HP Pavilion Sleekbook 14" Laptop / 14-b015dx / Intel® 3rd Review

Customer Ratings:

Good overall laptop. Gets the job done. The build of the laptop does feel a bit cheap though. Had it for a couple months, take it around with me all the time. The plastic where i rest my hands when typing is beginning to make a bit of noise. I do use it a lot though.

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I like the laptop and it is working well. I don't like the Windows 8! Windows 8 seems to want to make my laptop into a tablet but it can't. I need to get work done on the thing and it constantly gets in the way! I would change it to Windows 7 if I could. I might load Linux on it. I know that would be an improvement over anything Microsoft!

Discount HP 2000-369WM AMD Dual-Core E450 1.65GHz - 4GB RAM - 500GB HDD

Customer Ratings:

I bought this laptop to replace my old HP Mini 110, which was a good, reliable system that I eventually outgrew. Decided to go with another HP since I was so pleased with my last one.

All things considered, I'm happy with this computer. Out of the box it was easy to set up and transfer my files onto. The 500 gig hard drive and 4 gigs of RAM mean that I don't have to worry about overworking my system. I'm able to plug in my spare monitor and watch movies and tv shows while doing other tasks and it doesn't slow things down at all! The display is gorgeous and the battery life is fantastic!

Now, it's not without it's flaws. Considering its size I don't see why a ten-key pad wasn't added. There's no Bluetooth, which my Mini had and I had assumed this one would. A HDMI port would have also been nice. But, I suppose these are things I should have looked into before buying the computer, so I can't really hold that against anyone.

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:) very nice computer, very happy with my new computer. Thanks happy happy happy, my daugther loves the computer, shes having fun watching her cartoons

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I expected to have Microsoft Office installed (I bought it to do my work) but It didn't. I fixed that problem. That was the only problem. Other than that, great computer!

Honest reviews on HP 2000-369WM AMD Dual-Core E450 1.65GHz - 4GB RAM - 500GB HDD

the computer is great just wish the keyboard was back lit or i knew how to type without looking most of the time :P

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I paid for expedited shipping but didn't get product for 6 days. Was supposed to have been factory restored to original settings. It had password protected items in Mexican language that took me three days to translate and get operable. It is very slow. Just a bad experience all around. I have an HP Probook and am completely satified with it so was surprised that this unit operates so poorly.

Dell Latitude XT2 Laptop Computer (Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 Review

Customer Ratings:

Since Amazon Erased my last review on these Tablets I will again post a fair warning to consumers.

I work Tech Support for a Hospital that continues to purchase these awfull devices.

We are constantly getting these repaired the third party that dell Hires to replace hardware is in our

building weekly. The LCD displays go bad so often I swear they were made by Monkeys. For the price you could do SO much better, Take my advice and move on. It's no wonder that Dell has slipped from Number 1 in PC sales.

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Got mine. Went with the upgraded 1.4ghz and I'm luvin it :) Does all my cs6 stuff. Using my finger as a paintbrush is pretty fun. Tablet mode is sexy. I'd recommend this to any of my classmates.

Best Deals for Dell Latitude XT2 Laptop Computer (Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400

Great laptop. Was the upgraded 1.4GHz processor and had 128GB SSD Installed. Definitely recommend the SSD. Made a huge difference in performance. Wouldn't go back to a regular hard drive again. Didn't come with a stylus but my finger works great.

Cheap Sony VAIO E Series SVE14116FXW 14-Inch Laptop (Seafoam White)

Customer Ratings:

I was kind of nervous about buying a laptop online, but I researched the model I was considering and went into Best Buy to check it out in person. I LOVE this laptop. It's very fast & smooth and fortunately I haven't had any issues with the keyboard as the previous reviewer mentioned. I love how the keys light up and you can set the backlighting to always on, only when plugged in or always off. It comes preloaded with some great Sony software that you can choose to keep or remove. I removed some of it, but kept most of the Imagination Suite, which includes Sony ACID & Vegas. It has very nice features, light weight and has really good battery life. After charging it in the morning I can go almost all day without needing to recharge it. This is doing regular tasks on it like browsing the internet, checking email, watching videos on YouTube, etc. Overall I am loving this laptop and very happy with my purchase. If you have any questions leave it in the comments below and I will try to answer your question. I hgihly recommend this laptop! If you were on the fence about getting it, I say GET IT!

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With almost 750GB of space, there is plenty of room to store an entire music collection, photos, videos and documents.

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I found this laptop to be light, responsive to commands, fast, with a good display. Typing and launching applications is quick. Even while using processor-heavy applications like Handbrake doesn't seem to slow other functions down much. I had to play with the settings of the trackpad to make it work the way I am used to, but now it is responsive and easy to use.

The drawback is the keyboard, which feels a bit cheap and flimsy. I don't like its "bounce" and feedback, though after a week's use, I am getting used to it. The lighting of the keyboard also doesn't actually help in darker environments.

Sony includes some useful applications, like Vegas Movie Studio, but like many PCs, much of what is included can be removed.

Still, for the size, weight and specs I feel like I've made a good purchase.

Best Deals for Sony VAIO E Series SVE14116FXW 14-Inch Laptop (Seafoam White)

First this laptop was purchased for my spouse not me, so I will skip the review on the color. She likes it and that's that. ;)

Now, on to business. Sony VAIO systems have had their ups and downs over the years. However, I can mostly say that Sony has come back with its new line of laptops. They seem to be built better and don't contain as much bloatware as they used it. Why computer companies still insist of packing every piece of horrible software onto their system is beyond me (yes, it could lower the price a bit, but then customers are bombarded with horrible software and blame you for installing it on their system). Anyway, I digress...

What Sony did install on this system that is fairly helpful for the average user, is a "smart" suite that basically checks the system for you and ensures you are running the latest and greatest software and have the right patches to keep your system safe. This suite isn't perfect, however it will at least keep the system cleaner than most suites I've seen from other companies that simply just try to sell you more of their products right from your own desktop (really, commercials on my computer...no, thanks). Additionally, this suite is a teaching tool. Sony takes the time to answer the hottest questions currently floating around the web pertaining to laptops. Need to learn how to hook up that new printer you just purchased to your network or laptop for use? Sony will tell you. Need to figure out if upgrading your laptop to Windows 8 is possible? Sony has you covered (it is btw). Want to know how to fix that annoying little issue that seems to be plaguing you (and likely other Sony customers)? Yep, you guessed it...Sony will post the answer in plain English right on your desktop software suite and even provide you steps to fix it. Not bad Sony, not bad at all.

