Review of Toshiba Satellite C855-S5194 15.6" Laptop (Fusion Finish in Mercury

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $599.99
Sale Price: $539.00
Today's Bonus: 10% Off

I researched and researched looking for the best machine I could get for my money and I could not be happier after purchasing the Toshiba C855-S5194. But........I purchased it locally at a major office supply store because their 'in store' discount coupled with the $50 rebate was a better price than here. Most of the negative reviews I'd read about *any* laptop was that Windows 8 was horrible. Well, that has nothing to do with the performance of the laptop. AND, Toshiba sends you a free e-copy of Windows 8 for Dummies (only 32 pages) so there's no excuse to say you don't know how to navigate. Memory was a huge selling point for me, there's lots of it on this machine, and it had a better processor than some of the others I was looking at. I did have to change some of the settings on the touchpad because I didn't like the defaults (i.e. to scroll you have to use TWO fingers and I'd rather use one on the side or bottom). You have to be slightly deliberate in your typing, but I'm ok with that too. And I've really been impressed with the battery life. I can work on it for up to four hours (maybe a little more). The web cam is very clear and adjusts the light accordingly. My husband and I Tango (free video chat app) and the images are good (depending on your signal). I installed Office Home Professional without any trouble. It's light for the size it is. I would highly recommend this machine to anyone in the market!

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I have been shopping for a laptop for about a month now and almost went for another HP but decided to try a Toshiba instead and so far I am completely happy with this decision. First time using Windows 8 but I am catching on quickly.. very easy to set up and super quiet. The laptop is quite fast and quiet, and so far works for what I need. ok so the not so good things, the keyboard is ok... it feels kinda cheaply made like I may lose keys for some reason... also the sound isn't that great as well so I will end up purchasing external speakers but its ok Im not too picky about it. Also I expedited the shipping but didn't get it in a timely manner which kinda upset me a little bit as I paid extra for that and if I would have done regular shipping it would have been free and I prob would have gotten it at the same time.... I will recommend this product as a light to medium user who doesn't need to do anything extravagant like heavy gaming... thumbs up!!!

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The laptop is good for the price and it makes the job.

The screen has a good resolution and the exterior design it's fine

Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite C855-S5194 15.6" Laptop (Fusion Finish in Mercury

Received sooner than expected. Works great, good speed. Very happy with this laptop. I would suggest downloading the latest video driver and touch pad driver, What a difference they made. Touch pad is smooth and reacts a lot better. Video is much smoother with no delays.

I highly recommend this laptop.

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Size a litttle bigger for my taste. but is great laptop screen very nice and 6g of memory gives good performance

Buy Acer Aspire E1-571-6853 15.6" Notebook PC

Customer Ratings:

This computer has an amazing camera and works as expected. For the price it's an awesome computer! Shop around for the best price, you won't be disappointed.

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I bought this laptop as a mid-range work laptop. The processor is fast enough for my intents, but the Windows 8 OS is pretty much the worst thing ever, especially for a laptop that doesn't have a touch-screen interface. I am actually typing this review on my beloved ipad. Oh, the irony!

Best ASUS G73SW-XA1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black) Deals

Customer Ratings:

Just received this laptop. It does NOT come with a backpack or a mouse (it was written that backpack and mouse are included in G73SW-XA1 on Amazon's product page, but this text was later removed). :-(

The material quality is great. Feels sturdy. Quite heavy, as expected.

Screen is glossy and has 1920*1080 resolution.

Windows experience index details are:

Processor 7.4

RAM 7.6

Graphics 7.0

Gaming graphics 7.0

Primary hard disk 5.9

Computer has 8GB of 1333Mhz RAM (4x 2GB), so it'll be expensive to upgrade RAM to 12GB(2*2 + 4*2) or 16GB(4*4) (since there are no extra free slots and you'll have to throw away existing RAM).

There is an empty 2.5" HDD compartment where I'm planning to install OCZ Technology 120 GB Vertex 2 Series SATA II 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive (SSD) OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G (I like the 750GB HDD + 120GB SSD configuration better than 500GB HDD + 500GB HDD).

Hard disk comes partitioned 174GB in C:\ and 502GB in D:\. Lots of stuff that I had to deinstall. The disk is Seagate ST9750420AS.

DVD writer drive is Matshita UJ8A0ASW (supports burning to Dual Layer 8.5GB DVD+R DL). WiFi is Atheros AR9285. Bluetooth is Broadcom BT-270.

For those of you who have heard about the Intel Sandy Bridge problem yes, it does have "New revision. Certified design" sticker.

Also has "NVidia 3DTVPLAY" sticker, so it should be possible to connect laptop to a 3D-capable TV or projector via HDMI.

Overall, I highly recommend this laptop.

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my last gaming notebook, was an alienware area 51M, made when alienware was not owned by dell and before dell messed up a great gaming notebook maker.

Alienware Area 51M 5620 Laptop Battery (Replacement)

I needed a newer notebook as that and my 4 yr old toshiba were long in the tooth. I was not looking for a gaming notebook, but as this is not much more money for a gaming notebook. Now this notebook is huge, view it as a desktop replacement. Asus has also improved and not having a ton of bloatware. It is pretty much remove from box, remove wrappers, place battery inside, and fire it up and get to work. I love the layout of it. awesome keyboard, straight forward approach.

It runs quiet, and doesnt require fiddling with the setup, such a relief these days.

If the P4 extreme alienware area 51m, was not a dead give away... I'm and old gamer. I was playing crush crumble and chomp and soldering 6502 microprocessors, when many of you were not even born lol.

I love how the hard drive is setup with the partitions that make sense. Just be sure and setup your games on the 500gb partition and installing them there.

All the normal issues with new computers I have not seen here. The manual is crap on real geeky useful information, but whose isnt these days. The designers think we are all idiots, which is mostly true, but give me useful info.. took me awhile to figure out which hdmi cable I need to hook this up to my 55in samsung.

So, If you are in the need for a decent gaming notebook, and are not worried about size, weight, or battery life.

You know who you are when you buy a 17in notebook which is a desktop replacement, and then post a 1 star review complaining about how heavy it is, blah blah.

THIS IS A DESKTOP REPLACEMENT GAMING NOTEBOOK!

it weighs in at 8 pounds, it wont fit on the drop drown tray on the airplane unless you wedge it and halfway thru your lost season 3 dvd the battery will die anyway.

I am quite pleased with it as I transfer my games to this. Just buy it and you will be happy.

Very solid notebook.

Best Deals for ASUS G73SW-XA1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)

***UPDATE: Amazon has sent a credit of 50.00 to compensate for the backpack and mouse.

I think that it goes without saying that this laptop gives you the most bang for the buck. I am not so much the PC gamer but I use applications which weigh heavily on the graphics card and processor. So far this laptop has been able to handle everything I can throw at it.

