Buy Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830TG-6450 14-Inch Aluminum Laptop (Cobalt

Customer Ratings:

This laptop met and exceeded all of my standards.

I'm a grad student and my computer needs are admittedly pretty basic (Internet, Word/Excel, the occasional game, etc.); however, I wanted a computer with specs that weren't going to be completely obsolete in the next four years. I move around a lot and I'm constantly whipping my laptop out, so I needed something light and easily transportable. Also, seeing as how I am a grad student, I couldn't break the bank.

PROS

Battery life. The 8-9 hour figure is not an exaggeration. This is by far one of the nicest features. I go out all day without bothering to bring my power cord along. It's about 6PM as I write this; I've been on my laptop repeatedly throughout the day since 8AM, and I still have 2.5 hours of battery life to go. Love it.

Performance. With an i5 Sandy Bridge processor and 4GB of memory, the speed is definitely noticeable. I regularly have 20-30 tabs and windows open at any given time and I've never noticed a drag. I realize that that isn't saying much for those who really like to milk the performance out of their computer -so you probably want to refer to other reviewers on this factor -but as an average user I'm very satisfied with the speed. I should also note that this laptop doesn't run hot. Ever.

General design. Everything is very well laid out. The chiclet keys are great, the trackpad isn't annoyingly off to one side, the click of the mouse isn't loud (a personal pet peeve), and there are no unnecessary buttons cluttering up the keyboard. I wasn't sure about the cobalt blue at first but now I rather like it; it's toned down enough that the laptop still looks professional, if that's a concern.

Portability. I'm constantly moving from place to place throughout the day, and it's so nice to be able to pull my computer out whenever I need it. It starts up very quickly upon re-opening so I can jump back on it right away.

Price. $699 honestly feels like a steal for the quality of this laptop. I did a lot of research before buying it and I think this laptop is the best value out of all the comparable computers in its price range.

Other minor perks: The webcam resolution is surprisingly good, and there's a little programmable button on the keyboard that you can use for whatever you like.

I'll let other reviewers comment on the speakers because I'm honestly not enough of an audiophile to properly assess the quality. For the basic stuff I use them for (Grooveshark playlists, YouTube cat videos, etc.) I have no complaints.

Also, it should be noted: This laptop DOES have an optical drive. I don't believe that it's mentioned in the specs above.

CONS (read: minor annoyances)

It comes preloaded with crapware so be prepared to do a clean install of Windows 7 if you feel so inclined.

I sometimes hit the Fn button when I'm trying to hit Ctrl. They're both pretty small keys and right next to each other.

It's probably a matter of adjusting a setting, but I'll occasionally brush the trackpad in such a way that I zoom in and out of whatever window I'm working in, which is a little annoying.

Bottom line:

This is a fantastic little machine, perfect for students and people who are on the go a lot.

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I got my AS4830TG-6450 today. Machine looks good out of the box. Light weight and has very good finish.

I just began as per the quick start instructions. I put the machine on charge, turned it on, completed initial configuration and set up. Battery was showing 73%. I wanted it to be 100% before I could actually test the battery life. While it was on charge, I got rid of most crapwares. I let Windows install all the updates. Activated and updated AV (It comes with 60 days trial of McAfee will switch to AVG soon :) ). Got rid of all Start-up programs those are not useful.

It took 12-14 sec to shut down and 30-35 sec to boot. Data transfer with USB 3.0 was amazing. It took approx 12 sec to transfer 1 GB of data from my portable hdd (3.0) to laptop hdd. At point I had 15-16 tabs opened in IE, WMP running, Canon utility programs running, MS word running at the same time and there was no lag in performance of this machine. It works at pretty good speed.

Chiclet Keyboard is good. Every key stroke is recognized. Track pad is smooth and good. Keys are set up in bit different positions than my earlier Dell and HP. But, it's not a trouble. Camera is average, but i am not bothered with it. It works fine for me on Skype :)

Heard horn liked tone from in-bulit speakers when used on Skype (But only once). Sound quality looks good otherwise. Would try it connecting to external speakers.

Screen resolution is very good. It looks bright. Core I5, 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM, 650GB hdd, 14" LED/LCD display is not a unique combination and there are many machines available in market with this combination. But, there are few things which makes this purchase worth -

1) NVIDIA with 1GB of VRAM is a plus. Haven't tried it though for gaming!

2) When it was charged to 100 %, I restarted the machine and let it run without AC power. I am using it since 5 hours now and it is still showing me 4 hours of charge left. Well, battery may will discharge faster if I pull more out of hardware (run/burn DVDs or continuously transfer data). But for an user like me, who spends most of the time on internet, looks 8-9 hours of battery life very much achievable with this machine.

3) It does not get hot. This is outstanding.

4) $699 is a steal for a machine of this quality.

This is my first Acer and I am very much satisfied with my purchase.

Best Deals for Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830TG-6450 14-Inch Aluminum Laptop (Cobalt

I love this computer super fast , long battery life, great speaker of any laptop I ever touched except of course the HP's but connected to speaker its really good especially via HDMI if you looking for a super light and thin aluminum laptop with DVD-rom of course 640GB and 3.0 USB what else can you ask for this price.:-D

Honest reviews on Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830TG-6450 14-Inch Aluminum Laptop (Cobalt

Very nice laptop with amazing performance. 4 cons but not deal breakers for the price.

I was skeptical about the combination of colors but the blue and silver design of the body of the laptop are very eye catching, it looks professional and has a very solid build (The screen frame material is annoying though, see cons below).

14" screen size is just perfect with 1366 x 768 resolution, it's the same resolution as the 15.6" but in a smaller package.

Performance is excellent, very very fast. Laptop came with 4gb (2gb x 2gb) of ram, it was very fast but still upgraded it to 6gb (2gb x 4gb) for even faster multitasking. Don't really need 8gb.

Windows Experience Scores: Processor: 7.0, Memory (6GB RAM): 7.4, Graphics: 5.9, Game graphics: 6.7, Primary hard disk: 5.8

The NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M with 1GB DDR3 VRAM graphics card did an excellent job for a laptop and a big difference if your going heavy on video usage like playing mid-high graphics games. Played Starcraft II and WOW it was awesome no hiccups, video was flawless and very clear at ultra performance. Make sure you purchase an external cooling system though cause like all laptops it will really heat up when playing games (I got the Cooler Master NotePal U1 Notebook Cooler with 1 Fan R9-NBC-8PAK-GP. It's small, fits nicely underneath and does an excellent job keeping it cool! It also inclines the laptop for easier typing and places screen higher so you don't have to hunch your back and look down).

Laptop fans are on the quiet side and don't really heat up unless your playing games, running power hungry programs or seriously multitasking. I would still purchase the extra cooling noted above.

Battery ran for 5 hours working on normal day to day stuff on integrated graphics, highest screen brightness and @ 2.40GHz full power no turbo boost.

640 GB @ 5400 RPM hard drive, space and speed are more than enough. Would not upgrade to 7200 RPM because of prior bad experience, it will make accessing info faster but this laptop is fast enough! I stay away from faster drives anyway, after a few months they get annoyingly noisy and heat up to the point that it literally burns your laptop. So leave it as is! Never tried solid state drives though, so I can't really say anything about those.

8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive is all I need, no Blu-ray is ok for me.

Speakers are of pretty good quality for a laptop. Like it says, it's professionally tuned not very loud but you get a well balanced sound. The speakers are not at the back top like it seems, they are placed at the front bottom part of the laptop...not an issue really.

HDMI is priceless for connecting to TV or a bigger screen, always a must have in any laptop now a days.

3 usbs are enough for a portable to move around.

Bluetooth is a nice extra but I don't really use it.

Chiclet keyboard is extremely comfortable to type on. Not had any problem with keys.

