Showing posts with label best mini notebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best mini notebook. Show all posts
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Discount Sony - VAIO Laptop / Intel® CoreTM i7 Processor / 16.4" Display
Using this laptop for at least 6 hours a day, I can assure you: it is fast. The i7 is so much better than the i3 or i5 chip. The wireless networking is also very reliable, and easy to use with Windows 7. I rarely use the blu-ray but I watched the sample video and it was beautiful, clear, better than expected. The one thing that really bothers me about this laptop is the heat. Using the touchpad burns my fingertips, regularly. Normally I use an external wireless keyboard but when I travel, that is a pain. Overall, this is the best value-for-money laptop I have bought since 1980.
IBM ThinkPad T41 (23737FU) Laptop (1.6 GHz Pentium M Centrino, 512 Reviews
buy 2 gigabytes of ram on the web for about $500 instead of upgrading through IBM, get the IBM a/b/g wireless and you will enjoy the best computing I have ever seen -other computers I use are dell 600m and desktops, this is fast and with best keyboard and great screen
Jeff
* Sturdy: This computer can take more beatings than a Dell.
* Cheap: Because it's an older model, it's cheap, and it's also ...
* Ubiquitous: Although IBM fell from its throne quite a while ago, IBM parts are still EVERYWHERE, and they're dirt cheap for good quality. If you happen to need a new battery, you can get one for $10. If you need more RAM, you can get that for less than $10.
* Old: Although this seems like a disadvantage, it is a great advantage for Linux users who need driver support or doityourselfers who need a lot of online support.
* Advanced: I was surprised that my disc drive was so advanced, and there are a lot of customizable ports for this computer.
Cons:
* Aesthetics: It's not as pretty as a MacBook (is anything?) but its design is either revered or despised, especially the infamous Red Dot. You probably wont look like the coolest guy in the coffee shop.
* Faulty Live USB Support: If you want to install a Linux distro on your IBM ThinkPad, disks are the way to go; it's too difficult to boot through a Live USB.
I bought this ThinkPad from fairpricesale, and the delivery was lightning fast. I got it three days before the time frame Amazon gave me -and before the other package that qualified for Super Saver Shipping.
Another thing that surprised me: The t41 comes with BlueTooth functionality. Woohoo!
It seems that the seller piecemeals some parts together, which is okay with me, since the functionality is the same. However, I mess around with BIOS settings and hard drive partitions often, and I accidentally reset the BIOS to another ThinkPad I bought from fairpricesale, a t40, which led to an 1802 error (the ThinkPad wouldn't accept the miniPCI). I had to remove the miniPCI, a big hassle (my own fault, however, and Tom, the seller, helped me as much as he could), and haven't yet figured out how to run the no-1802 program that will fix the problem.
TL;DR: Buy this laptop if you need something sturdy. If you buy the laptop from fairpricesale, be sure to keep the BIOS settings exactly how you got them, unless you really know what you're doing. Also know that you'll be getting your order quickly and you'll be getting great service.
If anyone has questions about the ThinkPad before they buy, just comment, and I'll try to answer.
Jeff
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
Pros:* Sturdy: This computer can take more beatings than a Dell.
* Cheap: Because it's an older model, it's cheap, and it's also ...
* Ubiquitous: Although IBM fell from its throne quite a while ago, IBM parts are still EVERYWHERE, and they're dirt cheap for good quality. If you happen to need a new battery, you can get one for $10. If you need more RAM, you can get that for less than $10.
* Old: Although this seems like a disadvantage, it is a great advantage for Linux users who need driver support or doityourselfers who need a lot of online support.
* Advanced: I was surprised that my disc drive was so advanced, and there are a lot of customizable ports for this computer.
Cons:
* Aesthetics: It's not as pretty as a MacBook (is anything?) but its design is either revered or despised, especially the infamous Red Dot. You probably wont look like the coolest guy in the coffee shop.
* Faulty Live USB Support: If you want to install a Linux distro on your IBM ThinkPad, disks are the way to go; it's too difficult to boot through a Live USB.
I bought this ThinkPad from fairpricesale, and the delivery was lightning fast. I got it three days before the time frame Amazon gave me -and before the other package that qualified for Super Saver Shipping.
Another thing that surprised me: The t41 comes with BlueTooth functionality. Woohoo!
It seems that the seller piecemeals some parts together, which is okay with me, since the functionality is the same. However, I mess around with BIOS settings and hard drive partitions often, and I accidentally reset the BIOS to another ThinkPad I bought from fairpricesale, a t40, which led to an 1802 error (the ThinkPad wouldn't accept the miniPCI). I had to remove the miniPCI, a big hassle (my own fault, however, and Tom, the seller, helped me as much as he could), and haven't yet figured out how to run the no-1802 program that will fix the problem.
TL;DR: Buy this laptop if you need something sturdy. If you buy the laptop from fairpricesale, be sure to keep the BIOS settings exactly how you got them, unless you really know what you're doing. Also know that you'll be getting your order quickly and you'll be getting great service.
If anyone has questions about the ThinkPad before they buy, just comment, and I'll try to answer.
Best Deals for IBM ThinkPad T41 (23737FU) Laptop (1.6 GHz Pentium M Centrino, 512
I've had my T41 for a couple of years now. I've always been a fan of IBM. I love their laptops. Very strong machine. I've owned probably 6 ThinkPads in my life and they've all ran smoothly. One of the only issues that I had with the one that I had was the screen would fizz out once in a while. That was fixed and runs fine. I don't use it as much as I did before since I had upgraded to the T43 with the biometrics. You can't go wrong with IBM. Powerful machine that does the job!
Monday, November 3, 2014
Cheap HP G6-1B60US Notebook PC (Charcoal Gray)
Overall the HP G6-1b60us is a good balance of features, performance and price only the loud cooling fan keeps it from being great. The display is bright, the keyboard has a good feel and the large off-center touchpad makes a lot of sense for anyone that operates a mouse with their right hand. The mouse buttons below the touchpad are a bit stiff, but for light usage don't seem overly difficult. Performance is about what I expected from a budget laptop model with Windows 7 being ready for use in just under 20 seconds (prior to loading any of your own programs). The computer is very easy to setup out of the box with smart and simple setup menus to guide you through initial startup of the system, and fortunately HP has left a lot of 3rd party trial software off the system saving you time from having to remove software that just slows your system down from the start.
The one standout weakness of this computer is the constant, unwavering system cooling fan noise. If you are someone bothered by the constant "shhhh" noise of a small computer fan, this computer is NOT for you. In a quiet room the fan will be very noticeable particularly if the laptop is on a hard surface such as a table where the sound is reflected back at you. The one setting related to the system fan (the ability to disable the fan from a setting of "Always on" in the system BIOS) seems to have no effect on the speed or time of operation of the fan in this model. The fan is louder than every high-performance laptop computer I have used at work over 10 years, and is perhaps necessary for the AMD processor in this system, but it is the only disappointment in an otherwise solid entry level laptop. A summary of pros and cons as I see them from my use of system are below.
Pros:
* Good ergonomics Bright display, solid keyboard feel, well placed touchpad
* Very good sound The Altec Lansing speakers produce very clear sound and volume for an entry level system and are placed in a smarter location than many laptops that place them on top where they collect dirt and other debris
* Sturdy construction Large display hinges feel solid, the unit doesn't flex easily and materials used in construction appear of good quality
* Good performance The system is reasonably quick for any standard computing needs, and could be further improved with replacement of standard 5400 rpm hard drive
Cons:
* Loud system fan noise Constant, unchanging fan noise can be quite noticeable in quiet rooms or on hard surfaces
* Few hardware configuration options Related to the fan in particular, no ability via BIOS or Windows settings to manage cooling fan operation even by reducing CPU performance
* Poor access to memory/hard drive If you want to add memory or change to a faster hard drive or SSD in the future the access panel is snapped in by plastic tabs that are guaranteed to break off with more than one removal
Other information:
Windows Experience Index ratings for the system running Windows 7 Premium 64-bit as configured out of the box are: Processor: 5.4, Memory: 5.9, Graphics: 4.6, Gaming graphics: 6.2, Primary hard disk: 5.9
In conclusion I would recommend this laptop if the price is under $500, but only for someone not annoyed by the kind of steady noise a computer fan can produce.
I did research some laptops before choosing this one so there are some good points about this laptop and they are as follows:
Price: Not bad, but not great, @ USD $449.99 it was sweet enough for me to say yes to, however I quickly turned sour when I saw that within 72hrs of my purchasing the item the price had dipped to $379.99 USD. I wanted to cry! That's what I would have called a great price. This however only lasted for approximately 48 hrs before skyrocketing up to $479.99 (Had even considered buying another one @ $379.99, but these hopes were quickly dashed, felt as if I was on the Fed with prices moving up and down so sudden!y)
With regards to overall build etc a previous reviewer "MTM" had a really good take on it so I'll just copy portions of his/ her review and add my own spin.
Pros:
* Good ergonomics Bright display, solid keyboard feel, well placed touchpad (I would like to emphasize the touchpad, its like a fine metal grating, so the traction is out of this world!! (No more slipping and sliding)
* Very good sound The Altec Lansing speakers produce very clear sound and volume for an entry level system and are placed in a smarter location than many laptops that place them on top where they collect dirt and other debris (Whilst this may be true in a "quiet environment" the speakers otherwise perform in a noisy environment,headphones will be required, but I will put a hold on blaming HP for this as I believe its a trade off due to the fact that the speakers are SRS. So for some people the sound may be a CON)
* Sturdy construction Large display hinges feel solid, the unit doesn't flex easily and materials used in construction appear of good quality (I'll definitely agree to this!!. Like a Rock! Ok well maybe I exaggerate but it does not flex like those of another very popular Manufacturer's, when picked up by an edge.)
* Good performance The system is reasonably quick for any standard computing needs, and could be further improved with replacement of standard 5400 rpm hard drive. (Emphasis on the word "reasonably" whilst surfing via firefox, admittedly I was seriously multi-tabbing and had an excel sheet open Total Ram usage was noted as having reached 3.53GB of a total 4GB, with CPU usage frequently reaching 100%....should I be frightened?? I believe the problem is the processor as it has a 1.9ghz base with a very dismal 1 MB level 2 cache, Phoeey!!!).
Cons:
* Loud system fan noise Constant, unchanging fan noise can be quite noticeable in quiet rooms or on hard surfaces (Only a problem if you suffer from some sort of neurosis, or are trying to sleep with it on in the room! Didn't mind it most times.)
* Few hardware configuration options Related to the fan in particular, no ability via BIOS or Windows settings to manage cooling fan operation even by reducing CPU performance (Not really that big of a deal except in the 2 instances noted above)
* Poor access to memory/hard drive If you want to add memory or change to a faster hard drive or SSD in the future the access panel is snapped in by plastic tabs that are guaranteed to break off with more than one removal (Not sure haven't checked)
ADDITIONALLY:
PROS
Try connecting the lappy to a big screen via the HDMI port and maybe just maybe you may forget that the machine came with a defective battery. AMD Radeon(tm) HD 6480G Discrete-Class Graphics with up to "2037MB total graphics memory". They didn't lie at all HDMI all the way, plug and play, don't buy another laptop without it!!!!!!!!!!
-The Cam and Mic are fairly ok, no complaints!
CONS
*The laptops display has limited viewing angles as the it was built with the intention of being a power saver, this is not really a biggy unless more than on person is trying to watch a movie at the same time.
*The laptop display itself may be suspect as I've noted lots of horizontal lines flickering across it from time to time (but truth be told I was doing a windows update of the video drivers at the time so may be the reason for the isplay being antsy) and I cringe every single time....who knows maybe apart from a defective battery I got a defective display as well? Raises eyebrow.
*With regards to the DVD-RW drive it works but not so well if you're reading a disc with lots of pics or one that's been burn't for e.g. say more than 2 yrs ago the ROM starts vibrating and spinning at incredibly fast speeds. you can literally hear the disk coming into contact with the walls of the compartment an of course the explorer window freezes.
You may ask why based on the above didn't I send back the laptop.
Response I live in the Caribbean and it cost an additional $41 USD to ship it to my country. So thinking about the $41 USD to return it to the states and the other $41 USD to get another laptop with possibly of a defective everything???
Better the devil you know than the one you do not!
I contacted HP customer support and they shipped me a new battery free of charge. Paid $9 USD to ship it out of the US. I was however able to return ship the defective battery to HP free of charge via Fedex! (Good going HP at least you got that right!!)
My opinion this would be a steal of a deal at under $400 USD....saw Anthony D paid $399.99. Lucky guy!
Whats missing:
-Bluetooth
A better processor probably one with a 3mb cache @ 2.3 ghz??
With the above this laptop could easily have sold for $480 or so.
The one standout weakness of this computer is the constant, unwavering system cooling fan noise. If you are someone bothered by the constant "shhhh" noise of a small computer fan, this computer is NOT for you. In a quiet room the fan will be very noticeable particularly if the laptop is on a hard surface such as a table where the sound is reflected back at you. The one setting related to the system fan (the ability to disable the fan from a setting of "Always on" in the system BIOS) seems to have no effect on the speed or time of operation of the fan in this model. The fan is louder than every high-performance laptop computer I have used at work over 10 years, and is perhaps necessary for the AMD processor in this system, but it is the only disappointment in an otherwise solid entry level laptop. A summary of pros and cons as I see them from my use of system are below.