Pros:

i7 2.0ghz with (fixed) Sandy Bridge Technology

8GB RAM (expensive to upgrade to 16GB)

1.5GB Video Memory (beats best buys model by 512MB and 100.00)

750GB Hard Drive 7200RMP (again beats best buys model by 250GB)

LED Display, bright and does not wash out from multiple angles

Illuminated Keyboard

USB 3.0 (1x)

Cons:

Sound card...ugh. The Realtek sound card is of poor quality, the mic input is simply that. You cannot switch to line input, hopefully a fix for this will come in the future.

Bloatware, be prepared to spend some time uninstalling all of the useless tools and applications that come with this computer.

No backup disc, you must create your own (5 DVD's required)

Amazon said in description they would provide a gaming mouse and backpack, never arrived and was removed from product description... Shame on you Amazon.

The cons although annoying are not in any way deal breakers, this is a solid laptop with screaming performance from a great company. You will not find a better laptop for the price. 4 stars on this review, lost 1 star mainly for the sound card and bloatware. Amazon should make good on the backpack on mouse, those who rated the product 1 star because they did not get them should think about reviewing the laptop and not Amazon.

Honest reviews on ASUS G73SW-XA1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)

the specs and value of this machine is very nice. after i accidentally spilled soda on my HP HDX18 laptop (twice...), i decided to get a real gaming notebook. the Asus G73JW was the best value on paper compared to any other machine I could find out there (Toshiba Qosimo, Alienware, Sager, etc).

the Good:

video card = very nice (Nvidia 460M see notebookcheckdotcom for the specs and ratings)

runs very cool = I was very impressed by the overall cooling system. found a review that measured all the temperatures on the keyboard as well as vents in the back. compared to my HP, this was very comfortable and never got hot or even very warm under my hands when typing. never realized how warm my HP was until i started using this.

the OK:

most everything else is good enough. memory, hard drive, screen (although, i miss the 18.4" HP screen which was very nice. the 17" looks dinky when you get used to the 18" especially at the 1920x1080 resolution).

the Bad:

sound is poor.

keyboard = chiclet style keys which i don't like (but, this is a personal preference).

--

the Kicker:

when i first got it, it would freeze up occasionally. not often enough for it to be consistent, but enough to be kind of irksome. did the updates, etc, and it seemed pretty stable. after 4 months of use, it died. wouldn't boot at all. tech support was kind of a hassle won't bore you details, but HP's tech support was excellent compared to ASUS'. after going through the RMA process, i received the laptop yesterday. the keyboard wasn't installed properly was loose and flapping, i found that a screw wasn't even screwed down on the mother board (this was so obvious, even i could see it...) and i think there is a screw missing. the ASUS repair shop that did this, well, imo, sucks and it looks very shoddily done. the real problem is that now, after the repairs, it constantly freezes up. it is unusable. i have contacted ASUS tech once again, but i'm very disappointed w/ the machine's reliability at the moment.

so, at this time, i can't recommend this machine. i think ASUS really needs to step up their notebook quality checks. (i have asus monitors which are excellent.)

i'll update this review later after the next set of tech support.

--

update May 25, 2011

received the 2nd RMA laptop. turnaround was quick.

they replaced the keyboard (w/ a different color one for some reason) and hard drive (which now makes a clicky noise once in a while). again, new setup.

after setting up windows, it did it's asus live update and windows update... still freezes! sometimes tries to boot, and then shuts itself down. sometimes fails to even show bios screen... basically, the same thing as before.

3rd contact to tech support in progress.

--

a lot of the positive reviews seem to be immediate impressions. i have to say, mine was very high as well when i first got it. it's really the long term problems that i think this laptop has and all the little issues that seems to pop up (to me and to many others) that i never really had w/ other laptops.

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So, I got this beast a few days ago and the first 12-15 hours I spent debugging the other 6 hours installing updates. This notebook is built very tough and stays cool, basically all of the comments before mine appear to be correct so far. The GPU is fantastic and the sandy bridge gives you 8 threads of beastliness (the CPU). Display is gorgeous and the material used very comfy and nice to the touch. This machine is very very quite even at full load and does not heat up.

Note:

At some point the keyboard lights will not turn on for you. If pressing Fn+F4 does nothing, you will need to download the ATK driver from ASUS and do Repair>Restart TWICE. After that they will function again.

Sony VAIO VPCEA24FM/W Laptop / Intel Core i3 Processor 2.26GHZ Review

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The computer is very beautiful and the performance is good (in terms of speed), but I am very disappointed with its overall performance... in just three months of very moderate usage one of the USB ports simply stopped working. Now the Wireless Network simply turns off without a warning from time to time (even when nobody is on the computer, so it is not caused by an accidental touch on the wifi switch). The only way to fix this is by rebooting the computer...

Finally when I tried to get in contact with Technical Support (I live in Brazil), I was told that this is an american computer and I could not get support here. Even when I tried the Sony International website, they divert the message to the useless Brazilian support... this was also very disappointing since one of the advantages the vendor used to convince me to buy this was "the worldwide support given to Sony Vaio".

After having two Toshibas for almost ten years, which never gave me any problem, I bought my first (and SURELY last) Sony computer. There is greater value on other brands on this pricetag.

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Bought the laptop during Black Friday sale, so it's been a little over 6 months and only had one issue with it which was mentioned in one of these reviews as a problem (have heard about it from other sources as well). The laptop kicks you off the internet without warning and when this happenes, the wireless button is still in the on position so there is nothing you can do about it but restart the computer.

I have experienced this problem a few times before I got fed up and called Sony tech support where I was told that the sensor which was built into the computer is an industrial strength and the usual internet signals that are used in homes are not engough for the laptop to pick up on. That is when the signal weakens a little, the lapop cannot detect it, and that is when you get kicked off the net.

Tech support also told me to talk to the company where I subscribe for the internet to do a frimware update on the router which I went ahead and done. Then Sony deinstalled an old program and reinstalled the newest one. This was around Christmas and I have not had ANY problems.

Aside from this one issue I had, I did not experience anything negative, in fact I am very satisfied with my laptop and can recommend it to others wholeheartedly.

UPDATE (2012.01.14):

I had to have the laptop set back to factory settings, (basically as I bought it) and I encountered the same problem with the wireless switch and not being able to connect to the internet. I called Sony again, but my 1 year warranty expired and tech support wasn't able to help me without me paying a fee. However, the guy who I talked to was really nice and suggested to install and updated the newest version of the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 driver. I did just that and it worked! So if anyone is having this same issue, go to esupportDOTsonyDOTcom, type in the model of your computer (VPCEA24FM), then click on Wireless LAN, then select Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6200 Driver, then just download. Once you restart your computer you shouldn't have issues with your wireless connection again. I don't know if amazon will let me post the link, but here it goes:

Best Deals for Sony VAIO VPCEA24FM/W Laptop / Intel Core i3 Processor 2.26GHZ

I purchased this laptop from a big box store, for an amazing price.

It's super fast, doesn't come bloated with the historically bad Sony software all over it, and is a great machine for everyday use.