Now on to the actual system. Let me first give the biggest con of them all. The trackpad is absolutely a nightmare on this system. Seriously I am not able to figure out if I'm clicking or scrolling or simply shaking my mouse pointer back and forth. They decided to incorporate the mouse buttons right into the trackpad, so you don't have separate things to touch but for these burly hands, I am unable to master it. My spouse...no complaints (I think she secretly hates it, but doesn't want to agree with me...*sigh*). If you like those "one surface does it all" type track/touchpads, then this will not bother you and you can ignore the previous portion of this review. The rest of the system is fairly nicely laid out. Keyboard is the newer "chiclet keyboard", which basically means each key is independent on the board instead of a single large mesh for food and other junk to fall into. I like that idea and believe it should become standard on all laptops. The keys, themselves, light up when used, so great for surfing in a dark room during movie night. Most of the function keys are nicely labeled, so you can figure out what two keys you have to hit to replicate the same feature that a normal 108+ keyboard has. Want to page up/down? FN+up-arrow/down-arrow takes care of you (I dislike not having dedicated page-up/down keys, but understand the use due to limited space). The ports (USB, HDMI, card reader, etc) are all nicely placed and easily accessible without looking cheap. There is a powered USB port on one side of the laptop to allow you to charge your USB device, even if you lose the laptop for storage (excellent feature and should be standard, as it is silly that I have to keep a laptop open to charge an iDevice while on the road). The built-in camera and mic work great (Skype tested and approved by family/friends). The powercord and brick are standard and seem solid enough to not cause concern that they'll break within a year (so many manufacturers seem to send crappy powerbricks, so you have to buy their replacement one for $80+ after the original breaks).

So, overall, this system is fairly well built, has a good amount of useful software pre-installed (yes a little bloatware, but nothing worth complaining about), and seems fairly sturdy. If this changes over the next year of use we'll be sure to update this review. As an HP laptop user for work (I know, stop laughing, it is what we have), I can honestly say I am impressed with how Sony turned around and revitalized their consumer line of laptops (their enterprise line was always well-respected and trusted).

Honest reviews on Sony VAIO E Series SVE14116FXW 14-Inch Laptop (Seafoam White)

I foolishly ignored the reviews about this laptop, blinded by the light up keyboard and intel 5 processor. It IS a lot faster than my old netbook, and I really enjoy the light-up keyboard. However, as other people mentioned, the mouse pad is very annoying and hard to use. Luckily I already had a nice wireless mouse that is connected via a small USB chip. If you are going to buy this, I would suggest buying a mouse as well. I would also recommend getting a warranty, I have recently started having problems with my laptop just randomly shutting off and then not turning back on for awhile. It's very strange. I like it, but I think I probably could have gotten something better for what I paid.

Update: the laptop lasted about 3 months of normal use and then refused to turn on anymore. I sent it in since it was under warranty and it could not be fixed. Luckily Squaretrade gave me my money back. I would not by this product again.

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I was worried after reading the other review's about this computer, but after seeing it a store I decided to order it anyways. I so far love everything about. I love the light up keyboard and it also seems to move very fast. I am very happy with my decision to get this computer.

Samsung Series 3 NP350U2B-A01 12.5-Inch Laptop Review

Customer Ratings:

post-review edit: after owning this laptop for 2 months, I've come to be very disappointed with the headphone jack. It's terrible quality and it takes great effort to find a position where it transmits sound to both ears. If it's sitting in place it's bearable, but if it's in my lap and I so much as tap my leg, the sound jumps in and out. It makes listening to music on the go unbearable. Deducted one star for it. At $800 (I bought it for $700 from amazon and have seen lower), I would not buy this laptop today.

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I bought this laptop about a week ago as a replacement for my MacBook from '10. I'm an engineering student and I got tired of the incompatibility of OS X with the majority of my CAD & engineering software. I was looking for a lightweight laptop with quality construction that would be able to run programs like SolidWorks and play HD video--no games. With this laptop, I found exactly what I was looking for.

The great part about this laptop is that all the components are really exceptional--except for the hard drive, which is crap. But see, that's precisely what I had hoped to find. When the hard drive is so awful, I didn't feel like I paid extra for a good component that I had intended to replace from the start. I went with a Crucial M4 128GB as the replacement drive. With the SSD installed, there's really no weak point to this system (except for the GPU, because there is no dedicated GPU). The standard voltage processor keeps programs running smoothly and the SSD makes programs load instantly. Power on to login in ~9 seconds. Temps stay low with no fan activity so it's totally silent. If you're just using the internet and playing music, it doesn't get above room temp. Great stuff.

Next I'll outline some key features in no particular order.

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Display: coming from my MacBook (not pro), the screen falls short. Same resolution but it doesn't look as crisp or colorful as the Mac--it's not a huge difference, but I noticed it when making the transition. I don't notice it anymore unless I have them side by side. Maybe it's the glossy screen vs. the Samsung's matte screen. The screen doesn't match the maximum brightness or the range of brightness available to the Mac. So, it's not a bad screen, but it could be better.

The slim bezel looks really classy & I like it a lot. The screen doesn't feel flimsy and the lack of a large bezel really makes the laptop look fantastic. The laptop overall looks beautiful & feels tough enough to leave in my backpack without worry. Some laptops I've seen in stores feel like they're made of plastic and I hate it. I don't get that with this one.

Oh, and 12.5" is the perfect size for a screen. 15" is too bulky for a work computer and the netbooks are cripplingly small. This is perfect.

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Keyboard: it feels SLIGHTLY smaller than a full-size keyboard, but I think it's the same as the Mac and it's not small enough to cause me to make mistakes while typing. I'm 6'4 with big hands, so you'll probably be okay. Function & arrow keys are nice to have. Keys feel responsive when pressed--it's almost exactly the same look, feel, and size of the keyboard on a similarly sized Macbook Pro. No backlight on the keys.

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Trackpad: I've seen worse on laptops, but the Mac's trackpad is significantly better than the one on this laptop. The laptop has drivers to allow for the same sort of "gestures" (2-finger scroll, 3-finger back) but it's not nearly as smooth as what I'm used to. I'm so glad it includes gestures though. It really does make everything significantly easier, even if the implementation has room for improvement.

Sometimes the trackpad doesn't detect my finger when I try to move the cursor. There's another problem that I run into where I try to drag a window and midway through, it 'drops' the window (for lack of better phrasing) and I have to re-click & drag. Same thing happens sometimes when I try to highlight a large section of text. The trackpad loses the position of my finger and the highlighting stops short of where I want it to be. It doesn't happen if I consciously press harder on the trackpad, but in normal use it happens enough to be annoying. The trackpad is this laptop's major flaw, but only by comparison to the Mac. By itself it's not a dealbreaker.

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Hard Drive: it sucks. 5400 rpm is as slow as it gets but it's the only weak point in the hardware of the system. Perfect opportunity to replace with a SSD. I really can't emphasize enough how much of a difference the SSD makes. The included hard drive is dead weight in this system and it really drags it down. You need a good replacement to unleash this laptop's potential. Read up on proper care of solid state drives if you're considering replacing the hard drive.