Pros:
* Good ergonomics Bright display, solid keyboard feel, well placed touchpad
* Very good sound The Altec Lansing speakers produce very clear sound and volume for an entry level system and are placed in a smarter location than many laptops that place them on top where they collect dirt and other debris
* Sturdy construction Large display hinges feel solid, the unit doesn't flex easily and materials used in construction appear of good quality
* Good performance The system is reasonably quick for any standard computing needs, and could be further improved with replacement of standard 5400 rpm hard drive
Cons:
* Loud system fan noise Constant, unchanging fan noise can be quite noticeable in quiet rooms or on hard surfaces
* Few hardware configuration options Related to the fan in particular, no ability via BIOS or Windows settings to manage cooling fan operation even by reducing CPU performance
* Poor access to memory/hard drive If you want to add memory or change to a faster hard drive or SSD in the future the access panel is snapped in by plastic tabs that are guaranteed to break off with more than one removal
Other information:
Windows Experience Index ratings for the system running Windows 7 Premium 64-bit as configured out of the box are: Processor: 5.4, Memory: 5.9, Graphics: 4.6, Gaming graphics: 6.2, Primary hard disk: 5.9
In conclusion I would recommend this laptop if the price is under $500, but only for someone not annoyed by the kind of steady noise a computer fan can produce.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I believe this is a terrific value for someone who wants a laptop to do more than just web browsing, email,and word processing. It's fast enough and has adequate memory to work with video and music. We've been impressed with the keyboard, screen resolution, weight and "feel". The processor does its job effectively without any lag. For anyone who needs a good laptop and does not want to spend a lot of money this one is a great choice!Best Deals for HP G6-1B60US Notebook PC (Charcoal Gray)
Awesome. Silent and smooth. Runs everything pretty fast. Perfect for casual gamming. Run most of the new games in medium settings. It's an excellent deal. You won't get anything better for this price.Honest reviews on HP G6-1B60US Notebook PC (Charcoal Gray)
Got this laptop as my backup for when I DJ parties. My wife also uses it when I don't need it. Works & looks great. Light weight. Screen is bright. Just what I need for my basic needs. I couldnt resist the price $400 then signed up for their credit card and got $50 off of that. $350 for this laptop! Nice!Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP G6-1B60US Notebook PC (Charcoal Gray)
My favourite definition of quality is "fitness for use", more importantly especially when buying a laptop, headache free use. Whilst this laptop may be many things: solid build, nice design, HP support assistant software two thumbs up and all. This laptop should also come with a note saying headache attached as the battery stated "77% available, plugged in not charging" within 48 hours of its receipt thereby turning my smile into a frown :(.I did research some laptops before choosing this one so there are some good points about this laptop and they are as follows:
Price: Not bad, but not great, @ USD $449.99 it was sweet enough for me to say yes to, however I quickly turned sour when I saw that within 72hrs of my purchasing the item the price had dipped to $379.99 USD. I wanted to cry! That's what I would have called a great price. This however only lasted for approximately 48 hrs before skyrocketing up to $479.99 (Had even considered buying another one @ $379.99, but these hopes were quickly dashed, felt as if I was on the Fed with prices moving up and down so sudden!y)
With regards to overall build etc a previous reviewer "MTM" had a really good take on it so I'll just copy portions of his/ her review and add my own spin.
Pros:
* Good ergonomics Bright display, solid keyboard feel, well placed touchpad (I would like to emphasize the touchpad, its like a fine metal grating, so the traction is out of this world!! (No more slipping and sliding)
* Very good sound The Altec Lansing speakers produce very clear sound and volume for an entry level system and are placed in a smarter location than many laptops that place them on top where they collect dirt and other debris (Whilst this may be true in a "quiet environment" the speakers otherwise perform in a noisy environment,headphones will be required, but I will put a hold on blaming HP for this as I believe its a trade off due to the fact that the speakers are SRS. So for some people the sound may be a CON)
* Sturdy construction Large display hinges feel solid, the unit doesn't flex easily and materials used in construction appear of good quality (I'll definitely agree to this!!. Like a Rock! Ok well maybe I exaggerate but it does not flex like those of another very popular Manufacturer's, when picked up by an edge.)
* Good performance The system is reasonably quick for any standard computing needs, and could be further improved with replacement of standard 5400 rpm hard drive. (Emphasis on the word "reasonably" whilst surfing via firefox, admittedly I was seriously multi-tabbing and had an excel sheet open Total Ram usage was noted as having reached 3.53GB of a total 4GB, with CPU usage frequently reaching 100%....should I be frightened?? I believe the problem is the processor as it has a 1.9ghz base with a very dismal 1 MB level 2 cache, Phoeey!!!).
Cons:
* Loud system fan noise Constant, unchanging fan noise can be quite noticeable in quiet rooms or on hard surfaces (Only a problem if you suffer from some sort of neurosis, or are trying to sleep with it on in the room! Didn't mind it most times.)
* Few hardware configuration options Related to the fan in particular, no ability via BIOS or Windows settings to manage cooling fan operation even by reducing CPU performance (Not really that big of a deal except in the 2 instances noted above)
* Poor access to memory/hard drive If you want to add memory or change to a faster hard drive or SSD in the future the access panel is snapped in by plastic tabs that are guaranteed to break off with more than one removal (Not sure haven't checked)
ADDITIONALLY:
PROS
Try connecting the lappy to a big screen via the HDMI port and maybe just maybe you may forget that the machine came with a defective battery. AMD Radeon(tm) HD 6480G Discrete-Class Graphics with up to "2037MB total graphics memory". They didn't lie at all HDMI all the way, plug and play, don't buy another laptop without it!!!!!!!!!!
-The Cam and Mic are fairly ok, no complaints!
CONS
*The laptops display has limited viewing angles as the it was built with the intention of being a power saver, this is not really a biggy unless more than on person is trying to watch a movie at the same time.
*The laptop display itself may be suspect as I've noted lots of horizontal lines flickering across it from time to time (but truth be told I was doing a windows update of the video drivers at the time so may be the reason for the isplay being antsy) and I cringe every single time....who knows maybe apart from a defective battery I got a defective display as well? Raises eyebrow.
*With regards to the DVD-RW drive it works but not so well if you're reading a disc with lots of pics or one that's been burn't for e.g. say more than 2 yrs ago the ROM starts vibrating and spinning at incredibly fast speeds. you can literally hear the disk coming into contact with the walls of the compartment an of course the explorer window freezes.
You may ask why based on the above didn't I send back the laptop.
Response I live in the Caribbean and it cost an additional $41 USD to ship it to my country. So thinking about the $41 USD to return it to the states and the other $41 USD to get another laptop with possibly of a defective everything???
Better the devil you know than the one you do not!
I contacted HP customer support and they shipped me a new battery free of charge. Paid $9 USD to ship it out of the US. I was however able to return ship the defective battery to HP free of charge via Fedex! (Good going HP at least you got that right!!)
My opinion this would be a steal of a deal at under $400 USD....saw Anthony D paid $399.99. Lucky guy!
Whats missing:
-Bluetooth
A better processor probably one with a 3mb cache @ 2.3 ghz??
With the above this laptop could easily have sold for $480 or so.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Buy ASUS A53E-XA2 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Black)
Sorry for the length, but I feel buyers should know... I own two Dell desktops, a Toshiba laptop, and an Asus gaming laptop. I feel that I am very adequate with technical knowledge and I handle most of my support issues personally (i.e. hardware upgrades, repairs, as well as software issues). I researched desktops and laptops extensivelly before I made any purchases. I recently had to purchase a laptop for a graduation gift for my son. I wanted to get him a good laptop for college, which could handle all his classwork and also provide some entertainment. I found numerous reviews on laptops, and two of the most relaible sources listed Asus and Toshiba as tops in reliability. This does not suprise me. I love my Asus gaming laptop. My Toshiba laptop had issues when I tried to use the recovery disk to take it back to its factory state. Toshiba's customer service was useless and I really feel that they were running a scam to get me to service the laptop through them. I was not happy with them, thankfully I could fix it myself (Clean install of operating system because their recovery disc, the one that came with it, and the two I had to purchase directly from them, were corrupt and would not install). This brings me back to Asus. Who is Asus, but the manufacturer of top hardware for other companies. They are the manufacturers of motherboards and such for companies like Dell and HP. When you buy a Dell or HP, you are most likely purchasing an Asus product. Therefore, why not just buy the Asus instead. Take a good look at their warranty... not bad, is it? I cannot comment on their custumer service, because I have never had to contact them. From other sources I hear that they have one of the best support services in the US. Moving along, this takes me to this Asus model. I struggled with my decision to purchase this model due to the ratings. I always take others personal experiences into consideration. However, in this case I decided to follow my own instincts and disregard what others said. After searching high and low, this was a great price for a laptop with these specs, and from a manufacturer who I have solid faith in. I bought it. I took the time to set it up properly... which if you have ever done this, it is not a plug and play process. It is a grueling 3-4 hours of creating recovery discs (you can just use the partition, but why take the chance), updating hardware (drivers and such) and fully updating windows. You MUST fully uninstall the security software (virus, firewall, etc...) that comes with the laptop if you decide to go with another security software company. DO NOT JUST PUT YOUR OWN SECURITY SOFTWARE ON WITHOUT UNINSTALLING THE FACTORY STATE SOFTWARE! (This could be the cause of a lot of issues) To fully uninstall, I suggest you go to that company's support website and follow their directions for uninstallation, including using their downloadable tool if one is provided. When you have two different security software products installed on the same computer, you could create a wicked war that will cause operating system errors, failures, and unfortunately crashes. Hmmmm, sound familiar? While this process is time consuming, it should be followed no matter which laptop you purchase! After following all of this, I found this laptop to be excellent. No errors, no failures, and definitly no crashes. Not to disregard other buyer's issues and reviews, no company is perfect and lemons do make it to the market. It is up to you to decide, but in my opinion, I have purchased a wonderful laptop, with great specs, for an amazing price. I am so happy I followed my instincts. Congratulations Asus, you have once again raised the bar!
Now let's get a few things straight right off the bat. It has no USB 3.0. It also has no WiMAX or WIDI capabilities.
That is the end of my cons list.
Now for the pros. For $529.00, you get:
-The latest Intel i5 processor with Sandy Bridge, running at 2.3ghz with turbo boost up to 2.9ghz. And it works fabulously.
-A 640gb hard drive
-A comfortable chiclet keyboard complete with a numpad.
-One of the best touchpads I've used on any laptop, ever.
-A 1-year standard warranty AND a 1-year accidental warranty. I love ASUS.
-A damn sexy computer.
Now I don't know what the negative reviewers on this site are talking about. I have not once had "programs open at random" or anything of that nature. I have never once had a problem turning on or shutting down the computer, or lag of any sort. Then again, I did take the time to remove any programs I did not want when I received it, I created restore disks, and I configured my anti-virus properly. PCs with Windows these days are incredibly dumbed-down, user-friendly machines. Now I understand that not all people are technologically savvy. I understand that even with the user-friendliness of Windows 7 things can be extremely confusing, especially getting things setup for the first time. And that is fine. However, I think it is just plain silly and extremely misleading to rate a product 1/5 stars when the only thing that should be rated 1/5 is your own technological know-how. I'm sorry, I just felt like that needed to be said. Now back to the actual review.
This computer runs quickly, has a decent display, the hdmi works flawlessly, the Smart-Logon facial recognition works incredibly (you do have to set it up and configure it correctly, obviously), it runs as fast as you would think the i5 should, it looks SEXY AS HELL, it feels like it's built like a tank, it has never once felt more than SLIGHTLY warm no matter what I'm putting it through, it connects to the internet 2 minutes after unboxing and is an overall GREAT DEAL.
If you are reading this review and considering this laptop, but are afraid to purchase it based on the negative reviews, I understand your concern. But I'm here to tell you that I had the same concern, purchased it anyway, and am very glad that I did. If you can do without USB 3.0 and WIDI/WiMAX capabilities, this computer is perfect for you. In my opinion, it is just as durably built, just as fast, just as nice as most $700.00 laptops I've seen recently. Don't let the bad reviews steer you away. Read the good ones. Then click the "Add to Cart" button and be on your merry way.
I travel a lot (usually get about 6hrs, which is a lot for a screen this big) and the battery life is great. The option to have the computer running on high performance or battery saving, I think that is great depending on what you're doing. The screen size is great. I wasn't to comfortable with the keyboard at first, but after a week I was.
The only thing I can truly complain about with this computer is the camera. The video quality is medium, which is not what I expected of ASUS. Not a problem however if you don't use it too much. If it is a problem you can buy a good one on the internet from $40. Overall I am very happy with this computer, other than the camera I have no problems. I will update if there is anything wrong with it.
I would point out that the trackpad is EXTREMELY sensitive. I've just hovered my finger over it while I was reading and the next thing I know I've unintentionally clicked something. It also has sophisticated features like you can zoom in or out of a page or turn on the scroll function, this has also unintentionally happened several times. This is to be expected from a trackpad with so many capabilities. I don't really consider this a problem, just an annoyance.
I will also say that it is sometimes a little slower than I expect when opening programs. I am a photographer and often have several different things open at the same time between editing programs and various websites I use. Sometimes there is a lag when I open a program for the first time, or when a program or site is open but unused for awhile and I go back to it. But this only happens the one time, and not even all the time, and after that it's fine. I've also noticed this becomes a bigger problem and my editing programs start lagging if I don't fully shut down the computer for several days. Again, this is something I can live with.
I have not removed any of the other pre-installed software because far as I can tell they have not caused any problems, but others who are more, um, persnickety let's say, might want them gone. Shouldn't be a big deal.
Overall I would definitely recommend this laptop. And already have. Just have realistic expectations, you're not going to get a $1000 worth of performance from a $500 computer. But it is a solid computer and can handle a lot.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
This is a great deal. I spent a long time researching laptops in the 500-800 dollar price range to figure out what the best fit for me would be. After comparing and researching for weeks, I randomly found this listing for this laptop one night, and purchased it 10 minutes later. Even though this laptop had only 10 reviews and less than 3 stars, my gut told me to go with it. And I'm glad I did.Now let's get a few things straight right off the bat. It has no USB 3.0. It also has no WiMAX or WIDI capabilities.
That is the end of my cons list.
Now for the pros. For $529.00, you get:
-The latest Intel i5 processor with Sandy Bridge, running at 2.3ghz with turbo boost up to 2.9ghz. And it works fabulously.
-A 640gb hard drive
-A comfortable chiclet keyboard complete with a numpad.
-One of the best touchpads I've used on any laptop, ever.
-A 1-year standard warranty AND a 1-year accidental warranty. I love ASUS.
-A damn sexy computer.
Now I don't know what the negative reviewers on this site are talking about. I have not once had "programs open at random" or anything of that nature. I have never once had a problem turning on or shutting down the computer, or lag of any sort. Then again, I did take the time to remove any programs I did not want when I received it, I created restore disks, and I configured my anti-virus properly. PCs with Windows these days are incredibly dumbed-down, user-friendly machines. Now I understand that not all people are technologically savvy. I understand that even with the user-friendliness of Windows 7 things can be extremely confusing, especially getting things setup for the first time. And that is fine. However, I think it is just plain silly and extremely misleading to rate a product 1/5 stars when the only thing that should be rated 1/5 is your own technological know-how. I'm sorry, I just felt like that needed to be said. Now back to the actual review.
This computer runs quickly, has a decent display, the hdmi works flawlessly, the Smart-Logon facial recognition works incredibly (you do have to set it up and configure it correctly, obviously), it runs as fast as you would think the i5 should, it looks SEXY AS HELL, it feels like it's built like a tank, it has never once felt more than SLIGHTLY warm no matter what I'm putting it through, it connects to the internet 2 minutes after unboxing and is an overall GREAT DEAL.
If you are reading this review and considering this laptop, but are afraid to purchase it based on the negative reviews, I understand your concern. But I'm here to tell you that I had the same concern, purchased it anyway, and am very glad that I did. If you can do without USB 3.0 and WIDI/WiMAX capabilities, this computer is perfect for you. In my opinion, it is just as durably built, just as fast, just as nice as most $700.00 laptops I've seen recently. Don't let the bad reviews steer you away. Read the good ones. Then click the "Add to Cart" button and be on your merry way.