The pros:

Windows 7 never looked so good

The LCD is crisp and bright

The keyboard is responsive (Even without the number pad, which I'm not missing all that much)

The Blue Ray is great even if the software to run it is so-so.

With 4gb of ram, this puppy hums

The Con:

One major design flaw keeps this from being a 5 star computer. The power/sleep/hibernation button is on the right hand side of the computer, on the top, near the bezel. It is in the PERFECT place to touch it every single time you pick up the computer. In a week, I've put my computer into hibernation at least a hundred times. Not exaggerating, it is EXTREMELY annoying. None-the-less, I'm not returning the computer, not a deal breaker, just a major annoyance.

I'm really impressed with the fit and finish of this laptop. I'm not used to Sony computers being so reasonable, and so well put together.

Big win.

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I bought this laptop back in August of 2010 of my senior year in high school. I bought it specifically to last me through my last year in HS and for all four years of my undergrad. There were a few pros and cons that I found with it:

Pros:

-Chiclet style keys: I personally love this style of keys because they aren't annoying while typing and they look great on a laptop.

-Fast processor ( I had an i3, 500GB, 2.26 GHz and 4GB of RAM)

Cons:

-USB ports died one by one

-Memory card slot stopped working.

-The fan noise (this drove me crazy!) I replaced it, cleaned out the dust, and even tried lowering the amount of processes. It was just annoying.

Feels very fragile. The body isn't very durable and it feels like plastic.

I enjoyed the laptop for the first few months that I had it but I decided to move on and get a different laptop. It was fun.

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The product this one in impeccable conditions, I recommend the seller, I like it very much the vaio is very very rapid and has excenentes functions!

Not s that more to put but amazon forces me to write many words, graces thank you thank you

Sony Vaio vpcF12AFM/H Core I3-350M 2.26GHz 4GB 500GB HD Blu-ray Review

Customer Ratings:

I've been searching for a few months since my 7-year old, $2,000 HP Pavilion was about ready to give up the ghost. A laptop is also a "nice-to-have" rather than a primary computer. The drop in price of laptops has been stunning. You can now get a brand new Lenovo (formerly IBM) for $300. And HPs are flying for $5-600.

But I wanted performance, a large screen, a full-sized keyboard, good battery life ... and so many folks kept saying "get a Mac." However, an Apple Macbook Pro is very pricey, and used ones (4-6 years old) go for $5-700. Plus, they're not as easy to work on if you're a writer like me. The PC keyboard is simply built for writing. (After all, it is a standard, old qwerty typewriter keyboard.)

I compared lots of laptops, online and hands-on. Sony Vaios were looking better and better, but the new, top-end ones are $1100-1300. I somehow landed on this Amazon page with this refurb high-end Sony Vaio that's called a gaming / entertainment laptop. (Originally $1200.) I'm not a gamer, and not planning on watching movies on my laptop ... just a serious computer user and full-time writer. Guess what -the better graphics and horsepower make a lot of difference.

My old HP Pavilion is a 17" diagonal laptop. This Sony Vaio is a 16.4" diagonal. However, the screen format has changed to an HD look, so it's actually just as wide as my old 17", but not as tall. However, the extra screen size is not missed, and the more compact Sony is far better.

These refurbs are available from Sony directly for $977. But there are several here on Amazon as of this writing for as low as $550. I bought one of those and recommend the seller (USA Laptop Parts) highly. Great communication and product just as described. This is last year's model, and there are lots of things I prefer about it over this year's high-end Sony Vaio, including the touch pad and keyboard.

It's a beautiful PC that stands up very well against the Macbook Pro. It comes with 4MB of RAM and I ordered more to bring it up to the 8MB max.

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This Laptop has powerful processor, really good sound and video quality. Plenty of memory and nice design. Not really heavy at all. Recommend it to anyone.

Cheap Dell Studio 1535 Core 2 Duo T8100 2.10GHz 4GB 320GB DVD±RW 15.4"

Customer Ratings:

First, let me explain my needs for this laptop. I am a Photographer, on a budget, as I've invested most of my money on having high quality glass & gear. Having already spent quite a bit on Windows based software (hello, Photoshop!), as well, it simply wasn't practical for me to attempt switching over to Apple, the usual choice for Creative Professionals. So, I began my quest for a reasonably priced PC notebook that would meet my needs: Fast processor for Photoshop use, quality & decent sized screen for work (preferably WUXGA), while maintaining portablility. This led me to the Dell Studio Line, the XPS line & the Sony Vaio.

On Cyber Monday, I managed to snag a SWEET deal on a Studio 15 customized with these specs PLUS an upgraded wireless N card, 1920 x 1200 WUXGA screen (need that screen real estate), as well as bluetooth internal (to sync my smart phone) and a 3 year warranty. Bonuses aside, so as to give a true review of the product listed, this thing is much better than I'd even hoped for! It blazes through Photoshop (CNET gave good reviews for this model in this area), the screen is bright & beautiful, it doesn't get very hot at all & the fan is very quick & very quiet. I really like being able to utilize the lit keyboard at night and the multimedia buttons at the top are a nice touch.

To address the negative reviews of others -No, the speakers aren't great. However, I use my home stereo or my Ipod for music, and my TV/DVD for movies, so this doesn't bother me. I did watch an episode of House that I'd missed on Hulu, and the sound was just fine for my tastes. As for the graphics, I wouldn't really know as I'm not a gamer. I do know that the XPS line is supposed to be the Gamer line for Dell, as well as Alienware. Most of the review sites do not recommend the Studio line for gaming due to the graphics card. For general work use, however, particularly in Photoshop, this thing fits the bill! I love my Studio 15!

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Each person has their own experience using this laptop. I bought this laptop little while ago, and so far I am very satisfied with performance of this laptop. I had experience with Dell laptop previously since I owned Dell Inspiron 1425; and it worked just fine. I need a faster laptop for my works, and I think this laptop will suit to my needs. I like the design and its back-lit keyboard.

Best Deals for Dell Studio 1535 Core 2 Duo T8100 2.10GHz 4GB 320GB DVD±RW 15.4"

I ordered this laptop, new, a while back. The laptop came in and upon loading, I realized it was slower than it was supposed to be. Checking the specs, I noticed that it only had 1GB of RAM. Also, the sound drivers were in bad condition, resulting in shoddy speakers and headphone jacks.

Honest reviews on Dell Studio 1535 Core 2 Duo T8100 2.10GHz 4GB 320GB DVD±RW 15.4"

At first I was doubt about this laptop. For these specs, the price is so low. But I tried. If something happen I will return it back to Dell. Now, it has been a little while and everything is working perfectly. For me, this laptop is adorable.

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[.................]what can you expect right?

Vista is horrible. This computer overheats on me constantly, even though I do not leave it on a bed or pillow. The optical drive is currently not working. I've had this computer for 3 months, so I am pretty disappointed. I'm shipping it back to dell to see if they can fix any of the problems, but I doubt it. Once a sub-par computer, always a sub-par computer.