Just for perspective--with a SSD, this laptop 'feels' faster than a $1000 gaming computer running on a 7200RPM hard drive. The gaming computer will always outperform this laptop in games, editing software, and the like. BUT, when you're just running iTunes, Chrome, and other programs that don't require a ton of constant CPU/GPU power, this laptop will perform faster. I think that's pretty cool.

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CPU (processor): 2nd gen i5 & it's standard voltage, which means it's not scaled down for portability. I don't play games on it, but SolidWorks runs great and video is smooth as silk. Exceptional processor for a laptop, especially for one in this price-range/weight class.

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RAM (memory): 4GB is plenty for all but enthusiasts and some graphic designers. No expansion slot, but I don't really care. Wish I knew if it could be upgraded to 1-DIMM of 8GB, but you really don't need more than 4GB.

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Sound: I don't have a pair of great headphones so I can't speak for the sound card, but the speakers are pretty crappy. It's enough to show people videos or for once-in-a-while use, but they're no replacement for standalone speakers. The sound from MacBook speakers is an improvement, but still bad. It's laptop speakers in an ultra-portable laptop... what do you expect? I wouldn't be mad if they had left out the speakers altogether to cut down on weight.

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GPU: integrated with the i5 processor, the HD 3000 is enough for HD video but probably not enough for gaming. I don't use it for games so I can't speak on that behalf, but it hasn't held me back at all.

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Optical Drive/USB slots/etc: 2 USB slots, not USB 3.0. Not a big deal. The usb slots are on opposite sides of the laptop (one per side). No optical drive--had to install windows 7 with a thumb drive. Downloaded the drivers from here:Nothing to say about the other slots. USB and headphone slots are the only things I make use of.

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Battery: I get about 5 hours on a full charge while connected to WiFi. I use the 80% max charge option to save battery life but if I took it to full and took the screen to minimum brightness, I could probably push it to 6-7 hours. Not replaceable but I hope Samsung is right and it lasts for a few years.

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Conclusion:

The laptop isn't perfect, but I would argue that it's the best in its price range (with a SSD). All in all, I paid $879 for this laptop (including SSD), which is a few hundred dollars less than its Apple counterpart (the MacBook Air). This laptop does everything I need it to do and more, especially for the price. I'm really happy with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~REPLACING THE HARD DRIVE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1) Remove all the screws holding the back plate to the laptop. Two screws lie underneath the rubber pads. I used a philips head 0x50 screwdriver. BE CAREFUL--IT'S VERY EASY TO STRIP THE SCREWS. I cut it close a few times because I rushed through it. Take your time.

2) Now the back plate has to be pried off. This part sucks; it took me around 15 mins to finally get it. Pry off a corner and slip something underneath. Slide it around the edges and you'll hear pops when you do it right. Latches are placed around the edges and they need to be unsnapped to get the backplate off. The backplate splits the fan vents in half, so be mindful of that when you're looking for a leverage point.

3) With the backplate removed, you need to remove the screws holding down the hard drive. Carefully remove it from the SATA connector and unscrew the cover from the hard drive (the thing with the rubber pad on it).

4) Install the new hard drive and use the cover to screw it back into place.

5) Snap the backplate back on, replace the screws & rubber pads and you're all set. Remember, you'll need a USB drive to perform a fresh install of Windows 7.

I hope this helps someone who is as picky with computer purchases as I am.

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Love this laptop, using it to write this review. I got it because we recently started started going paperless at work and wanted my own notebook to carry with me and do my work. Its absoultely perfect for the job. Most people notice the aesthetics first, its a very attractive machine. Even though the series 3 is the budget series of Samsung, this notebook does not feel cheap in any way. The next thing people notice is the weight and size. It's got the same form factor as an 11.5 inch laptop thanks to Samsung's trademark thin bezels, so you get more screen for the same form factor. The weight is perfect, i carry it around with me all day without problems. Also like the keyboard, its a full sized keyboard with chiclet keys. Also has arrow buttons, which is a huge plus for me. With a full version of Windows 7 and the horsepower of the i5 and 4GB RAM, it runs better and smoother than any other laptop Ive ever owned. Overall, a great purchase for a great price. Would buy again in a heartbeat.

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i am a freelance graphic designer and primarily use this notebook to take to client meetings to give them progress reports (secondary use is pretty much all internet). while this computer is not powerful enough to substitute for a desktop when using programs like illustrator and photoshop, it does run these programs well enough for my purposes (haven't really noticed significant lag time...maybe a bit with 20+ layers open but nothing ridiculous). these are pretty much the only programs i run on the computer besides office; i haven't started any new projects using this computer but i do make adjustments to projects that i have already started on my desktop and this computer handles that really well. now for the pros and cons:

PROS:

* super light i'm a pretty small person and a couple pounds can make a huge difference when i'm carrying something around all day. at just about 3 pounds this notebook is hardly noticeable in my bag.

* super small this thing is tiny, which coupled with the weight makes this an extremely portable notebook.

* attractive this may not be important to everyone but this notebook looks really nice, and as a graphic designer it is important for me to present a good appearance to my clients. it has a sleek, modern design, a nice brushed metal look on the cover and keyboard, and nice, compact keys with rounded corners.

* keyboard these keys don't have a lot of travel which i actually didn't like at first but now that i've used the notebook for a few weeks i've changed my mind. i also like the font type and size for the lettering on the keys very clear yet subtle.

* processor the i5 is a really good processor and handles photoshop, illustrator, word, and a couple of internet tabs open at the same time.

* ram 4gb of ddr3 is more than enough for most people, and from what i've read an additional 4gb can be added which helps "future proof" this notebook.

* matte screen i love not constantly having glare on my screen and i also find that the matte screen is easier on my eyes. there is also a con to the matte screen so please read that.

* noise level this notebook is really quiet compared to others i looked at. when the fans aren't on i can't hear anything (some others emit a high-pitched noise like that of old televisions) and when they are on they produce a faint humming noise that i soon forget about until they turn off. the keys are also fairly quiet i don't think typing would disturb others in a classroom or library.

CONS:

* matte screen the only down side to the matte screen is that the colors aren't as vibrant as on other screen types. my desktop uses a semi-matte screen, also made my samsung, and i notice that the colors are a bit more vibrant. that being said, even as a graphic designer this does not have a significant impact on my work as: a) the vibrancy difference is minimal, b) i don't use this notebook to create designs, only to show them and make minor modifications, and c) colors will look different on virtually every screen. i have not yet messed around with the display settings so that may have an impact but no matter what you do the colors will not look the same as they do on a glossy or semi-matte screen. however, there is no noticeable color bleed on this matte screen which would have been a deal breaker for me.