Best Deals for ASUS A53E-XA2 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Black)
I don't know why there are so many bad reviews about this computer.I recently bought this computer and I am very happy with this product. ASUS used to make motherboards, they know what they're doing!! I have owned SONY VIAO, Toshiba, HP, and others and I am well acquainted with good computers and bad computers. I am very happy with this computer. The i5 processor has been able to handle my every need, it also has a turbo processor which has helped immensely.I travel a lot (usually get about 6hrs, which is a lot for a screen this big) and the battery life is great. The option to have the computer running on high performance or battery saving, I think that is great depending on what you're doing. The screen size is great. I wasn't to comfortable with the keyboard at first, but after a week I was.
The only thing I can truly complain about with this computer is the camera. The video quality is medium, which is not what I expected of ASUS. Not a problem however if you don't use it too much. If it is a problem you can buy a good one on the internet from $40. Overall I am very happy with this computer, other than the camera I have no problems. I will update if there is anything wrong with it.
Honest reviews on ASUS A53E-XA2 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Black)
I have read others issues with this computer and have seen none of such with my machine. The only thing bothersome to me is that the price of computers drop so much, a month ago I paid $100 more. Cannot blame anyone for that though, its just how it is. The computer runs great and I do not have any sort of errors or freezing problems to note about. I am not doubting the other users having problems or their capabilities of being able to use the computers, however I am wondering if some (the ones complaining about software issues) might be related to malware or adware that was inadvertantly installed due to navigating or downloading certain things from the web. I do not use this laptop for heavy computing or tasks. I bought it for convenience of having a computer to tote around with me. Its perfect for that and I would not hesitate to buy it again. Especially since it dropped $100 in a month. grr!Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for ASUS A53E-XA2 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Black)
After much research I chose the ASUS A53E-XA2 laptop because it had all of the features I wanted at a reasonable price. There were several bad reviews from people who apparently had some issues with this model, but I have had none of the problems others have described and am very happy with my purchase. However I also created my own back-up disks and removed the inferior pre-installed antivirus software and installed a better one. Twice actually because I later changed my mind and decided on a different antivirus. Never had a problem.I would point out that the trackpad is EXTREMELY sensitive. I've just hovered my finger over it while I was reading and the next thing I know I've unintentionally clicked something. It also has sophisticated features like you can zoom in or out of a page or turn on the scroll function, this has also unintentionally happened several times. This is to be expected from a trackpad with so many capabilities. I don't really consider this a problem, just an annoyance.
I will also say that it is sometimes a little slower than I expect when opening programs. I am a photographer and often have several different things open at the same time between editing programs and various websites I use. Sometimes there is a lag when I open a program for the first time, or when a program or site is open but unused for awhile and I go back to it. But this only happens the one time, and not even all the time, and after that it's fine. I've also noticed this becomes a bigger problem and my editing programs start lagging if I don't fully shut down the computer for several days. Again, this is something I can live with.
I have not removed any of the other pre-installed software because far as I can tell they have not caused any problems, but others who are more, um, persnickety let's say, might want them gone. Shouldn't be a big deal.
Overall I would definitely recommend this laptop. And already have. Just have realistic expectations, you're not going to get a $1000 worth of performance from a $500 computer. But it is a solid computer and can handle a lot.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Discount ASUS U46SM-DS51 14.1-Inch Laptop (Silver)
I bought this great looking, good specifications computer this past March. Since then the screen has split from its housing and ASUS customer service refused to fix it under warranty. The problem is that the screen is too skinny to support the force required to open and close the lid. DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE. This is clearly bad manufacturing and a company who does not stand behind their 2 year warranty and 1 year accidental damage policy. A defect should always be covered under the first year with no question about having to pay for a repair. I really like the machine but the screen not opening and closing properly is probably the worst defect you could possibly have. Thanks for nothing ASUS.
UPDATE 10/26/12. I finally got a manager to pay for the shipping back to the warehouse. They fixed it within a week which was not too bad. The only downfall is that this problem is a defect and will probably happen again. So unless you want to deal with this problem, DO NOT BUY THIS MODEL. The customer service experience was horrible and took five months to complete just to get a shipping label for this issue. ASUS does not win my business ever again.
UPDATE 09/16/13. The CD-ROM is having issues now with the registry making it inoperable for now. I tried to go back and restore to an earlier time and that's not working...and obviously the drivers disk it came with it is now useless. Hopefully I can find the driver online and re-install it. Or call ASUS, but I don't know about that. lol
On the plus side it still works with the battery removed if the AC adapter is plugged in.
So up until this last problem occurred, I was quite happy with this laptop, especially since I am a gamer and kept it under constant stress. I have never till now had a laptop/computer I could game on and this handles most of the games I would want to play quite well. Although some of the newer more graphically/CPU intensive games may not run on it I am still pleased as it can do better than anything I had before. The battery life was also quite long when it existed as I could probably get about 5 hours on balanced/quiet office settings with the standard integrated GPU running instead of the NVIDIA GPU that I have been keeping running almost exclusively due to certain situations.
I plan on sending the laptop to the ASUS service center soon and hope that the problems will be fixed. Although judging by the experiences of my peers, this may be quite the ordeal I am about to go through. I will update this review after I either get it back or have some other horrible/great(one can dream) experience with their service staff.
UPDATE 10/26/12. I finally got a manager to pay for the shipping back to the warehouse. They fixed it within a week which was not too bad. The only downfall is that this problem is a defect and will probably happen again. So unless you want to deal with this problem, DO NOT BUY THIS MODEL. The customer service experience was horrible and took five months to complete just to get a shipping label for this issue. ASUS does not win my business ever again.
UPDATE 09/16/13. The CD-ROM is having issues now with the registry making it inoperable for now. I tried to go back and restore to an earlier time and that's not working...and obviously the drivers disk it came with it is now useless. Hopefully I can find the driver online and re-install it. Or call ASUS, but I don't know about that. lol
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This laptop is absolutely terrible. Looking at it, it was everything I wanted in a laptop, long battery life and great specs and very lightweight. Unfortunately, it broke only a couple months after I started using it. Windows just stopped working for no reason and I had done nothing that should've broken it. The default hard drive that comes with the laptop, based on the experiences of others, seems to have some problems. Not only that, this laptop has TERRIBLE overheating issues. I have sat this laptop on a cooling fan just playing minecraft and it STILL overheats even with the cooling fan on it. Without the cooling fan it will overheat just doing absolutely minimal tasks like watching videos on the internet. The specs are irrelevant because this laptop cannot handle doing anything that would utilize them. After the hard drive went, I switched to a new one and put Linux Mint on it and it worked fine for about a year, but now the charger has just stopped working. I am fed up. Please do not waste your money on this piece of trash, I feel like I have been robbed of $800. By far the worst purchase I have ever made.Best Deals for ASUS U46SM-DS51 14.1-Inch Laptop (Silver)
This Laptop was the Laptop of my dreams, combining all the requirements I wanted fulfilled by my laptop in a fairly good price. In the last year, despite certain failings of the laptop I loved it and until a few days ago I would have still given it 3-4 stars. Up until then, the problems I had with it were quite minor (In my opinion) as the headphone jack was loose, the USB 3.0 port didn't always work and the laptop occasionally failed to resume after hibernation. As of a few weeks ago, my USB 3.0 port has failed to work entirely. This said, I do not really have anything that can use it to its full potential and so do not really care, I only really use 1 USB port anyways, for my wireless mouse. The headphone jack being loose is probably my fault for being a tad rough whenever I unplugged my headphones so the problem is probably not the fault of the manufacturer. The hibernation failure, meanwhile, came out of nowhere and I'm still not sure how to fix it, although information on how to do so may be online. However, the problem I had that absolutely killed this laptop for me was how the battery, died two days ago before I went on a long trip. One day it was working fine and I could easily take it around with charge lasting 2-3 hours on high performance and the next it would die on being unplugged from its AC life support system. It went from being a healthy young adult to a frail senior on his/her deathbed within 12 hours. According to the powercfg energy report the battery was last fully charged to about 84% of its capacity so I am not sure what the problem is, whether it is the battery, the AC adapter or some other internal issue.On the plus side it still works with the battery removed if the AC adapter is plugged in.
So up until this last problem occurred, I was quite happy with this laptop, especially since I am a gamer and kept it under constant stress. I have never till now had a laptop/computer I could game on and this handles most of the games I would want to play quite well. Although some of the newer more graphically/CPU intensive games may not run on it I am still pleased as it can do better than anything I had before. The battery life was also quite long when it existed as I could probably get about 5 hours on balanced/quiet office settings with the standard integrated GPU running instead of the NVIDIA GPU that I have been keeping running almost exclusively due to certain situations.
I plan on sending the laptop to the ASUS service center soon and hope that the problems will be fixed. Although judging by the experiences of my peers, this may be quite the ordeal I am about to go through. I will update this review after I either get it back or have some other horrible/great(one can dream) experience with their service staff.
Honest reviews on ASUS U46SM-DS51 14.1-Inch Laptop (Silver)
I bought this product five months ago in May from this seller, and it worked beautiful from then until yesterday when my hard drive decided to go right after a Windows update. It was working perfectly fine that morning before the update, but after, it froze and wouldn't perform basic tasks. I've already contacted Asus about it and I'm trying to back up my files (to no avail, since the system is slow as molasses), but I feel like with such a new computer, I shouldn't be having such a problem. My friend bought the same exact computer, several months before me, and it's still working fine for her. I don't understand what the issue is. Did I just get a bad computer?
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Reviews of ASUS K53U-DH21 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Mocha)
[[ASIN:B005PAJVVO ASUS K53U-DH21 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Mocha)]
I was especially disappointed when I plugged in my broadband modem and the RealTek Global Controller wouldn't recognize the ISP IP address. ASUS told me it was Comcast's fault because the laptop diagnostic stated it was a broadband issue... a quick ipconfig command in DOS revealed that the laptop was reading the IP addresses correctly... 3 more calls to ASUS after a DNS flush and reset, winsock reset and system recovery that took 8 hours total (the first call we reloaded the driver for the adapter). 2 of the four reps at ASUS spoke clear english, and 2 had very broken accents that just prolonged the agony. I finally had to return the product when ASUS concluded that the unit was faulty. It seemed to be OK at first, but without connectivity... and the service hassle... what was the point? I would have liked to see how the unit performed actually... unfortunately the bad experience will probably steer me away from ASUS. The keys and unit were quiet enough, the right and left click buttons were a bit noisy, but that is no big deal to me. Startup into Windows 7 was very quick and shutdown even quicker but I hadn't loaded my recording studio onto the machine yet either. The touch pad was REALLY sensitive... which can be a plus or minus depending on what you are used to.MY WIFE CHRISTINE IS VERY PLEASED WITH HER BIRTHDAY GIFT AND USES IT REGULARLY TO PLAY HER GAMES ETC.. VERY GOOD CHOICE....
I was especially disappointed when I plugged in my broadband modem and the RealTek Global Controller wouldn't recognize the ISP IP address. ASUS told me it was Comcast's fault because the laptop diagnostic stated it was a broadband issue... a quick ipconfig command in DOS revealed that the laptop was reading the IP addresses correctly... 3 more calls to ASUS after a DNS flush and reset, winsock reset and system recovery that took 8 hours total (the first call we reloaded the driver for the adapter). 2 of the four reps at ASUS spoke clear english, and 2 had very broken accents that just prolonged the agony. I finally had to return the product when ASUS concluded that the unit was faulty. It seemed to be OK at first, but without connectivity... and the service hassle... what was the point? I would have liked to see how the unit performed actually... unfortunately the bad experience will probably steer me away from ASUS. The keys and unit were quiet enough, the right and left click buttons were a bit noisy, but that is no big deal to me. Startup into Windows 7 was very quick and shutdown even quicker but I hadn't loaded my recording studio onto the machine yet either. The touch pad was REALLY sensitive... which can be a plus or minus depending on what you are used to.MY WIFE CHRISTINE IS VERY PLEASED WITH HER BIRTHDAY GIFT AND USES IT REGULARLY TO PLAY HER GAMES ETC.. VERY GOOD CHOICE....
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Reviews of Toshiba Satellite C655S5542 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
I've never owned a laptop, so I had my husband do a little research and he saw this as the perfect fit for me. He was right! One of my favorite features, because I am a teacher, and we submit grades online, is the number keypad. It's so much easier to use than the numbers at the top of the keyboard. The screen is a great size and the keyboard is easy to manipulate. I am very pleased with my first laptop.
1. No webcam
2. annoying toshiba messages pop up all the time
3.It really wants you to have a default browser and assumes if you open up another you want to switch internet browsers.
4. Toshiba seems to have partnered with some computer security company you have to pay for cause it lies and says your computers at risk when the FREE security says everything is fine.
5. without opening more than one browser you can't open more than one window at a time.
6. short battery life
Those were really my only problems with the computer after owning it nearly two years already. However the number of usb ports are adequate,the ram space is nice, it never freezes and has a nice display and sound. Good job Toshiba!
The touch pad is hard to find by touch, it just blends in to the casing, so I placed a raised sticker just to the right and this solved the issue for me.
I like that the mouse left/right are proper buttons, that click properly. Many laptops I looked at were not, they were just touch pads, and I found it hard to get them to work correctly.
My previous laptops have been HP, and the wireless configuration for my HP printer was easier on this Toshiba than on any of my HP laptops ... go figure :-)
I like the computer, but the microphone issue lowers my overall satisfaction with it.
And a heads up, the SD Memory Card slot is UNDER the front of the laptop, not easy to find.
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The laptop has been great for back and forth to class. I use it mainly for school. It's easy to write papers and do homework on. It also keeps up great with the web surfing I do on it.Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite C655S5542 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
I want to end off on a positive note so the problems with it are.1. No webcam
2. annoying toshiba messages pop up all the time
3.It really wants you to have a default browser and assumes if you open up another you want to switch internet browsers.
4. Toshiba seems to have partnered with some computer security company you have to pay for cause it lies and says your computers at risk when the FREE security says everything is fine.
5. without opening more than one browser you can't open more than one window at a time.
6. short battery life
Those were really my only problems with the computer after owning it nearly two years already. However the number of usb ports are adequate,the ram space is nice, it never freezes and has a nice display and sound. Good job Toshiba!
Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite C655S5542 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
My main concern is that the microphone is useless. I have it set on the highest volume and still my Skype calls are poor, recipients can hardly hear me. I have checked online for possible resolutions but to no avail, many consumers seem to have issues also. I guess I'll need to buy a microphone.The touch pad is hard to find by touch, it just blends in to the casing, so I placed a raised sticker just to the right and this solved the issue for me.
I like that the mouse left/right are proper buttons, that click properly. Many laptops I looked at were not, they were just touch pads, and I found it hard to get them to work correctly.
My previous laptops have been HP, and the wireless configuration for my HP printer was easier on this Toshiba than on any of my HP laptops ... go figure :-)
I like the computer, but the microphone issue lowers my overall satisfaction with it.