I recommend you steer clear of this laptop.

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Customer Ratings:

I was looking for a lap top that is one with Window 7. I didn't find anywhere except on Amazon from Sony with a great deal.

I am happy that got one that satisfied me. I am really enjoying it.

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I previously owned a Toshiba laptop someone bought for me that I hated. Every time I used it there was always some issue with it until one day it finally broke after Windows was not able to start. I have been wishing for a Sony Vaio laptop ever since they came out, and I am so happy I finally got one.

This is one of the best laptops I've ever used. The battery life is phenomenal compared to my old laptop that couldn't last more than an hour on power-saver mode. This laptop lasts me at least 3-4 hours on one charge when running several programs at once.

The design is beautiful, and the Intel core i3 processor is fast and works well.

The only complaints I have against this laptop is that there is no way to change the volume without using the mouse and clicking on the volume icon in the system tray. Also, the sound card(?) that came standard with this laptop isn't the greatest. It's not very loud, so if I want to watch movies on it I have to attach external speakers to it if my house isn't completely silent. And once you get past 90% volume, the quality of the sound gets crappy faster than my previous Toshiba laptop.

With that said, I'm extremely satisfied with this laptop, but a better sound card would make this laptop even better. Other than that, it's a great laptop! As a college student, I am very happy I bought this laptop because it can do everything I need and more.

Best Deals for Sony VAIO VPCEB42FX/WI 15.5" Laptop - Silvery White

2.53GHz is very fast for a laptop computer. The web button is very nice to go direct to the internet without having to open the windows program. The wireless chip for the TV is a bit expensive for us to buy the receiver right now. Of course with a Sony what you get is a brighter, clearer, sharper screen. It is well worth it to pay more and we got a great price at the office supply store. We still have our G router, I may have to upgrade to the N to take advantage of the faster connection. They put junk on it though because of Sonys cronies: Bing, Norton and other bloatware. Their Bing photo is very nice though. You can refuse them and hopefully they will not load and take up resources. I much prefer Microsoft essentials anti virus software. Sony continues to be the leader. Otherwise I would go to Acer because anything made in Taiwan is much better then what they are making in China. Although I would trust Sony to supervise their China factories more then a lot of companys that don't seem to have a clue about what goes on over there in China. Of course Sony Claims a lot of their parts are still make in Japan and then assembled in China. Some of the computers assembled in America have a bunch of quality parts that are not integrated to work together properly and you have nothing but problems with them.

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I have just bought this laptop and by going through the features I really feel that I am getting value for the money spent.

Cheap Toshiba Portege R400-S4933 - Core Duo U2500 / 1.2 GHz ULV

Customer Ratings:

I bought this laptop from all the hype about the upcoming WiMedia UWB technology, I was anticipating blazing speeds with a wireless docking station that I would never have to hook a cable to. What I received was a docking station that the units own documentation said it was only reliable "up to 18 inches" and the reality was in order to get acceptable video quality had to be 12 inches or less. My Ethernet connection crawled at about 2 Mbps.

The laptop is light and functions well, but don't waste your money on the wireless docking station, the performance is a real disappointment and almost unusable.

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Best HP Mini-Note PC Intel 1.6GHz 10.1 Deals

Customer Ratings:

Most current netbooks have a lot of similarities--with the same processor (Atom N270), similar size hard drives (most new with 160 GB) and similar LCD panel resolutions. The HP Mini-Note 2140 is no exception to most of these base tech specs except for the LCD panel resolution of 1024x576 (instead of 1024x600 like most others in the 10" range).

So why is this 2140 my current marginal favorite in comparison, after trying out friends' and those available in stores?

Unlike most manufacturers, HP really got the keyboard right. The shift keys and enter key are large and where you expect them to be. Unlike other manufacturers, things are in place for productive touch typing and the 92%-size of standard laptop keyboard is pretty easy to adjust to.

The exterior casing is made of solid-feeling aluminum instead of plastic. The netbook feels more durable and looks beautiful in comparison to most netbooks which can look a bit cheap in my opinion. The aluminum adds a few ounces to the weight, but mine is still under 3 pounds with the 6 cell battery.

The netbook has a good selection of ports and connectors on the outside. It comes with an ExpressCard/54 slot which no other netbook currently does as far as I'm aware. Most of the other connectors are similar to other netbooks. It also has 2 USB ports, an analog (vga) monitor out jack (see below for my complaints about it), an SD card slot and separate mic and audio out jacks.

You would think I would be raving about this netbook, but I ran into some problems with my computer that make it less usable.

I am unable to get any resolution above 1024x768 on any of the three external monitors I've tried it on. Two of the monitors are 1280x1024 resolution and one is 1440x900. This is even with ONLY the external monitor enabled. At the same time, my 4 year old notebook and my desktop detect and make correct resolutions available for the 1280x1024 monitors (my other monitor is a slightly odd resolution). Updating drivers seems to make no difference (the one from HPs site or the Intel drivers). The monitor will not detect correctly and free software (Monitor Asset Manager) that bypasses the windows registry to query the plug'n'play monitor properties directly cannot detect the external monitors correctly on this piece of hardware (works fine on both my other computers).

It seems other people are not having the same kinds of problems that I am encountering, so I was either the lucky recipient of a computer with some highly ingrained software or hardware problems, or it has difficulty playing nice with some monitors that have pretty standard resolutions.

Unfortunately, HP support is somewhere between awful and abysmal and has not chosen to make any reply to my support request email aside from an automatic confirmation they received it (and it has been over two weeks).

A more minor quibble is that the built-in LCD panel resolution is only 1024x576 instead of 1024x600 like most other netbooks. Though it's only a 24-line difference, on this small of a screen every pixel counts more than on a larger monitor. At least the resolution is properly advertised so you know what you're getting.

The touchpad also has it's buttons on the side, which some people dislike but didn't bother me.

It's overall a good netbook. If HP would fix my external monitor issues, I'd probably think it was the best one currently available. As it stands, it's a good, but mine is flawed and my experience with HP's support has been very poor so far.

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I've had my new HP 2140 for about a week now and so far so good. Setup was like any new laptop. Fast and easy. I especially like the XP operating system over Vista. First thing I noticed was the solid construction of this Netbook. It doesn't feel cheap and made of plastic. The keyboard also had a well constructed feel that had just enough room without feeling cramped.

Now the software package was limited but did offer a 30 day trial version of the MS Office 2007. I had no issues connecting to my draft N wireless network and printer setup completed in less than a minute. I do recommend the larger 6 cell battery which is rated for about 8 hours. Depending on how you use it you may get less than 6 hours like me.

In conclusion I really like this unit. I did my research prior to purchasing. According to Cnet reviews, this was the unit to beat and I have to say they are right. The screen size is nice and the 160 gb is plenty of storage for me. My unit came with a free Netbook sleeve to carry it in and yes you can still use the sleeve with the 6 cell battery attached. I may add another gb of ram for a faster multi tasking experience. The web cam seemed to work well with Skype. Picture quality was ok. As mentioned by other users the mouse button location had a slight learning curve but wasn't bad.

