Best Compaq CQ57-310US Notebook PC - Black Deals

Customer Ratings:

didnt expect the laptop to be so good ! its 15 inches which is not what i expected , i thought it would be smaller , but its great , i have no bad comments on it other than it comes with alot of software already pre-installed over 1000 pre installed files which is kinda alot ! but the memory was still good . i recommend !!!

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I love this laptop, I recieved it as a christmas gift. it was easy to activiate, it was easy to start up, the Norton Security was a good help to stop me from having any viruses on mine. It was a great gift, my 2 cousins recieved one for christmas as well, and they both love it.......Just a great laptop! Recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Best Deals for Compaq CQ57-310US Notebook PC - Black

My brother has this laptop. I was over and was using it and I was impressed by the speed, screen quality, and build quality. I will probably be picking one up soon

Honest reviews on Compaq CQ57-310US Notebook PC - Black

all was perfect, the article is like the offered me in the amozon's web page, is a very good laptop

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I bought this laptop when amazon was really pushing it for about 365.00. The specs are decent if you only want it for just surfing the net or for a student.

What I really like about it is that the in built webcam has a light when its activated so it great when using skype. What I hate about it is that touch pad is rough and the right and left keys are too close together (fingers go further away from where it really is)

The price I see they are asking for it now (468.00) is definitely not worth it. If you want a basic computer this is for you.

Best Samsung Series 3 NP300E5C-A0DUS Notebok Laptop / Intel Pentium Deals

Customer Ratings:

After buying a different laptop which had horrible audio I went to the retailer and bought this laptop primarily for the sound. It does sound good, but obviously not a boom box. The last one (different brand) was just plain horrible. This one performs well. Battery life seems to be very good. It came with a 4GB memory chip installed and there was an available memory slot so I was able to install another 2GB SODIMM, so now running 6GB. This laptop doesn't have a numlock led which is kinda weird. All in all its easy to use, keyboard is nice, mouse/touchpad is appropriately responsive, screen is bright and crisp. Has Bluetooth, which is good for transferring files. Was the only one I found with BT. Lid seems sturdy. I would recommend.

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Discount Toshiba Satellite S855-S5254 15.6-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue)

Customer Ratings:

At the time I bought this laptop I didn't know much about computers.

I wanted one I could run any program with or game, I got this model because the processor is really fast and the hard drive is big.

The price is really good for these high numbers, when I brought it home I loaded all my programs on it (word, excel) and games.

The newest ones I loaded are Diablo 3 and Strcraft 2.

The install time was much faster then my older computer the turbo boost really helped.

The only downer is the graphics card, I have to run these two games on low graphics otherwise it is way to choppy. I found out because the graphics card is integrated, I didn't know what that was tell after I purchased the laptop.

So if you are a person that uses a laptop like 60% work, 40% movies and music and 10% games this laptop is for you.

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I bought this computer from Office Deopt at the beginning of August when they had an instant rebate on it for $699. The first one I got home with had numerous pixels stuck white, so I exchanged it for another. The second also had a single stuck pixel, so I made another trip to the store. This time I tried the 3rd. one out at the store before I left, and the screen was great.

I'm very pleased with this system. The i7 processor is very fast, and the system is pretty responsive, except for the slow HD (only 5400rpm). The graphics are the HD4000 version of the Intell intergrated graphic chipset (part of the Ivory Gate 3rd. Generation chipset) are now DirectX 11 compliant, and works quite well. You won't be playing games at high detail levels, but it works with a lot of them very well at reduced settings. I have been using it with Adobe Creative Suite CS 5.5, and it performs quite well.

I've only had it for a few weeks, so I hope it holds up well over time (it's the first Toshiba I've owned). There is a lot of bloatware that can be uninstalled which seem to speed up point.

My wife bought the i5 version of this laptop and it was perfect out of the box.

The only reason I gave it 4 and not 5 stars is due to having 2 factory sealed units with bad screens in a row. It made me question their quality control.

UPDATE 1/16/13: It's been 5 months now, and I'm still very happy with this laptop. I upgraded to Adobe CS6 Suite and it runs great. Even added a Wacom Bamboo Tablet. Was planing on upgrading the memory to 16 Gb but it uses 2 4 Gb sticks instead of one 8, and I would have to replace all the memory, so I figure I'll wait until I need the RAM an upgrade then. Also after seeing Windows 8, I'm glad to have bought this when Windows 7 was still shipping. If I wanted a Surface Tablet, I would have got one over a laptop.

Thaddeus Cultt

Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite S855-S5254 15.6-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue)

This is an extremely good computer for the price. I have recommended this computer to all my friends that are looking for computers. The Intel HD 4000 is Intel's best iGPU and can even run games like Skyrim. The 3rd Gen Processor is wicked fast too. If you are looking for a gaming laptop, don't buy this. If you want a computer to do basic tasks and some complicated ones that will last for a while (4 years at least), this is the computer you are looking for. You can't go wrong with an i7 processor and 8 GB of RAM.

Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite S855-S5254 15.6-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue)

I have had 3 Toshiba Laptops, the first purchased in 1998 (Still have it and it will probably still power up). My last was an A205-S4707 I bought in 2007 for $750. It is still in operation but with Vista on it I was never truly happy with it because there were lots of compatibility issues with software and it always seemed to run slow. The battery and power cord/transformer gave out after four years but they were easily replaced.

I spent way too much time researching and reading reviews to buy a new replacement and I'd decided that A Samsung or ASUS would be my next Laptop. I really wanted to get as strong a processor as possible but at low cost. Right as I was about to buy the Samsung a big box office store advertised this Toshiba at a loss leader price so I reconsidered the old faithful Toshiba again. It was almost $200 less than the Samsung and had more upgradable RAM, accessories and modern features. I've had the laptop about 2 months now and I don't regret the choice.

What I like: The boot up and operation is lightning fast. Programs run easily and the screen resolution is good. The brushed aluminum styling looks and feels nice and it can do most anything I need it to.

What I don't like: This thing is big. With a 9 key numerical keyboard to the right of the alpha keyboard, there is an extra 3.5 inches in width.

I bought this laptop as an alternative to a desktop so I easily accept the jumbo width. I'm a middle aged finance guy who runs spreadsheets, word documents and is constantly using email and the web. Due to the integrated video card, this is not the computer for the heavy gamer or high def video fanatic. But if your vision isn't 20/20 and you don't mind the heft, actually type numbers on a regular basis and want a computer that is portable but not like a tablet or net book, this is a good choice. From reading other reviews and research I still think the Samsung and ASUS are good choices but I think Toshiba can deliver the highest end processor at the lowest price (must have made an early deal to purchase Intel Ivy Bridge Chip sets because Toshiba appears beats everyone in pricing on the i5 & i7).

There's always going to be some Lemons that slip through with any brand so make sure of your return policy before buying any Laptop. But for a solid i7 laptop under $700, I don't think I did too bad with the Toshiba S855-S5254.

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I bought this computer for my daughter just over 3 months ago through Staples online after a lot of research. She loved the speed, graphics and used it for some photo editing with Light Room, and Microsoft Office. She left for college about a month ago. The computer just crashed this evening. She called Toshiba and was told there was a known issue with the software that makes the computer crash. The tech she talked to told her the warranty was only good for 90 days and if she wanted them to fix it, he had gotten special permission from his manager to offer her the extended warranty through Toshiba for 2 years, but it would cost $300 and she had to make a decision tonight, or no deal. I am extremely angry about this. I read the entire warranty out of the box and it says a one year warranty for the entire computer. She tried a system restore and it did not work. She has only loaded one or two software programs on the computer since it was new, and nothing in the last couple months. It also has Norton Anti-virus on it. I have purchased two other Toshiba laptops in the past that lasted for 3 years plus that were lower end than this one. If Toshiba doesn't take care of this problem without charging us, I will never buy one again. I would also highly recommend anyone else considering one to spend your money elsewhere. Toshiba needs to stand behind it's products!.

Discount Apple MacBook MC516LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

Customer Ratings:

The white Macbook was updated on May 18 2010. There are minor differences between the 2010 Macbook and 2009's model, detailed below.

The UPGRADES are

1) Geforce Nvidia 320M integrated graphics processor with 48 processing cores. This is better than the Geforce 9400M in last years model. Useful for content creation.

2)Mini display port now supports video AND audio with a compatible Mini-DP to HDMI adapter. (Last years model only supported video)

Thats it.

STANDARD FEATURES from last years model (minor changes noted in brackets)

Polycarbonate unibody

Core 2 Duo processor (2.4ghz up from 2.26 ghz)

1280 x 800 resolution Glossy LED backlit screen,

iSight camera,

2 GB Ram 1gb ram sticks x 2

250gb hard drive

8x slot-loading SuperDrive dvd burner

Large multi-touch trackpad ( Intertial scrolling is now enabled ),

2 USB 2.0 ports ,

Wi-Fi 802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet -10/100/1000.

Inbuilt battery (which Apple advertises as capable of lasting between 9 to 10 hours.) Not true. Real world battery life is between 3 to 6 hours depending on what tasks you use your computer for.

Software included is OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and the iLife 09 suite of content creation tools. A 1 year warranty on parts and 90 day telephone technical support is standard.

The Macbook as it is is good for basic computing activities such as browsing the web, typing articles or watching movies. However, if you're planning to buy a Macbook for multimedia work, such as editing high resolution photos or HD videos and plan to use multiple applications at the same time, please ensure that you upgrade the ram from 2gb to 4gb.