* indicator lights my eyes are very sensitive to light and motion so the first thing i do on a new computer is turn the screen brightness down and turn off the indicator lights on the keyboard...except in this case i was unable to turn these lights off. i called samsung and they confirmed that the lights cannot be turned off so i'm going to cut some tiny pieces of electrical tape to put over them until a third party solution is available. on the plus side, the screen brightness control is great (i use 3/8 8 is instant eye pain and 1 has me squinting to see).

* no dedicated graphics card i would really prefer a dedicated graphics card but in this price range it's nearly impossible to find a notebook with this feature. for the average computer user this won't be an issue but if you are using graphic intensive programs a dedicated card can help with lag time and be even more useful when newer versions of such programs come out as they will most definitely be more demanding.

* no usb 3.0 not a big deal now but may be annoying in the future. if necessary i'll get an adapter.

OVERALL

really nice computer in terms of processing power, ram, portability, and style. i would recommend this computer for: graphic designers as a supplemental portable, students as a primary computer that can also easily be carried to class (boy do i wish they made computers this light when i was in college), and for any person who wants a portable computer for everyday stuff (word processing, internet use, etc) that has a good enough processor and enough ram to be useful for years to come.

edit 12.10: i forgot to mention that when i got this computer the function keys didn't work. i solved this problem by downloading the "easy display manager" from this samsung downloads page:

Honest reviews on Samsung Series 3 NP350U2B-A01 12.5-Inch Laptop

What a great little laptop. I wanted thin & light but did not want something underpowered. So far I am extremely impressed with this system. The screen is bright and at 12.5" feels big enough to do most anything. It is very thin and at 3 lbs really does feel very light, in fact any ligher and it might slide around the desk when you use it. The core i5 2410m is quite fast and has the upgraded HD 3000 video, so far all of the graphics and video work has really impressed. I considered a system with an SSD however I do like having the space that the 500GB HDD provides.

The system did not come with an over abundance of bloatware applications pre-installed so it was usable right away without having to uninstall unneeded junk. The Fast Start technology seems to work as it does wake back up very quickly. I am anxious to try the wireless display but need to buy one of the TV adapters to make it work.

I would definiately buy this again.

12/17/2011 Update:

I found I was occasionally having trouble with the wireless connection when unplugged. I changed the windows power settings to have the wireless network use maximum power when on battery and it seems to have fixed the problem.

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I wanted a reasonable sized, light, easily transportable notebook computer that would be fast enough in normal usage to not feel slow. This Samsung works. It is subjectively fast, light enough (3.1 lbs) to carry easily, and has the capacity to do everything I want to do. The keys don't have much travel but are easy to get used to. At full brightness, the screen is fine. At 12.6 inches, it's big enough. Even with the power cord, the whole package is still under 5 lbs. Wish it had more USB ports--2 means I have to use a small 4-hole port. I got an external DVD writer/player for when I have to use a DVD to get software installed. I prefer to not have to carry the additional weight of a DVD around when my need for it is rare. The very smoothly opening lid is a nice touch, adding to the all around good visual and tactile impression of this notebook.

Lenovo X220 42875TU 12.5-Inch Laptop Review

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List Price: $1,179.00
Sale Price: $999.99
Today's Bonus: 15% Off

Lenova X220 has been performing without any flaws from last 8 months.Absolutely no problems at all.

Excellent product.Total value for $ spent. Very Happy with this purchase.

Product was delivered on time.

5 Stars !

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Best HP Envy 4-1043CL Core i5-3317U Dual-Core 1.7GHz 6GB 32GB SSD Deals

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My Dell M1330 of five years, and 3 hard drives later finally gave up the ghost. It was, in general, a solid performer. I recently acquired the HP Envy 4-1043CL. For the money, it is nothing short of spectacular. Rich with features like the lightning fast i5 processor, 500GB hard drive, 32GB SSD, all make this a pretty seamless package.

As for reviewers complaining about the monitor, it reminds me of the guys that review cars that do not understand why a car goes up on two wheels in a 130mph turn Get over it for 99% of the users, this screen is an upgrade over almost anything you might be replacing, and by the way, it too is spectacular. I considered a MacBook Air, with a great screen, great cosmetics, all of the Apple quirks, but at almost a third of the price, it is really hard to not like the package HP has put together Oh, and did I mention that it is light? (3.88 lbs.)

Windows 8 is a bit of a learning curve, but getting used to it is easy.

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I really wanted to like this machine.

But the screen was a dealbreaker for me. I had read that the screen was mediocre, and figured that that was fine with me -a high end screen wasn't that important to me. But "mediocre" doesn't really begin to describe the problem with the screen. It's washed out to the point of distraction and eye strain. Colors look odd, blacks aren't black, and whites are covered in a bluish haze. I tried color calibration and even a combination of settings found in these comments -but they don't really solve the problem. This is, as some reviewers point out, a viewing angle problem; the screen rises to the level of mediocre -barely passable -when you look at it from just the right, very narrow angle. But that angle is so narrow that it's impossible to maintain, because the slightest movement will put you out of it. So again, while I wouldn't put a high end screen high up on my list of priorities, this screen I find to be so bad that I can't ignore it.

Then there's the trackpad. It's not very responsive. Scrolling is terrible. This is something you can might learn to tolerate. If it weren't for the screen, I'd probably have thought seriously about just living with it.

Because otherwise, it's a very fast and very nice looking computer. It's a little heavy, but that's a worthwhile trade off for the price (you can find these refurbished with 6gb of ram for $599). But before you buy one, I recommend walking into a computer store and testing one and thinking long and hard about whether you can live with the display and trackpad. These are items that the average reviews make sound like minor irritations and drawbacks. And that may be true for some. But for many others, they'll make the machine unusable.

Best Deals for HP Envy 4-1043CL Core i5-3317U Dual-Core 1.7GHz 6GB 32GB SSD

Mousepad will sometimes freeze, requiring a reboot. Annoying. But the size and weight is nice and it is sufficient for bumming around the interwebs and small work tasks.

Honest reviews on HP Envy 4-1043CL Core i5-3317U Dual-Core 1.7GHz 6GB 32GB SSD

Pro: fast boot-up, thanks to the 32gig SSD that runs the OS; 7200rpm HHD; back-lit keyboard; it's light and thin; and has several 3.0usb ports and a 2.0 always-on port for charging stuff when the PC is powered down.

Con: the screen just isn't that impressive--dull comes to mind. It's fine for day-to-day work but not so great for play.

Cheap NV52L08u-64404G50Mnrr 15.6" LED Notebook - AMD A-Series A6-4400M

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I had a Gateway NV52 and it was a great machine while it lasted. After 3 years both mine and my sister-in-laws (same model) died of the same problem a bad motherboard. A common problem and replacement parts are too expensive.

Sad because other brand laptops (HP, Dell) have lasted way longer and the Gateway wasn't treated rough or anything.