Cons

Screen quality looks good but not as neat and bright when compared to my Sony laptop. If you're not picky then you won't even notice it. I gave it 4 stars because of this minor issue for me but may be a big issue for others.

Why or why do they keep using the smudge magnet reflective material for the screen frame, I just don't get it. Nice and shiny but put your fingers on it and it looks dirty.

A little heavy for the size.

Battery is built-in so you won't be able to remove it easily. Not a problem really but if you ever spill liquid on it you won't be able to rapidly cut all power so no circuits get fried. Battery power is cut though when you remove the back lid to add extra memory.

It was a very good purchase @ $699. Exceeded my expectations! I did my research and nothing comes close to this price performance wise. So, if you don't want to spend much on an excellent 14" laptop with great looks and the cons won't be a problem for you then this is the one. Enjoy!

*Updated on 12/02/2011 Added a few things...some more pros and 1 con. I've had it for like a month now and I'm extremely happy with this little monster. Fastest laptop I have ever had!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830TG-6450 14-Inch Aluminum Laptop (Cobalt

I discovered the CostCo version (4830T-6841) of this PC on the way to Bestbuy and ended up buying it, despite its lack of a separate number pad, after quick comparison shopping at Bestbuy. It was listed for $599 and came with all the specs above, but with 6G RAM, no Bluetooth, and *no crapware*! After I finished initial setup, there was precisely 1 icon on my desktop, the Recycle Bin. But it also included Office Starter (Word & Excel) and MS Signature security. The latter was new to me, but far preferable to Norton or McAfee trial versions, not least because it promised no annual renewal requirements.

Both the keyboard and the trackpad feel solid and big enough for my hands. I solved the number pad problem at BestBuy by getting a $65 Logitech solar-powered wireless keyboard (with num pad) that will work with either my laptop or my netbook (an Acer AspireOne 722 with a spongy keyboard and jumpy trackpad), as will my earlier-bought Logitech mouse. So I can leave one tiny USB unifying receiver plugged into each PC that works for both input devices. But they will only work if one or the other PC is asleep or out of wireless range. (Otherwise they get confused about which control tower they're talking to.)

During setup, I kept marveling at how little heat the new processor generated. When I finally turned the PC off after 8 hours of constant usage, it was only as hot as my little Acer netbook gets after 1 hour of minimal activity. The speed was less of a surprise because I was replacing a 4-year-old HP dv4 laptop with a 32-bit processor.

After the battery was fully charged, I unplugged it and got exactly 4 full hours of very heavy I/O usage from it: (1) downloading and installing files from the web and across our local wireless network; (2) copying massive files from my Seagate external HDD (which took 15 min to load all my photos on the USB 3.0 port, after taking about 2 hours to copy them off the old HP with its USB 2.0 ports); and (3) all the while playing music CDs at full volume (sharp, but not very loud, and not very bassy on the new PC) and keeping the screen fully lit. The next day, I got about 8-9 hours of battery life, leaving it unplugged on my desktop and using it intermittently throughout the day in more typical fashion, allowing it to sleep from time to time.

The most annoying feature for me is the placement of all the connectors in the front half off the base (to make room for the vent on the left and optical drive on the right), where any USB 2.0 device on the right side risks getting repeatedly bumped by my mouse hand. And the wires from any video, HDMI, and USB 3.0 devices on the left leave little room for reference materials or coffee cups close by.

Buy Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 68852BU 15.6" Notebook - Intel Core i5 2.60

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $786.77
Sale Price: $544.99
Today's Bonus: 31% Off

I bought this for my upcoming MSc in Machine Learning, which is a data science and programming course. I've owned and used many laptops over the last few years, including HP, Apple, and Dell, and to be honest nothing compares to this laptop.

It's a very slick and professional design, with a keyboard complete with all the standard keys you would find on a desktop keyboard, and it runs very quietly and efficiently (there isn't much noise from the cooling fan, which I am happy about, and the cooling fan runs efficiently and doesn't run erratically). The color is a matte black and the laptop looks great whether closed or open.

The trackpad, which is used to drag the cursor, is smooth and precise very good quality. One of my favorite things about the laptop is that the trackpad gives you the option of using a quick-tap function in order to left or right click more discreetly AND it has the buttons for those same functions for more precise clicking, which is slightly less quiet but still within reason. So you can click however you want. In addition to that, there is the "dot pad" in the middle of the keyboard for those who prefer to sometimes use that to drag the cursor.

The OS installed on it is Windows 7, but it is also full compatible with Linux (for those of you who are programmers), which is very useful for data processing, and it is also compatible and fit for using Unix. Windows 7 (pre-installed) comes with all kinds of Lenovo support programs, including an official Lenovo hardware scanning and health reporting program and many others. There's even an app store for Lenovo that, in my opinion, is even better than the app store for Apple. A free subscription to SugarCloud was also provided with 6 GB of free cloud storage than can sync to your other devices (mobile phones, tablets, etc). Other programs and essentials are provided, such as Skype. Microsoft Office is offered with a paid subscription (so no need to venture out and buy it yourself). Another program they provide with a free trial is something called Nitro Pro 8, which is a PDF formatting program MUCH better than Adobe and can be purchased from the application setup.

There are many other programs included that I don't have much time to write about but trust me it comes fully loaded with just about everything you need plus extras.

Overall, this laptop was certainly worth the money and should definitely be useful in my Machine Learning course this fall. Great buy A+++

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It is a good work horse and does what it is supposed to do just fine. The processor is very fast and works well for the music production software I use.

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I wanted windows 7 on my new computer but most companys only use the newest operating system which is windows 8. I am use to windows 7 and like it allot. The Lenovo Thinkpad is a very good grade business computer and works well with windows 7. The computer came with an anytime upgrade to Windows 8 if desired, nice touch.

In short, the computer is excellent and does what I need it to do with my business.

Honest reviews on Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 68852BU 15.6" Notebook - Intel Core i5 2.60

Comfortable keyboard, but did take me a while to figure out how to right-click for copy and paste, as there is no right-click button you click on the lower right section of the touch pad. I usually use it with a mouse because I'm old school; just like the control of a mouse. The battery life when fully charged is not quite what it claimed. Usually 4 hours, not 5. But I didn't buy this to take everywhere, its just replacing an antique desktop. Came with 30 days of Microsoft Office 2013, which I liked, as I can't decide whether to get the office edition or home. Overall, happy with choice.

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Performance is good, very nice screen, keyboard is better than most, AND I was able to get it with Windows 7 rather than the dreaded Windows 8.

Buy HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook 15t-4000 (Silver); Intel Core

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $2,649.99
Sale Price: $1,999.95
Today's Bonus: 25% Off

Looks great. Solid build/construction. Performance is awesome, SSDs make the difference. Boot to the log in screen in sub ten second range. Fan almost never runs. The screen is bright and clear, can get glare and reflection from the glass. Touch screen is great, responsive and accurate. I was able to connect the laptop to a HD TV with an HDMI cable and both the video and sound were pushed across the HDMI cable.

Only con I have is that the disk image installed on the 256GB + 256GB RAID 0 setup, that I suspect to be the stock disc image, is sized for a 256GB disk resulting in about 256GB of unallocated space on the array. Thus the recovery partition is in the middle of the logical drive, sandwiched between the main partition and unallocated space. There is no problem if you want to create another partition but if you want that unallocated space to be part of the main partition you have to either remove the recovery partition or use some partition manager to swap the unallocated and recovery partitions. This is probably something that Eluktronics should have handled prior to shipping the laptop because many wont have the skills necessary to juggle the partitions to make one single system partition. Maybe it was just an oversight. Not a big deal for me but others are not likely to feel the same.

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BEST COMPUTER IVE EVER OWNED!!! This is a great way to begin learning Windows 8, and being a touchscreen, can access the program and navigate as it was created. since its a solid state drive, no more heating problems! quick response and elimination of the normal windows/ PC glitchy problems, i say spend the extra amount and get one!!!