Why?

Because using a macbook with 2 gb of ram (such as this one) to multitask is a GREAT way to drive yourself crazy as the computer struggles to keep up. Try editing 10 megapixel RAW images while playing music in iTunes with Safari open. 2gb of ram is not at all adequate for multitasking / using processor intensive applications on a Macbook. I understand that Apple has to differentiate between the Macbook and MBPro to justify the price differences but skimping on the ram and putting 2gb inside a $999 product and thus, affecting the user experience is not the way to do it.

Upgrading the ram yourself from 2gb to 4gb is a great idea. Currently, Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 4GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 Memory KIT (2GBx2) costs $39.99. So that brings your total to $1010 ($969 MB + $39.99 Ram) if you upgrade your Macbook's ram

So for only $160 more than your Macbook, (if you take into account the cost of the ram upgrade) a viable alternative is the standard Apple MacBook Pro MC700LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop which costs approximately $1160 on Amazon. The MBP 13 comes with the added benefits of a more durable aluminum unibody, a backlit keyboard, an SDXC card slot, a firewire 800 port, a thunderbolt port and most importantly, 4gb of ram. Which allows you to multitask effortlessly.

If you're going to use the Macbook for any computationally demanding activities such as content creation, editing large RAW images or HD videos you should upgrade the ram to 4gb or just buy the standard MBPro 13 inch. The significantly faster i5 processor and 4gb ram in the MBPro 13 make a big difference in the daily usage experience.

However, if you only want to use the Macbook for general tasks like writing articles, browsing websites or watching movies, it will handle those duties adequately. At the same time, also keep in mind that if you only need a laptop for basic duties, many other manufacturers offer less expensive laptops which are just as (if not more) capable.

Hope this helps!

P.S. Update Feb 15 2011 At present, the Macbook is extremely out of date compared to other computer makers current products. C2D processor, 250 GB 5400 rpm hard drive, 2 gb ram, 2 USB ports. In 2011, these are totally unlike a $999 notebook's specs and more like a netbook's specs (excluding the C2D processor)

I'd recommend waiting for a Macbook update by Apple. Another good option would be to buy a notebook by HP,Sony or Toshiba (for $999 you'll get a much more powerful machine with regards to hardware) or buy the updated 2011 Macbook Pro 13 base model.

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As a student, I've been trying to find a well-built computer for under $1000. For me, the MacBook is a perfect fit.

Pros:

-The touchpad is incredible for web browsing. I have been using PCs notebooks for years, and I have never liked touchpads, but this has proved to be an exception. I can easily do two-button clicking, scrolling with two fingers, and going back and forth through pages with three fingers. I find I no longer do I have to lug around a USB mouse (except if I want to some gaming).

-The computer starts up in 20 seconds without having to wait for background processes to load up (unlike windows).

-The build quality of the MacBook is unmatched for its price. The unibody does not creak at all when handling it.

-Multi-tasking is surprisingly good for only 2GB RAM. The only hiccups I have had were at the first couple of seconds of playing movies on iTunes with a lot of other programs running.

Cons:

-No HDMI port

-Battery does not last 10 hours (about 4-6 for me with iTunes and Wi-Fi running). Still, it is much longer than the competitors for the price range and size.

Even though the build is solid, you may want to get one of these covers if you worry about scratching:

Speck Products See Thru Satin, Soft Touch Hard Shell Case, for 13-inch MacBook Aluminum Unibody/Black Keyboard (Black) DOES NOT FIT WHITE MACBOOK

They snap on in seconds and look great.

If you are a student who is not looking to do any graphic design I highly recommend getting the MacBook instead of the MacBook Pro if you want to save money. Sure it only has 2 GB RAM, but you can easily upgrade it now for $100 Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 4GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 Memory KIT (2GBx2) or wait a year and do it for about $50.

Best Deals for Apple MacBook MC516LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

As a student, I was pretty hesitant to get the MacBook, but after MONTHS of exhaustive research looking for the right laptop (I'm a networking student, and also I am working on my A+ PC Repair certification, so I know a thing or two about PC's and Windows), I decided that I needed a change in my life. I've had an IBM ThinkPad T60 last me four years through school, but after 4 re-install's of XP, I've had enough of the constant attacks of viruses, spyware, etc...and I decided to go with the MacBook.

PROS:

Perfect for web browsing, e-mail, and document creation.

Comes with great features right out of the box: iLife simply rocks; it comes with PhotoBooth, Garageband (where you can create your own music or learn to how play an instrument), Preview, and iMovie (it's basically an easier version of Windows Movie Maker)

Time Machine for backing up documents and pictures, which is FAR SUPERIOR than using the Backup Feature in Windows.

Wi-Fi is SO EASY to set-up using what Apple calls "Airport", just go to the wi-fi antenna at the top of the right-hand corner and set-up right there.

Printing: Coming from a Windows world, and living in a household with a wireless network, setting up a printer was a pain in the butt with Windows, with Mac, it's SO EASY to set-up and begin printing.

BlueTooth: BlueTooth is common in all laptops nowadays, and again, like setting up a printer, it basically connects with the BlueTooth device automatically.

MagSafe Adapter: Apple introduced this idea called MagSafe. If someone got caught on your power cord, it would take the cord and not the computer. I can't tell you how many times my dogs got caught on my IBM power cord and basically almost took the computer with it.

Battery Life: Wow, what a difference. I was coming from a half-hour battery life on my IBM, although Apple says that the battery can last on a 10 hours on a single charge, in the real world, it's falls under 6 hours, but still this is pretty incredible.

CONS:

2GB of RAM. Now coming from a Windows world, Windows is a memory hogger, so the more RAM you have in a Windows system, you are good to go, but with a Mac, it's different. Now if you are compressing 1080p video on a MacBook, the system starts to hick-up trying to catch-up. My advice? Upgrade to 4GB or get the MacBook Pro.

EXPENSIVE: Like all Apple products, it's pretty expensive. I was pretty hesitant to buy a MacBook because it was pretty pricey and being a student i.e. poor, I needed to save up a good chunk of money to buy one of these machines.

So if you are in the market for a new laptop, only need to do some document creating, and web-browsing this Mac is for you. If you want to do some high-end video compression, go with the MacBook Pro since the Pro lines are more aimed at high-end video production. This is definitely a perfect system if all you want is just web-browsing and document creation.

Happy Shopping!

Honest reviews on Apple MacBook MC516LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

So your in the market for a new laptop, maybe your a student. You need something portable, no 17 inch screens here. It needs to be light, well built, and easy to slip into a bag, for say, a ten minute walk on campus. But at the same time, you don't want a netbook. You don't want to squint at an 11 inch screen, type on a cramped keyboard, or put up with hardware that was out of date five years ago. In other words, you need something that just works, and doesn't complain about it. Well my friend, the Macbook might be just right for you. To me, it's the perfect "in between" product: its not so small and underpowered that your overall computing experience is compromised, while at the same time, its not so big, hot, and heavy that its only ever at home on a desk.

So what kind of computing is the Macbook built for, exactly? Its absolutely perfect for your day to day tasks, emails, word processing, web browsing (Hats off to Apple, after you get used to the multi-touch touchpad, every other laptop you touch feels sluggish and outdated) I'm sure with a serviceable C2D and a GT320, you could get away with some light content creation (Photo/Video editing, etc), but if you plan on using more intensive applications regularly, you'd probably be better off with a MacbookPro, or any number of higher powered Windows laptops.

Also worth noting are a couple of the Macbooks other superlative features. Exceptional battery life for one, I can easily make it 6 hours on a charge, under moderate use, Wifi, max brightness, everything that drains the battery. Speaking of brightness, the 13 inch LED is spectacular, it's bright without being washed out, colors are vivid and vibrant and despite a relatively low resolution, everything looks sharp. The overall construction and feel of the device, also, is excellent. The key's are well spaced and easy to type on. I also mentioned the touchpad, which combines a glass cover with multitouch to make probably the easiest to use notebook navigation I've ever seen. The laptop itself is very well built, very light, but still very stiff and solid. It doesn't feel fragile, in other words. The bottom can get warm after sustained use, but its also worth mentioning that there are no fan vents, and aside from the HDD spinning up, you won't hear the guts of this machine making a single peep.

To sum up, so far I've loved my experience with the Macbook, its perfect for my needs. Mac OSX fits well on a light processing laptop, and despite modest hardware, for the most part you won't feel it lagging or hanging. It's worth mentioning that I am NOT normally a fan of Apple. I will never buy an Iphone, iMac, or a Mac Tower, and I barely use my iPod. Unlike most Mac users, I am perfectly comfortable using Windows, am a big fan of Windows 7, and i'm no stranger to the unforgiving, enthusiast side of a PC. I've built PC's before, and my main computer right now is a high end, self built gaming PC (PII955/GTX 480). In other words, I'm not the normal Apple customer. But when it comes to a portable laptop that will breeze through every day tasks while providing stability and superb battery life, all wrapped up into that premium hardware/software bundle only Apple can provide, the macbook might just be the only way to go.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Apple MacBook MC516LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

I will keep my review to key points aimed at perspective buyers. There is an excellent summary page for a Macbook and some really in-depth reviews with specifications and cool buzz words.