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Bought this laptop for my daughter and she is thrilled with it. It is a very pretty laptop which Gateway is known for, however, it operates as good as it looks. The fan is not loud, good speed with clear picture. I would like to find one for myself in white, but so far they have been sold out everywhere. Highly recommended.

Best Acer Aspire NX.M83AA.002;V5-121-0430 11.6-Inch Laptop Deals

Customer Ratings:

If your looking for a latop that isn't complete bare-bones(in terms of tech) but want to use this for school this is a good one. I've seen other latops priced more for this and yet don't even have a graphics card in them (a lot are those nasty intel HD graphics, garbage. Or "intergrated" graphics. Another word for non-upgradable and crap rendering.) This laptop is one of the 11.6 laptops with an actual ATI graphics card and a AMD processor. Which is not bad at all.

I've been testing the laptop so far for two days straight and haven't come across any undesirable issues (non-responsive, etc). One thing I have noticed because it's one of those "small" mobile laptops, is that the 1GHZ processor speed really shows(even if it does have quad core processors in it!). So don't expect to play any recent-made graphic-bulging games on this one. Some of the game clients(the ones loaded with spy-ware/tracking/hardware banning sneak stuff) won't even recognize this laptop because it combined both the CPU and GPU into one chip. These errors will come up as "Device Signature Not Found" while attempting to run these game-clients on this laptop from the game client's interface(not the laptop itself). So those games can't run but at the same time it makes it slightly difficult for hard-ware bans( maybe).

Pro's:

The price makes this laptop a better investment in the 11.6 department. Not high-end $1,000 laptops but at the same time not bare-bones while paying a $500 price tag. $398 is a winner.

Convenient size. Doesn't come loaded with a bunch of useless bloat-ware from the manufacture. Other apps can be easily removed.

The battery-life is what makes this laptop a trotter. Other laptops? Nice feature, but 2/3 hour batter life. Lame. This laptop? 6 hours of unplugged life. Not Bad. The extended battery-life is designed for the person on the go and one of the better features i've seen without having to dish out $1,000 or more.

The laptop boots up quicker as soon as it turns on ironically but no other apps have been installed except the default.

Cons:

Doesn't have touch-screen feature, although the top-part of the keyboard was designed to turn on/off a touch-screen laptop.

CPU can prove laggy at times with certain games(or unreasonable with the newly released ones). Some over-clocking and experimenting might do the trick to make it work faster and take advantage of those ATI graphic capabilities. Updating the graphics card is highly recommended, though you may have to do it manually as acer's sight is unable to find the card through auto-detection (LOL!). The card is ATI RADEON HD 6290.

Comes pre-installed with windows 8 that is known to have the missing start button (microsoft's bright idea). Get the start-button back by downloading "classic shell" on sourceforge. Much easier to see what programs are installed and what others that can be installed.

Smaller disk-space of 320 GB. With a 7mm hard-drive this can be updated with a SSD card or a 750 GB 7200 7mm hard-drive.

Over-all I would recommend this laptop, but it may take some adjusting/overclocking on the users side to get the full use out of it.

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I love my acer notebook it was a little hard to get used to windows 8 but I got it now !

Best Deals for Acer Aspire NX.M83AA.002;V5-121-0430 11.6-Inch Laptop

Title pretty much states it all. I had to return it because the K key didn't work. I've had many Dells, a couple of Sonys, a couple of HPs and a MSI and the Acer is the only one that didn't work properly out of the box. Never again will I get an Acer.

Honest reviews on Acer Aspire NX.M83AA.002;V5-121-0430 11.6-Inch Laptop

What is it ???????? They say it's intel dual core is it an intel

or is it an AMD why cann't the people who write the descriptions

get it right would make it a looooot easier to make a purchase.

George

Cheap Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T (Tablet Only)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $649.99
Sale Price: $489.95
Today's Bonus: 25% Off

I bought this because I was looking for thin/light tablet to replace my current ipad/laptop combo. I needed a tablet with full Windows 8 so that I could run older programs and games. Besides the standard review, I will be updating this post with games that I find are playable on this Atom (Clover Trail) powered tablet.

Playable games so far:

Torchlight 1

Battle for Middle Earth 2

Farcry 1

SNES Emulator: Using my iPhone as an SNES Controller.

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Playstation Emulator: Played a bit of FFVII, takes a lot of tweaking, but I got it to run smooth and look good. I haven't gotten the iPhone gamepad working with the emulator yet.

Unplayable:

World of Warcraft

Diablo III

Basically, any old strategy, puzzle, adventure game should work. Current generation games will need the i5 I think. I'll be trying more games on the Playstation 1 Emulator soon.

Windows 8:

When I first saw videos of windows 8 in action, I felt it was going to be Vista 2.0. After actually using it on a tablet, I feel it is the best OS for tablet computing. Switching between open programs, quickly seeing what is open, and having multiple programs up on the display at the same time is very easy to do. Some of these features are either difficult to do, or not possible on other mobile OS's. Powering on is very quick, even when the tablet is powered off completely. There is not much different between the iPad and Win8 in power-on times from a cold boot. For security, Windows 8 lets you login with a Windows Live ID, which syncs your settings across you're windows 8 devices (Backgrounds, passwords, etc). You can choose to use a standard password, or use a number (Pin) code (which is what I prefer for speed), or a picture login (you touch/swipe parts of the login picture and that is your password).

The Start screen is filled with active tiles (as apposed to dead icons like the ipad) that cycle through relevant information (Email/News/Weather/etc.) without having to actually open those programs. Time/Date/Battery/Wifi info can be brought up at any time by swiping from the right side of the screen. I used to hate having to power-cycle my ipads display just to get the time/date. Start screen tiles can be arranged in groups to your liking. You can swipe from the left side of the screen to cycle through open programs, or see a list. You can grab any open program and either slide it to your main window, or snap it as a side-app next to your main window, either to the left or the right of the main window. As an example, I like having my email up in a side-window, while browsing the internet in the main window. No more having to switch to my email app. You could also put a movie on one of your side windows, or music. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple/Google add these features in the near future.

The Windows desktop still exists, and is used mainly for legacy support for non-windows8 programs. Eventually all programs should have a Windows8 version that can run through the Start screen (aka metro interface). Until then, it is nice to know I can run Visual Studio, Photoshop, Morrowind =) , on my very portable tablet. As an IT professional, having a full version of Windows 8 is invaluable. Non-windows8 programs may run slow on these tablets with Atom processors, but it is a small trade-off to get a very thin and light tablet with a full version of windows 8.

Battery Life:

The battery seems to last forever on these Atom powered tablets. I can use it all day for work, play games during lunch, watch movies when I get home, all without having to plug it in. And because I can't play a lot of graphics intensive games (yet), this tablet Is far outlasting my iPad.