Note: I have yet to test the vga out connection and its resolution as I heard someone mention was a negative. Will update later.

Best Deals for HP Mini-Note PC Intel 1.6GHz 10.1

Bought one of the first 2140s that shipped in February 2009. Have already taken it on a 1 month trip to China. This is my 1st netbook, and 5th notebook that I have owned since 2002.

The portability and convenience of the 10" form factor is great. The screen is bright, and when compared to other netbooks the HP Mini 2140's metal exterior makes it a stand out. I had a chance to sample and feel many other netbooks while in Hong Kong and while some of them may have a few things in their favor, I realized the HP 2140 was the best choice for me.

No problems connecting to any wireless / wired networks in hostels / hotels / coffee shops. The split trackpad button layout has not been a problem to adjust to. Both buttons have a nice rubbery feel/response. The quick battery recharge to 90% has been good. 6-cell battery provides a good tilt, now I don't need to bring a CoolPad to angle the keyboard!! The 1024x576 is a minor quibble. I can't imagine reading the text on the high-resolution 1366x768 display. Contrrary to some opinions, I prefer the coating/glass/whatever that is on the screen easy to clean, and I don't worry about touching it.

I have not tried an external monitor or printing with this netbook, so I am unable to comment on those aspects.

Soon I will test the ExpressCard 54 slot with a Creative Labs audio card that I am using on another notebook. UPDATE X-Fi Audio Xtreme card has been tested and works!

Performance wise only issues are a little lag if running too much video and a couple of blue screens when too many Google Chrome tabs were open along with other programs. Memory overload of some sort. But easy to avoid, once one knows the limitations of the processor. Used the netbook to talk with a handheld SkyPE Ipevo phone in many places. Handy!

One annoyance (That I was aware of before buying) is that to use the PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys one must use the FN key at the same time. Which is swappable with the LEFT corner CTRL key (Not the RIGHT CTRL key, which would make it a one handed motion unless I missed a setting) in the BIOs but still annoying as the smaller screen requires more scrolling. The trackpad scroll works well though. Other netbooks have dedicated PAGE-UP/DOWN keys.

I also own an HP DV6000 series limited edition white notebook which is slick but - after experiencing the aluminum/metal feel of the the HP Mini I will say that more note/netbooks should be built with metal over plastic. Enjoy!

NOTE: This review is of the 6-cell version. This review is attached to the 3-cell version on Amazon. Both are identical except for the battery size/life.

Honest reviews on HP Mini-Note PC Intel 1.6GHz 10.1

BE VERY CAREFUL IF YOU PLAN TO PRINT FROM THIS TO AN HP PRINTER....IT WON'T WORK WITH SOME HP PRINTERS YOU MAY OWN.

All in all, this is a great little device. Powerful, compact, well thought out. BUT--and this is a BIG but....could not get the HP Mini 2140 to print to an fairly new HP Photosmart C6180 printer. Even after spending literally days on the phone with HP's engineers in Bangalore, this is a nonstarter, and I ultimately returned the device. There's just no excuse for this, particularly since the printer accepts jobs on our home network from our Macbook Pros and from our Thinkpads, but NOT from this nice, new handy, dandy HP Mini.

BE VERY CAREFUL.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Mini-Note PC Intel 1.6GHz 10.1

I wanted a 2140 high-rez for a long time and finally bought one just before it was discontinued by HP. I was soooo excited to get it as it is a sexy and slick looking little machine. I wanted to like this machine so bad, but the 2140 has serious connection issues, in terms of WI-FI, and does not connect to many different signals and routers. You can't just take it to a coffee shop, because there is at least a 50% chance it won't work with their router. It is a useless machine, as it has terrible WI-FI. Just do a search on Google that reads "2140 wireless problems", and you will find large forum discussions of 2140 owners that have this same problem, or inability to connect wirelessly to the internet, and there is NO FIX available. The machine is fundamentally flawed and I believe it was discontinued because of this flaw. HP took the machine back, and I still believe they are a good company, but this machine is a dud.

Discount Dell XPS 15z X15z-1461ELS 15.6" Laptop (2.30 GHz Intel Core

Customer Ratings:

I wanted 1920x1080 resolution in a thin and light with Sata III, USB 3.0 and HDMI 1.4. The choices were this, this and this. It's a very good system all in all. I highly recommend using an SSD such as an OCZ Vertex 3. The computer boots 3x faster with an SSD. I deducted a star because of the difficulty of upgrading parts (memory, hard drive, etc). It is not as simple as removing a few screws. You can easily damage the unit in doing so.

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I purchased a Dell laptop for my son from Amazon and this seller filled the order. A few weeks later the laptop died, either a bad power supply or motherboard. I called Dell to initiate a warranty claim, and they told me this machine was registered to someone else. The seller claims that was impossible and send it back to them. I did, and they replaced it with another unit. (Which was a long drawn out process with a lot of broken english involved)

So I receive the replacement and a few weeks later it dies as well, Dell accepts the registration but says it will not warranty because it is a USED LAPTOP. At this point I've paid for the item plus shipping it for repair twice and the seller will not cover anything.

SUMMARY: They sell used faulty equipment and represent it as new. Amazon's "A-Z" claim has done the Z part on this one ZERO, They have not even so much as given me a status update. Save yourself the aggravation and buy locally. These guys are scamming people.

Reviews of Lenovo ThinkPad 0578F7U Notebook - Core i3 i3-370M 2.4GHz - 14-Inch

Customer Ratings:

I was looking for a reasonable replacement for my terminally ill Sony Vaio that I bought just over 5 years ago. The specs on this Lenovo looked right in terms of speed, storage, size, and bells and whistles and was a 4-5 fold upgrade from the Sony. So far, I cannot complain. Set-up took less than 30 minutes. Microsoft Office Pro nice and fast (purchased separately). Browsing fast. Speaker/Sound nice for this size machine. Keyboard is a bit old school with the firmer key. I can see why some might not like that, but it feels like sturdy quality to me (back lit WOULD be nice). Windows 7 will take a little getting used to from XP. The notebook actually weighs 4.5 lbs, NOT 8 as advertised on this amazon product description, so that is a plus! 3 USB ports is a nice feature and I look forward to trying out a Bluetooth mouse. This Lenovo has a DVD/RW which it seems is uncommon for a Thinkpad this size and price. The fingerprint security system I am also liking so far. I also think it is somewhat upgradeable so if that is important to you, definitely check out the details. The only real compromise I made was in battery life; I was hoping to find a Lenovo with the 7-8 hour battery life, but this one advertises as 4.5 only (which is still a 2 hour improvement from my Sony). Some folks haven't been too impressed with the Intel Core i3 processor (it's a 3 out of 5 star rating) but this is faster than anything I've owned. Perhaps that will change as I collect more pics/videos/programs/junk over the coming years. Anyhow, the price WAS 599.99 plus 19.99 SH, but it looks like the price went up a few days ago on Amazon. J&R.com did have this for $550 and free next day shipping if you called them directly, but it recently sold out. Laptop Authority may still have it for around $560 with free shipping no tax. I think if you are looking for something that meets current competition standards with Windows under $600 this is the right machine for you.