1-Selecting your vendor

Make sure you are getting the right macbook from a source you trust. The 2009 and 2010 models are quite similar visually. Ensure you are getting the right model with the specs you want.

2-Special Offer

200 dollar discount on ipod touch and 100 dollar discount on printer from apple when you buy a mac product. It usually runs from june to early september, and can compensate the high price of the macbook(you have to be a card carrying educationalist to get it).

3-Pricing

If price still hits you below the belt, consider refurbished models, last year models, open box models. All of them give apple's one year warranty and all can be brought into apple for repairs. All will cost you a few hundred less.

4-what's the difference from macbook pro?

4gb ram ,aluminum case, light up keyboard, extra ports(firewire/memory sticks) is whats usually mentioned. Macbook pro also has a screen protector built in and an ambient light sensor to dim your screen automatically. The latter two are nice, especially if you plan to treat your macbook like garbage and eat while working on it.

And all this for an additional 200 dollars on top of 1000 you are already paying for a notebook.

5-software.

Apple is good about not giving you trials. You get legitimate programs, no fills.

When you get a new mac, especially if you are new, go to apple website an watch some introduction videos. They are all under 5 minutes and give excellent summaries of mac basics and fundamentals of software that you just purchased. All of them are free.

Summary.

Macbook is a cost effective way to get a mac. I hope this review will make your choice a more thorough one.

Buy Acer Aspire P3-171-6820 11.6-Inch Convertible 2-in-1 Touchscreen

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $899.99
Sale Price: $649.99
Today's Bonus: 28% Off

This computer is great. It is what I have been waiting for, a fully power windows PC in tablet form.

Pros:

The computer is relatively high powered for a tablet and a computer of the price.

The keyboard is great, this tablet is very widescreen which means the keyboard has the space to be less compact than most 11 in keyboards.

The keyboard feels great while typing.

The tablet comes with a bluetooth mouse which is not always necessary but handy at times.

The touch works great.

There was not much bloatware preinstalled

The case with the bluetooth keyboard has a little notch/slot system to allow the user to type and use the computer in their lap as a laptop unlike most tablets/cases (this is my favorite feature).

This is extremely lightweight which is great for school.

The screen powers off when you shut the case and powers back on when the case is opened.

Cons:

So far I have not found many, I sometimes wish there was a touchpad built in to the case in addition to the keyboard.

There is only one USB port which is a bit limiting.

The keyboard is very thin and as a result has a tendency to move with typing.

The keyboard is micro USB charged the included cord is incredibly short as it is intended to be used to power the keyboard from the computer. However I wish is had come with a decent length cord.

The computer came with an adapter for the microHDMI but is goes to VGA?

The case is a little inconvenient when you wish to use the tablet as a tablet, you can't just flip the keyboard behind (or rather you can but you will hit keys as the keyboard remains on) and the case is a little difficult to remove.

I previously bought/returned the surface and I actually like this device more than the surface.

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Hello folks, the following information is shared to the best of my knowledge and experience with the unit. Just to give you a piece of mind, I am an IT professional with over 10 years of experience including mobile solutions (i.e. phones, tablets, etc.)

I decided purchase this product purely for business. This means no games and no major processing involved such as running applications such as Photoshop® or AutoDesk®. I use it to browse the web, work on documents, and even take it out for presentations. Occasionally, I like to play tablet games here and there and watch some movies on Netflix®. I can barely feel any delay because the applications that I use are small and require very little memory (RAM). If you use this purely for the same reasons that I have, I doubt that you would be disappointed. Keep in mind that this may be designed as a tablet, but the parts are purely made for a PC, this means that the weight of the device may be slightly heavier than your standard iPad® or Android® Tablets. But for the cost and and simplicity of a mobile office with touch screen it was one of the best investments I have made this year.

The final warning I can provide is regarding Windows 8 I know that several people dislike it so far, but for those who are technically savvy, please take the time to play with it and understand its potential. I didn't like it at all in the beginning, but when I grew to understand the functions of the OS, I came to realize that it this technology is ahead of its time and that when I needed certain features to be performed, it was ready and waiting the whole time that I had doubted it.

Final note: I don't like the search feature in Windows 8 but it doesn't mean that I couldn't work with it, this is just my opinion. Regardless, this is a great PC/Tablet it is easy to use, easy to learn to navigate and explore (well for me anyway), fairly light, and the price was fairly alright. The simplicity is there and as I had stated before, you get what you pay for.

I hope this helps you in your decisions best of luck!

Best Deals for Acer Aspire P3-171-6820 11.6-Inch Convertible 2-in-1 Touchscreen

Normally I am way to lazy to write reviews but this product just made me so happy that I have to write a short review.

It is my first tablet ever and probably like everybody else I was tied up for for days reading through reviews and test reports. Finally I convinced myself to go for the Acer Aspire P3 due to its relatively low price, features and good (unless only 5) reviews here on amazon.

First of all I am not a guy who looks meticulously looks into details if the max screen size is 1366×768 or somewhat higher or if the processor is 1.5 or 1.8 as long as the resolution looks nice and the device runs smoothly. I mainly bought a Hybrid because I wanted a device capable of replacing my old Laptop as a work tool for the university but also for leisure activities like watching a movie or reading/playing something while traveling.

And the Acer P3 does just that. It was set up and ready to go in about 5minutes, runs perfectly smooth, both for working and watching HD movies and it just looks great and is awesome to handle.

Just to cut to the chase, here is a list of my personal pro's and con's:

Pro:

Easy set up

Boots in approximately 1.5 minutes

Great screen resolution (just looks high def even if it is not)

Win8 is awesome and you can personalize nearly everything

Great price compared to similar devices

Comes with Case, Keyboard which are both very handy and neat looking. E.g. you do not have to switch the keyboard on or,off. It simply shuts itself down when not used or comes to life immediately after you start to type on it.

Also included: a bluetooth mouse (batteries included), miniUSB to USB adapter, micro HDMI to VGA, cleaning cloth, Lite on adapter for 100-240V (very good since I am from Europe 😉)

Overall just everything what i expected from a Hybrid

Con:

Battery life with approx. 5h shorter than for example the Acer W700

It is a bit tricky to get the tablet out of the case

A lot of preinstalled crap like McAfee or stupid Acer apps. But you can get rid of everything very easily and and than set up everything you like and know.

Only microHdmi to Vga and not microHdmi to Hdmi or Dvi

Of course I knew about these cons beforehand and they did not really influence my buying decision simply because I can overlook/fix (e.g. buy an hdmi adapter😊) them due to my preferences and the price of this Win8 tablet.

I have been intensively using the Acer Aspire P3 for 4 days now. I hope it furthermore runs as smoothly as it does so far.

Sorry for misspellings and bad grammar etc but English is not my mother tongue....

Hope I could be of some help to any struggling buyer 😉

Honest reviews on Acer Aspire P3-171-6820 11.6-Inch Convertible 2-in-1 Touchscreen

This is my first windows 8 tablet PC and it's awesome. It has some Bluetooth issues when it's updated to windows 8.1

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College student chose as advised by others that use Ultrabook products and recomended the Acer. She loves it so far.

Review of ASUS X501A-TH31 Slim Notebook PC / Intel Core i3-2350M 2.3GHz / 4GB

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $549.99
Sale Price: $450.30
Today's Bonus: 18% Off

First of all I don't agree with the previous review of the X501A--see my comments. Also, the X501A version with a lesser Celeron CPU and 2GB of RAM has many favorable reviews but I think this model with the i3 and 4GB is the sweet spot for this laptop (depending on the price). Windows 8 (or 7) struggles with only 2GB of RAM and the i3 is a big jump up over the Celeron.

THE GOOD:

The price. The X501A is a relative bargain considering it's priced near the bargain no-name laptops with slow AMD CPUs that you probably can't get even basic things for like a replacement battery a year later. Asus is a big name, should be around for many years, and they use high quality parts. The AC adapter, for example, is common across many of their (and Acer's) models and very inexpensive. Replacement batteries are also inexpensive. And you get more for your money than from Dell, HP or Lenovo (unless you get a refurb or closeout deal).

This laptop is significanly lighter and thinner than most 15 inch laptops in this price range. To me that really makes a difference. It's easier to carry around, slip into a backpack or messenger bag, or even have on your lap. It's sort of a poor man's Ultrabook for about half or even one third the price. And, with the i3 CPU, it blows away any netbook in terms of performance for not a lot more money and you get a much bigger screen. And, unlike a Chromebook, you can run any software you want and store hundreds of GB worth of videos, etc.

The glossy screen is fairly bright and sharp. Pictures and videos look good when viewed straight on.

The fan is impressively quiet as is the 500 GB hard drive. I often use a laptop in very quiet areas and many can be noticeably noisy. This one is dead quiet except for some very faint noises from the drive and, if you manage to get the CPU working hard for a while, the fan speed will gradually ramp up but it's still far quieter than most laptops--even the Apple models. I have Dell and Acer laptops that cycle their cooling fan on and off with more of an annoying all or nothing cooling approach. The X501A is far superior and very quiet.

The performance is impressive with the i3. Even with lots of windows open, a streaming video playing, etc. it doesn't miss a beat or break a sweat. It boots fast, wakes up from sleep very fast, and has good battery life while sleeping (many older laptops don't).

It also runs cool. Even on a bed or sofa blocking all the vents on the bottom it still doesn't get very warm. Intel's latest CPUs are fairly amazing for power efficiency and Asus clearly did a good job with the cooling design.