Cost:

In general Windows RT tablets are $500 for a 32GB version without a keyboard, and $600 with a keyboard. Upgrading to larger hard drives (64Gb/128GB) increase the cost as well. Windows RT will not be able to run old programs but they do use an ARM processor that has better graphics performance (for now). These Atom powered tablets are between $600 and $800. They start with 64GB hard drives, and some include a keyboard. Not all Atom tablets are the same. Some have digitizers, and some don't. I feel that the larger hard drive, digitizer, and full version of Windows 8 is worth an extra $50-$100 more over the Windows RT Tablets.

Display:

The display is nowhere near as good as the iPad 3/4s Retina display. But it is good enough for web browsing/email/MSoffice/light gaming. It is very bright, but hard to see under direct sunlight. I really wanted a 1900x1000+ display, but the cost is just too much. Overall I am happy with this tablets 1366x768 resolution. It is perfect for watching movies. If you do any kind of artsy graphics stuff, you may need to invest in the higher cost, more bulky i5 tablets until manufacturers see a larger demand from us for better displays, on thinner/lighter/cheaper tablets.

Size:

The size made me hesitate a bit before I bought this. Coming from an iPad, I was hoping for a tablet that had similar dimensions. The iPad seems more balanced for holding it with one hand by the edge of the tablet. This one is designed to be used primarily in landscape mode, but because it is so wide, it makes it hard to hold it by the edge. I have found that it is more comfortable to just hold it by placing my hand on the back of the tablet like holding a pizza. Some people may have to pass on these wide tablets due to the preference of holding the tablet by the edge of the screen. Functionally though, Windows 8 takes full advantage of the wide format for having multiple programs on the screen at the same time. The thickness is just about the same as the iPad, and I am happy with it. .38" vs .37"

Sound:

Amazing. Stereo speakers on the edges of the tablet in landscape mode. It's nice to finally have stereo sound on a tablet for watching movies, listening to music and playing games. Don't expect much bass.

Weight:

Very light. Just slightly heavier than the iPad 4. 1.65 lb. vs 1.44 lb. The wide format makes it seem heavier than it is though. I am leery of upgrading to the Surface Pro or any other i5 tablet because they start to reach 2 lb. or higher. I want my tablet to remain a tablet. Hopefully technology will advance quickly so that we can have thin/light/HD display tablets that have the power to play high quality 3d games and do artist stuff. For now, I opted to have a light tablet that makes sacrifices elsewhere.

Digitizer:

Coming from an iPad I did not know what I was missing. Not all of the Windows 8 tablets have a digitizer, so you will need to decide if you want one that does, and shop accordingly. This adds an extra layer to the display that detects the stylus (it shows a dot on the screen when the stylus gets close to the screen). Hovering over a program or icon is the same as hovering your mouse over a program on a Desktop PC. you don't have to touch the screen. Touching the screen is like a left-click on a mouse. Pressing the button on the Stylus while pressing the screen initiates a right-click. (These functions change depending on what program you are using). The digitizer used in the Samsung tablets is a Wacom, which I believe has 1024 points of pressure detection. This allows you to change the thickness of the lines depending how hard you are pressing on the screen. In note-taking programs, when the screen detects the stylus is close to the screen, the program will ignore youre palm, making it much easier to take notes. Some programs perform great with the digitizer, and some are slow/delayed. I think the Atom processer does a good job with processing digitizer input for the most part. For artists, I would say a digitizer is a must have. The stylus is kind of small, and it is stored in the case of the tablet. It is very difficult to remove and I think they should have improved on this. Overall, I am going to like notetaking a lot better from now on.

Performance:

The Intel Atom Clover Trail chip is optimized for windows 8, and battery life. Perfect for a productivity tablet. The built-in graphics processing unit (GPU) is faster than the iPad 2, but slower than the iPad 3/4. I believe this was to improve battery life, and cut down on costs. The drivers for the GPU need some work before it can play full screen 3D games at its full potential. Expect games to perform better after a driver update is released in the future. Advances in technology should allow Intel to provide a better gaming experience without sacrificing battery life, size, weight of the tablet. Aside from gaming, I am happy with the performance of the Atom. Metro apps are flawless. Older desktop apps can sometimes lag, but overall they work fine. I was able to watch full HD 1080p movies with no issues. Old games that don't rely on GPU's perform good. See my list of playable games for an example.

Connectors/Ports:

This has a full, built-in USB 2.0 port, and MicroSD slot, and a MiniHDMI port. The USB port is great for connecting Flash Drives/Hard Drives/ peripherals, without the need for an adaptor. I outfitted my MicroSD slot with a 64GB memory card where I Store my downloads/Music/Movies/Games. I have not tried the MiniHDMI port yet.

My list of Cons:

The Keyboard Dock is unavailable. Aftermarket covers with built-in stands are not available yet. I will be buying the Microsoft Wedge Mobile keyboard. The cover doubles as a stand for the tablet. This will be smaller than the official Dock making it easier to keep with me should I need it.

As already discussed. The Graphics drivers could use an update to take full advantage of the GPU.

The case is made out of plastic. It flexes and feels kind of cheap. This obviously does not effect the performance and features.

That's it. There used to be issues with sound and the digitizer, but Samsung updates fixed them. Just run the Samsung updater when you get your tablet. A work-around is to disable the sound/digitizer in the Device Manager, and then re-enable them. Or just reboot.

Note: If you royally mess up your tablet, you can restore it to factory defaults:

Hold down the Volume-UP button while turning on the tablet to enter the Windows Troubleshooting utility.

Also note that Windows Restore Points are not enabled by default. If you want to be able to go back to a certain point in time, do the following:

To enable System Protection: Go to the desktop, swipe the screen from the right side to bring up the settings panel. Click on "Control Panel". Click on "System and Security" and then click on "System". Then select "System Protection". Then press the "Configure" button. Turn system protection on, then create a restore point right away. Installing updates does not automatically create a restore point like I thought it would. Just create a restore point before any system updates to be safe (not necessary for program updates)

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As an owner of tablets before the ipad and all 3 ipad variations including the "new" ipad, I have always struggled to get rid of that feeling of it either being too cumbersome for use(pre-ipads), or just a toy with few cool uses(ipads). I think with this tablet, I have finally found what I am looking for. I am so happy with it, I am actually writing the first review I have ever done for a product.

Ability to hook up common usb peripherals and use them? Check external DVD, USB stick were a breeze to use and install programs (.iso of software CD's, etc). Flawless, and convenient.

Ability to use the programs I have already purchased for my home machine? Check Office 2010, adobe photoshop, etc they all worked without issue. I just can't emphasize how nice this is to finally have in a tablet. I even put world of warcraft on for the heck of it just because I could.

Ability to expand through a Micro SD card? Check bought a 64GB class 10 card and have Apps installed on it (yes, you can install apps to the microSD card) as well as videos, games, MP3's and pictures. Very handy, doesn't fill the O/S drive with unnecessary items.