Best Dell Computer I15N-3001BK Dell Inspiron I15n-3001 I3-2350m Deals

Customer Ratings:

I have had the laptop for 6 months now and I haven't had one problem with it. It has an extremely fast processor and great battery life. This is a great deal for $500 or less.

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So far this computer works great. I had a really good Dell before this one, that was 900.00. It was good and solid. Felt well made. This works great, paid 330.00, but it feels cheaply made. It does everything I need it to do, so it's fine.

Best Deals for Dell Computer I15N-3001BK Dell Inspiron I15n-3001 I3-2350m

I bought this computer for developing photos and for writing and so far am very happy with it. My only two complaints are that the computer does not come with the OS software, so I will need to purchase that from Dell. Also, there is a LOT of bloatware, which bogged down the computer and I ended up either removing or deactivating.

Discount Sony Vaio VPCEE23FX/T AMD Athlon II X2 P320 2.1GHz 4GB 320GB

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $699.99
Sale Price: $672.88
Today's Bonus: 4% Off

Though I have only had this computer for about 5 days, I am liking what I'm seeing. It's fast, has a great display, and is running all the additional software, that I've loaded, without a hitch. It even was willing to run my HP printer without downloading the specific drivers from HP. The keyboard is comfortable, and is not cramped as was the case with my netbook. The dedicated numeric keypad is also a definite plus. When hooked to an external monitor, I don't have to tell the computer to turn on the external display, it does it automatically. The trial software that comes with Windows 7 is a pain, but is easily removed. It isn't necessary to shell out a bunch of cash on Microsoft Office when Open Office is readily available as a free download. This past weekend when I had some free time I popped a movie into the DVD drive, and enjoyed a couple of hours of downtime. I hooked up some USB powered speakers to enhance the sound a bit, and was set. The picture quality while watching movies was great! I will update this review as I gain more experience with this laptop, though I doubt that I will have anything negative to add. It looks as though this computer is a gem. I let you know if I continue to think that way. Right now I'd say that it merits my recommendation to anyone looking for a very nice laptop. ***Update*** Having had my VAIO for a while now, I can still claim that it's a great computer. So far no hardware, nor OS problems with it at all. I got crazy last week and decided to double the memory. I went to Crucial.com and ordered 2 sticks of 4 gigs of memory. Mind you that the memory I put in is almost double the speed of the old. The difference was instantly obvious. Not only do applications load faster, the computer boots up in about 40 seconds! I subscribe to the belief that it is impossible to have too much memory, and this experiment seems to have bolstered my argument. In summation, this is a great computer. It does what I want, and does it well. I can, and will recommend the Sony VAIO(R) VPCEE23FX/T E Series 15.5" Notebook PC to anyone wanting a great little laptop!

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This is my first under $700 laptop ever and I have to say that this is an extraordinary product.

Awakes from stand-by in 4 seconds and from hibernation in about 12 seconds. My colleagues, family, and friends are impressed by its processing speed. Truly!

Despite its large 15.5" screen it isn't heavy in my briefcase. Maybe because of the lighter than usual power charger, which I also like because of its cable junction design (it won't break as with all my previous HPs)

If I wanted something different I probably asked for a larger hard drive, but, I worry that making any change may mess its apparently unique configuration.

Best Deals for Sony Vaio VPCEE23FX/T AMD Athlon II X2 P320 2.1GHz 4GB 320GB

After doing some light research, I bought this laptop as a quick fix to serve as my go-to AutoCAD tool for school. I already have a Mac so the stakes were high for this machine. Right out of the box the thing worked like a charm. It detected my wi-fi and printer in almost seconds so I was ready to go. Loading the AutoCAD software was easy as well, no hiccups, and I've been able to use it consistantly for 3 months without incident. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with this laptop and I have to say Windows 7 isn't half bad either. I have yet to spring for the full-blown MS Office 2010, but the Office Starter that comes with the machine has worked perfectly enough that I find I don't need the full version yet. I'm able to work in Excel and Word without a problem, inclusive of editing and creating new docs. I use Excel a LOT and have yet to be hindered with the Office Starter capabilities. It is a free tool, which means there are ads present, but they are shuffled to the right margin and never jump out into the document itself. Granted, you lose a fair chunk of working space, but it IS a free tool so consider what you are getting for the money. For my school needs, I'm just fine working around that for now.

A couple nits:

1) the constant Windows Updates. It seems like everyday, either Windows or VAIO wants to load something new on my machine. I've started becoming selective based on my needs, but if this sort of thing doesn't bother you then its a non-issue. It has died down since the first days of having the machine so it probably just needed to catch up with the current info once it started up for the first time.

2) the screen is HIGHLY reflective and that can get annoying if your light source isn't in the exact, right spot. I've not quite found that sweet spot, but it's definitely not behind or directly overhead. Off to the side and not directly pointed at the screen seems to work well.

Other reviews I read poo-pooed the power cord placement on the side of the laptop vs. the back, but this hasn't been a thorn in my side or anything so it's all personal preference.

For under $700, I am extremely happy with my purchase and definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a cheaper alternative that will still handle most tasks with ease.

PS I've streamed Netflix over my home wi-fi very successfully as well.

Honest reviews on Sony Vaio VPCEE23FX/T AMD Athlon II X2 P320 2.1GHz 4GB 320GB

Everything on this computer is slow or slower. Opening a window like My Computer can take about 30-45 seconds. Closing one even longer. If a window freezes while sufacing, go get a cup of coffee because that revolving circular thingy will be going for at least a minute. It's insane. This new operating system has none of the snap that Windows XP had. Everything kind of 'floats' open, like it's in no rush. Despite having 4GB of RAM and a 320GB Hard Drive and doing little more than surfing and some word processing, this computer is just plain garbage. I will say, after my HD fried, SONY did provide excellent customer service as it was still under the one year warranty. Stay away!!!

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Though I didn't purchase my PC through Amazon, I feel that I have an obligation to review this PC. I bought it last August and have to say between now and then I have had it running at least 2/3 of the time since. I fall asleep to movies in my MediaGo library. I use it to record local music. I use it to make music. I go to college online with it. I work this machine, there are always at least 4-5 programs running. It rarely crashes because of hardware issues. No problem running and Adobe CS5 program. This computer is truly a beast, I could keep listing what I have put this machine through all night. I have put this machine through hell, it comes everywhere with me. In the time that I have had it, I have only had 2 issues. The first I easily fixed myself because it was a software malfunction, I had to restore the system to factory settings which is a grueling process when you create and accumulate as much data as I do. Though my computer is still a fully functional machine after the few hours it took to get it to where it needed to be. The second issue is that sometimes when I put it down swiftly when it is closed, it shuts down. The strange thing about that is.... It doesn't recognize that it shut down incorrectly when I turn it back on. But this happens few and far between, like I said I've put this thing through the electronic equivalent of hell, and there is no handbasket involved. I have definitely received output of data that is far beyond the financial input for this laptop. I find SONY to be a very reliable company, any time I have had a problem or question they have been easy to deal with. I look forward to upgrading the Hard Drive and RAM in the next coming months. I enjoy its aesthetic, and the full sized keyboard. Its not heavy, it does run a bit hot. The power button is awkwardly placed, I accidentally put it to sleep sometimes when I pick it up open. (reminiscent of the poorly place power switch on the PSP, when intensely involved in a game it is easy to accidentally power off... I guess that's the price we pay for smaller and smaller electronics). All in all, if you are looking for a PC that is reasonably priced, will meet your entertainment (besides hard core gaming (though oblivion runs fine on it... prolly not skyrim though), and can handle multitasking too, SERIOUSLY consider this Machine.