The touchpad is better than average once you get the right driver and settings. With the right setup, it supports all the popular multi-touch actions yet doesn't freak out if your palms hit it while typing (a common problem with similar large multi-touch gesture touchpads on other laptops). Even some big names (like Dell and Samsung) don't have touchpads that work this well.

It has a USB 3 port which is also a bit rare in the bargain laptop category. It makes a big difference if you have a USB 3 portable drive or fast thumb drive. It also has HDMI which is great for connecting to a flat screen TV, projector, or large monitor.

Compared to a Dell or Sony the Asus doesn't have much bloatware pre-installed. There was an anti-virus trial but it's otherwise relatively free of crapware.

THE OK:

The battery life is better than average for this price range and level of performance. I get around 5 hours of constant use with web browsing, streaming videos, etc. It won't run 8+ hours like some of the high-end laptops, but a lot of laptops in this price range die after about 3.5 hours of constant use.

The keyboard is decent. It feels a little bit cheap and is a bit noisier than some. The layout is a bit cramped in some areas because of including a number pad but I've used much worse. I can type fairly fast with few errors. If you don't like island keyboards, however, you probably won't like this one either.

The build quality is decent and at least as good as anything else I've seen in this price range. Especially considering the thin and light chassis it's plenty respectable. But don't compare it to a Lenovo Thinkpad, Samsung Series 9, HP Envy, or MacBook Pro--most of which are at least triple the price.

There are only 2 USB ports (one is USB 3) which is probably OK for most but could be an issue for a few folks. You can always use a small portable hub.

If you use the buttons on the touchpad (rather than tap gestures) they're a little bit noisy.

The finish is a sort of satin black with an attractive pattern that's visible but the surface is completely smooth. It shows fingerprints badly (especially finger oils). A real (vs simulated) textured finish would have been much nicer.

THE BAD:

The WiFi range is a bit disappointing. I can watch YouTube videos in 1080 HD on my other laptops over WiFi at the other end of the house from the router. In the same spot the X501A can't manage it as the connection is too slow. It does fine if you're closer to the router. I've also had it randomly wake up and not automatically reconnect to WiFi. It's just a few clicks to connect it but it's annoying. It's apparently a Windows 8 driver issue.

Windows 8 is mixed. While I get the appeal for touch devices and tablets, it can be annoying to an experienced Windows user on a regular laptop. I much prefer Windows 7 but most current model laptops intended for home (not business) use only come with Windows 8. So I can't blame Asus and hopefully Microsoft will fix many of the more common complaints with the first service pack or major update.

While the glossy screen enhances the look of photos and videos in soft lighting it also creates glare and refelctions with bright light sources around. Most laptops intended or home use have glossy screens so you can't blame Asus but it's something to be aware of.

There's no CD/DVD drive but they're kind of old-school these days. Most of us are using thumb drives, direct downloads, the cloud, streaming, etc.

There's no access panel on the bottom. This is common to nearly all Ultrabooks and many thin/light laptops. See the YouTube videos for details on how to open it up. If you just want access to the hard drive it's not that difficult. And, unlike most ultrabooks and many netbooks, at least the battery is easily replaceable without any disassembly.

OVERALL: I looked at a lot of laptops in this price range and if you can find the i3 version for under four hundred bucks the X501A-TH31 is a bargain. I'm not aware of a better 15 inch laptop at this price with a current generation i3 and USB3. Most are heaver, thicker, more expensive, and have less features. But if you want a non-glare screen, DVD drive, easy access to the internals, and/or a better keyboard, you might want to look elsewhere--especially if you don't care about the thickness and weight.

EDIT: I've since installed Win7 which went fairly smoothly once you tick the right boxes in BIOS. I used an external USB DVD drive but others have done it with a bootable thumb drive. It's also worth noting a lot of the slightly more expensive models from Asus and others have a "hybrid" drive configuration with a 32GB SSD and a conventional drive. That really complicates installing Win7 if you want to still get the performance boost of the SSD. The X501, however, doesn't have that concern.

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First the Good:

* It's light & thin, easy to carry around.

* It's got a better than average CPU Chip.

Now the Not So Good:

* No doors on the bottom to access the RAM or the Hard Drive. You have to unscrew & unclip the entire bottom of the machine to get to the HDD. You then have to pull the motherboard to get to the RAM.

* No DVD RW Drive.

* The plastic bezel surrounding the screen does not provide the support that it should. It bends precariously when opened from the edge.

* The backlit keyboard does not light.

* The Speakers are on the bottom of the machine instead of the top.

* I HATE Windows 8! Unless you have a touch screen forget it.

* It just feels cheap. Not sure if ASUS designed it or Fisher Price.

* For the same money you can get an Acer with a better chip & graphics that provides access to the RAM & the HDD.

Best Deals for ASUS X501A-TH31 Slim Notebook PC / Intel Core i3-2350M 2.3GHz / 4GB

This is one of the cheapest feeling laptops that I have ever experienced. Don't even think about upgrading the memory or hard drive in this thing! It is completely over the top the way you have to take the entire PC apart to do anything. The memory is installed under the motherboard. I got this about July 5th, put a SSD drive in it and just decided to live with it because it was so cheap. After 45 days I could not even use it, the touchpad is so poorly designed that I could not even use it as a Internet browser, it was just too awkward. But I didn't even have to worry about it long because right out of the blue the whole thing stopped working! It would only boot to the BIOS, nothing more. Well I took the OCZ SSD drive out and found that it was blown! DEAD! For no reason. Looking at the cable that connects the drive you could see that one side of it was dark and appeared to be damaged! Well, thinking "Wow this is less than two months old!" I took it to Best Buy where they diddled away about two weeks before telling me that they could not would not repair this laptop because it was damaged by some type of internal surge! Yeah! So, knowing Best Buy and the competency level of MOST of their "Employees" I just took it back and decided to call ASUS to get the unit repaired. No such luck, they said that if the damage was caused by any type of surge that it was not covered under any warranty. Well seeing how this was the crappiest laptop ever and it was only $350 new I took it apart for the memory, hard drive and screen. But I would strongly recommend any laptop aside from this one..

Honest reviews on ASUS X501A-TH31 Slim Notebook PC / Intel Core i3-2350M 2.3GHz / 4GB

the equipment purchased through amazon.com was:

X501A-TH311 ASUS Core i3 4GB/320GB 15.6 "Slimbook Processor: Intel Core i3-2350M 2.3GHz / 4GB DDR3 / 320GB HDD

AND I RECEIVED:

ASUS X501U with AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHz / 4GB DDR3 / 320GB HDD. This processor is basic and is slow and completely different that I ordered through the purchase

Cheap Acer Aspire S3-391-6497 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Champagne)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $599.99
Sale Price: $559.99
Today's Bonus: 7% Off

As I already had a 7200rpm 500G slim hard disk, I decided to replace the 5400rpm one in it. It is very easy to open, no specific care needed. Took a little while to change the standard 2.5" slim disk. compared with the mSATA SSD hard disk used in S7, future updates to SSD could be much more affordable.

Beyond my expectation, this 24G SSD for rapid storage is upgradable with a standard mSATA port. 2 partitions on this disk, probably a system restore image and a cache partition. I just erased them all and assigned all 24G as IRST disk. Now it takes only seconds to fulfill a fully start up. You may need to find the correct IRST driver from other source than the Acer website. And activate RAID mode in CMOS setting.

I've read comments that this laptop may have bad WiFi signal, it could be true. A very stupid design made the white antenna wire too tight that the connection could loose by tiny force. If you have a WiFi problem, check it.

Battery life is not long, excel, word process for around 5hrs. watching movie with speaker for 2.5hrs, all with full screen back light capacity on. It could be improved simply by upgrading the hard disk to a SSD disk. But this battery life is good enough for me. USB port can not charge your phone when the laptop is shut down.

Keyboard is comfort for typing. I also tried to play game with it, cannot response when 3 keys are pressed simultaneously. touch pad is too touchy, but I usually use a mouse and disable it so not a problem for me.

No fancy touch screen or stupid simplified keyboard or weird port like S7, this laptop is functional in every aspects, worth every penny you pay. Surprisingly the price went up after I bought it. English is my 2nd language, leave a note if anything I wrote here is confusing, I'll try to reply~

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it's very light! good for travel and study outside!

love the champagne color a lot!

i5 is faster and easy navigation!

havent check the last of battery yet

Best Deals for Acer Aspire S3-391-6497 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Champagne)

Purchased because I wanted to stick with Windows 7 and for the touted resolution of the screen. It did not disappoint in the latter and the speed and ease of access are exactly as promoted. I use it mostly for travelling and editing photos which required the high screen resolution. The quality for the sale price is more than acceptable.

Honest reviews on Acer Aspire S3-391-6497 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Champagne)

I was looking for something lighter (light weight). You will get many products with same configuration but you have to spend around $950 or above. Then I was considering for MacBook Air but it has some restrictions on Windows, Linux and some windows based software. Finally I got the Acer product which is lighter than MacBook Air. I'm using this with dual boot (windows 7 and ubuntu). I'm satisfied with the performance. You can definitely consider this if you are low in budgets and high in choices!!!

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Just got it for a day. I wanted light weight with window 7 for my dual boot (linux). There are two concerns so far. The fan makes big noise and battery runs for 2.5 to 3 hours only.

