need for external mouse. Some ultrabooks like Samsung and Acer has this problem.

7. Great Price. For $699.00 for a brand new Ultrabook, that is a $400.00 lower than a comparable MacBook Air 13 inch ($1,099.00).

8. This is an excellent Business Class laptop and even my old software such as Microsoft Office XP, works like a charm, no issues.

9. Wifi connection is easy and no problems. Some Samsung and Acer Ultrabooks has this problems.

10. Webcam works and sound is decent for a laptop this size.

11. Printing and scanning from this Ultrabook is easy.

12. Connecting to the network is a breeze.

13. Connecting to DVD drive/burner is is breeze, no issues.

14. It doesn't get hot or warm.

15. It is very thin and elegant, comparable to a 13 inch Macbook Air. Very stylish!

16. It has an internet Ethernet port (which the macbook air doesn't have). This is useful if you need to connect to the internet with a hardwire instead of wifi.

I have looked into HP Windows 8 Ultrabooks but HP Windows 8 Ultrabooks ones are crappy and I would have to downgrade from Windows 8 to 7 to meet my business benchmarks. That's too much trouble!

If you are looking for a Ultrabook that has SSD instead of a noisy harddrive, get this Ultrabook, there's no better one out there. HP is no longer making this Ultrabook, this is a pity. So get this before you can no longer buy this. I am thinking of getting an extra one as a backup.

Review of Dell Inspiron 15R i15RM-4634SLV 15.6-Inch Laptop (Moon Silver)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $799.99
Sale Price: $781.65
Today's Bonus: 2% Off

Okay, I JUST got the computer today, so I will have to do an update after awhile. The computer is fast. I installed a driver and had to restart the computer. It restarted in less than 30s. As in, I clicked restart and then was back on the internet in less than 30s. Moving around windows is very fast as well. Windows 8 is very different, but easy to learn with a little bit of effort. There is a build in tutorial to make it easier to learn. Its not very heavy considered how powerful it is and the size. Thinner than I expected, sleek and nice looking. I cannot hear the fan which is great. My last laptop was LOUD! Screen is bright and glitch free. Keyboard is a normal size and buttons type nicely.

There is a problem with the left mouse button. It clicks fine, but I have to press and hold to get it to work. Its annoying so I contacted technical support. I've heard A LOT of bad things about Dell support, so I was dreading it. However, the agent was very nice. She said it sounded just like an alignment problem. Normally they have you send the laptop in and fix it and then send it back. However she said since the laptop is brand new, she would ship the parts to a technician in my area and have him come to my home and fix the laptop there. That way I dont have to be without it. I didnt even have to ask for that :) As long as dell follows through with that, I'm very happy with the support. I got to talk to someone within a minute and got my problem handled in just a couple minutes. She also noticed my registration hadnt gone through properly and fixed that for my right then.

edit**

only been a couple days and the technician has fixed the touchpad. Very happy with dell service :)

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I needed this for a business trip and it arrived 4 days before I was scheduled to leave. Upon opening the laptop I noticed it had a pixel that was bright white on the screen. I called Amazon and they amazingly sent me a new laptop 2 days later just in time for my trip!! GREAT customer service Amazon, thank you! The Dell laptop is awesome as well! I've never had a problem with Dell, I call them die hards! always works no matter what! Love love love my new Dell!

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I am completely satisfied with this laptop. Everything was up and running, updates installed automatically, and without a hiccup. The jury is still out on Windows 8 so far, but the computer itself is a winner. I made a good choice in picking this one.

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A product that a busy executive can rely on! Although it is not exactly light weight, it is manageable to carry around.

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I bought this computer as a multi-purpose machine for work (documents and spreadsheets) but also personal and home use (watching movies, editing photos, etc.). It's taken a bit to get used to the Windows 8 interface, but the machine itself is great.