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All I can say is wow. For the price, this laptop cannot be beat. Even from the beginning everything was great. Amazon shipped this computer in only 5 days for super saver shipping (7-14 days). When I got the laptop everything was neatly and securely packaged, with nothing damaged. The laptop looks great too, a deviation away from the usually bland lenovo design.

Set-up took no more than 15 minutes. Windows 7 is a vast improvement over Vista, though they may look the same on the outside. Taskbar is more functional, and this computer even comes with Windows 7 Professional, not just home premium like all other laptops around this price.

It also must be noted that quality of this computer is outstanding. The keyboard is the best I've ever used, and the red scroll cursor in the middle is a great way of navigating web pages instantly. The integrated fingerprint reader is a cinch to use, and is fun at the same time. The screen is amazing, clear and bright no complaints. My only complaint is the battery life, a relatively short 2.5 to 3 hours. However, I'm not going to complain. All the other positives of this laptop overshadow it.

The intel core i3-370m processor is snappy and quick. Web pages load fast, as do Windows Media Player, music editing programs, and Microsoft Office. The 4 GB of ram is plenty, and adds to the speed of the laptop. Also, the 320 GB hard drive is big enough, and at 7200 rpm, stores files quickly.

Hope this review helped. This model is perfect for the college-bound and the small business. I would definitely recommend buying this laptop.

Best Deals for Lenovo ThinkPad 0578F7U Notebook - Core i3 i3-370M 2.4GHz - 14-Inch

Well, less than a year later and I am having issues. The hard drive started to fail, so I called Lenovo. They said the warranty had expired in August even though I bought it in December 1, 2010 and it is a one year warranty. I had to fight with them and they finally agreed that Amazon was a covered seller therefore the changed to warranty to expire on Dec 1. So, they sent me a new hard drive, but no recovery CDs. I called back and they said they should have sent them with the hd. So, they send the discs. I formatted my damaged hd and went to install the new one and realized they sent me a 5400 rpm hd and this unit comes with a 7200 rpm hd. So, I called them back and the guy argued with me that this system does not come with a 7200 rpm hd. I told him the product number right off the hd and this is a new machine and it is advertised as having a 7200 rpm. I am still sitting on the phone with the guy and he is trying to find a 7200 hd because the one that is in this machine is out of stock. So, first the machine is not very good if the hd is going in less than a year, second Lenovo screwed up three times in trying to get the problem resolved and I still don't have the right hd.

Honest reviews on Lenovo ThinkPad 0578F7U Notebook - Core i3 i3-370M 2.4GHz - 14-Inch

Pros:

* Nice feeling keyboard

* TrackPoint

* Middle mouse button

* 180 degree screen rotation

* HDMI port

* Small power brick

* Almost no crapware

Cons:

* Arrow keys are too small

* Fn/Ctrl keys swapped (easy to change, just mislabeled when changed)

* Home/End PgUp/PgDn keys not along right-hand side of keyboard

* Glossy screen

So I bought a ThinkPad because I was extremely impressed with the quality of my used ThinkCentre desktops so I figured I'd buy a new Lenovo/IBM product. The aesthetics of the older ThinkPads were getting dated a decade ago, but I do consider them iconic. I was very surprised to see pictures of the ThinkPad Edge series. A ThinkPad that was sexy? *gasp* Yeah, it looks like a cheap MacBook clone, but it's sexy for a ThinkPad (especially the red, but I couldn't justify paying an extra $300 just for the color).

The first thing I notice is the Chiclet keyboard. It looks so clean compared to the older ThinkPads. I can see that the designers were inspired by the MacBook. Beyond the aesthetic, the keyboard is a pleasure to type on. I am typing this very review on the keyboard. It feels very solid with almost no hint of cheap plastic. It even sounds like a high quality keyboard. In fact, this keyboard is better than every desktop keyboard I've typed on. Comparing the Edge's keyboard to other laptop keyboards is like writing with a nice ink rollerball pen versus a cheap ball-point pen. It is an amazing difference.

The key layout on the right-hand side is strange to me. It makes the keyboard look more centered though. I use the Home/End and PgUp/PgDn keys frequently when navigating text and I'm used to them all in a column along the right side of the keyboard. I hate the smaller arrow keys. The up/down, left/PgUp, and right/PgDn buttons combined are the size of a normal key. The PgUp/PgDn keys are also shorter in height than the arrow keys. I also don't like that the Fn key is where the Ctrl key should be. The functionality can be swapped in the BIOS, but you can't change the physical appearance of the keys. I have muscle memory of the normal position of the Ctrl key, but I have a momentary brain lapse when I look down at the keyboard for the Fn key's function.

For the mouse control there is the traditional IBM TrackPoint in the middle of the keyboard and a touchpad. I've never used a laptop with a TrackPoint before, but it was easy to get used to using it. Having both options means there are twice the mouse buttons as well. The touchpad's buttons are actually too narrow to use comfortably. The buttons are flush with the touchpad and they drop too much when pressed so it feels awkward. I also seem to hit the area on the touchpad above the buttons when I try to press the button quickly. The TrackPoint's buttons below the spacebar is much nicer since they are beveled and have a nice red accent stripe. As a bonus, there is a middle mouse button! It has bumps on it and reverse beveled from the left/right buttons. It comes in handy for me because I use the middle mouse button all the time for Firefox.

The screen is nice and bright, but I wish it wasn't glossy. I believe it can be special ordered with a matte screen, but for most off-the-shelf computers the glossy screen is standard. It has an auto-dim feature that will dim the screen based on the color of what's on the screen. For example, if you view a webpage that has mostly dark colors like black and gray then the screen will brighten and if you switch to Word to type something the screen will dim from the white. Thankfully this annoying feature can be turned off in the Intel Graphics control panel. One cool feature of the screen is that it will flip all the way back so it is parallel with the keyboard. The screen can also be opened with one hand albeit slowly (the ridge for the lid is on the right instead of center so it pushes harder on that side of the laptop when opening).

The Core i3 is a pretty good little processor. It can handle full-screen Hulu and Netflix without a hiccup unlike the Pentium Dual-Core which lags badly even on the lowest resolution Hulu video. The battery life is decent. It's nowhere near 4 hours with casual use. The best I got was 3.5 hours and that's just reading blogs and watching a few videos on YouTube using WiFi and the screen set at 50% brightness. That is still pretty impressive though as my old Compaq and Dell barely made it two hours unplugged doing the same things. The 4 GB of RAM is more than enough for most people. For comparison when I'm at work and have 4 instances of Visual Studio as well as instances of Word, Outlook, OneNote, and Firefox with eleventy billion tabs open I'm hovering around 2.5 GB RAM usage.