(BIG)pros

Quality Screen

Upgradable Hard Drive, RAM, and Optical Drive

Full Size Keyboard

great for Everyday Entertainment use

and... It still Multi-tasks amazingly.

CONS

poorly placed power button (minor nuisance)

has needed maintenance (after 15 months, but it was easy to DIY)

lots of Bloatware... (easy to fix)

loud optical drive (minor nuisance)

Reviews of DELL INSPIRON 1420 14.1-Inch Laptop

Customer Ratings:

I bought this Dell inspiron about a year ago to replace my 6-year old gateway. I looked around at prices for lightweight but powerful laptops including macs, gateways, hps and sonys. The inspiron is not the lightest available for its power class (core 2 duo, 3G ram, 250G hard drive) and it even got miserable reviews on the battery life, but for the price, there was no competition.

Pros:

Regular battery regularly lasts over 3.5 hours even after 1 year of daily use.

9-cell battery regularly lasts over 5 hours even after 1 year of daily use.

It's pink :)

Built in webcam, speakers, microphone all great for skyping etc.

SD card reader and USB's on BOTH sides (6 total) make for nice use of a portable mouse & other gadgets.

Cons:

It's really fat and heavy. In fact my first impression of what I thought would be a lightweight model was "oh crap it's heavy!" When I tried to buy a protective sleeve, the store told me they didn't have any for laptops as fat as the inspiron :)

The mousepad is consistently unresponsive! Not only does it fail to recognize my strokes if my finger accumulates even a little perspiration, but it often takes several minutes after bootup to recognize vertical strokes, and only moves horizontally even after opening and running several programs. It also randomly "clicks" so that when I'm typing, my cursor jumps around despite taking extra care not to touch the mousepad (ironically, it just did it as I was typing this sentence!). This is ultimately not cool and perhaps the main motivation for not liking this machine -you can't like it if you can't use it.

The built in mic and webcam weren't recognizable by linux software until the 9.10 release. pretty upsetting from a company that sells linux based machines.

Despite having a 4-year customer support and insurance plan, I still can't figure out how to get hold of a Dell representative -their website is completely incomprehensible making my customer support agreement nearly useless.

Finally, the screen is pretty dim. in fact, the dimness that they use to generate the battery life is so dark that it hurts my 26 year old eyes to read. even now, plugged in, the screen's whites are actually pretty gray.

------------------------

So overall I really expected more from a machine that, after customization, cost me about $1200. When you spend that kind of money on something, you really expect it to be kind of pleasant, if not even enjoyable to use. After all, dual processor, huge hard drive and battery life of 3-5 hours isn't even competition any more.

...but, it does work. Furthermore, owing to my genius decision to switch to linux, it also recognizes every printer I've ever plugged in to immediately without installation of drivers. This is pretty cool.

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I disagree on many points with the previous reviewer. I agree on all the good points, and yes, this laptop is a bit on the heavy side, but it's the one I keep at home on my desk and IS easily portable from room to room. I have also traveled with it and used it at work many times without any problems, but because of its size and weight, I do prefer using my netbook for travel. However, part of the reason it may be a little heavy is because it is a strong and well-built computer, one built to last! I have had absolutely no problems with the keyboard or with anything else, and suspect maybe there was something defective with the previous reviewer's computer. I also love the crystal-clear display and the large screen. My computer is black and silver and I love its elegant yet retro look. I purchased it over two years ago, and expect and hope to be using it for several more years. Even my husband, who is a diehard Mac user/fan, enjoys using my computer!

Best Deals for DELL INSPIRON 1420 14.1-Inch Laptop

I have been using this laptop for years my trusty Dell Inspiron 1420. Never a problem, works endlessly and is endlessly useful and reliable. My personal favorite and I even have "always on" internet with it built in. Highly recommended.

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I have had this laptop for almost 6 years and it still runs almost as smoothly as when I got it. I rarely turn it off, carry it with me everywhere, and am using it almost constantly. The battery life is not so great anymore, but I really can't complain. I love my computer. It's a simple machine but it works well and it is sturdy!

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If you're looking for a reasonably priced workhorse of a machine, this is a sure bet.

I've had this machine for 3 and 1/2 years now. I've taken it all over the world. It is the best Dell I've had (and I've had six over the years) and it's still going strong.

I bought this machine refurbished from Dell for about 600 bucks, with Vista, Webcam, small hard drive, and no bluetooth. Over the years I've easily upgraded this machine as needed, now to Windows 7, 360 HD, bluetooth, and 4 GB of memory, and 9 cell battery. It's just now starting to reach the end of it's work-life, but I think I will get another year out of it for my purposes.

I have carried this laptop all over the world. It has an cast aluminum exterior body (not plastic like the 1520) and it's worn well under hard conditions. I've had some minor problems with the keyboard, but because it's modular in construction, popping in a new one was a snap.

This machine has done everything I've asked of it. It's the first Dell I've had that I didn't feel I would have to throw away after 2 years. Whoever was on the design team for this machine did a good job.

It's got an easy to reach hard drive, easy to reach memory expansion, easy to exchange battery, a combo card reader, an sd card reader, dvd drive, external monitor plug, s-video plug, four USB plugs and a firewire plug. It is not heavy, despite the review from another user (his problems are because he was running Linux on a Windows-based machine and he was having driver issues.) But with the 9 cell battery, you can feel the weight. The 9 cell gives plenty of power, and I bought mine off ebay (not from Dell). The battery has been in use for 3 1/2 years and is still holding a charge quite well. I use the battery that came with the machine as a backup on long flights.

Vista stunk on this machine, but it was usable. Windows 7 (running 32 bit mode) turns this machine into a workhorse.

I like the screen resolution, and the track pad can be easily configured (despite the other reviewer's comments).

As I was anticipating the demise of this machine in the future I began looking at everything out there under a thousand bucks. Then, by accident, I shorted out the video on the motherboard (completely my fault). So then I really had to decide what I was going to do to replace this machine. I again looked at everything out there (refurb'd Macs, new Toshiba 835r, another Dell 14r, HP's) and finally concluded that I'd rather get a used motherboard and keep the Dell 1420 going. For less than 120 bucks, it's now back in business, and I can put off a purchase for another year (at least).

Talk about loyalty, eh?

This machine is a dynamo. If you can find a decent on used, grab it. Just don't get the NVIDIA graphic card models, as they have a flaw. Get the one with the integrated Intel graphics card. You won't be sorry.

Reviews of Apple MacBook A1342 13.3" Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.26Ghz, 250GB

Customer Ratings:

I Work on a lot of Macbooks and I'm really not a huge fan of Airs and Pros. Logicboards seem to be real water magnets and it doesn't take a lot to end up with a fried board from a spill. Have ton of laptops and the opportunity came for me to buy one of these that had a bad Gatorade spill, so I did because I gave an i7 pro to a family member and needed an OSX. The older unibody style seems to hold up better to liquid than the newer pros. The heat generated and maybe weathering may lead to some cracking of the case in a few areas, but naturally heat will do that. Probably not a bad thing and allows some heat to dissipate. Easily sealed with electronic grade silicone, and besides, this Macbook was Afghanistan too, so I'm sure that didn't help. Just goes to show how durable it is, I guess.

That being said, here's what I did: Pulled the factory RAM and maxed it to 8GB. Pulled the factory 250GB HDD and installed a Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid HDD/SSD 750GB w/64mb cache (could've gone with a full SSD, but opted for more storage). Installed Snow Leopard. Now it runs like lightning. The OSX is nice and light, so it runs really fast. Noticed a huge difference. This model has great potential and is perfect for anyone who doesn't want to fork out a lot of money for an MBP. Since doing this, it's been one my favorite laptops to use.