And a heads up, the SD Memory Card slot is UNDER the front of the laptop, not easy to find.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Toshiba Satellite C655S5542 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Do not buy Toshiba. Screen just all of a sudden cracked. Bought from Best Buy and they refused to even look at it because they said Toshiba was the only company that would not accept them sending it. Toshiba wanted to deal directly with the customer. Toshiba won't replace or fix even though it was within warranty. Spent a LOT of time on the phone trying to get them to fix my computer and they said the warranty does not cover a cracked screen no matter what. Horrible computer, even worse customer service.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Review of IBM ThinkPad R60 Notebook/Laptop Windows 7 Core 2 Duo 2GHz 3GB 160GB
I have found this IBM ThinkPad R60 to be exactly what I expected for the price!
Had a problem with the battery, and the vendor was quick to make it right with no hassle at no cost to me.
Found vendor very easy to work with.
Although not new, has a few scuffs and everything was able to get it to do eveything that I want it to do and more.
Good solid construction, and works very well.
Definitely would recommend this product and company to anyone who would like an inexpensive but dependable laptop.
R60 (Lenovo made the R60 for IBM). It has 4 GB of memory vice 3GB and a 120 GB hd.
I've no problems with the machine and the company has been nice about answering questions.
Had a problem with the battery, and the vendor was quick to make it right with no hassle at no cost to me.
Found vendor very easy to work with.
Although not new, has a few scuffs and everything was able to get it to do eveything that I want it to do and more.
Good solid construction, and works very well.
Definitely would recommend this product and company to anyone who would like an inexpensive but dependable laptop.
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This ThinkPad delivers everything it promises. A good product at a good price. It is powerful and small, just what I needed.Best Deals for IBM ThinkPad R60 Notebook/Laptop Windows 7 Core 2 Duo 2GHz 3GB 160GB
I purchased this computer for my son. We had a few questions about its operation so called the seller who was very helpful and responsive.Honest reviews on IBM ThinkPad R60 Notebook/Laptop Windows 7 Core 2 Duo 2GHz 3GB 160GB
The seller delivered on time, but with an upgraded product. I got a Lenovo T61 instead of theR60 (Lenovo made the R60 for IBM). It has 4 GB of memory vice 3GB and a 120 GB hd.
I've no problems with the machine and the company has been nice about answering questions.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
HP 15.6" Athlon II P340 2.2GHz Notebook | G62-347NR Review
This laptop tends to be one of the least expensive ones available, but seems to have all the capacity of many much more expensive computers.
It's main fault is its touch pad. The touch pad is not defined and so made for an unsatisfactory experience from the beginning. The control bar was also difficult to depress left/right. It was very unresponsive. Then, about a week after I bought the unit, the touch pad failed altogether. I was unable to use it to move the cursor. I was glad I had taken the vendor's advice and bought a wireless mouse which I immediately switched over to using. I suggest you automatically get a separate mouse with this unit.
This is a bit of an annoyance because the laptop only has three USB ports. With my printer in one and the add-on wireless mouse in another, I'm left with only one available port. But that's OK. You can always buy expansion ports if you have more devices you want to plug in.
The standard KWERTY keyboard keys are themselves responsive though, and it's generally a pleasure to type and compose on this machine. My only criticism the shift key and the "enter" key are juxtaposed so that it's easy to hit one when you want the other. The keyboard layout could have been designed a little better.
This Hewlett-Packard comes with a fair amount of bundled software in it, including a very serviceable version of Microsoft Word. The vendor tried to convince me that I would need to buy an extra, up-dated version of Microsoft Word for this computer, but that is not the case. I was also told that no software published prior to 2000 would work on this computer. Well, some will. So before you go to the expense of buying any new software for this Windows 7 unit, I suggest you thoroughly explore what is already included with it and what you can run on it from your old collection. You might be pleasantly surprised to find most of your favorite old programs from Windows '98 through Windows XP WILL run on this laptop.
The unit gets me onto the Internet speedily, without any need for upgrades to my equipment. It is also fairly quick and intuitive when it comes to setting it up and transferring files to. I was able to unpack it and get going with it on-line in less than an hour.
So overall, this model laptop seems to be an excellent value.
-Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit runs flawlessly on the dual core processor.
-Graphics card is excellent and watching YouTube/DVD videos on full screen is smoothe, even with high definition.
-It's 3GB RAM is more than enough for normal use. The usage is usually in the 40% range with normal use, definitely a good thing.
-Has a stylish cover to it. (mine is blue, I'm not sure if that's standard or not).
CONS:
-THE KEYBOARD LAYOUT IS HORRIBLE! I repeat, HORRIBLE. I type at an average rate of 70-80WPM and this is by far the worst keyboard layout.
-Does not have a numeric keypad as on the side as most notebooks do.
-The shortcut keys available on the keyboard aren't significant and really should not have been placed there to begin with (i.e., quick launch to calculator, email, internet, etc.)
-Because of the keyboard, it's comfort rating is "pathetic" on my scale.
OVERALL:
Excellent choice, given the price and performance. The keyboard will take a LOT of getting used to, but eventually it won't be an issue. I'd highly recommend this product (G62-347NR).
NEVER BUY ANY COMPUTER EQUIPMENT FROM HP, and since Amazon apparently knew they were pushing junk, I would also avoid that merchant as well.
Any hope for a g62-340us fix? HP Support ForumNew HP G62 freezing!!! HP Support Forumg62-340us crashing repeatedly HP Support ForumBrand New G62-B12SA Keeps freezing!!!!! HP Support ForumG62 not responding Page 3 HP Support Forum
It's main fault is its touch pad. The touch pad is not defined and so made for an unsatisfactory experience from the beginning. The control bar was also difficult to depress left/right. It was very unresponsive. Then, about a week after I bought the unit, the touch pad failed altogether. I was unable to use it to move the cursor. I was glad I had taken the vendor's advice and bought a wireless mouse which I immediately switched over to using. I suggest you automatically get a separate mouse with this unit.
This is a bit of an annoyance because the laptop only has three USB ports. With my printer in one and the add-on wireless mouse in another, I'm left with only one available port. But that's OK. You can always buy expansion ports if you have more devices you want to plug in.
The standard KWERTY keyboard keys are themselves responsive though, and it's generally a pleasure to type and compose on this machine. My only criticism the shift key and the "enter" key are juxtaposed so that it's easy to hit one when you want the other. The keyboard layout could have been designed a little better.
This Hewlett-Packard comes with a fair amount of bundled software in it, including a very serviceable version of Microsoft Word. The vendor tried to convince me that I would need to buy an extra, up-dated version of Microsoft Word for this computer, but that is not the case. I was also told that no software published prior to 2000 would work on this computer. Well, some will. So before you go to the expense of buying any new software for this Windows 7 unit, I suggest you thoroughly explore what is already included with it and what you can run on it from your old collection. You might be pleasantly surprised to find most of your favorite old programs from Windows '98 through Windows XP WILL run on this laptop.
The unit gets me onto the Internet speedily, without any need for upgrades to my equipment. It is also fairly quick and intuitive when it comes to setting it up and transferring files to. I was able to unpack it and get going with it on-line in less than an hour.
So overall, this model laptop seems to be an excellent value.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
PROS:-Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit runs flawlessly on the dual core processor.
-Graphics card is excellent and watching YouTube/DVD videos on full screen is smoothe, even with high definition.
-It's 3GB RAM is more than enough for normal use. The usage is usually in the 40% range with normal use, definitely a good thing.
-Has a stylish cover to it. (mine is blue, I'm not sure if that's standard or not).
CONS:
-THE KEYBOARD LAYOUT IS HORRIBLE! I repeat, HORRIBLE. I type at an average rate of 70-80WPM and this is by far the worst keyboard layout.
-Does not have a numeric keypad as on the side as most notebooks do.
-The shortcut keys available on the keyboard aren't significant and really should not have been placed there to begin with (i.e., quick launch to calculator, email, internet, etc.)
-Because of the keyboard, it's comfort rating is "pathetic" on my scale.
OVERALL:
Excellent choice, given the price and performance. The keyboard will take a LOT of getting used to, but eventually it won't be an issue. I'd highly recommend this product (G62-347NR).
Best Deals for HP 15.6" Athlon II P340 2.2GHz Notebook | G62-347NR
I got this from Amazon under a clearance sale where it was apparently known that this PC was defective. It freezes up constantly as many other unhappy customers will testify. Took me too long to figure out it wasn't my software, so now I'm stuck with this piece of junk.NEVER BUY ANY COMPUTER EQUIPMENT FROM HP, and since Amazon apparently knew they were pushing junk, I would also avoid that merchant as well.
Honest reviews on HP 15.6" Athlon II P340 2.2GHz Notebook | G62-347NR
it wasn't good, it was cracked, and it didn't worked, hard drive was not working so I fix it with my self, because I could not shipped it back... and it is not working so good for now...Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP 15.6" Athlon II P340 2.2GHz Notebook | G62-347NR
I highly recommend you do NOT, I repeat DO NOT buy this laptop. If you look around at forums and such, you will find many issues with it being a low quality laptop. Ahead are just a few examples of customers complaining about freezing problems and crashing problems. Other customers complain about blue screens and mouse pad freezes. I have one myself, and I am extremely frustrated as this is my only computer to work with. Every minute or so, the computer will freeze for about 30 seconds and then come back. I have tried many things to fix it, all of them you may find in the following forum posts, but none have worked. Do NOT buy.Any hope for a g62-340us fix? HP Support ForumNew HP G62 freezing!!! HP Support Forumg62-340us crashing repeatedly HP Support ForumBrand New G62-B12SA Keeps freezing!!!!! HP Support ForumG62 not responding Page 3 HP Support Forum
Monday, June 23, 2014
Buy Dell Inspiron 11z-1121 laptop / Intel i3-330um / WiMax 4G
I've had the Dell 1121 for over a week now.
Let me just say it's the best netbook you can get for your money. And I say netbook only because it's lacks an optical drive, but it's really a laptop shrunk the size of a netbook.
The 2nd Gen Core i3 really kicks butt, and it blows the ASUS 1215N-PU27-BK 12.1-Inch Netbook (Black) out of the water for about the same price!
Minecraft runs with only minimal lag (You'll need to upgrade the RAM to 8GB, but it's not a big deal because the netbook has two slots.
It plays Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal 2 with decent FPS after you turn the graphics down some.
Well worth it.
The notebook is really lightweight, but still has a large, bright LCD. I play a lot videos on the machine and have never experienced any hickups (not streamed media obviously).
The keyboard is not flimsy or distorted. Typing is very much like a full-sized desktop, but the keys could be thicker. The one thing I would recommend is getting a cooling pad if you intend on keeping this little guy on your lap. It could get a warm after a while. The other thing to note is that if you need a DVD/CD drive, you need to look elsewhere, but you will not find a notebook this weight (or just a notebook) with that feature out there for the same price.
Great LED screen. Resolution is only 1366x768, but what more do you need for this machine? It orginally had 2GB, but I upgraded to 6GB total RAM. I also changed out my hard drive to one with 7200 RPM, so it's a little snappier. There is a youtube video that can help you to learn how to change out your hard drive as it isn't intuitive.
Build quality is solid... but it's not a Latitude with magnesium alloy. It is hard plastic, but I wouldn't recommend dropping it.
I also upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate for the operating system. It also supports most Linux distributions Ubuntu, Mint & Zorin. Windows 8 runs very well on this machine... but I can't stand that interface, so I'm sticking with Windows 7.
Battery life is decent at about 3.5 hours.
3 Downsides I can think of:
1) It gets rather warm on the bottom side. If you do anything with heavy graphics, you will want a cooling pad.
2) There's no built-in bluetooth. While it would probably drain battery life quicker, I think it should've been made a requirement for such a little gem.
3) The screen doesn't open up all the way. I think it only goes back 120 degrees? It makes it more difficult to use on laptop stands.
All in all, if you are looking for a NON-touch screen laptop, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
Since I can't stand the Windows 8 OS, I look forward to finding used 11z's on ebay if/when my machine ever dies on me.
On the pro side, it has a great screen and keyboard. It is ruggedly built. Memory upgrades are easy. It comes with Windows Premium 7 (while not Mac OSX, it is still a good system). The processor is fast. It has everything I need for teaching a VGA port, three USB ports, and a good sound system.
On the con side, Amazon dropped the ball. The main picture on Amazon's web site is not a Dell 11z. It is a picture of a laptop with a DVD drive, and this is misleading. Amazon, while you strive for perfection, you are not quite there. I will say, though, delivery was good. Keep trying.
Let me just say it's the best netbook you can get for your money. And I say netbook only because it's lacks an optical drive, but it's really a laptop shrunk the size of a netbook.
The 2nd Gen Core i3 really kicks butt, and it blows the ASUS 1215N-PU27-BK 12.1-Inch Netbook (Black) out of the water for about the same price!
Minecraft runs with only minimal lag (You'll need to upgrade the RAM to 8GB, but it's not a big deal because the netbook has two slots.
It plays Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal 2 with decent FPS after you turn the graphics down some.
Well worth it.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
At this price, you would not believe that you can get all these features. The battery life is excellent. I had an HP that I used to keep for work and I had to constantly search for an outlet everywhere I went.The notebook is really lightweight, but still has a large, bright LCD. I play a lot videos on the machine and have never experienced any hickups (not streamed media obviously).
The keyboard is not flimsy or distorted. Typing is very much like a full-sized desktop, but the keys could be thicker. The one thing I would recommend is getting a cooling pad if you intend on keeping this little guy on your lap. It could get a warm after a while. The other thing to note is that if you need a DVD/CD drive, you need to look elsewhere, but you will not find a notebook this weight (or just a notebook) with that feature out there for the same price.
Best Deals for Dell Inspiron 11z-1121 laptop / Intel i3-330um / WiMax 4G
I think this is an underappreciated computer (but not by me!). I think of it like a Macbook Air for Windows. Perfect size & weight 11.6" and 3lbs. Perfect for school or portable business use. HDMI and VGA ports for home use or projectors.Great LED screen. Resolution is only 1366x768, but what more do you need for this machine? It orginally had 2GB, but I upgraded to 6GB total RAM. I also changed out my hard drive to one with 7200 RPM, so it's a little snappier. There is a youtube video that can help you to learn how to change out your hard drive as it isn't intuitive.
Build quality is solid... but it's not a Latitude with magnesium alloy. It is hard plastic, but I wouldn't recommend dropping it.
I also upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate for the operating system. It also supports most Linux distributions Ubuntu, Mint & Zorin. Windows 8 runs very well on this machine... but I can't stand that interface, so I'm sticking with Windows 7.
Battery life is decent at about 3.5 hours.
3 Downsides I can think of:
1) It gets rather warm on the bottom side. If you do anything with heavy graphics, you will want a cooling pad.
2) There's no built-in bluetooth. While it would probably drain battery life quicker, I think it should've been made a requirement for such a little gem.
3) The screen doesn't open up all the way. I think it only goes back 120 degrees? It makes it more difficult to use on laptop stands.
All in all, if you are looking for a NON-touch screen laptop, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
Since I can't stand the Windows 8 OS, I look forward to finding used 11z's on ebay if/when my machine ever dies on me.