The computer comes with Windows 7 Pro preloaded with Office Starter. You can read about Windows 7 being amazing everywhere so I'll focus on Office Starter. This is the full version of Word and Excel 2010 with the advanced features removed. It is not a trial as there is no expiration date. It also has a right-had sidebar with a small 1.5" rotating banner ad. It is perfect because everything you do here is compatible with every other version of Office unlike MS Works. Plus there is an option to save Office Starter to a flash drive to use on a different computer. It boggles the mind how far Microsoft has come to pleasing users! Besides the Microsoft software, there isn't very much crapware on the laptop either. It just has a suite of Lenovo tools that contains an app that shows diagnostics, a password manager linked to the fingerprint scanner, a back-up disk creator, and a hardware update program. There is not much to uninstall except for the anti-virus trial. Uninstall that and install Microsoft Security Essentials instead (which is free, monitors in real-time, and it doesn't take up a lot of system resources).

This laptop exceeded my expectations so it is an excellent value. I am pleased with the quality and features it has. You can definitely feel the quality in this machine. It isn't a supercomputer, but I didn't intend to game or run any intensive programs on it as that's what I have a nice desktop for. I would definitely recommend picking this up over the other name brands just for the lack of crapware alone. It's perfect for sitting on the couch and doing some leisurely reading/video watching or catching up on some office work.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Lenovo ThinkPad 0578F7U Notebook - Core i3 i3-370M 2.4GHz - 14-Inch

Bought his laptop in Nov 2010. Has a nice look and feel. But somehow lenovo's attempt to sexy up the thinkpad line kinda falls flat for me. From the perspective of functionality, speed, and reliability it is definitely a thinkpad. No issues there. But it lacks the solid rockhard feel that experienced thinkpad users usually look for. I could go so far as to saying that it looks kinda cheap. It is also not very slim. Has a bulky feel to it (though not heavy at all). Its best feature is the keyboard. An amalgam of the Apple chiclet style and the robust thinkpad keyboard that we all love, this is probably THE best keyboard on a laptop I have seen/used. Bottomline, if u are looking for a cheap functional laptop, this is the way to go. If u really want a thinkpad in performance and feel pay a little more and get a T-series. It will be worth it.

Discount Apple iBook Laptop 14.1" M9009LL/A (900-MHz PowerPC G3, 256 MB RAM

Customer Ratings:

When I was struck with the urge to buy a laptop, I spent a good deal of time reviewing the half dozen models that Apple had to offer. The Powerbooks were all the rage. My local dealer and many reviews pushed me in that direction; and, in truth, Powerbooks seemed to be technological wonders the 17" screen model dazzled, the little 12" one could be had with a DVD-burning super drive, they had the superb G4 processor, etc. But three weeks ago, I took the plunge, and I ignored all that by securing the 14" screen iBook. It may be "slow" and "yesterday's technology," but that's not apparent to me I love this computer!

It has a brilliant, beautiful screen that is a delight to my 60+ eyes. It does everything I need in a flash, including multiple programs, songs, photo management (Adobe Elements 2), and movies with iMovie. The suite of included software, including Apple's digital hub, is fabulous. The machine is gorgeous (though, to be frank, some might say its bright, white finish is akin to a kitchen appliance), extremely sturdy, and it gets warm, but not hot. Best of all, perhaps, is the price: hundreds less than a Powerbook! This is especially true when you factor in the cost of Applecare, the extended warranty program... Applecare provides terrific protection and allows you three years of telephone support from Apple's excellent technical support team.

"What's not to like?" I can only carp about three things. The speakers are pretty lame "lo-fi," to be sure but earphones cure that. Another USB input or two would be welcome, but a hub is the answer there. Finally, there is Apple's decision to eliminate a microphone input, this from a company on the leading edge of multi-media what were they thinking?...

So, for function, for appearance, and particularly for value, I'd urge you to take a long look at the iBook. It's just been bumped to 900MGz, and it has 256RAM standard, so unless you're into CAD/CAM or games with great graphics demands, it'll do the job for you, and you'll have money left over for some other toy(s).

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I remember when the 14" iBook first came out, many in the Mac universe spoke poorly of it. Obviously, it cost more, and while the usual core features had more juice (Hard drive, processor, RAM,) the difference was not overwhelming. The main beef, though, was that the resolution on the 14" iBook is the same as the resolution on the 12" iBook (1024 X 768). The only difference is that, on the 12 incher, those dots are really scrunched in. I've used many of the 12" iBookse I work in IT, especially with Macs, so I've seen it all, and so feel qualified to take a side on this one. The verdict:

It's worth it.

I went to apple.com, and and browsed to a 12" iBook with comperable fatures to the one I recently acquired. The price offered was 1350. I got mine for about 1500, which leaves about 150 to account for. Since other factors are basically equal, the difference is the screen. You want that difference. The 14" iBook feels spacious, a real trick for a lap top. The screen's extra size makes the lower half of the laptop bigger as well, so that there really is room for the keyboard, and a large palm rest. The clean lines of the design really bring out the most in the display, which is bright and clear. If you've never used a laptop, the screen feels bigger, simply because you're usually closer to it. Additionally, LCDs have a larger usable area than a CRT of the same size. As I sit here typing this review, I can tell: You feel this screen's size.

Size does matter, especially with something like a laptop. If you get a smaller screen, you'll inevitably want a larger screen, but then you'll be stuck with an expensive purchase. So put in the extra cash now. If you have the means, treat yourself to 14" iBook. You'll be glad you did.

Best Deals for Apple iBook Laptop 14.1" M9009LL/A (900-MHz PowerPC G3, 256 MB RAM

Before I say more let me give a little background, this is my first apple purchase and the first apple computer I have touched since apple II in school many many years ago. I have 5 home desktops each an upgraded pentium beginning with pent II and up to IV. My main desktop is a 1.8 mhz with 100 gig hd, 512ram best video card available and so on. Runs XP. I begin with this as it defines I am not an apple user, or wasn't. I bought this little machine after about 2 months of research, it began as a curiosity and then I have to admit my fustration with windows pushed me to seriously consider it. This is my third laptop. Ok I am VERY happy with this machine, it is the best computer I have had and I have hardly used my big desktop since getting this, it runs circles around my windows system, it is intuitive and everything works the minute you boot up. I have done everything to test this baby out and it will not crash. I love this, and the white finish is really classy. The screen is crisp, clear, it comes loaded with about every program you need. Did I say I love it?? Only one item I wish apple would have done on this model, I love the lit up keyboard in the top of the line power book, come on apple make that standard! Someone complained about the keyboard and I admit it has a different feel but all in all this is a four 1/2 star machine, what would make it five...better speakers, lit up keyboard! BTW I bought the ipod with it and they are the perfect match!