I was worried about the keyboard, because I hadn't had a chance to test it out and see how it felt to type on it, but it is very comfortable. The keys are quiet, but you have to apply just enough pressure that you feel like you're typing on a real keyboard, not on a screen or too-flat surface. It's handy to have the number keys on the right side as well, though I haven't needed them yet.

I had a problem with the mult-touch functions of the touchpads at first, but after downloading the drivers from Dell, everything works great.

For photo editing or watching movies, the screen isn't great, but you get what you pay for, right? After using my wife's Macbook pro for photo editing for the past couple years, the screen is definitely a step down, but still fine for editing family photos and such. I wouldn't recommend this screen though for anyone wanting to do any professional level of photography work.

Overall great machine, great value, meets all my expectations. I just need to learn more about whether Windows 8 has a real purpose on a computer that isn't a tablet!

Blue Hp 14.5" Pavilion Dv5-2135dx Entertainment Notebook Pc Review

Customer Ratings:

Wanted a 13.3" laptop, something smaller than my 17.3" Toshiba and larger than my Acer Netbook. The 17.3 is too big for travel and netbook has several limitations and requires external drives. Started looking for a reasonable 13.3" but found this HP dv5-2135 DX midsize unit is slightly larger (.5" wider) than a 13.3" and had everything I was looking for, so I ordered it.

When it arrived my first impression was it was physically larger than I thought and I too at first had a hard time with the sensative touchpad. But was soon relieved when I compared it side by side with the 13.3" and I have aclimated to using the touchpad, yes it is different from those used in the past. Learned to use only one finger as the buttons are part of the pad. The screen is very bright which is good for persons of a certain age, ha ha. Contrary to some others comments, I really like the keyboard it has good key spacing for my large fingers, is positive to the touch and I very seldom missed keystrokes compared to the high dollar Toshiba! The wiFi has been flawless so I can't understand why someone complained unless they had a lemon.

Now, was this the perfect laptop? Has anyone ever found the perfect laptop? In my application it's as perfect as it get's and I would highly reccomend it.

If I didn't have the learning curve with the touchpad I'd give it five stars, I gave it four, as there is no way to give it 4.5 which is where I think it belongs.

JerryB

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omg. this is a great computer. the screen is bright. the speed is fantastic. the wifi is good. check your own router. all i can say is that it is a very good laptop. there are some things u need to know about this laptop. the battery lasts about 2 hours. the mouse is sensitive but thats good as u do not need to press hard to operate it. the sound is a little soft hence a reason for headphones jack. the keyboard is fine. it's called an island style keyboard.

so to sum it up very good laptop. have it about a 10 months. got it for university. works great for all my projects and etc. the entertainment aspect is great also.

games can work.

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Nice screen, keys are well spaced so if you have larger hands this is just the ticket. The built in mouse is jumpy and just a pain. Buy this computer and plan on getting a usb mouse soon thereafter...

Honest reviews on Blue Hp 14.5" Pavilion Dv5-2135dx Entertainment Notebook Pc

Overall laptop build and performance is good.

But there are two major issues because of that it becomes a no buy

1. It makes too much noise and heats up very fast.

2. Audio output is not audible with all the noise process makes.

This can't be called an entertainment laptop if you can't even hear a thing in it.

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We were a little nervous about buying a re-furbished item but the description about almost new and never out of the package sold us and he has been extremely happy ever since he had to replace the exact same one that one of his brothers friends stepped on and broke!!!

Discount Hp Pavilion Dv8000 Notebook

Customer Ratings:

This item was misrepresented in the ad (I have screen shots to prove that) and the item was poorly packed and the seller hasn't even inquired about the damage and denies the fraudulent advertising. On top of that, I had to take the chance and pay up front before receiving the item but he wants the item back before paying me back. If I had to pay first then so should he. Also, he won't offer a partial refund to cover the damages or the repairs needed because of the fraudulent advertising. He claims others were aware of the uncommon problems (cracked screen and noisy fan) but they were NOT shown in the information I was presented with when I went to the web page he used to advertise this item. I will never trust anything this person says.