Great Screen? Check even coming from a retina ipad user. Bright, vivid display with good sharp resolution. The auto brightness is a tad harsh at times, but that can be adjusted in the power settings.

Great battery? Check hours and hours of play each day for the last two days, and the remaining battery life frankly blew me away each night (60%+ available). This is through installing programs, playing games, watching videos, surfing the web (can't count the number of times my son looped that gangum style song on you tube!?!). Very impressed with battery life for a full featured machine.

Windows 8? Not as bad as I thought. I was anticipating a train wreck that would take me a long time to get used to. It is well done and feels good on the tablet. Not sure I am up for putting it on my home machine yet, but on the tablet, it really goes a long ways to make it the experience it is. Also, Samsung includes a program if you use the "SW Updater" that puts the start button functionality basically back on your desktop. Samsung did a nice job with the pen that you get with the tablet as well that thing is handy in OneNote, it can even read my terrible handwriting. When you have to bounce to the desktop, it is also a nice feature to be able to use the pen and click, drag, right-click. Not necessary, but nice none the less.

Processor Speed? Again, not as bad as I thought. I almost didn't buy it when I saw "atom". Perhaps intel should change the name, because this processor actually performs well. It seemed sluggish for the first few hours, but after that it has really been peppy. Perhaps there were some things installing in the background, or maybe uninstalling Norton bloatware did it, but the performance of the Atom processor has exceeded my expectations.

I think the build quality of the tablet is very nice good clean edges, great sounding speakers that point toward you, well placed inputs on the edges. As far as "feel" of the materials, I find it very similar to my wife's Galaxy S3. It is lighter than I expected for the size, but the size poses issues I mention below (non-standard nothing fits it).

Negatives? No docking station in stock anywhere I mean I have tried all over. No Cases and covers available for it yet. I am currently using a $12 sleeve I bought at a discount retailer (actually fits nice, made by merkury) that will have to hold me over until I find something real. The charger for it is like a laptop charger that plugs into the wall (has a mini brick). I don't see any Car adapters for it available, and would guess it will be expensive as you can't seem to use a common USB type charger for it.

Overall, those few negatives aside which time may fix, I love this thing. More than I expected. Thanks Samsung and Microsoft for finally making the tablet I have been waiting for.

Best Deals for Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T (Tablet Only)

I received this tablet with keyboard dock from Amazon on November 13 and experienced a number of problems, detailed in this review. However, I wanted to post my most recent experience at the top of the review so you can know what to expect if you buy the tablet today. My original review is posted below.

Latest Update 12/17/2012:

Samsung released driver updates at the end of last week for the chipset, sound card, and Bluetooth chip. I am glad to say that since those drivers were released, nearly every problem I've had with the tablet has been resolved. Sound is now 100% reliable with no clicking from the speakers, wifi connects reliably every time, and there seem to be no more random freeze ups. The keyboard dock has gradually become more reliable to the point where it has not disconnected in days (I think the connector just needs to "break in" a bit.) I have been pleased enough with this tablet over the last week that I ordered two additional units, one for the lab I work in, and another as a gift. The unit for the lab did experience keyboard disconnects at first, but over several days of use they have declined just like they did with mine. Like any first generation device, this one did have a few rough edges at first, but I'm impressed that Samsung has relatively quickly released updated drivers that solve nearly all the problems. For now I am leaving my review at 2 stars so that this review remains as the "most helpful critical review", but eventually I will update the rating to reflect my current feelings. If you have been eyeing this tablet and hesitating to buy it because of the reported problems, go ahead and buy it. If you run the included SW Update utility to get all the latest drivers, you will be very happy with the Samsung Ativ Smart PC.

Original Review:

I purchased the version with the keyboard dock from Amazon on October 29, and received it November 13. The tablet itself is everything it's made out to be, but the keyboard dock has a major problem. While comfortable to type on, it has a terrible problem where the connection between the keyboard and the screen is lost randomly while typing. The problem occurs most frequently when the system is resting on my lap, as opposed to on a desk. It is made worse if I use the touch screen before typing, or if my legs are angled downward. I believe the issue lies in a poorly designed docking connector on the keyboard. While the tablet does "lock" into place, it is not locked tightly enough to ensure a secure and reliable connection. When the problem occurs, a firm press to push the tablet back into the dock usually resolves it, but it's really annoying to have to do this constantly. In addition, when the keyboard connection is lost, so are the USB ports on the keyboard dock. I've already suffered failed file transfers while installing programs due to this issue.

For the time being, I will keep the tablet and see whether this becomes a serious issue, or whether it's just an intermittent annoyance. However, I cannot recommend the tablet/keyboard dock combination to anyone since Samsung is charging a $100 premium for a keyboard dock that simply doesn't work properly.

UPDATE 11/16/2012

I've used the tablet for a few days now, and my initial disappointment has been tempered somewhat by the amazingness of the tablet itself, as well as by discovering a method to reduce the frequency of the keyboard disconnects. First, regarding the keyboard dock. I discovered that if I firmly press the keyboard into the dock and then push the tablet to the right in order to fully engage the latching mechanism, the frequency of keyboard disconnects is reduced dramatically. I was initially experiencing keyboard disconnects nearly every 30 seconds, but after starting to push the tablet to the right when docking with the keyboard, the disconnects have decreased to maybe once or twice per day. It seems like taking a second every now and then to ensure the tablet is securely docked does a lot to prevent the disconnects.

Now, I haven't said anything about the tablet itself yet. Quite simply, it's amazing. There are a few minor issues that will probably be resolved with driver updates including occasionally glitchy Windows sound effects (resolved by reboot), and an unreliable S Camera app (though the Microsoft camera app works fine). The tablet is extremely fast and does not at all feel like an Atom processor. Websites load quickly and scrolling is smooth. The wifi signal strength is great, and it connected to my university's WPA-Enterprise encrypted network without a hitch (previous tablets I've had have struggled with this). The ambient light sensor is acceptable, though not the best (running SW Update to get the latest driver improves it a lot compared to the driver the computer ships with). The extremely wide, glossy screen looks spectacular and is great for viewing HD content (unlike the iPad's 4:3 screen). HD videos from Youtube and elsewhere play back perfectly. I was also impressed with the quality of the speakers. Despite having a super-thin slate form factor, the 2x0.8W speakers sound incredible better than many laptops I've used, and the volume is louder than you'd expect to get from a device of this type. I was also impressed with the tablet's ability to play MP3's over Bluetooth audio (A2DP) while the computer is in sleep mode, and also how resume from sleep mode is literally instant (no more 5-10 second wait like on most Windows 7 PC's.) The inking experience is great, just like you'd expect from any Wacom-powered tablet, and it's very convenient to be able to store the stylus inside the computer. The included stylus is short (crayon size) and does not have an eraser, so beware that to erase ink in the free Microsoft OneNote app, you will either need to rely on the Undo command or select and delete the ink manually (there is no eraser tool in the free OneNote app, unlike the full Office 2013 OneNote). Another option if you're inking often is to purchase a full size Wacom stylus that includes an eraser on the top. (The tablet DOES recognize the eraser on other Wacom styluses, I tested it.) This resolves the issue with erasing ink in the free OneNote, and is also more comfortable to write with.