Cheap HP Pavilion dv5-1000us Entertainment Notebook PC

Customer Ratings:

I was very eager to get my HP Pavilion only to find that they all have an overheating problem that leads to a shot motherboard. Unfortunately even if you replace the motherboard the heating issue will not be repaired so you can look forward to replacing another motherboard until you buy a Mac in frustration. HP will not admit this is a design flaw and they need to address this so until then Bye-bye PC, Hello Mac.

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I bought this laptop just over 1.5 yrs ago, but finally decided it was time to write a review on this monstrosity.

I paid over one thousand dollars for this, and having had positive experiences with HP in the past I thought this would be the perfect laptop to lug around when starting University.

Okay, I will begin by saying that I hardly ever carry this laptop around, and usually keep it sat on my desk or use it while lying in bed. The few times I have traveled with it, it has been for short extents of time and I would carry it in a highly-padded computer bag. I am positive I took better care of my laptop than many people, however, I guess that doesn't change a thing if the laptop is already poorly made. I will now list the problems I have encountered in my DV5-1000us from the day I got it up until today (1.5 yrs later):

*The easy pad (touchpad) controls stopped working many times during my first few months of use, however, now work 99% of the time. One thing that has not changed, although I believe this is simply a design flaw is that you can't skip, pause, play, or stop songs on itunes unless you have the itunes window displaying immediately infront of you. Because of this, I deem these controls useless since it's just as easy to press any of these buttons simply from the itunes window. It is also very annoying when you want to control itunes, but can't simply use the touchpad.

*The sound card: This computer has an awful sound card simply because it continually turns on and off. I have a password-login which I must use to access my computer, but if the computer falls asleep, sometimes the sound card turns off which requires me to close and reopen my computer screen, relogin and then wait a minute for my computer to allow me to actually use it while it makes a loud engine sound. It's not that bad, but quite an annoying flaw.

*The keyboard:After a few weeks of using my laptop, the keyboard buttons would easily jam and sometimes the plastic holding them to the laptop would pop up and the keys would essentially "break." They all worked, however, many became loose or stiff after this.

---And today my keyboard simply stopped working, so I am now typing on a usb keyboard (which is actually much better than my laptop keyboard and it only cost $18!) I should mention that although this laptop cost over one thousand dollars, the keyboard is not water resistant and also easily attracts dirt under the keys. It cost nearly $400 to fix my laptop keyboard (and I live in the Silicon Valley right next to HP!), and simply put: This computer itself isn't even worth $300-$400!

*The "paint job" -when you open up this laptop you will see "small, smooth metal squares." These are painted on and can easily be chipped off -my laptop is a perfect example!

*The "mouse paint job" The mouse pad on this laptop is a great size and I love that it is centered, rather than placed to the side like in some other HP DV's and Toshiba Satellites, however one day I came home after class and while studying next to it, noticed that the mousepad was scorching hot. I figured, "Hey, it's an HP!" HOWEVER, just a few minutes later I go to browse the internet and notice the metal paint job on the left-hand cursor had BURNT OFF! This was only after around six months of use, and to this day nearly the entire left-hand cursor is burnt-black.

*The graphics card: You wouldn't think it would be bad, and it's not that bad...BUT it is a very cheap, OLD graphics card and can cause computer games to skip around.

*The INTERNET: I have LOST COUNT of how many times the internet on this computer has suddenly stopped working. You will be browsing the internet and WHAM! You will close the lid to your computer and come back to it and WHAM! No matter how or when it happens, this laptop will find a way to disconnect to the internet (another reason I should mention that I simply keep it in my apartment room). It is NOT easy to reconnect the internet when this happens. Especially if you do not have access to the router, it is basically trial-and-error each time this happens -and it happens quite frequently and usually waste a few hours trying to fix it. For some reason there is no solution to this problem, because one method can fix the internet one time, and not work at all the next! ---The touchpad wifi control sometimes can mess up and stay on "disconnected/orange" even if you try and try and try to enable it and make it blue. This is NOT a portable laptop, because many times it doesn't even pick up wireless points many other laptops do!

*The safety-rubber attached to the laptop IS ATTACHED WITH FREAKING ELMER'S GLUE!!! Okay, so maybe it's not...however, a few of the pieces of rubber placed on the very bottom and screen fall off. They literally will just melt off...You will feel something sticky and realize the rubber is melting off.

*built-in microphone of poor quality. I didn't even REALIZE this laptop had a built in microphone like my mom's new mac, simply because...It doesn't pick up sound unless you have your mouth to the screen -and how many people do that?!

*CD-rom sometimes doesn't function -you will insert a CD or DVD and be all stoked to listen or watch it when nothing pops up. You go to my computer>CD/DVD-drive to notice it hasn't picked up the fact you just put a cd or dvd in. Sometimes it says, "NO DVD/CD INSERTED." and jot-fully pop out the CD/DVD door as if you really needed that lol So again, you should restart your computer...and get used to it if you buy this...

Okay, I know i doesn't sound like alot, but trust me...these cons really get to you after a while, and I haven't even mentioned (although I think this happens to most HP's), all the things which stop working and error messages which randomly pop up.

I know this is a very LONG review, but if it stops you from buying this laptop or at least lets you know what you are getting yourself into, then I'm happy.

I WANT to like this computer, and put aside all of these issues...but I just can't. If this were a $300-$400 computer (the cost to fix my keyboard haha), then I might shrug it off as annoying as it is...but what ever happened to getting what you paid for?

I do not recommend this laptop to anyone and the only reason this review is so long is because the problems-list associated with the laptop...goes on and on. :/

Best Deals for HP Pavilion dv5-1000us Entertainment Notebook PC

I've had this lap top for over a year now and I am impressed to say the least. I use this machine every day for hours at a time for work, school and personal use and it still works as good as the day I bought it. I noticed a lot of people have had trouble but I assume they must of got a lemon. I def recommend this lap top. It has been great so far.

Honest reviews on HP Pavilion dv5-1000us Entertainment Notebook PC

I purchased this computer in July of 2009 and it has never failed from day one. I use it for work and home and for heavy graphic use, AutoDesk products including 3DS Max. I purchased another HP machine (Dv6) because I could not upgrade this one any further to work with the newest software I need. I would recommend the Dv5 any time and will continue to use mine as a back up till it dies. For me HP has made an excellent product.

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I purchased the Pavilion dv5-1000us to replace one that had the screen die. This is awesome and fulfilling every need and expectation.

Great price and great deal..

Cheap Thinkpad SL500 T5870 160GB 2GB

Customer Ratings:

I got this for basic browsing and personal use not for business or gaming. The power, speed and memory were adequate for my needs.

I like the quality of this product, the user friendly keyboard, and the fact that it has XP operating system vs Vista which I hate. I also don't care for the system hogging McAfee which is pre loaded (and expires in 30 days), but you can put in another one like AVG that uses less memory.

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Lenovo has been building solid laptops for years; my first ThinkPad lasted me over 5 years, before the screen was damaged in transit. I am in IT and simply need hardware that works. I moved from Lenovo a couple years buying HP, Sony and other brands but found that the hardware quality was poor (including fan noise, cpu overheating, display issues, etc). Never had an issue with ThinkPad hardware, Acer is a close second. Rated for business applications, not gaming or graphics, though the HDMI works great for watching movies on my 1080 plasma TV

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I have owned this laptop for about a year and a half. Overall I think it's a decent laptop, I like the finger-tip mouse widget, the matte finish screen, size, etc but there are some definite issues that will prevent me from buying another of this same brand. First off it was hard to even get it. I wanted Win XP Pro and everything at the stores had Vista so I went searching and found this machine which seemed to have good reviews at the time. I had it built and ordered directly from the Lenovo site but they kept moving back the shipping date. I had ordered in March and when the projected shipping date moved up to July I called them and asked if I should just cancel my order. Surprisingly it was shipped out not long after that. I believe I ended up waiting about 5 weeks.

Everything was going good until I got the bright idea to hook the laptop up to the TV using the HDMI output. Well, this was super fun at first to watch YouTube videos and movies on the big screen but then BOOM it just stops seeing the signal. I tried everything, new cables, changing settings, taking it to a friend who had HDMI input on their TV to make sure it wasn't our television having the issue. Even reinstalling video drivers, etc. Finally decided it had to be hardware related and sent it in. Customer service WAS good but I was still under warranty at this point so no biggie. In less than a week I got my laptop back and the HDMI signal was back, yay! But all good things must come to an end apparently because barely 6 months later we AGAIN have no HDMI signal! And of course the new part only had a 90 day warranty on it. We were very careful with it too, only plugging the cables in when both TV and computer were powered off and all that. How much to fix it? $575??!? Might as well just buy a new one (of a different brand!) for that price and hope the parts work for more than 6 months. Don't get me wrong, the rest of the laptop does still work fine but using the HDMI output was one of the primary things done with this computer lately so we are NOT pleased. Definitely do not buy a computer from Lenovo if you are planning to connect it to your TV.

Honest reviews on Thinkpad SL500 T5870 160GB 2GB

I purchased a new thinkpad with accessories all of which were back ordered. I had problems with setting up the home network in the Windows 7 system. I called their service and they denied the warranty I had just paid for. Their order status web site is always down. The 866 order status phone based system is a bunch of barely English speaking people who also do not have server access. My accessories are on a never ending delay (up to three months now). I bought Adobe Creative Suite Windows ED not knowing that ED did not mean edition but meant "educational". I did not get a serial number and could not activate the software. To return it cost me $50! Never again will I order a Lenovo.

