I love this computer. Absolutely head-over-heels love it. It's compact and light enough for me to carry to and from class without breaking my back (can't say this of my old, 7-lb Dell!). They keyboard feels WONDERFUL. Construction feels solid. Beautiful design. Really amazing specssame hardware as a MacBook Pro!for half the price. The trackpad is a tad finicky, but I've adjusted the settings so it works for me. It'll take a tiny bit of getting used to, but there's an adjustment period with any new computer. I'm super happy with my purchase, and with the SquareTrade warranty I bought with the computer, I see us having a long, happy life together!
EDIT: I just realized that the keyboard on this computer has a strange hill in the center, like it's being squeezed or something. It doesn't interfere with typing at all, but a brand new computer shouldn't have this kind of defect. What's more, when researching this computer, this was one of the things someone cited as a flaw in a review on another website, so I guess it happens fairly frequently. I didn't mention in the first draft of my review that this is my second of this model of computer; I bought the first one at Staple's a couple of weeks ago and had to return it because it had a faulty "W" key and a really jumpy track pad. I've noticed that this track pad is kind of inconsistent, and maybe more finicky than I previously thought. These design flaws have me considering returning the machine, but you just can't find this kind of hardware and gorgeous design for the same price point. Maybe I'll just get another one... third time's a charm, right?
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If you type reasonbly fast (i.e. 45wpm or above), you want to think twice before you buy any HP DM4-xxxx series of Pavilion laptop.
I had a HP DM4-2070us and it skip letters like crazy after 3 months. Every 5-6 keystrokes you type will have one keystroke that is missed, that is, even though you did type that key, it will not appear on the screen. Or, you would hit the space bar or the Backspace key and it will not respond.
I had to call and deal with HP Technical Support. They wasted my time trying out all kinds of stuff: Windows system restore point, uninstall and re-install keyboard drivers, full system recovery (that's a fancy term for re-formatting your whole hard disc), etc., etc. All these attempts failed to fix the problem.
After struggling with all these for over two weeks, I have to ship it back to HP Warranty Repair Center and that took two weeks back and forth. During those two weeks I was out without a laptop to do my work. The Warranty Repair Center replaced the keyboard and ship it back to me. Unfortunately, that does not fix the problem. HP is kind enough to replace it with HP DM4-2180us but the whole process took another 7 days. I would be happy if that solve the probelm. Unfortunately, when I get the brand new HP DM4-2180us, it has exactly the same problem -as soon as you type fast (over 45 wpm), the problem is obvious.
I am not the only one with this problem. Use the two links below to take you to the HP Support Forum website and you will see different people with DM4-1165DX, DM4-1127 sb, DM4-2015dx, DM4-2070us and most recently, DM4-2180us having the same problem:
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I spent a long time researching computers and this one fit the bill in terms of functionality and price point. I really like almost everything about this machine its cool, quiet (even with the fan running), and fast. I did uninstall a little bloatware when it first arrived, but that was easy and quick. The only issue i'm having is with the keyboard. It is very stiff and significantly slows down my typing speed because I have to hit all of the letters very hard to make sure they all come up on the screen. The shift key in particular is hard to use to the point of severe frustration. Nobody else seems to have this issue, so it may just be my machine.
Honest reviews on HP Pavilion dm4-2180us Entertainment PC - Gray
I was looking for a computer to replace my 4 year old Dell laptop, and came across this HP in consumer reports. It was recommended by them, so I figured it must be a good one. And it certainly is!!! I have always had Dell laptops, but I thought it would be a good time to try HP and I'm really glad I did. It has wonderful features, and Windows 7 is amazing. I don't do any sort of gaming or anything like that, so I can't speak to the graphics or processor capabilities. I do however, normally have many internet and excel windows open at once, and it has yet to skip a beat. It never hesitates. This is an excellent computer, and I highly recommend it.
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I was very hopeful getting a laptop, having been used to desk top computers for business and home. I must say, that I agree with the reviewer that if you type more than 40wpm or so, the keyboard inputs aren't always correct. The "shift" button seems to me to be too low and to the right and I always end up hitting the "enter" key, changing the paragraph. When I consciously type slow, as when I force myself to look at the keyboard, it's ok. Worse yet, when I type an email, the message often times gets deleted mid-sentence. I'm not sure what key does this all the time, but it's annoying because I have to retype a message, sometimes multiple times, to get it through. I love the computer in every other respect and find the display to be crisp and the navigation and speed excellent. But the small keyboard introduces many mis-keys and errors typing. To me,it seems like a desk version of an ipad. Is it a sub-notebook? I don't know...it's not advertised as such. But for all but the most ardent believers of everything small, this notebook computer should be skipped for one with a full-size keyboard.
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