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Bought this computer to replace my powerbook that lasted for 6 years. This one hasn't lasted as long. The hard drive failed after a year and a half. I'm still happy with the product, Macs have served me well. Not getting into the whole Mac vs. PC debate, but if you like Macs, this is a good buy, hopefully with the new hard drive it will last me a few years.

Discount Lenovo G560 Series 067999U Laptop (Black)

Customer Ratings:

If you want a basic laptop with excellent price to performance, this is a good choice. Looks and feels sturdy, minimum flex, relatively light, excellent display (fonts could be sharper), very nice keyboard, DVD writer, and enough RAM (4GB) and HD (320 GB) for normal home use. No HDMI port, weak sound, and no fancy bells and whistles. Battery life seems to be reasonable (3 hrs fully charged on a 6-cell battery). Overall, an excellent value for money, especially compared to similarly configured Dell, Sony, or Toshiba (which cost anywhere from $150 to $250 more).

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I'll keep this review short and sweet. This laptop is perfect for those looking to do every day tasks.

Pros:

1. Great price for performance. Although I upgraded the SSD, which made a significant improvement, even without the laptop is quick.

2. Easy to upgrade, if desired. Removing the back panel reveals the CPU and hard drive bay. Personally I had a 80GB SSD sitting around from my previous laptop so I replaced the 320GB HD with it. Huge improvement, instantaneous loading is FTW.

3. Good battery life. After a few discharges, I'm currently getting ~3 hours of battery life with non-intensive use.

Cons:

1. Headphone static when laptop is plugged in. Not overwhelming but clearly there. Seems to be a common issue with G560's.

2. Laptop charger cord is a little short. Another foot would have been much appreciated.

Best Deals for Lenovo G560 Series 067999U Laptop (Black)

Okayfirst things first.

This laptop is NOT high end. I am used to that as I am typing on a 6 year old Everex machine that I have pared down to run very smoothly and has never given my any problems that I did not create. SO. I understand low-end, economy, yet I want it to do the max possible for the dollar. This is it in my opinion. Even though it is not top-notch in some areas, what you get for around $400 or so, I feel is WELL worth this small expense.

Some highlights.

Textured plastic case. No fingerprints. Some have remarked negatively about the touchpad. It is textured as wellthat may be their issue. So, at first, when you are using it, your finger does not slide easily. It is a matter of pressure as I got used to it within a minute.

It is a dual core Pentium, albeit a basic one. No hyperthreading and some of the other tech that takes basic to WOW. Big HDD for the pricespin speed is 5400 on the HDD. Hmmmmm. As it saysfor surfing, burning the occasional disc off, and general computing needs, I think that this does a great job.

We have kids, and I was worried about OneKey restore being right there for all to see on the upper part of the deck above the keyboard! Yikes. Can't disconnect the use of the key (at least I haven't found a way yet), but it can be password protected. So I am cool with that.

It is relatively light @ not quite 6 lbs. Replacement batteries aren't that expensive, and, should you need to go portable around the house, 4 hours is plenty to sit and research something, or do a bit more. Haven't done much else with it, so I may come back and list some other plusses or minuses as they arise.

Bottom linethe computer that this is replacing, another Everex that utterly died after almost all day, everyday use for about 5 years, met our expectations(not exceeded) THIS Lenovo will continue to exceed.

Update: 3.15.2011

Still great. After loading up all that we needed to, our programs, photos, screensaver, extras, catching up on all of the updates from various and sundry places... still GREAT. Web: Browsing is only a second or two delay and then nearly instantaneous on filling out the whole page. Do remember that this machine is not tops on anythingso I find the speed exceptional. I had 3 different programs in various stages of loading, downloading, and installation, and they were all done in lightspeed fashion, with no locking up, no hold ups, no hitches. Done in a New York Minute.

Keyboard is well arranged, responsive, and does not miss a beat. Dual number key pads... sometimes an assistance.

Hate to say it, never been overboard on Microsoft products, but Seven is good. No problems so far, like Vista. Always had to come up with workarounds for that OS. Ugh. Not so here. All set up and customized. Works GREAT and without any hitches with the various Freeware that I use. You know, let me touch on that one.

I have NEVER had a computer crash due to anything other than hardware failure due to heavy use and age. With that said, here are the programs that I like to use, again it is all Freeware, and all of it is from CNET. Here is the list, in order of use to clean up your system entirely:

Free Registry Fix

COMODO System Cleaner

IObit Advanced System Care

Spyware Terminator

IObit Smart Defrag #2 Beta

I find that these programs work very well together, no matter what OS you use from XP through Windows 7, cause no conflicts, and keep your system totally clean of everything, and running as fast as is possible.

Screen quality is great. Very tight for roughly 720 video and picture quality.

Lastlysound quality is great. Once you dive into Windows to customize your setting, you come across an area of sound customization, including I believe 10 band graphic equalizer, or presets like concert, rock, or classical and the likeand, then you can set up the 3d perceptual range and some other functions. Very nice. Makes these little speakers sound so much better, so much more presence, and even, dare I say it, a little note of 3D digitally manipulated Bass? Surprising, but true!

Buy this computer. I love it, and have had an easy time of things using it, setting it up, and the customization of Windows is a lot of fun.

Buy it. I have no cons on this for the price. Not one.

Honest reviews on Lenovo G560 Series 067999U Laptop (Black)

Everything is fine. Looks good. Screen, Keyboard, battery life is good (over 3 hours). Does not get hot however long you use. Lighter than expected. Only the sound quality is a bit dull and low. I would recommend to friends, acquaintances with a tight budget.

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So far, this laptop has been wonderful. Windows-7 is a bit of a learning curve if you're used to XP (like I am), but so far it's been simple to use. My only complaint is this product came with some bloat/crapware along with important Lenovo software--I accidentally uninstalled something thinking it was bloatware only to realize it was a needed file (it was Easy-Camera). Re-downloading the needed software resulted in being given the runaround (in the end, I had to download a Vista version of the program because Windows7-64 bit just wouldn't work with the download). It would be nice if Windows would more clearly specify what's an important file versus what's not (not just specifying for system files) so the laymen out there don't accidentally delete things, but oh well.

When the fan blows, it's rather quiet. I haven't had any issues of the laptop overheating. The speed is wonderful, too, very fast. The image quality and sound is pretty good, I haven't had much problems compared to the other reviews. What's also interesting is you have the option to create a face-recognition log-in using the camera instead of signing it; it's a neat touch.

For those who use word-processing files, you'll have to either buy Office or go with something like Openoffice instead (the latter of which I did). This laptop also comes with McAfee, which I ditched that in favor of Spybot and Avira; it's best to go with your personal preference for virus/spyware protection.

Overall, I'm VERY pleased with the quality of this laptop. Highly recommended!

Toshiba - Satellite P875-s710217.3" Laptop - 8gb Memory-3rd Gen Review

Customer Ratings:

Pros:

-Very nice stats for the price

-Quad Core i7-3630QM 2.4Ghz processor

-Backlite keyboard helps at night

-8Gb ram and I believe it can be upgraded to 32Gb

-Shuts down and Starts up reasonably fast

-Charges quickly

-4 USB 3.0 drives

-17.3" screen, so it's a fairly large laptop

-Wifi Ready

-DVD-CD drive

Cons:

-6 cell battery and there aren't currently longer lasting batteries on the market for this laptop

-Integrated video card is a negative, can't put a new one in

Neutral:

-Hard Drive isn't the top of the line in speeds but because of the processor and ram makes it's hard to notice

-Some sites don't list the Windows 8 is the standard on this laptop, refurbished might be lower though

-The touch pad mouse doesn't respond great all of the time, sometimes it takes more than one swipe to move the mouse to where you want to move it to.

Overall for the price, it's very solid one site even said replace your desktop with it.