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All was perfect, on time, it is a good looking machine

-The screen is beautiful, very bright and good color reproduction.

-Wi-fi signal is strong and I haven't experienced dropped connection.

-I haven't used the touchpad that long because I always use a mouse but I tested and it works better that others I've used.

-The keyboard is accurate and it feels nice to the touch, the backlight is soft, you can barely see it with lights on. I wish it was brighter.

-There's a little to none noise fan, it gets a little hot on the bottom.

-Speakers sound surprisingly good for such a thin machine.

Discount HP Pavilion DV7-4065dx 17.3" Notebook PC

Customer Ratings:

Do not buy. This laptop lastes less than 2.5 years and for that kind of money I expected more. Turns out the problem is well known and yet they continued to sell this model. Before you buy, google hp pavilion dv7 won't wake up from sleep mode or dv7 won't boot up and read about it for yourself.

Loved this laptop until it just suddenly stopped working with no warning signs and no drops/spills/abuse/virus. Can't believe I spent over $700 and didn't even get 3 years out of it.

Hope this saves someone some money!

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I certainly am not a computer geek and have no intention of trying to provide you with a technical breakdown of the unit. The computer does what it is supposed to do based on the specifications. ( Oops haven't tried the fingerprint reader, I forgot!) What I really wanted to convey in this review is the fact that the laptop was recertified, refurbished, remanufactured, whatever!!! Without reading that statement on the box, I would have told you I have brand new laptop. I am sure that there are people out there that would probably rather pull their own nails out rather than buy a recertified unit!! I just wanted to tell you this isn't my first recertified unit nor do I expect it to be my last. I do not fear recertified!! And I am suggesting that if you want to get the most bang for your buck, recertified is definitely the way to go. Now as sure as God made little green apples, there is going to be someone outside who has purchased a recertified unit that might have been DOA and they want my tongue. Well people, that happens to new unit too! I love my laptop and the many features that go with it. At least think about what I have suggested!! Happy computing!

HP Pavilion 17 17-e020us 17.3-Inch Laptop Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $844.00
Sale Price: $535.58
Today's Bonus: 37% Off

This computer is fast, has lots of memory, and has all of the features I was looking for. Recommend this laptop especially those who are heading back to school.

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BOUGHT THIS FOR MY SON FOR HIS FIRST YEAR OF COLLEGE 2013. VERY SLEEK, THE TOUCHSCREEN IS A NICE ADDITION AS WELL. I WOULD RECOMMEND GETTING THE LOJACK PACKAGE AND HP 3-YR WARRANTY AS WELL AS LAPTOPS SOMETIMES GROW FEET FOR SOME REASON. :-)

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Computer is very nice and modern. Technical support is easy to reach, very helpful, patient and very knowledgeable. My only complaint is that it didn't come with some manuals/instructions for windows.

Honest reviews on HP Pavilion 17 17-e020us 17.3-Inch Laptop

was another great buy, works perfectly and provides basic everyday use of a pc and is cheap on the pocket as well

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Pavilion 17 17-e020us 17.3-Inch Laptop

Bought it as an upgrade for an older laptop. I love just about everything about it except that it has Windows 8. What a terrible operating system experience. It is not intuitive at all; it's confusing and difficult to use so far. Helpful tip is 'windows key' + D will get you back to the normal desktop and access to the Start menu that most people are used to.

Dell Inspiron mini 9-Inch (Intel® Atom Processor 1.6 Ghz , 1 GB Reviews

Customer Ratings:

I've been looking for something like this for years to chronicle my motorcycle trips.

I was loathe to give up saddlebag space to a full-size laptop and worried that the heat, dust and vibration of motorcycle travel would kill a laptop with a conventional hard disk drive.

So I started out with travel journals, but I had to wait until I got home to blog my trip stories.