Honest reviews on Dell Inspiron 11z-1121 laptop / Intel i3-330um / WiMax 4G
This is the perfect pc for retirees. I bought a hotspot for the internet. I can sit at my bar and look out my window and email or search the internet. The keyboard and the screen are a good size. I can take it with me wherever i go. I am glad i waited for this model.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dell Inspiron 11z-1121 laptop / Intel i3-330um / WiMax 4G
The Dell 11z-1121 is a great little netbook. In my classroom, I have used older Dell netbooks, Lenovo netbooks, and Asus netbooks. This is a great improvement. I had been using an 11 inch Macbook Air as my personal travel PC, but that recently went to my youngest daughter. Needing a replacement and on a tight budget, I looked for a less expensive replacement. The Dell 11z was my choice, and I am not dissapointed.On the pro side, it has a great screen and keyboard. It is ruggedly built. Memory upgrades are easy. It comes with Windows Premium 7 (while not Mac OSX, it is still a good system). The processor is fast. It has everything I need for teaching a VGA port, three USB ports, and a good sound system.
On the con side, Amazon dropped the ball. The main picture on Amazon's web site is not a Dell 11z. It is a picture of a laptop with a DVD drive, and this is misleading. Amazon, while you strive for perfection, you are not quite there. I will say, though, delivery was good. Keep trying.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Review of Lenovo G570 Laptop w/ I3 2370m (2.4ghz) Procesor, 15.6in Led
I got my first Lenovo when Lenovo wasn't even thought of as a top maker. Now it is the biggest in the world.
It was than owned by IBM or the ThinkPad generic but now it is the leading computer manufacturer.
This model is a great machine for the price!
It was than owned by IBM or the ThinkPad generic but now it is the leading computer manufacturer.
This model is a great machine for the price!
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Reviews of Apple iBook Laptop 14.1" M9388LL/A (933-MHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM
I've owned three iBooks. The clamshell was a sturdy design, but heavy and limited. My G3 iBook 800 was great, worked well, but the screen was a little small (dense) and it didn't quite fit on the lap. Plus I wasn't a fan of the drive tray. So this new design is far better. It is much sturdier. They replaced EVERY material in construction for the better, improved battery life, and it is much faster. It might just be the perfect laptop at any price. For most people, it can even replace a desktop. Comes with tony hawk, plays beautifully. All other apps I have work perfectly, airport extreme is faster than airport, and keyboard is MUCH better (no longer squishy, better feedback). You will not regret buying this machine. Not sure that the 1GHz is worth the extra money. This model hits the sweet spot.
Ever since the iBook went G4, the machine took on a whole transformation. It is no longer lacking in the processor department and thus is a very "well-rounded" laptop.
As for the machine itself, it's great. The entire laptop is white, crisp white (a mixed blessing...it's elegant, but very, very hard not to dirty it), and the overall design is great. Everything is ergonomical and compact: the little latch to close the iBook stays hidden on the top, but then magically appears as you close it. (Gotta love Apple's design team for those little things!) The keyboard, unlike other models, isn't "spongy."In fact, it is rather sturdy for a laptop keyboard. It is stationed to a strong metal backboard and if you take the keyboard and backboard off, you will see a slot for an Airport Extreme card (card that enables wireless internet). No more PC "NIT" cards protruding from the sides, everything is on the inside. The top of the computer has a translucent Apple logo that glows when you are computing in the dark. The trackpad is large and precise, and the button (Windows users, beware: no "Left-clicking" in the Mac world, only "Command clicking"!) is large and responsive.
Battery life is excellent, I get an average of 5 hours with normal use. The charger has a light indicating the level of charge so you know when the 'book is charged (green for charged, amber for charging) without turning it on or waking it from its "Sleep" mode. Panther, the latest version of Mac OS X (10.3), is stunning, powerful, and reliable in its own right (go ahead and check out those reviews or Jaguar's reviews, the previous OS X version.) I don't want to go into the benefits of its UNIX core, just trust me that it is stable. The "iLife" set of software is one that really revolutionized the Apple world, after OS X, software-wise. It's all here: iTunes (store, burn, and buy music in one easy-to-use program), iPhoto (organize, burn, share, print, edit, email, and more with a plug-and-play friendly piece of software), iMovie (for editing, storing, and organizing your DV movies), but no iDVD...no DVD burner (but you can buy an external one.) Some other good programs that supplement your iLife are Mail, Appleworks, iChat, iCal, etc. It comes with World Book 2003, Quicken, and a few others.
It's fast. CD's burn with one click. My iPod (a great addition to this for music lovers) loads with one slide of a Firewire cable (literally.) Safari has built-in pop-up control (never has a single pop-up existed here.) Games (only the Sims so far) load and play flawlessly. DVD watching is pristine. USB 2.0 and Firewire (a BIG plus for external hard drives) work at top speed. No bugs, no crashes, no viruses. This machine was engineered to have the software and hardware be integrated. Have a problem? You won't be told to call a different company. You will always have one number to call, and they can't transfer you (since they make the hardware and software)
What more is there to say? I love my iBook! It's light, user friendly, and works like a dream. Quick! Go order one. You'll be in for a treat.
I do everything on this computer: word-processing, spreadsheets, music transcription, photo editing, Internet communications, audio editing, and managing my music collection. I have Office X, Sibelius, and iLife 2004. I run iTunes in the background, write a report integrating Excel and Word, plus can have all my pictures handy on iPhoto. I can have five or six applications running at the same time (not including iChat and MSN Messenger, which are ALWAYS running), and the processor doesn't even hiccup. I use an iPod 40G as an external hard drive (not to mention all dem kewl tunes!), and have a Canon PowerShot A80 digital camera, and an iMic audio converter. Add to that an AirPort driven wireless network and a laser printer, and you have an ultra-powerful home office for any kind of occupation, from music composition, culinary research, to communications-based businesses.
Although larger and heavier than the 12" iBook, I believe the 14" screen is definitely worth the extra weight and price. If you get it, the wireless card (AirPort Extreme) is a must. The optional built-in Bluetooth module is nice, especially if you have a compatible PDA or cell phone.
I didn't realize I would love owning a laptop. Until I met this one.
However, the reason I put five stars wasn't Apple's beautiful software marketing and design, or CompUSAs ability to move a person to consider programming a video game thats objective is strangling CompUSA employees.
The real reason is that for laptops, and for this price, it is a quality laptop. You see, I can't justify to myself paying over 1500 of a base price for a tool that I'm going to be using out of my home. At any moment it could be stolen and I am much more at peace with a loss of 1500 dollars for a top of the line iBook which can be much more readily replaced than 3000 dollars for a top of the line PowerBook.
My laptop has survived a 2 ft plus drop while open from a bed to a not so plush carpeted floor. There wasn't too much destruction done other than some of the lineing on the left edge of the screen and the battery doesn't fit as smoothly as before. Everything still works, including all the ports I use, like the USB, firewire, 56K Modem, and the Adapter port. It works fine on battery and plugged in, so I really didn't lose any functionality.
The laptop operating system doesn't break down, although it does freeze every once in a while. The software that it comes with is very useful, and handy, and not as annoying as say, windows media player.. The text editing software that it comes with is ahhhhh!!!ggrrr.. when you try to program html initially.. fortunately, after going to the preferences you can fix this loading html pages as a web browser does initial setting. iTunes is fun, and useful, and the only drawback is that it doesn't read the song encoding on CDs that Windows Media Player does. So you have to either manually type the name of the song in by hand, or buy your songs off the internet at a buck a piece. The iPhoto works fine and allows for some adjustment, but if you're into adjusting your photos, use nothing less than Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 . Photoshop might well be a waste of 600 plus dollars if you get good at Elements 2.0 . In fact.. I'd dare say Adobe Illustrator and Elements 2.0 could be a grand combo. Safari is a good browser with annoyances with interpreting java on the web. No joke, web browsers that understand Java well on the web on macs are rare as leopard seals. There is only two of them. One is the Microsoft Internet Explorer(who stopped making new IEs for mac because Safari does everything it does) and the other is Safari. Every other web browser.. say.. mozilla?? like Netscape 7.01, Firebird .7 and Mozilla and Camino seem to all be carbonized. And the problem? Well, for some reason, carbonizing does not like Java or something. No Java, no chatting, or java online gaming. So the only chatting you can do say on Yahoo is on Safari and IE. No problem, they are both free. And Safari is included with all the new macs. But for your daily web browsing, you might want to download Firebird .7 . After you get the tab browsing down and the various keyboard commands, you will find its just the best daily browser out there. It runs secure bank transactions in xml fine and quickly. As a bonus AppleWorks comes with every new iBook, so you definitely have a decent word processor. But don't be fooled with the Microsoft Office that seems to be included, Microsoft wouldn't forgoe a profit that easily. The Microsoft Office on the computer is a 30 day trial. Office X is 500 dollars. Not too much for full licensing for a single user. And well worth it if you're in college or otherwise use it frequently. Look at QuarkXPress for some serious pricing.. oww. The clock is nifty and calendar is useful, and the internet options are easily read in the upper menu bar. And for entertainment, you can talk to the computer and it will do what you say.. if you can speak it well enough for the computer.. you know.. the standard speech recognition flaw. The fun thing about all this is that you talk to the chess game and play an entire chess game by speaking alone. It's actually pretty nifty.
There is enough computer software out there for the mac, especially if you want to get work done and you work with video or images. The Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.2 don't save files quite the same way which can be a touch annoying if you are using old macs at school still. You have to specify the exact program to open this or that file between the two operating systems. This is easy enough.. as long as its only a file or two, come ten or so, and it gets a bit annoying. On the good end, it is more compatable with pcs now. There is a decent software translation of Windows XP for purchase for ultimate compatability. Wasn't too bad, but as always.. anything Microsoft runs as slow as a slug. Try a G5 if you want to run the Windows XP translation a lot. If Windows XP freezes, it doesn't freeze OS X, and thats kinda nice. Adobe has most of there popular software available on the mac, and so does Macromedia. And Living Language has their 9.0 versions of Language Lessons in plenty of European and Asian languages available on Mac. Also, if your into Video, Adobe dropped Premiere because Final Cut Pro was kicking their but in earning the market share. And if your into animation software, Cinema 4D 8.5v and Maya 5 both support mac, as well as Lightwave. So as far as getting something done, the mac is awesome.. it doesn't freeze much if you treat it decent(don't run a zillion programs at once). It simply works, and has better compatability than Linux. Although Linux rocks too, Mac OS X is a Unix base with more compatability. It is simply more compatable with stability than Linux. Microsoft Windows? Well, its compatable with a bonus of being hacked and virus wrecked and blue screened every so often. In other words... Microsoft Windows tends to limit me getting anything done.. particularly in Graphics Design degree which of course is only macs.
As far as games, of course most of the games out there are made for windows. On the other hand, many might argue that if you are a real gamer, you own an XBox or a PS2 already. Besides, Microsoft XP is available for Mac. Like I said, get a G5 for that kind of thing.
The chatting programs? Well, Windows Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and AOL instant messenger, as well as the OS X customized iChat version of AOL instant messenger that comes with any new mac. The Yahoo Messenger can't do as much as it can on Windows.. on the other hand.. it doesn't get hacked like the one on Windows, which doesn't freeze my computer, which makes my life a bit easier.
If you're into video, you should remember two things.. one, VCD format. You know, that old laser disk format that any CD burner can place on a CD-R/RW. two.. if your into business cards, the business card CD-Rs can hold video flash presentations as well. So, basically, if your not looking for 2 hour movies on a dvd, you can easily burn animations as well as edit them from the CD-Rs on the iBooks. The other detail is that 400 firewire is the only thing sold on iBooks. 800 firewire is considered 'professional'. However, although my 400 dollar Olympus digital camera can make short videos, it, like many Digital Cameras on the market, does not have firewire. In fact, that is much more likely to be restricted to digital camcorders. Such as my Digital Camcorder does have. Still, you still have to look for a firewire port, not all camcorders have them.
Hopefully, you found my review helpful. Oh, one more helpful hint. Certain Epson scanners come with Photoshop Elements 2.0 . A good piece of software with a needed accessory. I definitely recommend it. ArcSoftware is the usual accessory. Don't be fooled.. although its fun and useful, for work with multiple photos, nothing beats Elements 2.0 .
Hope you all enjoy this laptop if you buy it. Obviously every business is out to make money and Apple is no different. But Apple OS X and Apple laptops as a combo are better and more useful than nearly anything with Windows on it.
Brian
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
The iBook, Apple's "consumer" portable (a consumer simply being an everyday user), really has it all now: a very speedy processor, great graphics, great design (it took a few years for them to perfect this white beauty), great features (a lazy way of saying "All the other things on the machine I forgot to mention"), and most importantly, a great price.Ever since the iBook went G4, the machine took on a whole transformation. It is no longer lacking in the processor department and thus is a very "well-rounded" laptop.
As for the machine itself, it's great. The entire laptop is white, crisp white (a mixed blessing...it's elegant, but very, very hard not to dirty it), and the overall design is great. Everything is ergonomical and compact: the little latch to close the iBook stays hidden on the top, but then magically appears as you close it. (Gotta love Apple's design team for those little things!) The keyboard, unlike other models, isn't "spongy."In fact, it is rather sturdy for a laptop keyboard. It is stationed to a strong metal backboard and if you take the keyboard and backboard off, you will see a slot for an Airport Extreme card (card that enables wireless internet). No more PC "NIT" cards protruding from the sides, everything is on the inside. The top of the computer has a translucent Apple logo that glows when you are computing in the dark. The trackpad is large and precise, and the button (Windows users, beware: no "Left-clicking" in the Mac world, only "Command clicking"!) is large and responsive.
Battery life is excellent, I get an average of 5 hours with normal use. The charger has a light indicating the level of charge so you know when the 'book is charged (green for charged, amber for charging) without turning it on or waking it from its "Sleep" mode. Panther, the latest version of Mac OS X (10.3), is stunning, powerful, and reliable in its own right (go ahead and check out those reviews or Jaguar's reviews, the previous OS X version.) I don't want to go into the benefits of its UNIX core, just trust me that it is stable. The "iLife" set of software is one that really revolutionized the Apple world, after OS X, software-wise. It's all here: iTunes (store, burn, and buy music in one easy-to-use program), iPhoto (organize, burn, share, print, edit, email, and more with a plug-and-play friendly piece of software), iMovie (for editing, storing, and organizing your DV movies), but no iDVD...no DVD burner (but you can buy an external one.) Some other good programs that supplement your iLife are Mail, Appleworks, iChat, iCal, etc. It comes with World Book 2003, Quicken, and a few others.