Cheap HP Pavilion g7-2291nr Notebook PC

Customer Ratings:

This is a nice unit. Unfortunately, HP computers consistently come with loads of bloatware, and Windows 8 is terrible. Uninstalling bloatware is easy, though, and most of Win8's flaws have neat work-arounds. In any case, the computer itself is as new as it gets; manufacturer refurbishing doesn't frequently go wrong. The item was shipped promptly and safely, priced fairly, and described accurately.

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Cheap Gateway LT Series LT4010U Intel Atom N2600 X2 1.6GHz 1GB 320GB

Customer Ratings:

Gateway LT Series LT4010u

I was looking for a very compact computer to easily carry around with me. I didn't need a powerhouse as I have a desktop and a very powerful Asus laptop for when I need a workhorse.

I wanted something that I could use for email, to surf the net, save photos on and create documents. I also wanted something light and small to keep a version of Bible Explorer on, so I could keep my library of Christian books at my fingertips.

I should also mention that I am not a fan of tabletsI especially don't like touch-screens. I was given a rather expensive tablet ($800) for work & I have absolutely no use for it. So I decided to swim against the tide of the ever growing tablet popularity and purchase a netbook.

I looked at many, many netbooks and found that for the price you couldn't do much better than this little Gateway (Acer) LT 4010u. Even with its little Intel Atom N2600 processor & just 1GB of RAM I find it to be plenty quick (for comparison my Asus has an Intel Core i7 processor & 8GBs of RAM). I should mention for those who want more RAM that the 4010u is expandable to 2GB RAM, but I wouldn't attempt to disassemble to get to the card (nor do I see a need to expand to 2GB). I also found the 320G hard drive a pleasant surprise. I'm sure the fact that the 4010u comes with just the (non-power sapping) Windows 7 Starter part of the reason I don't find this little netbook to be slow at all. The Windows 7 Starter may be a fairly basic operating system, but it is perfectly fine for a netbook, so no complaints here.

I find the 10.1" display excellent bright, clear & crisp dispay for viewing photos, watching videos, or reading the Bible or books in my Christian library. This little dynamo seems to do everything well. The fact that this netbook comes equipped with niceties such as three 2.0 USB ports, a webcam, and a 6-in-1 memory card reader all pluses. The 3-cell lithium-ion battery is said to provide up to 4 hours of battery life, however you can purchase a 6 cell (which should provide about 8 hours per charge) from Gateway Accessories for just $49.99 plus tax & shipping.

In short, for the money, this is an excellent little value-packed netbook. I am very pleased with my purchase. In fact so pleased with its performance, features & fantastic price that we ended up buying three of these great little netbooks for the family (surprisingly, the total cost of three of these netbooks all with extended warranties still was less the cost of my 14" Asus U46 in fact the price of each Gateway LT 4010u netbook was only $28.01 more than the cost of the two-year warranty ALONE on the Asus). Imagine that, a wonderful little feature packed netbook for just $28.01 more than the cost of a two year warranty on a laptop!

I also should add that we also find Gateway/Acer Customer Service excellent. They are easy to reach, and you can do a live on-screen chat for any questions you might have, be it about the netbook itself, available accessories etc. Also purchasing parts & accessories is a snap, & the prices are very reasonable ($49.99 for the 6 cell battery, for example), and shipping is prompt. I'm a careful shopper, in that I do a lot of research before making a purchase & I'm very picky when it comes to computers, yet without any reservations or hesitation I highly recommend the Gateway LT 4010u Netbook.

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I'm not very computer savy but I read some reviews online before I bought. Most were positive but there were a few that complained about how slow it was saying that the processor isn't up to snuff. When I first fired it up and got to using it it was pretty slow. I uninstalled and deleted anything I didn't need and made sure I didn't have any unnecessary background programs or extensions running and it seems to do alright now. If you like to multitask this probably isn't for you, but if all you want is a small netbook to take anywhere to surf the net and not much else then it will probably work for you, but there are probably better options that are competitively priced. If you do get it, clean up the had drive by removing anything you know you don't need (tread lightly if you don't know what's important and whats garbage) and running as few programs as possibly at any time.

Best Deals for Gateway LT Series LT4010U Intel Atom N2600 X2 1.6GHz 1GB 320GB

This is excellent for the average user, although it can be a trifle slow running the stock operating system, which comes loaded to the hilt with all sorts. However, when you use the remove programs feature and whittle it down to just what you need, it becomes quite a bit faster. It's has a dual core Intel Atom processor and 1 gig of RAM and 320 gig drive. However, if you don't mind losing a bit of trivial functionality, you can do what I did, five minutes after buying it, and wipe the hard drive and put Linux on it (PinguyOS). Wow, real fast now and very stable. A much better computing experience and in doing this you get the full use of the 320 gig hard drive. This is because when you first get it about 13 gig of hard drive space is partitioned off for Gateway 'bloatware' storage which is then hidden. I thought this was a waste of space and made me feel like I didn't really own the computer. But now it's all mine, just the way I like it. Great little piece of kit. Recommended.

Honest reviews on Gateway LT Series LT4010U Intel Atom N2600 X2 1.6GHz 1GB 320GB

I bought this PC about a month ago from Walmart Online at $178+Tax.

I was looking for a small PC and I bouthgt this unit because

1. Cheap

2. Small and Light (around 2.3lb)

3. Comes with a keyboard (not the best but much better than tablet on-screen keyboard)

4. Large HDD memory 320GB (when you compare this with tablet, this is huge !!)

5. Expandable (I will tell you more on this below)

Ok. Maybe someone say why do I compare this with tablet? This is not a tablet PC. True. But I was looking for a portable unit, I was considering both tablet and small PC. Tablet is great and popular today but many of them are actually heavy, or light but too small, no keyboard or comes with keyboard but adds more weight, or has everything but more expensive. From hardware configuration point of view, I liked the Microsoft Surface RT, but again it cost over $400. Plus many of these tablets come with memory size under 100GB. 4010u comes with 320GB!! and SD slot. You can spend little more $ to get a larger and more powerful low-end notebook, but I just like the smallness of this PC and 10.1 inch netbook was a perfect choice for me.

Gateway LT4010u comes with Win7 Starter. This is the light version of Win7 and it has all of the functions I need but Win7 Starter limits the RAM size recognition (It only recognize up to 2GB of RAM). So I did some search and found out that you can actually upgrade memory higher than 2GB and also that will improve the performance of this PC dramatically !! Here is how.

Step1: Upgrade OS from Win7 Start to Win7 32-bit or higher

Benefit -

I installed previously purchased Win7 Pro 32-bit to my 4010u. With this OS, I can make 4010u to recognize RAM size up to 2.99GB. I heard if you install 64-bit version, you can recognize higher memory size upto 4GB.

Challenge -

Since this PC does not come with a CD/DVD drive, I installed Win7 Pro from USB thumb drive. If you have a external CD/DVD drive, use it, but since I don't, I used my desktop PC and created an ISO file from CD, then installed from the USB thumb drive. There are many instructions available online so just google it.

Install Win7 Pro 32-bit Drivers -

After I installed Win7 Pro, I went the Gateway site, downloaded drivers and installed them. The link is here.

When I finished installing Win7 Pro, I found many drivers are missing and some functionality became unstable (e.g., touch pad). So you must install all drivers listed in this site to fix all of that. You don't need to install Gateway applications which you can find them on the same website but I only installed the WebCam app.

Step2: RAM upgrade from 1GB to 4GB

After Win7 Upgrade, I bought following memory from Amazon.

Crucial 4GB Single DDR3 1066 MT/s (PC3-8500) CL7 SODIMM 204-Pin Notebook Memory Module CT51264BC1067

I bought it at Amazon.com for around $26.

You can find the instruction of how to open 4010u and install RAM at following Youtube site. The netbook on this video is different from 4010u but it has a same exact design so you can apply same procedures to open 4010u and install RAM.

How-To: Gateway LT4004U Netbook RAM and Hard Drive Access

After this upgrade, you will feel this little netbook runs much much faster !!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Gateway LT Series LT4010U Intel Atom N2600 X2 1.6GHz 1GB 320GB

I picked up one of these great netbooks when they were on clearance and I am glad I did! I was looking for a laptop computer but didn't need a powerhouse (I have a desktop for that). I started looking at netbooks and this is the one that caught my eye, I have always had Gateway computers ever since I was younger and have always found them to be reliable. Don't expect this thing to be a "power house", when I bought it the computer had Windows 7 Starter (which in my option is a waste of a OS) 1GB of RAM and a 320GB Hard Drive featuring a Atom N2600. The good news is the RAM is expandable to 2G and it is a dual core. I found that it runs pretty smooth so far for a netbook. I plan to expand the Ram to a 2GB and install the Windows 7 Starter to Windows Home Premium update to improve the performance.

The computer itself has a gloss black cover and a gloss bright screen (if you are not a fan of either don't consider buying this), for how small the computer is I thought the keyboard wasn't a bad size. For the battery It only comes with a 3-cell (3-4hrs of runtime) or you can upgrade and buy a 6-cell and get twice that. I enjoy this notebook and say if you can find them for a good price pick one up!

Cheap Apple MacBook Air MC504LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

Customer Ratings:

This review is for the 256gb SSD 13.3inch Macbook Air w/ 2gb of ram.