Then, five years ago, I tried blogging from the road with a Palm Treo 300. It was barely adequate. I stepped up to a Treo 600, and then the 700p, but even with the accessory fold-out keyboards, it was still a chore to write blog entries and manage my e-mail. And while the cameras have improved, they're still pretty bad.

I miss the 3G connectivity with the Mini 9, but Wifi hotspots are becoming more plentiful and it's getting easier to find them, especially if you have the AT&T deal with Starbucks or McDonald's.

The SSD (solid state drive) seems perfect for motorcycle travel, since it has no moving parts and is, therefore, less vulnerable to damage from vibration.

The 1GB of RAM and 8GB of SSD capacity are plenty, assuming you don't junk the Mini 9 up with lots of software. And there isn't any reason to do that, considering that you can do all of your email, word processing, spreadsheets, calendars, and other office-type functions up in "the cloud" with Google Apps.

I found the Internet Explorer browser's menu bars took up too much screen real estate, so I installed Google's streamlined Chrome browser that lets me see more of the web pages at a glance. I also avoid loading up the SSD by using an 8GB SanDisk thumb drive as a D: drive.

I'm not much for touchpads the Mini 9's touchpad works fine, I'm just not a touchpad guy so I use a wireless optical mouse.

The built-in webcam is surprisingly good. I have yet to use it for a live conversation, but it shoots quite acceptable still photos. The SD card reader is perfect for importing images from a higher-quality digital camera.

The smaller keyboard takes a little getting used to. The apostrophe and quote marks and dash/underscore are not where my fingers expected to find them, but it doesn't take long to make the synaptic adjustment.

The Mini 9 is intelligently designed when it comes to upgrades. You can access its guts by removing two screws and a cover plate on the underside. As I said, it comes with 1GB of RAM. You can double that for about $30 and the conversion takes about 5 minutes.

Computer development being what it is, there are sure to be subsequent generations of netbooks with more speed, power and versatility. But for now, I think the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is one of the best buys out there.

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When I saw the Eee PC's, I knew I would eventually get one, or some other kind of netbook. This Dell is a dream, and it does the basic stuff I want-email, web, video playback, iTunes, and word processing. This is not a gaming PC, something for graphics or modeling software, not for any kind of software that takes up a lot of RAM and processing power, and it's probably not suitable as a main PC for most people. It's a glorified PDA for people who want something more than a PDA, but love the portability. That said, if this is making your mouth water and doesn't sound like a step backward in technology, you've come to the right place.

I looked into the Dell Mini 12s, but decided against one because they're simply not as portable. The Mini 12 has a bigger screen, keyboard and hard drive space, but that also makes the PC bigger and less portable. The Mini 9's smaller keyboard will require a bit of adjustment, epecially if you use the F keys very much since they're integrated with the second row of letter keys. I don't have a problem with the size of the screen, but I can see how some might. Try to look at one of these in person before you buy if you think it might be an issue.

The Mini 9 will handle 2GB of RAM, but it can only be shipped with up to 1GB because of the software license with Windows XP. Thank you Miscrosoft for another slap in the face! I mean, anything's better than getting a machine with Vista on it, but REALLY. Dell also put the RAM cap on the Mini9s with Ubuntu, which really makes no sense... Anyway, it's nothing to pop open the cover, put in your extra GB of RAM, close it, and have the zippiest little netbook around. (I think it will handle a 4GB stick, but then you're looking at power and heat issues.) When you turn it on, it's ready to go in no time, even without a memory upgrade! Also, decompress the drive. Compression doesn't save that much space and it runs better. If hard drive space is an issue, add an external drive, thumb drive or SD card.

It doesn't come with a DVD drive, but how often do you really use one? I only use mine to install software and to rip my CDs to iTunes. I don't do either of those things when I'm out and about, and remember, it's all about that portability! Eventually you will need to buy a DVD drive, but you might not need one right away. Also plan on investing in an external mouse if you don't like touchpads. This one is particularly irritating because it's so small. I can't really comment on how this or anything else affects battery life, since I rarely run on the battery. The speakers are really small, so have some headphones on hand if sound is a problem for you.