Honest reviews on Apple iBook Laptop 14.1" M9009LL/A (900-MHz PowerPC G3, 256 MB RAM

I have the 800 mhz model, and I have to say it's a great machine. Light in weight (I can hold it in one hand easily), fast, and super sleek. The operating system, OS X, is fantastic: powerful, beautiful, and it doesn't crash! The book comes with quite a bit of software, and despite what someone else wrote here it DOES run RealPlayer just fine, as well as display web pages properly. It comes with AppleWorks which can open and save in the Word format, so that is a non-issue.

It plays DVD's perfectly, and iTunes 4 burns CD's as fast as my external FireWire drive. If the speakers were just a bit better (i.e. as good as the legendary Pismo model), I would give this Mac 5 stars.

BTW, before relying on a Windows user for info about Macs, talk to a knowledgeable dual platform user such as myself. You'd find the stuff you hear (they are slow, over priced, Apple is dying, etc.) is just not true.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Apple iBook Laptop 14.1" M9009LL/A (900-MHz PowerPC G3, 256 MB RAM

Apple is really doing a great job with this iBook line. Sleek, compact and great looking they have a lot of bang for the buck. My Mother, who switched from Macs to PCs years ago, switched back to the mac with this iBook. She loves it. These books come with a buch of software that will set most people up just fine: Quicken, World Book Encyclopedia, Otto Matic (game), FaxSTF, iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes, Preview (for graphics viewing, and others as well as AppleWorks which has Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Database and Drawing/Painting. AppleWorks can even open, edit and save Microsoft Word and Excel files from other Macs or PCs talk about compatability! Plus they have lots of computing power don't let the 900Mhz thing fool you. Macs have a very different processor from PCs with Intel chips. This laptop has plenty of punch for the things that most of the world does.

I am surprised at the negative review posted here. I suspect that the reviewer didn't really look at what she had already installed. As for the RealPlayer? I use it all the time on my Mac, and it is the free one.

I would definately buy one of these again (although I do think that the iBook 900 with the 12" screen is a better buy. The specs are similar and it is a little more compact.)

Buy Lenovo ThinkPad T520 423946U 15.6-Inch Laptop

Customer Ratings:

Top of the line, state of the art product. High quality. Sturdy hinges. Nice keyboard feel and touch. I've used Lenovo Thinkpad T60 for years, with minimal problems. My niece needed a computer upgrade. Researched many products. Bottom line, purchased Thinkpad T520 for her. Increased RAM from 4 to 6 for now, I believe 8 is max. ie5 processor 64 bit Windows 7 Pro. Nice keyboard. Solid, quality product inside and out. Business class. 320 GB hard drive. Room to grow...Easy to set up. Built-in web-cam, nice speakers, sound. This not a super-technical review, just a satisfied user with years of experience with Lenovo Thinkpad products. Thought I'd stick with a good thing.

Only problem I had with my older Thinkpad T60 was internal speaker blew. I just purchased a cheap Jlabs speaker I could plug into usb. Works, no problem. I have a usb-hub to attach more peripherals if I need. NO problems at all. I had the docking station for a while, really didn't need/use it, got rid of it.

For backups I use eGo BlackBelt Portable Hard Drive from iomega compatible with usb 3.0/2.0 500 GB for PC/Mac. Works great, fast, no problems. Small, sleek. Purchased from Best Buy.

I purchased my Lenovo Products from a local reseller where I can just walk in/walk out/upgrade the product. I understand purchasing from Lenovo directly is slow. I think prices are better on Amazon.com, also have option of purchasing an additional warranty. Else, have to get on Lenovo's website to purchase warranty. My reseller did not provide. They claimed to be more knowledgeable than Geek Squad.

This Thinkpad T520 appears to be the next best thing to a Mac for those of us who grew up with PC's. Perfect desktop replacement.

Purchased my previous Thinkpad T60 in January, 08 from reseller, used, off-lease from a larger business. Now July, 2011, still using it. Upgraded RAM, DVD, Jlabs speaker, Windows XP to Windows 7 32 bit Home Premium, that's it. Writing this review on it. Like it just as much now as then. I was tempted to give my niece my used T60 and keep the T520 for myself. Alas, gave her the new one...

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I have bought IBM and now Lenovo laptops and desktops for years. While some times Lenovo does not have the "flashy" designs of some competitors, they do have a simple and elegant look. The T520 is a great work and play laptop with a nice keyboard and touchpad. All of the Lenovos I have had have held up. I have used them for teller workstations and business workstations with no problems and now Lenovo is making some really nice consumers desktops as well (I have one as a business workstation).

Best Deals for Lenovo ThinkPad T520 423946U 15.6-Inch Laptop

Laptop needed for road, and this one fits the bill. Very sturdy, easy to configure, with plenty of power and hard drive space. Perfect sweet spot of price/performance.

Honest reviews on Lenovo ThinkPad T520 423946U 15.6-Inch Laptop

Since I received this machine on August 2011, it was sent to repair to a Lenovo authorized dealer 3 times already, on Nov 28th. 2011 they replaced the mother board; on Dec 29th. 2011 they replaced the hard disk; on June 6th 2012 they replaced the motherboard again. The Lenovo warranty expired on Aug. 22th 2012. On Aug. 28th, it had a problem with the hard disk again and I paid to replace it because Lenovo refuses to extend the warranty. Now it is broken again and the problem is with the mother board that needs to be replaced again.

I spend more time fixing this unit than effectively using it. I am very unhappy with this purchase. I never had or heard some saying it was needed to replace a computer motherboard 3 times and hard disk twice in less than 12 months period.

I contacted Lenovo and asked them replace the machine; they claim they cannot because it was bought from a third party dealer and there is not they can do about.

I found other users complaining about the same problem and someone informed that model has a design problem. It has to do with a batch of faulty EEPROM chip used in the Edge series produced at the end of the 2011.

I would like to return this notebook and have the money back or exchange by another one that has the same features, but I have to accept the loss because Lenovo warranty cover only for 12 months period.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Lenovo ThinkPad T520 423946U 15.6-Inch Laptop

I did a ton of research and finally decided to purchase the Lenovo T520. For the first month all was well, then suddenly the computer crashed and blue screened. Lenovo support sent recovery disks which did not work. Then sent a new hard drive that did not work. Two weeks without a computer and I sent it into the depot for repair. The depot had the machine for another week and returned it "repaired". I turned on the machine the first time and it crashed at start up exactly as it had when I sent it in.

Called support and told them I wanted a refund and was told that wasn't an option because I had the machine for 21 days. They said to send it back to the depot for a "level 2" repair. I asked why the machine had ever been returned to me when all someone at the depot had to do was turn it on and watch it crash at start up. Was told they couldn't answer that question. When asked who could, they told me "no one could answer that question". Really!!

I guess I will send it in and trust the "level 2" technicians to have a clue. I'm not optimistic.

Bottom line I will never purchase another Lenovo machine and let my experience be a warning to you.