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HP ENVY x2 11t-g000 Tablet Notebook PC Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $899.99
Sale Price: $599.99
Today's Bonus: 33% Off

I pre-ordered the HP Envy X2 from HP Direct. I have purchased lot of DM4's for most of our sales staff and been happy with the quality, performance and price. I was concerned about the crazy things going on at HP lately. I wanted an ultrabook for travel but I didn't like the early versions that HP had come out with. I was researching the Asus and Lenovo but nothing ever struck me to buy. Then, I read about the upcoming X2 Hybrid. This thing is everything I wanted: small, fantastic battery life, snappy performance, and touch screen. It came in earlier than expected so I was able to take it with me on a business trip. It's good that it did, because I had time on the plane to learn how to navigate in Windows 8. I highly recommend using the "Getting Started" tutorial and the "Windows 8 Cheats Keys" Apps. It got me up to speed and now I see where Microsoft was headed with this. Back to the Envy, this is by far the nicest product I have every purchased from HP. It is truly incredible. The construction is beautiful, and it doesn't even get hot on your lap. AGAIN, the battery life is INSANE because you get a battery in the tablet and the base. In the first day, I literally had 4 different people ask about it when they would see me use the touch screen on a laptop. It was hilarious when I would show how the screen detaches into a tablet, lots of WOW and OOOH! I used it for an entire 3 hour flight and only ate up 15% of the total battery. You do the math ... that is awesome.

Regardless of just the cool factor, this thing is a great multifunctional tool. I have all the features of an iPad, but the power of a business PC. Most of the apps I use like Evernote, Netflix, Skype, Shazam, Youtube, Facebook etc are already in the App Store. One bummer is that I'd really like to have my banking App too. I'm sure the number of apps will grow rapidly. I loaded MS Office and even a CAD reader to view 3D renderings. It works flawlessly.

Any review that doesn't glow about this thing must be a bipolar Apple/Mac user.

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I have had my Envy X2 since it was released in December. I purchased it directly from HP. It is a beautifully designed laptop/tablet hybrid with only a few issues, most of which are not in anyway the product of HP or its design team.

The size and weight of the computer are perfect for traveling with the computer. The hinge release design and overall build quality far exceeds those of comparable products (Asus and Samsung ATIV). IT has two usb slots, an HDMI connection, and a SD card reader built into the keyboard dock. The tablet has a Micro SD card reader that will increase the overall storage up to 64GB. This is an excellent feature given the unit comes with only 64GB and over half of it is taken up by Windows and the recovery partition. The keyboard dock also houses a separate battery and separate CPU, so when the tablet is docked, the battery and CPU in the keyboard power the unit. When it is not docked, it runs off the battery and CPU in the tablet casing itself. Overall sound quality is decent, but nothing to write home about. It lacks bass completely.

The Intel atom chip is a vast improvement over the prior chip that bared its name and was found in almost every netbook previously. The processor will allow you to run multiple apps and is responsive in basic programs such as Office. It is not a gaming system and it will not give you the performance required to run most major games. Also, the graphics chip is the Intel chip based on the Power VR design (arm design) so it does not support Direct X, which is another reason this machine is not meant for gaming. For business use and school use, this machine is ideally suited.

The wireless chip is a major design flaw, albeit an Intel one. The nature of the Atom chip is a SOC (sytem on a chip design). It is this design that allows for the 14 plus hour battery life on this system. To accomplish this all of the components are built in to system chip and the chip regulates power usage to a minimum. As a result, the wireless card is not capable of handling speeds over 65mbps. Despite being a wireless N design, it will never come close to 300 mbps of wireless N. It is a single antenna design, despite its multiband capability. It is designed this way to maximize power. However, since the computer does not have an Ethernet connection, this is some what of a drawback if you have a high speed internet connection or need to move large amounts of data over a wireless network. My Fios connection is 75 down and 35 up and I cannot achieve my maximum speed on this device. This feature is shared on all Intel Atom designs, including the Samsung ATIV 500 and the Asus equivalent. The manufacturers conveniently leave this fact out of their spec sheets and websites. It is a trade off for the battery life, but it something that prospective buyers should aware of when looking at this system.

The memory is sufficent for most everyday apps and it will allow multiple programs to be open in the background, as long as the programs are not memory intensive, such as Photoshop or video editing.

The Touchpad has some issues as well, and hopefully a fix will come via a driver update in the future. It will stop responding for no apparent reason, especially if the computer is left sitting for awhile.

The only other drawback is the stylus. At this point it still has not been released, and HP does not have a release date. This is one of the major reasons I purchased the computer. Also, according to the manual, the stylus is an Atmel stylus instead of WACOM. This means that you will only get 512 levels of pressure at most and it could be as little as 256. This will limit the stylus to basic handwriting and editing tasks. If you are looking to do graphic design or heavy photo retouching, this is not the stylus based computer for you.

Overall, this is an excellent system for the money and it will allow you to run legacy windows programs in addition to Windows RT software from the app store. It is apparent that HP put some real thought and design into the system. The fact that the system comes with the keyboard dock is also an added plus to help justify the slightly higher cost. The overall build quality is far superior to the Samsung ATIV and ASUS, both of which are made of plastic components.

As long as you know that this is not a powerhouse computer for gaming or heavy photo and video editing, you can't go wrong with this computer.

Best Deals for HP ENVY x2 11t-g000 Tablet Notebook PC

Great Concept. It's a laptop when I want it to be and tablet when I need it to be. I have full access to all my windows applications and a growing table app marketplace to support the tablet environment.

About the hardware: Snappy performance, very light-weight. Expandable (Micro and standard Secure Digital card slots); 1 on the tablet and one on the base. Extremely long battery life (2 batteries). The screen resolution is very good and clear from a wide range of angles. Let's be clear, this is no retina display, but it is a high resolution In-Plane Switching panel.

The tablet is extremely light and comfortable in my hands. The volume and power buttons are easily accessible and in the right spots. The "detach" mechanism for the tablet and base is intuitive and easy thanks to the integrated guide magnets.

The Beats audio sounds great and requires no intervention.

Out of the box:

Out of the box the unit was charged and ready for use. Windows 8 setup was quick and easy, however there were many updates that needed to be downloaded for the OS and pre-installed apps.

Minor issue:

CameraI'd like to see better camera/video apps

Metro InterfaceSome things still seem to work better with a keyboard/mouse rather than a touch interface. We will have to see how that comes along.

Honest reviews on HP ENVY x2 11t-g000 Tablet Notebook PC

This notebook/tablet is great. The only downfalls I have seen are the top-heaviness which only occurs when you work on your lap. Also, it is a little difficult to open. The detachable tablet is an awesome feature and the full-size keyboard works great for such a small computer. Very portable and durable.

I'm ready to purchase another one for my teenage son. He has fallen in love with mine and now hates his Dell.

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Ok, to clarify I really like this computer. It has a lot of great assets to it but the cons sometimes drive me nuts! The audio.. is terrible! for someone who likes to listen to music often I don't appreciate having to be in an absolutely quiet environment to be able to hear the audio so for me that is a big con! Also, the computer seems to freeze once in a while and you can't do anything about it aside from restarting it. I read that from other reviews but thought it would only happen if you have too many things on at the same time.. nope it happens either way whenever it wants. The last con is that because it is a convertible laptop most of the weight is on the screen so if you are trying to type with the computer on your lap it tends to topple back, it bothers me because that is how I mostly type lol. I did not experience the difficulties that other reviews mentioned with the keyboard. In terms of things I like of the computer, mostly how fast it restarts! it is soooo fast! with other computers it takes about a minute or two to turn on, this one is up and running in seconds! the convertible aspect of it is great as well very sleek and elegant. so overall I like the computer, I plan on using it as an auxiliary portable laptop not for my more heavy video editing, watching movies etc. Very basic needs.