I got it and immediately covered it with one of those sticker skins later to keep it from getting scratched. It's a glossy finish that you just know is going to get sandpapered if you carry other stuff in your bag. (And who doesn't?) I also got the webcam and bluetooth options, even though I have no use for either of them. That was because hubby will eventually inherit this when I buy something else, so I wanted him to be able to expand this however he would need.

My only other gripe is that when you use this in public, you get a lot of people coming up to interrupt you to talk about it. It's not Dell's fault, but if you need to get something done, don't do it in Starbucks where you'll be interrupted about every 30 seconds. Come on, it's the 21st century! It's difficult to accomplish anything in an environment like that. I had the same problem with my PDA and folding keyboard, and when it started to happen again, I wanted to cry... but my Mini won't let me.

Overall, this is 4 1/2 stars, but the drawbacks are nothing when I can put this in my purse, go to Borders, do my thing, and get out without the achy shoulder. I always wanted a small laptop like this, light enough to carry around, small, with PC power and feel. Now that I have one, the sky is clear, birds are singing and velvet ropes have parted-well, not really, but this is about as close as I can get.

Best Deals for Dell Inspiron mini 9-Inch (Intel® Atom Processor 1.6 Ghz , 1 GB

I am writing this review from my Dell Mini 9 with 1 gig ram, 8 gig solid state hard drive, running Windows XP. The keyboard is smaller than full sized, but very easy to touch type with. The atom processor and 1 gig of ram handle running XP without a hitch. I loaded Microsoft Office Home/Student edition (minus OneNote) and it too runs fine. The MS Office suite was loaded using a $35 external USB CD drive I bought for this computer. Because this is a Windows computer, the new hardware was recognized and loaded automatically. The wireless connection works smoothly and seeks out a connection well. I have worked on secure networks and using public WiFi, all using the internet easily. The screen has excellent resolution. I can run music on the Media Player, browse the internet and edit word all at the same time.

An 8 gig hard drives seems small, but the built in SD card slot can act as your document storage. I dumped much of the pre-loaded programs that I would never use which leaves nearly 2 gigs on the built in hard drive. I have 35 albums, almost 4 gigs of photos and a bunch of documents on the 16 gig SD card and I still 8 gigs of room for more there. I write documents to the card using a Windows briefcase that syncs with back-ups on my desktop.

If you are looking for a simple laptop/travel computer, this is a good choice.

Honest reviews on Dell Inspiron mini 9-Inch (Intel® Atom Processor 1.6 Ghz , 1 GB

This unit is great for sitting on the couch and checking email and general browsing. I hated holding the heavy 15" laptop while try to do simple things like this.

It was also bought for a second laptop so when the primary is in the hands of my wife, I had something to use. I figure this is great for taking out of town.

My young daughter is now taking ownership of it. She thinks the size is perfect for her.

So far, I love it. It is light with incredible battery life. I got the Linux Ubuntu software instead of the Windows Vista. It is about the same navigation as Windows and learning curve is next to nothing. Instead of Internet Explorer, it comes with Firefox which is superior browser. Linux is even better than Apple's OS; I am impressed.

Configuring the mini into my wireless network was a breeze.

I looked at the ACER in a Staples store and did not like it. The DELL screen is much better quality.

Take a look at the DELL OUTLET for these units also. I paid 279 dollars plus shipping and tax for "Previously Ordered" Mini 9. I upgraded the RAM myself to 2 Gig from Crucial for about 32 dollars. I bought a SDHC 8 Gig card to supplement the 4Gig internal storage.

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i have had my dell mini 9 for almost a year now and still LOVE it. I do a lot of writing and it is excellent fr that. I have Windows XP but did not get the office software. I downloaded openoffice.org software and the programs I use (writer and presentation are they are compatible with word and powerpoint thus far).