It's fast. CD's burn with one click. My iPod (a great addition to this for music lovers) loads with one slide of a Firewire cable (literally.) Safari has built-in pop-up control (never has a single pop-up existed here.) Games (only the Sims so far) load and play flawlessly. DVD watching is pristine. USB 2.0 and Firewire (a BIG plus for external hard drives) work at top speed. No bugs, no crashes, no viruses. This machine was engineered to have the software and hardware be integrated. Have a problem? You won't be told to call a different company. You will always have one number to call, and they can't transfer you (since they make the hardware and software)
What more is there to say? I love my iBook! It's light, user friendly, and works like a dream. Quick! Go order one. You'll be in for a treat.
Best Deals for Apple iBook Laptop 14.1" M9388LL/A (933-MHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM
This little beauty came into my life around Christmas, and she and I have been inseparable since then. I ordered it directly from the Apple Store Online, and I had it maxed out on RAM, and had the optional 60G hard drive installed. I love the processor speed, immense capability, and versatility. The screen size makes it a suitable replacement for a desktop computer.I do everything on this computer: word-processing, spreadsheets, music transcription, photo editing, Internet communications, audio editing, and managing my music collection. I have Office X, Sibelius, and iLife 2004. I run iTunes in the background, write a report integrating Excel and Word, plus can have all my pictures handy on iPhoto. I can have five or six applications running at the same time (not including iChat and MSN Messenger, which are ALWAYS running), and the processor doesn't even hiccup. I use an iPod 40G as an external hard drive (not to mention all dem kewl tunes!), and have a Canon PowerShot A80 digital camera, and an iMic audio converter. Add to that an AirPort driven wireless network and a laser printer, and you have an ultra-powerful home office for any kind of occupation, from music composition, culinary research, to communications-based businesses.
Although larger and heavier than the 12" iBook, I believe the 14" screen is definitely worth the extra weight and price. If you get it, the wireless card (AirPort Extreme) is a must. The optional built-in Bluetooth module is nice, especially if you have a compatible PDA or cell phone.
I didn't realize I would love owning a laptop. Until I met this one.
Honest reviews on Apple iBook Laptop 14.1" M9388LL/A (933-MHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM
First of all, let me say that I paid the 1500 dollars in September, before they changed all the iBooks to G4s and the USB ports to 2.0 . Why is this important? Well, a few reasons. Final Cut Pro only works on G4s. I paid 699 dollars for the upgrade that my computer could certainly handle, however the software was designed to look for a G4 or G5 in order for installing. So, as that wouldn't have been too aggrivating until I tried to take it back to CompUSA which I soon found out has a zip-O-la return policy, I got a bit peeved at both CompUSA and Apple Software design. Well, within two months of my purchase the 'new' G4 iBooks were on the net to buy, and I had my answer on Apples ideas for makeing a touch more money by getting me to buy a new laptop, if I want to run something like.. oh Final Cut Pro, or some animation software on the market.However, the reason I put five stars wasn't Apple's beautiful software marketing and design, or CompUSAs ability to move a person to consider programming a video game thats objective is strangling CompUSA employees.
The real reason is that for laptops, and for this price, it is a quality laptop. You see, I can't justify to myself paying over 1500 of a base price for a tool that I'm going to be using out of my home. At any moment it could be stolen and I am much more at peace with a loss of 1500 dollars for a top of the line iBook which can be much more readily replaced than 3000 dollars for a top of the line PowerBook.
My laptop has survived a 2 ft plus drop while open from a bed to a not so plush carpeted floor. There wasn't too much destruction done other than some of the lineing on the left edge of the screen and the battery doesn't fit as smoothly as before. Everything still works, including all the ports I use, like the USB, firewire, 56K Modem, and the Adapter port. It works fine on battery and plugged in, so I really didn't lose any functionality.
The laptop operating system doesn't break down, although it does freeze every once in a while. The software that it comes with is very useful, and handy, and not as annoying as say, windows media player.. The text editing software that it comes with is ahhhhh!!!ggrrr.. when you try to program html initially.. fortunately, after going to the preferences you can fix this loading html pages as a web browser does initial setting. iTunes is fun, and useful, and the only drawback is that it doesn't read the song encoding on CDs that Windows Media Player does. So you have to either manually type the name of the song in by hand, or buy your songs off the internet at a buck a piece. The iPhoto works fine and allows for some adjustment, but if you're into adjusting your photos, use nothing less than Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 . Photoshop might well be a waste of 600 plus dollars if you get good at Elements 2.0 . In fact.. I'd dare say Adobe Illustrator and Elements 2.0 could be a grand combo. Safari is a good browser with annoyances with interpreting java on the web. No joke, web browsers that understand Java well on the web on macs are rare as leopard seals. There is only two of them. One is the Microsoft Internet Explorer(who stopped making new IEs for mac because Safari does everything it does) and the other is Safari. Every other web browser.. say.. mozilla?? like Netscape 7.01, Firebird .7 and Mozilla and Camino seem to all be carbonized. And the problem? Well, for some reason, carbonizing does not like Java or something. No Java, no chatting, or java online gaming. So the only chatting you can do say on Yahoo is on Safari and IE. No problem, they are both free. And Safari is included with all the new macs. But for your daily web browsing, you might want to download Firebird .7 . After you get the tab browsing down and the various keyboard commands, you will find its just the best daily browser out there. It runs secure bank transactions in xml fine and quickly. As a bonus AppleWorks comes with every new iBook, so you definitely have a decent word processor. But don't be fooled with the Microsoft Office that seems to be included, Microsoft wouldn't forgoe a profit that easily. The Microsoft Office on the computer is a 30 day trial. Office X is 500 dollars. Not too much for full licensing for a single user. And well worth it if you're in college or otherwise use it frequently. Look at QuarkXPress for some serious pricing.. oww. The clock is nifty and calendar is useful, and the internet options are easily read in the upper menu bar. And for entertainment, you can talk to the computer and it will do what you say.. if you can speak it well enough for the computer.. you know.. the standard speech recognition flaw. The fun thing about all this is that you talk to the chess game and play an entire chess game by speaking alone. It's actually pretty nifty.
There is enough computer software out there for the mac, especially if you want to get work done and you work with video or images. The Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.2 don't save files quite the same way which can be a touch annoying if you are using old macs at school still. You have to specify the exact program to open this or that file between the two operating systems. This is easy enough.. as long as its only a file or two, come ten or so, and it gets a bit annoying. On the good end, it is more compatable with pcs now. There is a decent software translation of Windows XP for purchase for ultimate compatability. Wasn't too bad, but as always.. anything Microsoft runs as slow as a slug. Try a G5 if you want to run the Windows XP translation a lot. If Windows XP freezes, it doesn't freeze OS X, and thats kinda nice. Adobe has most of there popular software available on the mac, and so does Macromedia. And Living Language has their 9.0 versions of Language Lessons in plenty of European and Asian languages available on Mac. Also, if your into Video, Adobe dropped Premiere because Final Cut Pro was kicking their but in earning the market share. And if your into animation software, Cinema 4D 8.5v and Maya 5 both support mac, as well as Lightwave. So as far as getting something done, the mac is awesome.. it doesn't freeze much if you treat it decent(don't run a zillion programs at once). It simply works, and has better compatability than Linux. Although Linux rocks too, Mac OS X is a Unix base with more compatability. It is simply more compatable with stability than Linux. Microsoft Windows? Well, its compatable with a bonus of being hacked and virus wrecked and blue screened every so often. In other words... Microsoft Windows tends to limit me getting anything done.. particularly in Graphics Design degree which of course is only macs.
As far as games, of course most of the games out there are made for windows. On the other hand, many might argue that if you are a real gamer, you own an XBox or a PS2 already. Besides, Microsoft XP is available for Mac. Like I said, get a G5 for that kind of thing.
The chatting programs? Well, Windows Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and AOL instant messenger, as well as the OS X customized iChat version of AOL instant messenger that comes with any new mac. The Yahoo Messenger can't do as much as it can on Windows.. on the other hand.. it doesn't get hacked like the one on Windows, which doesn't freeze my computer, which makes my life a bit easier.
If you're into video, you should remember two things.. one, VCD format. You know, that old laser disk format that any CD burner can place on a CD-R/RW. two.. if your into business cards, the business card CD-Rs can hold video flash presentations as well. So, basically, if your not looking for 2 hour movies on a dvd, you can easily burn animations as well as edit them from the CD-Rs on the iBooks. The other detail is that 400 firewire is the only thing sold on iBooks. 800 firewire is considered 'professional'. However, although my 400 dollar Olympus digital camera can make short videos, it, like many Digital Cameras on the market, does not have firewire. In fact, that is much more likely to be restricted to digital camcorders. Such as my Digital Camcorder does have. Still, you still have to look for a firewire port, not all camcorders have them.
Hopefully, you found my review helpful. Oh, one more helpful hint. Certain Epson scanners come with Photoshop Elements 2.0 . A good piece of software with a needed accessory. I definitely recommend it. ArcSoftware is the usual accessory. Don't be fooled.. although its fun and useful, for work with multiple photos, nothing beats Elements 2.0 .
Hope you all enjoy this laptop if you buy it. Obviously every business is out to make money and Apple is no different. But Apple OS X and Apple laptops as a combo are better and more useful than nearly anything with Windows on it.
Brian
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Apple iBook Laptop 14.1" M9388LL/A (933-MHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM
Looks like Apple hit a home run with this one. This has been the best upgrade since my LC. With Panther my 933 is one fast machine. I downloaded US Army and it runs that with no problems. Max out the memory and get Apple Care. With broadband this one great appliance.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Cheap HP ENVY DV7-7212nr Windows 8 Notebook PC
Very fast laptop.
Boots up in seconds.
Stunning display.
Runs cool.
Looks nice.
ssd + hdd Impressive
No compatibility issues.
I am a technical co-founder for a health tech startup. I needed a laptop for road warrior demos of clinical data warehouse analyses, and this fit the bill.
I bought it in the following configuration: 1080p screen resolution with internal 32GB SSD, 125W power supply, 2GB video card, oversized battery, 8GB RAM, 750GB 7200rpm disk. I then upgraded to 16GB RAM and added an additional 1TB 5200RPM Hitachi internal drive. The second internal drive required purchasing an OEM drive caddy and cable for $45.
The backlit keyboard is ever so cool... I have wanted something like this for years.
I replaced the existing 2 800MHz 4GB DIMMs with 2 666MHz 8GB DIMMs. The BIOS recognized the lower-speed DIMMs, and adjusted the interface appropriately.
I'm now running a 16GB RAM/1.75 TB disk laptop.
My workaround for Windows 7 compatibility is to run a Windows 7x64 virtual box client on the machine.
The machine runs MS SQL Server 2012 without a problem. SQL Server database performance is on a par with comparably-equipped desktop machines.
Network data transfers: with Jumbo Frame support set to 6KB, I get 118MB/sec network transfers over a gigabit switch; best I've seen in a notebook-class computer.
The USB 3.0 ports transfer data from an external Seagate 2TB 7200RPM drive to the internal 750GB 7200RPM drive at 100 to 125MB/sec.
The internal 32GB SSD consistently transfers data at 191MB/sec.
The internal 750GB 7300rpm drive transfers data at 70 to 125 MB/sec, averaging 97MB/sec.
The 1TB 5400rpm drive that I added to the second drive bay transfers data at 50 to 104 MB/sec, averaging 82MB/sec.
I haven't tested the BluRay movie playback capability.
There is much hubbub about Windows 8, and here is my two cents: I have been well-experienced in every Windows platform since ME, so I feel I have a pretty good grasp of both consumer-level interaction and tech-level interaction. From a consumer point of view, I think Windows 8 is very good. While having a touchscreen would be a big advantage, I find that the multi-touch pointing device does a considerable job, and makes W8 very easy to use. Before purchasing or upgrading a PC to W8, make sure it has either touchscreen or multi-touch capabilities in my opinion, a must!
I am 99.9% pleased with this purchase, and recommend it highly to anyone looking for a desktop replacement processing power on a budget.
I want to thank Eluktronics Inc for a perfect transaction. You have to love these guys, Eluktronics Inc at Amazon. 4 hours after placing the order for the HP ENVY dv7-7212nr, the order was shipped, free shipping. And what a pleasant information exchange, email messages about all the process, right when it was happening; it doesn't get better than this. The delivery was the next business day, unheard of. If you want to feel secure about your purchase and, more important, your money, buy with total confidence from Eluktronics Inc at Amazon, I highly recommend them.
There's something I want to mention that HP forgot to do. To let you know that the 9-cell battery makes this thin laptop a lot taller in the back, something you're not expecting at all. If you need the laptop to be flat in the bottom, you will be better with the 6-cell battery. Eluktronics Inc have a 6-cell battery with 5400 Mah (5.4 Ah) that last longer than the one at the HP website with 2800 (2.8). This 6-cell 5400 Mah battery last around 6 hours.
The HP ENVY dv7-7212nr is a magnificent laptop, supreme in its class. Believe me, this is the third one I've tried.
Boots up in seconds.
Stunning display.
Runs cool.
Looks nice.
ssd + hdd Impressive
No compatibility issues.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
This laptop has amazing capabilities for the price. My only complaint is that I have not been able to install Windows 7x64 Ultimate, and HP's response is that it does not support Win 7x64.I am a technical co-founder for a health tech startup. I needed a laptop for road warrior demos of clinical data warehouse analyses, and this fit the bill.
I bought it in the following configuration: 1080p screen resolution with internal 32GB SSD, 125W power supply, 2GB video card, oversized battery, 8GB RAM, 750GB 7200rpm disk. I then upgraded to 16GB RAM and added an additional 1TB 5200RPM Hitachi internal drive. The second internal drive required purchasing an OEM drive caddy and cable for $45.
The backlit keyboard is ever so cool... I have wanted something like this for years.
I replaced the existing 2 800MHz 4GB DIMMs with 2 666MHz 8GB DIMMs. The BIOS recognized the lower-speed DIMMs, and adjusted the interface appropriately.
I'm now running a 16GB RAM/1.75 TB disk laptop.
My workaround for Windows 7 compatibility is to run a Windows 7x64 virtual box client on the machine.
The machine runs MS SQL Server 2012 without a problem. SQL Server database performance is on a par with comparably-equipped desktop machines.
Network data transfers: with Jumbo Frame support set to 6KB, I get 118MB/sec network transfers over a gigabit switch; best I've seen in a notebook-class computer.
The USB 3.0 ports transfer data from an external Seagate 2TB 7200RPM drive to the internal 750GB 7200RPM drive at 100 to 125MB/sec.
The internal 32GB SSD consistently transfers data at 191MB/sec.
The internal 750GB 7300rpm drive transfers data at 70 to 125 MB/sec, averaging 97MB/sec.
The 1TB 5400rpm drive that I added to the second drive bay transfers data at 50 to 104 MB/sec, averaging 82MB/sec.
I haven't tested the BluRay movie playback capability.