(Check the comments after reading the review if you're still on the fence, I'm going over some more uses and offering more tips and advice, and if I have problems I'll note them below, I'll try and add a video review in a week or two showcasing everything after some more use, stay tuned!)

Here's a short overview of the benefits of the 13.3 inch macbook air, and things you should know prior to pulling the trigger, final recommendation is at the bottom :)

When I heard about the air I had the follow questions / concerns. Hopefully I can ease your mind...

2gb of ram only (you can custom order 4gb but you can't install this any time later on).

I was paranoid this computer would be unusable. I feel like I need 8 gigs of ram and a quad core machine just to run firefox (it gets so slow), not to mention the other tasks I enjoy doing. 2 GB is going to be far too much of a bottle neck... or so I thought!

2gb is ample ram. If you run out of ram, OSX writes to the hard disk (virutal ram, the stuff you've been told your entire life is bad and to avoid it at all costs... but with SSD, this becomes a non issue).

13.3 inch screen... Is it going to be enough to use as my main computer? Will it be too heavy to travel?

The 13.3 inch is perfect. I had a 13 inch macbook pro, I loved it, but I got rid of it because I needed a bit more screen real estate and the machine seemed a bit too slow (likely the hd was the major bottleneck).

The 13.3 inch macbook air has the resolution of a 15 inch, in the form factor of a 13 inch. It's truly the perfect combination.

Gloss (on the air) is a non issue, unlike the macbook pro 13 inch on up (where it is a issue). I thought the gloss on here would annoy me... not a bit! It's different.

The next concern I had was the processor. Honestly, I thought 1.86 core 2 duo was going to be a bit sluggish. Especially with 2gigs of ram... However, (I'm pleased to report), there's been no such problem on my end (a friend of mine bought the 11inch and the speed difference is noticeable, but compared to a 15inch macbook pro (running i5) it feels about the same, only more speedy on launching.

That's to say, with this base configuration (1.86ghz core 2 duo) you can do everything you need (including playing games like Crysis, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Starcraft) all on this little machine.

I've edited HD video on the unit (no problems), (though exporting is obviously much slower than on my imac, as to be expected, but editing and working on the footage was pretty much the same, it's only in exporting where you realize the machine is slower).

All in all the processor is fine.

So let me recap.

I was afraid the processor might be a bit too slow to use as my only every day machine (turns out it's not, granted if you edit HD video daily as your job, you might be better off with a i7... in fact you would... but if you edit video a few times a week, not a big deal).

I was hoping I might be able to play a game every now and then and was afraid the 2gb of ram and 1.86 core 2 duo would be the death of me... not even a problem. I can play call of duty modern warfare 2 (I'll come back and let you know how Black Ops is when It comes out), and Dirt 2 with no problems (granted, I'm using low to medium settings). So the processor is not an issue.

I was afraid 2 gigs of ram was far to unacceptable (almost didn't buy this because of it), but again, that's not a problem. The SSD is more than zippy enough to handle any paging if required.

(I'm typing this on firefox with over 40+ tabs open, listening to music with itunes, downloading photos from my amazon s3 account, and uploading a video via FTP to a web host)

No slow down at all. I usually experience slow down on my imac with a quad core, where here I do not.

Everything is just instant.

I was worried about the screen. I'm one of those who likes taking his computer outside on the beach, at a conference, or to a local coffee shop to get work done. The macbook pro glare was unbearable. The 13 inch screen was limiting...

The Macbook Air? No such problems, glare is pretty much a nonissue, and the extra resolution is a god send (especially if you want to do any programming or editing (video or photo).

Bottom Line:

This is the perfect computer for me right now (and I do a lot of things).

I've edited video, worked on photo's, wrote, and opened obscene amounts of tabs, all with no slow downs (again, applying filters in photoshop on 12+ mp files will slow down some, obviously, and exporting your HD video will be slower, but the actual working is a non issue).

The main benefit of this machine to me (and the reason I bought it) was so that I could use this at my desk when needed, I could take with me on the road, and when traveling.

I need to be able to edit photos (screen shots, comps, whatever) and edit video (as well as export).

I need to be able to write (using this mac it is instant, just a click of a button, no more waiting on the spinning beachball of doom for word to load up... ON MY IMAC QUAD CORE!)

I want something with a decent battery life (I got over 10 hours of use, I have the brightness set low (around 50%) bluetooth off, wireless on, browsing the web (no flash), itunes running, and typing away (checking wikipedia and google constantly, all with no slow downs at all, this thing is better than my imac!)

(To be fair, I did watch some netflix videos and hulu on my laptop as well and the battery lasted around 4 hours).

And I need to be able to carry this machine around and do all my work. This machine is just perfect.

I love it, and I love it more with each day.

Right now I have a somewhat unique setup. I have a laptop stand for the laptop (sets it off beautifully) that I use with an external keyboard and mouse (logitech wave combo, which I prefer due to ease of typing, when I need the track pad for gestures it's right there (along with my fellows gel pad).

I have a lap desk for my laptop, and the air works on it perfectly. So I can get work done on my laptop in perfect comfort while laying down, or lounging on a chair or couch at home (I don't take it with me).

I have a nice laptop sleeve that fits perfect (be.ez 13 inch macbook pro sleeve, fits the air like a glove), that I fit inside my vertical messenger bag (which houses this laptop + + a wacom tablet and my kindle will fit in there too).

So when I'm on the go I have the laptop secure and protected (I also bought a slip on pad that gives your wrists relief when typing on the laptop).

In the end, I feel this is the perfect computer. 128 SSD is enough for most people, if you install windows, you can live with 128, but 256 gives you room for your music library and editing videos.

I use an external Western Digital Passport 1tb with this laptop (requires no power cord) and I'm 100% perfect. I love this setup and I doubt I ever go back to the way things where.

No more desktop work (except to batch encode or use as a render farm), and no more bulky laptops (this thing is everything I want and need).

5 out of 5 stars.

If you do a lot of video work, or you render out animations a lot. You can use this machine to do your work, and your desktop to handle the heavy processing. Just store your files on a usb flash drive and xfer to your desktop to handle the render.

If you do 3d animation / modeling. Modeling will be fine, rendering may be a bit slow, when ready, save your file to usb drive, xfer to desktop and your done. (Or use your favorite batch rendering program).

I LOVE IT!

Here's links to all the accessories I use, and at the top under the product description you can view images of how it all looks together.

I'll come back and update this review through time, feel free to post any questions and I'll come back and respond.

Have fun, and buy one!

My Media Drive (House Movies, Photos, Music)

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDBABM0010BSL-NESN (Silver)

(Note they have a newer version that supports USB 3.0, however the macbook air does not support 3.0 so I see no need in spending the extra cash, There is a black version that supports 3.0 and is the same price. I just already have a 500gig black one that I use so I went with silver).

My Case (Macbook air fits perfect)

Be.ez 100691 LA robe Allure Sleeve for Macbook 13.3 (Black)

My Lap Desk (use it on the couch, in the bed, lounging around, non slip and very steady)

Logitech Comfort Lapdesk

I really use it the most when researching, browsing the web and consuming media. When I'm creating content at home (other than writing) I'll sit at my desk and use this...

Logitech N110 (seems that it's not being sold right now by amazon so I can't use the insert a product link, just type it in and you'll find it, check my images at the top for more).

I use this keyboard at the desk:

Logitech Wireless Wave Combo Mk550 With Keyboard and Laser Mouse (920-002555)

I like this for the ergonomics, it feels good even while typing for extended periods.

I hope you enjoyed this review and feel free to leave a comment or question below :)

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I do have fairly recent Mac desktops, but my own personal Mac notebook had become aged. It was a Powerbook.

With the release of iPad last Spring, I had considered not going back to owning a new notebook, with a desktop and iPad at my disposal.

However, I decided I simply need a keyboard for some on the go work, and my machine was simply too old now.

This October 2010 MacBook Air redesign is the answer for me. Furthermore, my father chose the 11.6-inch model for extreme portability traveling. I do not travel for work, so preferred the higher performance offered by the 13.3-inch model.

I will first address the 11 Versus 13 inch as I have examined both side by side:

*11-inch is shocking to see. Not only thin, but a smaller footprint. Gorgeous computer. You can notice a slight performance hit compared to a recent MacBook Pro.

*13-inch Impressive from the side profile, footprint close to a 13-inch MacBook Pro. Performance feels at or near MacBook Pro level.

In brief, the 11-inch offers a portability never seen before in a Mac notebook. The 13-inch offers "good," portability, light weight, and you sacrifice much less performance. It seems obvious on paper that that describes the two models, and I must say, it is obvious in real world use too.

Physically, the footprint is not much different than a 13-inch MacBook or MacBook Pro that other members of my household own. However, it's the thinness and light weight of this design that brings out the "wow," for those who see it. If you want to use it on your lap in a large chair or sofa, it is simply comfortable.

The reason one would choose this updated 13-inch MacBook Air is simple. This particular model gives you the thinness and light "wow," factors that defined the MacBook Air since its introduction nearly four years ago. However, this model gives you something that was not offered at this price point previously. A nearly fully functional and performing notebook computer. The included 1.86 GHZ Core 2 Duo processor is not a slouch. 2GB of memory is not bad in efficient OS X, and the 256 GB of solid state memory is not only competitive storage capacity to similar notebooks, but yet it is INCREDIBLY fast. The slight hit in processor and memory compared to a MacBook Pro is at least partly made up for by the speed of solid state memory. Just check out the boot up time on this device. It boots up fast. Plus, when it sleeps, open it back up, for instant on. It's a new way of experiencing a computer.