I purchased additional SD cards which I use for storing my info...

Using a mouse is best for me, and the keyboard takes a little to get used to, but for its purpose, the Dell mini 9 is wonderful...I had an ASUS, which was fine, but I prefer the Dell mini.

Acer 15.6" Intel Celeron 925 2.3 GHz 250 GB Notebook | AS5336-2460 Reviews

Customer Ratings:

my sister bought this laptop 3 years ago, its never been in the shop or has had a problem.

i just wanted this computer to have the credit it deserves, my sister is a heavy user in the youtube, music,netflix, and internet isle. i think there is a lot of laptops that could not withstand the environment this laptop has had to deal with. although the hard drive is at its limit and the ram is between low and average it has all performed like a charm.

my family abuses computers so i am very shocked that this one has held ground.

since amazon hasn't put good description i will clarify that.

RAM-3GB

PROCESSOR-INTEL CELERON 2.3 GHZ

OS-WINDOWS 7 PREMIUM

BATTERY-6-CELL LI-ION

HARD DRIVE-250GB

BACKLIT KEYBOARDNO

ENERGY STAR CERTIFIED

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This laptop is good, if all you are going to do consists of word processing and accessing one webpage at a time. It feels drastically underpowered, as task manager shows that the CPU is maxed out when loading Firefox. Oh well, it will do for a time, then I'll plunk down the extra dough and get a dual core

Best Deals for Acer 15.6" Intel Celeron 925 2.3 GHz 250 GB Notebook | AS5336-2460

Bought the Acer Aspire 5336 after having a Compaq Desktop and a 19" HP Laptop. The Acer exceds my expectations! I love everything about this laptop! In my opinion, it performs better than the previous 2 brand name computers that I had. The 19' laptop was heavy, slow, big & clunky! The 15.6" screen size is perfect & it's light enough to bring to all the wi-fi hot spots. It is very fast and doesn't drop the connection. I will purchase an Acer in the future.

Review of Samsung Series 9 NP900X4D-A06US 15.0-Inch Laptop (Silver)

Customer Ratings:

I've had this a couple weeks now and I'm still as impressed as when I opened it. The 3rd generation i5 Ivy Bridge helps keep the temps low, and the 8 gigs of RAM is a noticeable bump over the usual 4 gigs that seems to be standard in ultrabooks these days. I often write with it on my lap and heat nor weight has ever been an issue.The laptop also comes with an ethernet adapter if you're looking to plug in. Wireless range is good, about what you would expect.

The real sell for me is the solid state drive. Being a 128, you can expect around 100gigs of free space. Windows 8 boots in just over 3 seconds. I'm not a fan of 8 so I went with a dual boot with Ubuntu. Ubuntu boots in a little over 4 seconds, very impressed between the two.

Battery Life is pretty solid. Between writing and just surfing the internet you can expect between 7-8.5 hours. Heavy multimedia you can expect right around 3.5-4.

Screen is gorgeous and respectable at 1600 x 900. As the previous reviewer mentioned it isn't a touch screen but if you're seriously thinking about picking this up you should already be well aware of that.

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I just received the Samsung Series 9 NP900X4D-A06US 15.0-Inch Laptop. It is very impressive. Only problem is that it doesn't have a touch screen. How is it possible for a high-end Windows 8 Ultrabook to not have a touch screen? What happened? I can only guess Samsung wants to unload all of their old Windows 7 laptops by loading them with Win8 and a big smile.

I'll try it for a few days, but I suspect I'll end up returning it.

**********************

Update Apr. 6, 2013

**********************

I have returned the NP900X4D-A06US and replaced it with a Series 5 NP540U3C-A02UB.

Don't get me wrong, if you are ok with not having a touch screen, the NP900X4D-A06US is a very impressive machine. It is beautiful and light and there is a lot of attention to detail. It is very quiet and even at high process utilization it only gets a little warm. The only meaningful downside is that you end up with only about 100 GB of free space out of the box, but you probably thought about that already considering the computer comes with a 128 GB SSD.