Cheap HP ENVY DV6-7214nr Windows 8 Notebook PC

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,199.99
Sale Price: $1,099.95
Today's Bonus: 8% Off

I have owned the 7214 for three weeks. It is quick and has top-of-the-line features. Including the latest Intel Ivy Bridge I7 3630QM chips. The biggest problem is using W8. A hybrid piece of software that ruins the computer desktop and is a half-ass tablet. However, leave it to American ingenuity to develop an add-on that transforms the W8 experience. Search for START 8, download for $5. It enables the 7214 to bypass W8 tile menu and brings up a Windows 7 desktop. Now W8 is workable. The official Start Menu/Tiles is worthless for the PC user since it does nothing of value. The apps have limited functionality, not even a navigation/tools menu at the top. Buy this powerful laptop, but also get Start 8.

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I have owned this computer for over a month and i have had no problems running any programs. If you're looking to buy this computer for gaming it is a fairly good choice, the GT650M plays most games at high settings(Tested Far Cry 3 at high and got around 45-50fps). As for windows 8, it can be a little annoying until you learn the work arounds. two things i found that help are downloading START 8 and adding some hotkeys to quicken things up. I could not be happier with this computer in terms of looks, weight, and features. One thing that seems trivial, but is actually really nice for people like me who always lock their computer when they leave it. Is the fingerprint scanner, instead of typing in my usual 12-15 letter password i just slide my finger across the scanner and it reads it and lets me in.

What was my final reason for going with this computer over the others i was looking at was the screen. Damn am i glad i shelled out the extra $150 dollars for the 1080p screen, it looks absolutely amazing, no glare, and rich colors.

The only thing i was slightly disappointed with on this computer was the mouse pad, more specifically, it's button. The left click has no resistance in it and the right one does. it gets kind of annoying.

Overall i highly recommend this computer to anyone who wants a good looking, high-quality, and powerful computer that they can carry around with them.

Best Deals for HP ENVY DV6-7214nr Windows 8 Notebook PC

I really love this laptop. It has great hardware, which is the reason I bought it. It has a powerful processor, great graphics card, blu ray player, and a full HD 1080p screen. I don't give it five stars because of the build quality. I have had to order three separate laptops from Amazon because of problems with the laptop.

First was the keyboard, which wasn't installed properly and was kind of popping out of the laptop. I tried popping it back in, but ended up just ordering a replacement from Amazon to be safe. Then with the other laptop there was some backlight bleeding on the screen. When watching a dark movie or when on a dark screen there was some light emitting from the bottom of the screen, bleeding through from the backlight. Maybe not that big of a deal for most people, but if I am paying $1000 for a laptop I want it to be pretty much perfect. It's not the seller's fault, since the laptops are sealed new and they are not able to check them before selling them.

So, now I'm on my third laptop. Hopefully I don't discover anymore problems with it. Like I said, I love the components in the laptop itself, but the people putting them together don't seem to try too hard to make it perfect.

You can now get this laptop a little cheaper on HP's website with coupons than you can on Amazon right now (7/1/13), due to the fact that 4th generation processors will be put in HP's laptops soon so they are trying to get rid of last years models.

Honest reviews on HP ENVY DV6-7214nr Windows 8 Notebook PC

I owned this laptop for about a year. it was ok for 6 months, after that its getting very hot. unbearable. I spent lot of money on it and now I am stuck. I hate it every day I use it. Apart from this great performance.

But who wants a laptop that gets very hot quickly and has high fan speeds to cool down. so, your laptop sounds like an airplane when its quite around you. I read several HP user forums and there are a lot of complaints about the heat and noise this laptop generates. Bottom line 'don't buy it'

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I play quite a few games and this is a fairly powerful laptop. Battlefield 3 can be run on Ultra settings though it does run at only 18 fps while on that setting. When set lower it runs without any hiccups at all.

The speakers sound good but the "Triple reflex subwoofer" doesnt really bleed through the treble very well.

All in all I like it a lot. 10/10 would buy again.

Alienware X51 i7-3770 3.4GHz GTX 660 16GB 1TB DVD Review

Customer Ratings:

Everything was excellent and perfect, except the customer service was a little bit slow at the beginning. For the Alien itself "perfect". I have nothing to say more than this because this is all.

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Discount Apple 13.3" MacBook Air dual-core Intel Core i7 2.0GHz, 8GB RAM

Customer Ratings:

I got this 13" Air as a replacement for an 11" MacBook Air (2011 version) because I wanted more screen real estate than I got on the 11" screen. I had tried some of the resolution enhancers for MacBooks so that I could see more on-screen, but they just weren't cutting it on the 11" screen. I ordered the 13" Air and loaded a resolution changer on it, but when I scaled the screen up from the 1440X900 to 1600X1050, the text was fuzzy and hard to read. I used it for about 2 weeks then the Retina MacBook Pro 13" came out. I saw that it weighed only 1/2 pound more and was slightly smaller length/width-wise than the 13" Air, so I've sent the 13" Air back and got the 13" Pro with Retina display. I've been comfortably using it at 1600X1050 (and I didn't need the resolution enhancers because scaling of the Retina display is built in with four resolutions included). The Air is light and very thin, so it's quite portable. You know how the air tapers from the back to the front? Well, the Pro with Retina is as thick as the back of the Air to give you an idea. The Air and the Pro are both great machines, but the Pro fits my use case better because of the scalability of the screen.

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enough said. awesome. solid construction. i cant say any more than that. this is one of the best ultrabooks out there.

Buy Gateway NV7802u 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 5 Hours of Battery

Customer Ratings:

I'm a techie and own 9 other computers. 6 of the 9 are Sony's. I also own Toshiba and MSI. I always thought I had to purchase the most expensive to have the best, but after purchasing the Gateway, I see now that I was wrong. This laptop is absolutely phenomenal. The screen is the most crisp, colorful and sharpest display I have ever seen. It literally blows everything else out of the water. I have it sitting next to two other laptops right now that I paid at least double for and there is really no comparison at all. Windows 7 runs smooth as silk, there is very little bloatware pre-installed. I'm simply floored by how good this computer is at this price point. Don't think twice about getting it. After seeing it in action, I really feel that it's a steal at this price. One downside for me is that the memory isn't upgradable beyond 4gb and it doesn't have a pc card/expresscard slot for my wireless modem, but since I'm using it primarily at home for photo editing, those things don't really matter to me. I'm considering purchasing a 2nd one now for my wife.

Update: Windows 7 on this computer continues to amaze me too. Today, I had 8 apps open and they all ran as if I only had one open. I didn't intend to do this, but I had Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Outlook, Word, Navicat, Hypersnap, Explorer and Microsoft Publisher all open at the same time and there was no lag or anything that would have let me know that I needed to close some apps to free up memory. The system ran smoothly as if I was just using one app, so the 4GB limit makes more sense now since there doesn't appear to be a need for more.

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I was looking at a Toshiba with similar but less specs than this machine. 3GB vs 4GB memory, and 320GB HD vs 500GB hard drive. $200 more everywhere I looked for the Tob, some places $300 more. This unit also has an extra slot for another hard drive internally.

I bought this unit 3 weeks ago at a local BB for $599, which was a steal for the features and overall quality of this laptop.

This Gateway is fast, plays DVDs with no problem, the high def is great and very crisp, and the 17.3 screen is plenty of real estate to work from. The keyboard was a little flat for my liking but after using it a while I've adjusted to it.

Also the touch pad is at times not as responsive as I would like, the scrolling function that is. I would like it to be be a little more sensitive when scrolling up and down. Just wish I could adjust the response to the touch pressure some but that's not possible. But there are a lot of software adjustments to the touch pad available and it works great overall. The scrolling is usually when surfing so that could be a site or browser issue rather than the touch pad itself.