This 13-inch model has a higher resolution display than the 13-inch MacBook Pro, so you will fit more of your windows, pictures, etc. on the display. Indeed, it matches the resolution of the stock 15-inch models. The display looks gorgeous too. It is a glossy display, but if you compare it to a Mac Book Pro, you will find it's a bit less reflective since it does not have the glass over the display. I like this!

What don't you get on this model and do I miss it? Obviously, once again, Superdrive is missing. I do not miss this. I have Superdrive on my desktop computer, and you can always buy the USB Superdrive for less than one hundred dollars, if you want that capability when at your desk. This Air loses the backlit keyboard, one suspects due to the even slimmer and lighter design. However, I type efficiently, so I only lose the cool factor of illuminated keys, not function.

Truly, with the add on of the USB superdrive for pinch situations, this particular model is a Mac that could actually be one's main computer. Decent processing speed, decent memory, and most of all plenty of solid state storage and the speed benefits of that storage. The graphics processor in this release is much improved over the previous generation too enabling watching of high definition videos. Two USB ports allow for connecting your iPod, external USB hard drive, USB Superdrive, printer, or whatever other USB device you might have. SD Card slot is included on this 13-inch Air model for the first time too.

Note The brand new iLife '11 is loaded on this machine too. It's fun to try out the new features of iLife on a brand new computer! iPhoto 11 enhanced full screen mode is fun to use with this high resolution display!

Why four stars? I simply have hard time giving any computer a perfect rating. I think highly of it, but the Air did already exist. It's a big improvement on it. I also believe Air will see a lot of future development in the line as Apple has hinted it is the direction of all future MacBooks.

A graphic designer, developer, or engineer might need more horse power or a larger display. However, a 2.9 pound Mac that is fully capable of being a great second Mac, or primary Mac, for many users is an incredible achievement. Do not let the significance of this creation not take us back a bit. It is an impressive feat. Recommend unit.

Best Deals for Apple MacBook Air MC504LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

I bought the Mac Air 256 GB version from Apple for my wife-to-be who does very computer intensive work with image editing of the cellular level pictures she takes for her research. For those truly interested in this machine ignore the rabid frothing that the Mac hatters spout about the Core 2 Duo processor. Computer speed is not solely dependent upon increasing processor speed. The speed slowdown in today's computers is occurring because of memory and simply increasing processor speed does not make up for all of this. Fortunately, Apple has realized this in the design of the Mac Air. If you do a little digging for objective information you will find that Apple did not go with the i-series processors because of size and the inferior graphics that is integrated with the i-series processors. I have been waiting to get her a new computer and when the upgrade to the Mac air came out it was an easy decision. My wife-to-be has been a PC user her whole life and absolutely loves the Mac Air. This machine is truly a work of art designed for computer intensive work.

I also use a Dell Latitude laptop at work sometimes. It is new and slow as molasses, which is not a big deal because I only use it for presentations. I assumed it had an older processor in it, but I found out it has an i5 processor and was a little surprised because, in terms of speed, it feels like I'm using a laptop made five years ago. It doesn't even come close to the speed of my girlfriends Macbook Air. I also recently started using a Mac i3 desktop under Windows OS at work that "seems" just as fast as my Dell i7 desktop. And this is by no means a knock on Dell computers as I could care less what I use. I just think this speaks volumes to the factors that affect computer speed other than the processor. And I am not a huge Mac fan and find their OS annoying, so I work on Windows for my research. I haven't used a Mac since their prominence in the 80s, but I'm slowing being won back over by the quality product they make and that I can now use Windows under bootcamp. One final point, my girlfriend has found the battery life of her Macbook Air to be much better under Apples OS versus Windows.

Honest reviews on Apple MacBook Air MC504LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

I'm a nature photographer, and I need a computer I can take into the field to download and evaluate the photos I shoot. It's simply not possible to critically evaluate a photograph in the viewing screen on the back of a camera. For years I have lugged a 15 inch MacBook Pro around in the computer pocket of my Lowepro CompuTrekker AW Camera Backpack (Black) backpack. But with accessories, that was another 9 pounds in an already camera-heavy pack.

The MacBook Air (MBA) has allowed me to lighten my pack by 7 pounds, without any compromising on functionality or power. With 4GB of RAM and a 256GB flashdrive, I can even do serious photo editing with Photoshop. Battery life is very good, 5.5 hours on average while running Aperture 3 to import photos from my camera, evaluate and rate them. The flashdrive is very, very fast, and the video card is quite responsive even drawing big photos.

For all of its almost unbelievably thin form factor, the MBA has a solid feel to it and has held up well on a couple of trips already. I'll give it a real test in Antarctic conditions next, but I expect it will work just fine there, too.

What sells this machine for me is the very light weight. 2.9 pounds and still a full-feature computer, capable of meeting all my needs. Sure, there's an undeniable appeal to the form factor, but the real sizzle is the extremely light weight. I suspect this is the future of laptop computing.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Apple MacBook Air MC504LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

I purchased the 13" MBA a few weeks ago. It's my first Mac.

There are lots of cool things about the new Macbook Airs. But what stands out most to me is the performance gain from an SSD instead of a spinning magnetic hard drive. It boots up from cold to ready in under 10 seconds. Seriously. It shuts down in about 4-5 seconds. Of course, you don't need to shut it down and boot it up from cold every time just shut the lid and it goes to sleep in 1 second. Open it later and it wakes up just as you left it in about 1 second. Really. Windows laptops have this same feature, but in my experience it doesn't wake up about 1/4 of the time, so I stopped using it. But it works perfectly on the Mac.

Reading from and writing to the SSD is very fast, whether you're installing programs or loading files. The difference is striking compared to my Dell XPS laptop, which has a 7200rpm hard drive and Core 2 duo processor with a higher rated speed.

Now that I have a laptop with an SSD as the main drive, I will never go back to one using a spinning hard drive it's yesterday's technology and just doesn't perform well, compared to this. Of course, part of the performance gain could well be due to the Mac OS X. OS X seems more stable and refined than Windows 7 (and I like Windows 7, though I'd like anything after the disaster that was Windows Vista).

The Air's integrated NVIDIA 320 graphics handles all my needs very well, though I am not a graphics-intensive gamer or video editor, just an average user.

Battery life is really exceptional. At this moment, I've been running my MBA 5 or 6 hours since the last charge, and the battery meter still shows 44% remaining. Since I bought it, I have gotten at least the rated 7 hours of battery life every time. This, too, is due at least in part to the SSD. Regular hard drives use a lot of juice they have motors that physically spin a magnetic platter 5400 or 7200 revolutions per minute. With SSD, there's no spinning disk and no motor, hence longer battery life.

The MBA runs cool most of the time. After I use it for a few hours at a time, the bottom gets SLIGHTLY warm. This is a huge improvement over EVERY OTHER LAPTOP I've ever owned or used, which get VERY WARM or even HOT.

I've only heard the fan come on ONCE the first day, when I was installing MS Office using an external DVD/CD drive. Other than that, my MBA has been completely silent and cool.

Once I complete my transition from Windows to Mac, this MBA will be my main home computer. For average users like me, it's plenty powerful enough. At home, I have it plugged into an external monitor (which requires a $20 adapter), an external mouse, plus I have an external USB drive for backups and an Apple Super Drive (external DVD/CD). I slightly regret buying the Super Drive; Amazon sells Samsung drives that perform better and cost about $30 less.

The everyday experience of using the 13" MBA is like that of using a regular Macbook, Macbook Pro, or other "serious" laptop. What I mean is, when you're using it, it LOOKS and FEELS like using a "serious" laptop, not a laptop that makes compromises to achieve ultra portability. But when you take it with you somewhere, THAT'S when you notice how wafer-thin and feather-light it is.

And for something so remarkably thin, it feels very sturdy. Build quality is excellent.

I read a lot of other reviews by long-time MB users, many of whom are disappointed that the MBA doesn't have the backlit keyboard that Macbooks have. I've never had that feature on a laptop, so I don't miss it. But for people who do, you can get an LED lamp on an adjustable arm that plugs into the USB port not a very elegant solution, but functional and inexpensive Amazon has some good ones pretty cheap.

This is probably not a huge factor in your decision, but you might be interested in knowing the sound quality coming from the headphone jack is excellent. I did an A/B comparison between my MBA, my Dell XPS, and the Lenovo ThinkPad I use at work. I used high-end headphones to listen to a track encoded in iTunes at 320 bps on all 3 machines. The sound quality from the MBA's headphone jack was great, as good as my iPod touch, and way better than the Dell or Lenovo.

On the other hand, tiny speakers built into the MBA are no better than the average laptop speakers.

If you're thinking about buying this, I have a few suggestions.

First, go to a store and see one in person. Play around with it.

Second, make sure you know all the options available at time of order. The 11 and 13 inch MBAs can be ordered with upgrades (bigger SSD, faster processor, more RAM). But, once you buy a MBA, you may not be able to upgrade these components later. (Apple says you cannot. Some user forums say you can. I'd rather not take my chances.) So, you should probably opt for as many of the upgrades as you can afford at the time of initial purchase.