Discount Hewlett Packard - HP Pavilion dv7t dv7tqe Quad Edition, 2nd Gen

Customer Ratings:

When I purchased this laptop it was advertised as having bluetooth. That was not the case. The seller definitely did right by me by refunding the cost of the internal bluetooth kit and cable.

I should note that installing a bluetooth kit yourself is not for the faint of heart as you will have to disassemble the laptop to install it. The module goes just underneath the two mouse buttons on the touchpad.

The previous laptop I had was a DV6 quad which just ran too hot and loud. I'm pleased to say that this is quieter.

The fingerprint reader is a nice addition as well, but it doesn't work with digital persona, so you'll have to do with hp simplepass 2011.

The sound out of this laptop is surprisingly good. Beats audio is basically a built in 2.1 speaker system. (there is a sub underneath the laptop, two stereo speakers at the screen's base plus two tweeters at the front corners). I never cared about sound though as I always use headphones with laptops.

There are a total of 4 USB ports, two on each side. on the left side, the two USB ports are 3.0.

Video: There is 1 HDMI and 1 VGA port.

There is a 10/100/1000 ethernet jack.

two RCA audio jacks as well as 1 microphone jack.

the webcam is "hp trueVision HD" which is basically a webcam that records up to 1024x768 resolution.

The built in microphone is a stereo mic.

The screen is bright as heck, and darkens enough. Even at its darkest level, it's too bright at night though.

Battery life is what you expect from a quad core, 2 hours average.

There is a slot for a second SATA hard drive that can be configured to support RAID 1.

Performance according to windows performance index:

The video card has two modes: high performance or long battery life with an auto switching feature whenever an A/C adapter is connected.

What happens when the mode is switched is that the drivers are swapped between ATI's drivers and Intel HD video drivers.

When on ATI's driver set, the video card performance is rated at 7.4, when on Intel's set, video is at 6.2.

I've upgraded the RAM, but if I remember correctly, the 6gb configuration rated at 7.4

The processor shows 7.0.

Hard drive is highly subject as well. Unless you upgrade to a SSD, expect to acheive a 5.9.

It does support hardware virtualization just note that USB3.0 does not virtualize so you won't have access to 2 of the USB ports in a virtual machine.

The card reader faces the front and only accepts cards half way, so an inserted card does not fit flush with the front of the laptop. A huge annoyance in my opinion as I like to leave an SD card inserted for readyboost and can no longer do so.

No real opinion on the optical drive, but it runs quietly at least.

There is no remote control as with previous hp laptops.

The connector for an HP docking station has been removed so you can't use an HP dock on this sucker. (CRAP!!!!)

There is 1 media key and it opens a web browser.

there is an air intake vent in the upper left corner that you've got to keep clear. so it's another example of a laptop that you can't keep on your lap.

I hope I've covered anything, but comment if you have any questions.

[Update] I was actually asked about installing the internal bluetooth module, so here's a bit more on the subject:

The internal bluetooth is a very small chip with a built-in antennae. It's about the size of a house key without the head. The cable itself has tips that at one end, insert into a specially shaped recepticle on the bluetooth chip and a different tip for another recepticle on the motherboard. I had to pull the keyboard and top plate off of the laptop to insert the bluetooth module. It fits in a small groove that sits underneath the mouse buttons on the touchpad. I really like its position as it gives great bluetooth reception, the best I've seen on any laptop. [/Update]

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This item was returned because it was advertised as having bluetooth, however it didn't. In my search for the bluetooth the laptop performed wonderfully. I thought the laptop was great. It was fast, and had tons of room. The speakers sounded really loud and clear. Blu-ray player was incredible. It just didn't have bluetooth and that's one feature I wanted in my laptop. Other than that it was a great laptop.