Best Deals for HP ENVY DV7-7212nr Windows 8 Notebook PC
Does everything the description says. Runs very smoothly. Most of the Windows 8 kinks have been worked out already. I personally enjoy windows 8 more than any previous operating system. The learning curve is small for anyone tech savvy, though it may not be the best OS for business purposes. Love the fingerprint reader combined with the HP Simple Pass. Truly a desktop replacement. Should last me many years with the current hardware, though I'm sure Ill drop and break it before it is outdated, as is when I usually upgrade.Honest reviews on HP ENVY DV7-7212nr Windows 8 Notebook PC
I did much product research on notebooks prior to this purchase, and finally settled on this one. The biggest reason I was shopping for a new laptop was to handle the loads of graphics work in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. I work occasionally on very large .psd files, and my former laptop would really bog down. This new HP ENVY is indeed as advertised and as expected. I have done a considerable amount of photo editing work, and it is superb. I do plan to upgrade the RAM to 16GB, but haven't encountered a situation where I really needed it yet. This notebook is a very competent system, and better than most for the price. The only feature I wish this laptop had is Lightscribe capabilities.There is much hubbub about Windows 8, and here is my two cents: I have been well-experienced in every Windows platform since ME, so I feel I have a pretty good grasp of both consumer-level interaction and tech-level interaction. From a consumer point of view, I think Windows 8 is very good. While having a touchscreen would be a big advantage, I find that the multi-touch pointing device does a considerable job, and makes W8 very easy to use. Before purchasing or upgrading a PC to W8, make sure it has either touchscreen or multi-touch capabilities in my opinion, a must!
I am 99.9% pleased with this purchase, and recommend it highly to anyone looking for a desktop replacement processing power on a budget.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP ENVY DV7-7212nr Windows 8 Notebook PC
This laptop is beautiful, thin and loaded; lightning fast, 32 GB Flash Cache, 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics, Blu-ray player, Backlit keyboard, incredible 4 speakers 1 subwoofer, and exclusive 2-year warranty.I want to thank Eluktronics Inc for a perfect transaction. You have to love these guys, Eluktronics Inc at Amazon. 4 hours after placing the order for the HP ENVY dv7-7212nr, the order was shipped, free shipping. And what a pleasant information exchange, email messages about all the process, right when it was happening; it doesn't get better than this. The delivery was the next business day, unheard of. If you want to feel secure about your purchase and, more important, your money, buy with total confidence from Eluktronics Inc at Amazon, I highly recommend them.
There's something I want to mention that HP forgot to do. To let you know that the 9-cell battery makes this thin laptop a lot taller in the back, something you're not expecting at all. If you need the laptop to be flat in the bottom, you will be better with the 6-cell battery. Eluktronics Inc have a 6-cell battery with 5400 Mah (5.4 Ah) that last longer than the one at the HP website with 2800 (2.8). This 6-cell 5400 Mah battery last around 6 hours.
The HP ENVY dv7-7212nr is a magnificent laptop, supreme in its class. Believe me, this is the third one I've tried.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Review of Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3G-K01US 13.3-Inch Touchscreen Laptop
Tip: Use Firefox instead of Chrome in QHD+. You'll thank me.
After spending a few days with the laptop with Windows 8.1, here's my complete review of this excellent premium ultrabook.
PROS:
+ The screen is very sharp and bright. Adaptive brightness (light sensor) is enabled by default, but can be easily turned off in Samsung Settings (FN+F1). At full brightness, it is quite bright (and power-hogging). I have mine set at about 60% and that's plenty good in well-lit places. Wide viewing angle as well. However, beware of reflections on glossy screen.
+ QHD+ resolution is the main reason why I (and other resolution-) made this purchase. And it does not disappoint. Text are crisp and easy on the eyes. Perfect for catching up on tech news and typing up that long-overdued document.
+ Super sexy design. It's nothing new. Same as the Series 9, but don't fix what isn't broken, or brilliant in this case. I did a side by side comparison with a 13" Macbook Air. The AB9+ is seemingly thinner, and obviously smaller (thanks to a smaller bezel). Much love for Samsung in this department. Build quality is also very good. This ultrabook just screams "premium".
+ Very light. I can easily pick it up with one hand.
+ The hinge is a nice touch. It locks in at your preferred viewing angle, then opens up flat. Useful, but not really for me. Nice to have that option though.
+ Keypad is decent-sized and has a nice spring to it. Again, terrific job by Samsung. However, I did notice that keys don't register sometimes, but that's most likely my fleeting typing style. Will have to adjust, no big deal.
+ Dual fans are almost silent.
+ Touchscreen is as responsive as any tablet.
+ The specs may not satisfy all power users, but 4GB and 128GB SSD are more than enough for a photographer (like myself). Had no trouble installing Photoshop CC. Loaded up quickly as well and although it doesn't give the same performance as a desktop with a dedicated graphic card, I was still able to do all the things I usually do smoothly. The high resolution display is gorgeous here.
*********************************
CONS:
+ Scaling issues. Biggest issue I have with this ultrabook. But it's not Samsung's fault, nor is it entirely Microsoft's. After installing Windows 8.1 and switching from the default 1080p to the QHD+ resolution, the problem became clear that it's up to developers to make their programs high-res ready. Mobile devs had to do it when Apple introduced the first high-res iPhone. Mac devs had to do it when the high-res Macbook came out. It's just a matter of time. Until then, we will have to deal with tiny text in unoptimized software (I'm looking at you, Adobe). However, optimized software running on this QHD+ display is just wonderful.
+ Battery life is good, not great. Samsung listed a 7-8hour battery life, and I do get that much out of each full charge (at 60-70% brightness and casual usage). However, when you compare it to the Air's 11-hour battery life, it's just ok. This is mainly due to the QHD+ display and OSX being a more power-efficient operation system. Can't blame Samsung.
+ Integrated graphics chipset. Good for the most part. I can decode 1080p x264 and run Photoshop, but don't expect to be able to play the latest games with a smooth framerate.
+ Screen is not matte. I understand that this is because of the touchscreen, but I would've liked a matte screen.
+ Fingerprint-magnet, this is. Good thing I always carry a microfiber cloth. Without it, the laptop would look like a battlefield after an hour.
+ After a few days, I noticed a very slight spot (to the right of trackpad) that flexes a tiny tiny bit. Not sure if it has always been like that or just happened. But it can't be unnoticed now! Bummer. (update: not the laptop flexing but just uneven rubber legs. odd)
+ A little expensive when compared to the competition, but... Samsung.
So, am I keeping this marvelous piece of hardware plagued by slightly shoddy software? Of course. Most of the people I've talked to see the 4GB and 128GB SSD as dealbreakers. I'm sure they know what's best for themselves. But I also know what I need, and this is perfectly fine. Samsung have created a wonderful ultrabook that's just as good as anything available right now in the market (including Apple products). The light weight and slim form make it a perfect traveling companion, or just a great notebook to carry around all day. And again, scaling issues are entirely dependent on Microsoft/devs and nothing Samsung can do (afaik). I have excellent eyesight though ;P
Four and a half stars!
* Full disclosure. I got this laptop for $1200 via Amazon early pre-order.
** I'm using this case. It's slim and cheap. Does the job. EasyAcc 13.3 inch Laptop Ultrabook Envelope Case Sleeve Leather Carrying Case Bag Accessories for Apple Macbook Air 13, Macbook Pro Retina, Acer Aspire S3, S5, S7, Asus Zenbook UX31, HP spectre xt 13.3, Samsung SERIES 9 NP900X3B, Samsung SERIES 5 NP530,...
Right out of the box, the construction of this laptop can be described as "impressive." The matte finish on the body of the laptop is warmer and smoother feeling than the computer's Apple counterpart. The lid opens easily with one hand and settles right back into the comfort zone Samsung bragged about. Lifting it off the coffee table with one hand pinching the corner, there's no sign of bending or wobbling. Its weight and solid construction will be perfect for throwing into both briefcase and backpack. It is the level of quality you would expect from a laptop at this price point.
As for the keyboard, the size and placement of the keys are comfortable enough, but the chiclets themselves are unevenly weighted. Borderline wobbly. They're also made of a fingerprint-loving, grease-collecting, and overall cheap feeling plastic. The trackpad, on the other hand, is very solid and smooth and pleasant to work with. I'm not a huge fan of the default right-click on the bottom right portion of the track pad, but I'll either get used to it or figure out how to disable it in favor of the two-finger click.
The screen is easily the best I've ever seen on a laptop. The picture quality is just as described in the other online reviews, and is especially impressive next to my MacBook Air. The glare can be irritating, but it doesn't interfere with everyday use. The touch panel is responsive, and makes me wonder how people used Windows 8 on a non-touch laptop.
That brings me to my biggest gripe...Windows 8, and its failed interaction with this wonderful piece of hardware. There are multiple high-resolution laptops on their way to the market, and it's clear to me now why the other manufacturers have chosen to hold off on their release. I spent one day using the laptop with its original Windows 8 installation and found that, aside from the preinstalled software, nothing ran with a comfortable level of scaling. Chrome, Evernote, Microsoft Office 365, and even some webpages within IE11 failed to render in a usable fashion. Installing the 8.1 preview helped with a lot of the issues, but I continue to have problems with pieces of software, or elements within a program, requiring me to lean forward and squint. I have perfect vision, but feel like my like a little old man hunched over in front of this laptop trying to take notes in class.
The Haswell processor inside was actually my primary reason for choosing this laptop. The i5 chip, along with the 4GB of RAM I'm stuck with (literally...they're soldered in there) have no problem completing every task I throw at it. During class I have my Evernote, Chrome (2-3 tabs), Word, and Excel open and active the entire time. With lots of Alt-Tabs and several screen swipes, I keep this laptop active and engaged for my entire 3-hour class without a single stutter. Even some of the macros that bog down laptops around me, snap through their various stages with lightning speed.
As for battery life: in addition to my 3-hour class in the evening, there's the one hour of Facebook, Google News, and gadget blogs in the morning, the one hour of lunch/homework in the afternoon, and then two hours of procrastinated school work in the evening before class. I don't keep the brightness cranked (probably 60%) and I'm always connected to Wi-Fi. All 3 days, I've managed to easily get 7 hours of solid use out of the laptop with 10-15% left to spare. I feel like that's a satisfying amount of battery life, and gives me one less thing to worry about.
I wish I could say I was completely happy with this purchase. It's a very impressive piece of hardware, but the short-comings of Windows 8 have robbed me of the satisfaction I think I should feel after having waited this long and spent the kind of money I did. At this point, I'm stuck waiting for various software improvements, which isn't a very thrilling feeling.
Before this laptop, I had a bulkier Samsung laptop for a few years which was a great compromise between performance and portability. However, since I now have a desktop computer as well, I no longer needed a heavy-duty laptop, and was looking for something more portable for class and work. My first choice was to try the Asus TF300 tablet with the physical keyboard dock which was good for media and browsing and very portable, but really not useful for actual productivity. So I got rid of that tablet and decided to go the ultrabook route, and have been very happy with the Book 9 Plus so far.
Pros:
Great display
Comfortable Keyboard/Trackpad
Responsive Touch Screen
Good performance for an ultrabook
Solid battery life
Extremely Portable
Cons:
Pricey
Not much storage space
Not a fan of Windows 8
Some screen scaling issues
Area around trackpad gets kind of gross
Pros:
The first thing that you will notice won't be the resolution, because it seems to default to 1920x1080, but once you bump that up to the full capacity, the screen looks fantastic. Comparing it side by side with my older 1366x768 laptop shows a huge difference.
The keyboard is backlit, although it doesn't get particularly bright. I personally am a fan of this keyboard style which is similar to my old Samsung laptop. The keys are far enough apart so that you won't accidentally be hitting other keys, but not wide enough to feel awkward. A few qualms that I have with the keyboard are
The arrow keys are very small
It would be nice to have the alternate key number pad that most laptops have
No discrete keys for home/end (have to use the fn key + the arrow keys)
None of these are deal breakers, but they are some things I would have liked to see implemented differently.
I really like the trackpad on the device since the trackpad on my previous samsung computer had been really over-sensitive and I would often hit it with my palm when typing, but I have not had much issue with this so far on the book 9 plus. And the multi-touch works well (I personally turned off the Windows 8 swipe gestures since I found them annoying).
The touch screen is very responsive and seems to be fairly precise, but if you have large fingers, it might be hard to accurately use the screen at a high resolution without scaling it up.
One thing that I was concerned about was the laptop performance since the specs didn't really blow me away, but I have been pleasantly surprised so far. The main reason I switched from the convertible tablet to an ultrabook was that I do a lot of multi-tasking, and this laptop has been able to handle it well without any real slow down. It's obviously not a gaming laptop, but I was pleased to see that I could run Minecraft 1.6.4 at around 40 FPS without installing any performance mods.
I haven't done a formal test on the battery life, but I have yet to have problems with low battery thus far after moderate use throughout the day. It seems that the Haswell processor has been a step up in terms of efficiency over the previous generation. I would say that the battery life is similar to what the marketing claims are.
But by far my favorite thing about this laptop, and likely one of the reasons (along with the display) you are considering it, is the form factor. The device is very thin and very light, but without feeling cheap or flimsy. It can be held easily in one hand, and Samsung made efficient use of the device's size relative to the screen size (not too much bezel as on my previous device). The screen tilts back to a 180 degree angle which is nice for the touch screen. Overall, I love the feel of this laptop and was not disappointed at all.
Cons:
The other thing that you will likely notice first is the high price. At $1400, it is at the upper end of the ultrabook price range, and without killer specs, you are mostly paying a premium for the high resolution. I can't say that it's a good value buy, because there are certainly better dollar to quality ratio devices, but I don't regret the purchase. For someone like myself who generally holds on to electronics for a while, I think it was worth the investment today for what should be a good laptop for a while.
Another issue that I suspect concerns many people is the 128GB SSD drive. For this, you pretty much know what you're getting and if it will work with you. After getting rid of the bloatware and installing the programs that I regularly use, I have about 65GB remaining. Fortunately for myself, I don't keep much in terms of media and won't be installing games on this laptop, so it's not a huge concern for me. But I could see how this would be a breaking point for people who do like a lot of music or videos.
This one is not really the fault of the laptop, but I just am not a fan of windows 8. This is the first time I've been using it extensively, so maybe it will grow on me, but I just can't feel like Microsoft is alienating its core audience with this OS. I won't discuss this too much for this review, but I am already considering installing windows 7, and would have already done so if not for the touch screen.
This one is related to Windows 8 and might be fixed to some extent with 8.1, but there are definitely some screen scaling issues to work with the very high resolution. What has worked best for me so far is to go to the samsung settings fn + F1 and use the scaling settings there rather than through the Windows control panel. It solves most of the big issues, but there are still some applications that don't play nicely with the high res. Fortunately, this should only get better as time passes and programs are updated.
My last issue, and a very small one at that, is that the area where your palms rest around the trackpad while typing can get rather gross after typing for a while. It really collects the grease from your hands and is quite visible. Again, not a huge deal, I would just recommend carrying a cloth with you.
Overall:
I love this laptop so far, but if anything changes, I will try to update my review. Ultimately, you probably know if the cons are going to be deal-breakers for you, and if you don't feel that way and aren't scared off by the price, I highly recommend this laptop.