The built in wireless network works great and gets a much stronger and reliable signal than my other laptop all over our house. I can even go out on the patio with no problems. The RJ-45 network hard wire connector works fine as well.

Windows 7 is a joy on this thing, especially compared to Vista. Multitasking shows no signs of lag or hesitation when using several programs at once.

I have 5 desktops and another laptop and all have XP except one. That one sits in the corner with very little use because it has Vista on it. I use it for backup audio recording sessions in my business only. Now it will get a face lift to Windows 7 and become my primary desktop.

But it will be fighting with this new Gateway as I can see this laptop becoming my primary work machine for most things I do. I'm a techie and do light programming, audio and some video.

I've yet to try any games on it but do think most games would play alright with some settings adjustments, except for the most intensive resource using games.

Depending on the use, I've been averaging 3 3 1/2 hours on the battery with medium use on the resources, that's also having the screen about two settings dimmer from the highest setting which is still a very bright screen. The weight is around 7 pounds and makes it very comfortable for the lap and almost no heat from the bottom of the unit after a couple of hours use.

If you buy one and need a case for it, look at the Case Logic 17" Slimline Laptop Case here at Amazon. I bought it and it's a good case for the price of 26 bucks, especially for 17 inch laptops.

Best Deals for Gateway NV7802u 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 5 Hours of Battery

I also purchased this laptop at a local Best Buy for $599. Not one of the other brands had 4GB memory, 500 GB HD, wireless, webcam, card reader, etc.. for near the price. As the previous reviewer said, this laptop has a stronger wireless signal as I have no problems anywhere in our home--our HP loses signal sometimes. I also do not like the keyboard quite as much as the Hp, but ok. I did have a problem with the Norton Internet Security locked up and quit working. I had to unistall it and ordered a new copy of Norton Security 2010 for $29.99 and it works great. The 2010 version is listed for Windows 7. It may have been a Norton problem with windows 2007. The screen is larger and brighter than our HP dv6. The battery is advertised at "up to 5 hours" but I have not gotten more than three and half hours--still more than the 2 hours I usually get with our HP. This computer, upon first powerup, starts you off with the wireless setup which was unbeliebably easy. Lastly, the setup with our Lexmark x7576 wireless printer was also very easy. I had the entire system up and running with wireless printer, new programs, wireless network, etc. in less than an hour. If you are looking for a great value laptop, this is it.

Honest reviews on Gateway NV7802u 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 5 Hours of Battery

Bought this for $599.00 at BB and just love it. This is my first lap top. I found it to be Quick like lightening and great memory with the DDR3, 4g memory, dual processors, and 5g hard drive. 64 bit Windows 7 is great except fire fox doesn't seem to do well on it. The screen is large, brilliant and easy to look at. Battery life is about 3.5 hours a little less than the specs.

A video on the webcam turned out great sent it to my brother in California and he loved it. Put on a couple professional programs that use a great deal of memory and the computer didn't even notice. No problems with many simultaneous programs running. Please note: I am not a gamer!

Only negative: Key pad is difficult to use I will go wireless mouse asap. DDR3 memory with 4g is NOT expandable.

I took the lap top out on the patio, to the garage, and all through the house and the signal was great. All in all, for the money, I don't think you can do better. This seems to have it all.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Gateway NV7802u 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 5 Hours of Battery

I just purchased one of these at BB for $599.0 and I must say I am pleasantly suprised. Many of the reviews I read online (the majority here at Amazon or at the BB site) were spot on. I agonized for several days between this laptop and the Sony VAIO VGN-FW510/F, which you can find here on amazon for ~ 780. This included several trips to the BB brick and mortar to look at both machines. In the end, my budget limitations won out I didn't want to spend the extra 200. I thought for sure I would have some regrets (never buy cheap, someone once told me), but none in this case. I can't stop looking at the damn thing thinking that I got a good deal.

Some initial thoughts:

Screen size and quality the screen is of very good quality, much better than my existing HP DV2748se laptop; it is bright and clear whereas my HP always looks washed out. It's not an IPS panel, so the usual caveats about viewing angles apply. The screen is also of the right resolution 1600 x 900 on 17.3 diagonal inches. Text / fonts are of good size (not tiny as you get with some high resolution laptop screens, e.g., 1920 x 1200 on a 15.6" screen)it looks like my desktop at work just not as much screen real estate.

Build quality acceptable; it's not as nice as a Macbook, but it definitely feels solid. The screen however, does flex a bit but no more so than my other HP laptop. The screen hinge is hefty and solid; on my HP the screen wiggles back and forth a few degrees (i.e., it feels loose) not so with this machine.

Speakers i read some of the reviews that stated the speakers sucked...they aren't that bad: very little bass and such but more than adequate for watching TV or casually listening to music. I don't have a TV, so I'm on either on Hulu or streaming some radio station or .

Keyboard one of the few livable minuses. The keys are flush with very little separation between them, so it is easy to hit the wrong key and feeling around with your fingers for a key is difficult. It takes some getting used to. I don't think the extended keyboard is very useful.

Wireless no issues, works as advertised, I was up and running in minutes and reception very good. No blue tooth however, but that is not a minus for me.

Windows 7 a pleasant surprise! It is slick, smooth, and is what Vista should have been. BTW, I also run Linux; when I went to the store I took in an Ubuntu 9.10 boot CD and loaded it up (much to the consternation of the salesman). It seemed to find all the hardware, to include the wireless card.

Operating Temperature this laptop runs quiet and cool. My HP has this annoying feature of the cooling fan cycling on and off in a rapid fashion, i.e., it will ramp up to max rpms and the quickly turn back off, not to mention it get's very hot in my lap. Not so with this machine...i can hardly hear the fan when it is on, which doesn't seem to be very often. I assume this is partly due to the larger case size which yields a better airflow through the internal components.

Gateway Tech support many reviewers commented on this (or the lack thereof). It appears to be poor I went to the gateway web site and perused the support section of the site. I was unable to locate a number if you want to call a real person; they do offer tech support for exorbitant fees on a per minute basis; so between the reviews I have read and what I found on the site leads me to believe if this puppy breaks I will be in trouble.

Memory Limitation this machine maxes out at 4GB :-( This was one of the selling points for the Sony, which can go up to 8GB. So this might be an issue with future proofing your purchase.

No eSata or firewire port :-( However, it does have HDMI and 4 x USB.

Overall, I am very pleased thus far with my purchase and definitely feel like I got a good deal, especially for $599.00

++++ UPDATE ++++

This is an update as of 2/05/2010. I've had the machine for over a month now and I am still more than satisfied. Just a few more comments based on my experience:

Battery life appears good. I usually average about three hours not bad for a six cell battery and this usually includes playing some video or listening to music.

HDMI works extremely well. In some cases on a laptop, the HDMI port is not true HDMI, i.e., you only get video and are still left to run a separate audio output to your television. I'm happy to report this is not the case; I had the opportunity to hook up the laptop to a friends Samsung 48" HD television and it works as advertised; you only need a single HDMI cable to carry both audio and video. The picture looked excellent and was at the full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080.

Recovery Disks. None are included...you have to burn your own onto 3 x DVDs using the software already installed on your machine.

The touchpad. The single bar along the bottom is a bit hard to press. Like a Mac touchpad, you depress either the left or right extreme of the bar. With my earlier laptop, which had the normal two-button layout, the buttons were relatively easy to press so that is what I used all the time. I had forgotten (and had to relearn) that instead of pressing the left button you can simply double tap the touchpad :-) So this is what I used now and it works quite nicely. You can also set up numerous other touchpad "gestures" ala what is used on the iPhone so you don't wind up using the touchpad bar. For example, I've configure it to mimic the right mouse button if you tap the upper right corner of the touchpad (all four corners are configurable). It doesn't compensate 100% for having the bar a bit hard on the fingers, but it is more than workable.