Side note: I have been using the Case Logic laptop sleeve and it works well so far. It leaves a bit more room on the inside than I would like, but it seems to do the job.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016P5BNY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0016P5BNY&linkCode=as2&tag=johnnynnhoj-20
PROs
-excellent build quality. Feels solid, nice brushed aluminum, absolutely gorgeous
keyboard and mousepad are godly, nice and responsive
screen is gorgeous, media looks great
nice and fast, good internet speed
great battery, lasts quite a while
handles light gaming well
CONs
battery isn't on par with MacBook Air ( still super long, though)
-windows 8 doesn't handle screen resolution that well( this should be fixed with windows 8.1)
Don't really understand the point of being able to lay the screen down flat so people on different sides could see. Wouldn't he just be looking at the image upside down?
OVERALL
I've used this quite heavily so far, and it's chugging along just fine. I heartily recommend it.
After spending a few days with the laptop with Windows 8.1, here's my complete review of this excellent premium ultrabook.
PROS:
+ The screen is very sharp and bright. Adaptive brightness (light sensor) is enabled by default, but can be easily turned off in Samsung Settings (FN+F1). At full brightness, it is quite bright (and power-hogging). I have mine set at about 60% and that's plenty good in well-lit places. Wide viewing angle as well. However, beware of reflections on glossy screen.
+ QHD+ resolution is the main reason why I (and other resolution-) made this purchase. And it does not disappoint. Text are crisp and easy on the eyes. Perfect for catching up on tech news and typing up that long-overdued document.
+ Super sexy design. It's nothing new. Same as the Series 9, but don't fix what isn't broken, or brilliant in this case. I did a side by side comparison with a 13" Macbook Air. The AB9+ is seemingly thinner, and obviously smaller (thanks to a smaller bezel). Much love for Samsung in this department. Build quality is also very good. This ultrabook just screams "premium".
+ Very light. I can easily pick it up with one hand.
+ The hinge is a nice touch. It locks in at your preferred viewing angle, then opens up flat. Useful, but not really for me. Nice to have that option though.
+ Keypad is decent-sized and has a nice spring to it. Again, terrific job by Samsung. However, I did notice that keys don't register sometimes, but that's most likely my fleeting typing style. Will have to adjust, no big deal.
+ Dual fans are almost silent.
+ Touchscreen is as responsive as any tablet.
+ The specs may not satisfy all power users, but 4GB and 128GB SSD are more than enough for a photographer (like myself). Had no trouble installing Photoshop CC. Loaded up quickly as well and although it doesn't give the same performance as a desktop with a dedicated graphic card, I was still able to do all the things I usually do smoothly. The high resolution display is gorgeous here.
*********************************
CONS:
+ Scaling issues. Biggest issue I have with this ultrabook. But it's not Samsung's fault, nor is it entirely Microsoft's. After installing Windows 8.1 and switching from the default 1080p to the QHD+ resolution, the problem became clear that it's up to developers to make their programs high-res ready. Mobile devs had to do it when Apple introduced the first high-res iPhone. Mac devs had to do it when the high-res Macbook came out. It's just a matter of time. Until then, we will have to deal with tiny text in unoptimized software (I'm looking at you, Adobe). However, optimized software running on this QHD+ display is just wonderful.
+ Battery life is good, not great. Samsung listed a 7-8hour battery life, and I do get that much out of each full charge (at 60-70% brightness and casual usage). However, when you compare it to the Air's 11-hour battery life, it's just ok. This is mainly due to the QHD+ display and OSX being a more power-efficient operation system. Can't blame Samsung.
+ Integrated graphics chipset. Good for the most part. I can decode 1080p x264 and run Photoshop, but don't expect to be able to play the latest games with a smooth framerate.
+ Screen is not matte. I understand that this is because of the touchscreen, but I would've liked a matte screen.
+ Fingerprint-magnet, this is. Good thing I always carry a microfiber cloth. Without it, the laptop would look like a battlefield after an hour.
+ After a few days, I noticed a very slight spot (to the right of trackpad) that flexes a tiny tiny bit. Not sure if it has always been like that or just happened. But it can't be unnoticed now! Bummer. (update: not the laptop flexing but just uneven rubber legs. odd)
+ A little expensive when compared to the competition, but... Samsung.
So, am I keeping this marvelous piece of hardware plagued by slightly shoddy software? Of course. Most of the people I've talked to see the 4GB and 128GB SSD as dealbreakers. I'm sure they know what's best for themselves. But I also know what I need, and this is perfectly fine. Samsung have created a wonderful ultrabook that's just as good as anything available right now in the market (including Apple products). The light weight and slim form make it a perfect traveling companion, or just a great notebook to carry around all day. And again, scaling issues are entirely dependent on Microsoft/devs and nothing Samsung can do (afaik). I have excellent eyesight though ;P
Four and a half stars!
* Full disclosure. I got this laptop for $1200 via Amazon early pre-order.
** I'm using this case. It's slim and cheap. Does the job. EasyAcc 13.3 inch Laptop Ultrabook Envelope Case Sleeve Leather Carrying Case Bag Accessories for Apple Macbook Air 13, Macbook Pro Retina, Acer Aspire S3, S5, S7, Asus Zenbook UX31, HP spectre xt 13.3, Samsung SERIES 9 NP900X3B, Samsung SERIES 5 NP530,...
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After multiple shipping delays (which I believe were Samsung's fault...not Amazon's), I finally received my ATIV Book 9 Plus earlier this week. Originally chosen (after its announcement in June) as my new laptop for grad school, it was frustrating to wait so long into the school year for its release and eventual shipment. After a few days with the device, the delays make a little more sense. The software (*cough* Windows 8 *cough*) isn't quite ready for this laptop.Right out of the box, the construction of this laptop can be described as "impressive." The matte finish on the body of the laptop is warmer and smoother feeling than the computer's Apple counterpart. The lid opens easily with one hand and settles right back into the comfort zone Samsung bragged about. Lifting it off the coffee table with one hand pinching the corner, there's no sign of bending or wobbling. Its weight and solid construction will be perfect for throwing into both briefcase and backpack. It is the level of quality you would expect from a laptop at this price point.
As for the keyboard, the size and placement of the keys are comfortable enough, but the chiclets themselves are unevenly weighted. Borderline wobbly. They're also made of a fingerprint-loving, grease-collecting, and overall cheap feeling plastic. The trackpad, on the other hand, is very solid and smooth and pleasant to work with. I'm not a huge fan of the default right-click on the bottom right portion of the track pad, but I'll either get used to it or figure out how to disable it in favor of the two-finger click.
The screen is easily the best I've ever seen on a laptop. The picture quality is just as described in the other online reviews, and is especially impressive next to my MacBook Air. The glare can be irritating, but it doesn't interfere with everyday use. The touch panel is responsive, and makes me wonder how people used Windows 8 on a non-touch laptop.
That brings me to my biggest gripe...Windows 8, and its failed interaction with this wonderful piece of hardware. There are multiple high-resolution laptops on their way to the market, and it's clear to me now why the other manufacturers have chosen to hold off on their release. I spent one day using the laptop with its original Windows 8 installation and found that, aside from the preinstalled software, nothing ran with a comfortable level of scaling. Chrome, Evernote, Microsoft Office 365, and even some webpages within IE11 failed to render in a usable fashion. Installing the 8.1 preview helped with a lot of the issues, but I continue to have problems with pieces of software, or elements within a program, requiring me to lean forward and squint. I have perfect vision, but feel like my like a little old man hunched over in front of this laptop trying to take notes in class.
The Haswell processor inside was actually my primary reason for choosing this laptop. The i5 chip, along with the 4GB of RAM I'm stuck with (literally...they're soldered in there) have no problem completing every task I throw at it. During class I have my Evernote, Chrome (2-3 tabs), Word, and Excel open and active the entire time. With lots of Alt-Tabs and several screen swipes, I keep this laptop active and engaged for my entire 3-hour class without a single stutter. Even some of the macros that bog down laptops around me, snap through their various stages with lightning speed.
As for battery life: in addition to my 3-hour class in the evening, there's the one hour of Facebook, Google News, and gadget blogs in the morning, the one hour of lunch/homework in the afternoon, and then two hours of procrastinated school work in the evening before class. I don't keep the brightness cranked (probably 60%) and I'm always connected to Wi-Fi. All 3 days, I've managed to easily get 7 hours of solid use out of the laptop with 10-15% left to spare. I feel like that's a satisfying amount of battery life, and gives me one less thing to worry about.
I wish I could say I was completely happy with this purchase. It's a very impressive piece of hardware, but the short-comings of Windows 8 have robbed me of the satisfaction I think I should feel after having waited this long and spent the kind of money I did. At this point, I'm stuck waiting for various software improvements, which isn't a very thrilling feeling.
Best Deals for Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3G-K01US 13.3-Inch Touchscreen Laptop
Had this laptop for about a week now. Here are my early impressions:Before this laptop, I had a bulkier Samsung laptop for a few years which was a great compromise between performance and portability. However, since I now have a desktop computer as well, I no longer needed a heavy-duty laptop, and was looking for something more portable for class and work. My first choice was to try the Asus TF300 tablet with the physical keyboard dock which was good for media and browsing and very portable, but really not useful for actual productivity. So I got rid of that tablet and decided to go the ultrabook route, and have been very happy with the Book 9 Plus so far.
Pros:
Great display
Comfortable Keyboard/Trackpad
Responsive Touch Screen
Good performance for an ultrabook
Solid battery life
Extremely Portable
Cons:
Pricey
Not much storage space
Not a fan of Windows 8
Some screen scaling issues
Area around trackpad gets kind of gross
Pros:
The first thing that you will notice won't be the resolution, because it seems to default to 1920x1080, but once you bump that up to the full capacity, the screen looks fantastic. Comparing it side by side with my older 1366x768 laptop shows a huge difference.
The keyboard is backlit, although it doesn't get particularly bright. I personally am a fan of this keyboard style which is similar to my old Samsung laptop. The keys are far enough apart so that you won't accidentally be hitting other keys, but not wide enough to feel awkward. A few qualms that I have with the keyboard are
The arrow keys are very small
It would be nice to have the alternate key number pad that most laptops have
No discrete keys for home/end (have to use the fn key + the arrow keys)
None of these are deal breakers, but they are some things I would have liked to see implemented differently.
I really like the trackpad on the device since the trackpad on my previous samsung computer had been really over-sensitive and I would often hit it with my palm when typing, but I have not had much issue with this so far on the book 9 plus. And the multi-touch works well (I personally turned off the Windows 8 swipe gestures since I found them annoying).
The touch screen is very responsive and seems to be fairly precise, but if you have large fingers, it might be hard to accurately use the screen at a high resolution without scaling it up.
One thing that I was concerned about was the laptop performance since the specs didn't really blow me away, but I have been pleasantly surprised so far. The main reason I switched from the convertible tablet to an ultrabook was that I do a lot of multi-tasking, and this laptop has been able to handle it well without any real slow down. It's obviously not a gaming laptop, but I was pleased to see that I could run Minecraft 1.6.4 at around 40 FPS without installing any performance mods.
I haven't done a formal test on the battery life, but I have yet to have problems with low battery thus far after moderate use throughout the day. It seems that the Haswell processor has been a step up in terms of efficiency over the previous generation. I would say that the battery life is similar to what the marketing claims are.
But by far my favorite thing about this laptop, and likely one of the reasons (along with the display) you are considering it, is the form factor. The device is very thin and very light, but without feeling cheap or flimsy. It can be held easily in one hand, and Samsung made efficient use of the device's size relative to the screen size (not too much bezel as on my previous device). The screen tilts back to a 180 degree angle which is nice for the touch screen. Overall, I love the feel of this laptop and was not disappointed at all.
Cons:
The other thing that you will likely notice first is the high price. At $1400, it is at the upper end of the ultrabook price range, and without killer specs, you are mostly paying a premium for the high resolution. I can't say that it's a good value buy, because there are certainly better dollar to quality ratio devices, but I don't regret the purchase. For someone like myself who generally holds on to electronics for a while, I think it was worth the investment today for what should be a good laptop for a while.
Another issue that I suspect concerns many people is the 128GB SSD drive. For this, you pretty much know what you're getting and if it will work with you. After getting rid of the bloatware and installing the programs that I regularly use, I have about 65GB remaining. Fortunately for myself, I don't keep much in terms of media and won't be installing games on this laptop, so it's not a huge concern for me. But I could see how this would be a breaking point for people who do like a lot of music or videos.
This one is not really the fault of the laptop, but I just am not a fan of windows 8. This is the first time I've been using it extensively, so maybe it will grow on me, but I just can't feel like Microsoft is alienating its core audience with this OS. I won't discuss this too much for this review, but I am already considering installing windows 7, and would have already done so if not for the touch screen.
This one is related to Windows 8 and might be fixed to some extent with 8.1, but there are definitely some screen scaling issues to work with the very high resolution. What has worked best for me so far is to go to the samsung settings fn + F1 and use the scaling settings there rather than through the Windows control panel. It solves most of the big issues, but there are still some applications that don't play nicely with the high res. Fortunately, this should only get better as time passes and programs are updated.
My last issue, and a very small one at that, is that the area where your palms rest around the trackpad while typing can get rather gross after typing for a while. It really collects the grease from your hands and is quite visible. Again, not a huge deal, I would just recommend carrying a cloth with you.
Overall:
I love this laptop so far, but if anything changes, I will try to update my review. Ultimately, you probably know if the cons are going to be deal-breakers for you, and if you don't feel that way and aren't scared off by the price, I highly recommend this laptop.
Side note: I have been using the Case Logic laptop sleeve and it works well so far. It leaves a bit more room on the inside than I would like, but it seems to do the job.
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Honest reviews on Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3G-K01US 13.3-Inch Touchscreen Laptop
Crazy nice computer! I've spent all day with it and absolutely love it! Ive installed several software programs with ease.connected to skydrive simple and easy. Logged in to Office 365 and all is working perfectly. touch screen works really well, very fast machine here.reboots in 8 sec or so....plus it has some pretty cool features for my galaxy s 3 and note 2....this is actually amazing for us.lots of work will be done that's for sure!Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3G-K01US 13.3-Inch Touchscreen Laptop
I managed to snag the last one and I am very pleased with my purchase. I've used it for a while and here are my thoughtsPROs
-excellent build quality. Feels solid, nice brushed aluminum, absolutely gorgeous
keyboard and mousepad are godly, nice and responsive
screen is gorgeous, media looks great
nice and fast, good internet speed
great battery, lasts quite a while
handles light gaming well
CONs
battery isn't on par with MacBook Air ( still super long, though)
-windows 8 doesn't handle screen resolution that well( this should be fixed with windows 8.1)
Don't really understand the point of being able to lay the screen down flat so people on different sides could see. Wouldn't he just be looking at the image upside down?
OVERALL
I've used this quite heavily so far, and it's chugging along just fine. I heartily recommend it.
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