Overall, my feelings about this system have changed drastically from when I first posted the angry review about the keyboard issue, so I'm increasing my rating to 4 stars. The missing star is for the occasional keyboard disconnects, and the lingering driver issues with the camera and the sound card. I'll post another update if I discover anything new!

UPDATE 11/25/2012:

A new annoying problem has started to occur on my tablet. The wifi will frequently fail to connect when I turn the tablet on. I'm subtracting a star because of this. It often takes 2-3 attempts of cycling Airplane Mode on/off to get it to connect. I've tried uninstalling/reinstalling the driver to no avail. Hoping a driver update fixes this, because other than the wifi issue I am loving my tablet. Even the keyboard disconnects that bothered me originally have been less and less frequent. I credit that mostly to me being more conscious of whether the tablet is securely seated in the dock, and pushing it in every now and then to make sure.

UPDATE 12/2/2012

The wifi problem has continued. Yesterday it took me a full 10 minutes of playing with the Airplane Mode toggle, connecting/disconnecting, sleep/wake, restart, and full shutdown/restart, before it finally connected. I have an email in to Samsung support about this issue, but have not received a response yet. If you search for "Samsung Ativ Wonky Wifi", you'll find a professional review of the tablet that also mentions this issue. This wifi problem is really ruining the fun with this unit. At least the keyboard dock issue could be quickly fixed when it occurred by pushing the tablet into the keyboard dock, but this wifi issue has no easy solution and is extremely disruptive. I'm subtracting another star, and I'm thinking about subtracting another, especially if Samsung support can't help out.

Honest reviews on Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T (Tablet Only)

Coming from an Android, I must say this product is fantastic. Mine is extremely fast, without lag on all Metro apps, and the majority of x86 apps (word, excel, onenote..)

However, the standard x86 PDF reader (Adobe Acrobat) does lag a bit.. no worries though the Metro PDF viewer is excellent.

EDIT I've changed the Adobe settings to .show current page only. and now it doesnt lag at all, even on my ginourmous PDFs

The digital pen is AWESOME. I had no idea what I was missing out on when I was using my capacitive-only Android. The pen is exceptional in the desktop mode because in desktop mode, icons are slightly small (11.6 inch vs 13/14/15 inch screens on regular laptops) and easy to mis-press when using the finger.

My tablet had no lag whatsoever during inking in onenote, samsung note, and MS Paint. I don't use photoshop, so I can't say anything about that.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU GET THIS TABLET WITHOUT THE KEYBOARD.

Keyboard is ~100 bucks extra and several reviews have mentioned problems about the keyboard falling out.

What I've done is get a $10 USB keyboard (Bluetooth works as well) and a 1-to-4 USB expander so I can use the keyboard while using flash drives and such. Once aftermarket cases come out, I'll get a case/stand for my Samsung 500t.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T (Tablet Only)

Before I review the product, I would like to state my intended use for the tablet, so that you can understand better my angle of view. I'm a graduate student. I already have a high performance laptop with a big monitor to watch movies, play games, run big simulations, or do image processing. Therefore, I mainly need the tablet to carry around, read docs, and take notes (organize them and share them or archive them).

With this in mind, things that do matter to me are:

(1) Long battery life. This kills any tablets that use core-i processors, which consume much more power. (10h vs 4h battery life)

(2) Windows 8 (not Windows RT). The problem with the new Microsoft OS is that it doesn't have many apps at the moment. However, having an OS that is compatible with any x86 software instantly bypasses this problem, and in my mind, is a much superior option. To name a few, you can use MS Office with its full functions, or use your favorite browser, or listen to spotify using the desktop version (even though spotify hasn't yet published an app for Windows RT).

(3) Wacom stylus (s pen). As I understand, tablets with innate support for Wacom stylus have a extra layer in their screen so that they can register the position of the stylus even when it's not touching the screen. They are also much more precise than capacitive stylus.

So does this tablet actually deliver these promises? I give a definite answer: Yes.

The new windows 8 is fun to use and quite smooth. It does take a few minutes to learn the tricks, as many functions are hidden on the edges of the screen, but I soon got used to that. I did run into a few hiccups in my 2 days test, but they are not overly annoying or distracting, and I believe Microsoft will soon fix them.

The S pen of the tablet makes digital inking really feasible. I didn't use the S note application that Samsung provides, but used MS OneNote 2010, and it really shines. The precision of the stylus is quite good.(If it is slightly off, you can calibrate it in Windows 8) You can write fairly small, yet still readable. When you use the stylus, you can use your finger to navigate the pages, which is very convenient. The ink to text function in OneNote recognizes 99% of my handwriting when I write pretty fast. Even if you don't specifically change ink to text, the inking is still searchable in the program, which is another big plus.

The screen doesn't have high resolution like some high-end ones, but it's high enough to support Windows 8 Snap feature. It's bright, with good contrast. I tested the camera, but wasn't very satisfied. The pictures doesn't look sharp, and it's difficult to focus at the right spot. But again, these are features that are of minor importance to me.

To sum up, this should not be considered as a personal PC replacement, and it's not designed to be one. However, if you simply want a tablet to carry around, read some documents, and take notes, this is definitely the right choice for you. Admittedly, the price is a bit on the high end at the moment, and in six month there will be next generation products that are faster and cheaper. But there will always be better ones further ahead.

Pros: Windows 8 (not RT), S pen, long battery life

Cons: Screen resolution, Camera

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

Best Deals for Thinkpad SL500 T5870 160GB 2GB

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.

Sony VAIO VPCF136FM/B 16.4" Notebook (1.73 GHz Intel Core i7 Reviews

Customer Ratings:

I did quite a bit of research for a new laptop. This Sony Vaio is excellent for the price. I wanted to make my own laptop on dell and sony website and everything was way above this price with all these features. For excellent performance and added features I didnt mind spending this much. I play games with no problem and multi task with amazing speed. The fan noise is a little loud at times of long gaming but I expected that. Overall I recommend this laptop.

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I just purchased my Sony laptop to replace a 2 year old HP pavillion series that had many overheating problems. This laptop is does not have much lag time and does not seem to have the same over heating issues. I know I could feel different long term, but this last month I have been very pleased with how it runs my applications/games. I was even pleased that it did not seem to be burdened with a lot of extra programs. I definately would recommend this laptop for someone who need a little faster processing laptop. I know there are a few cons, but I have not run into the problem of accidently turning it off because the turn off is on the side where the mouse may be.

Best Deals for Sony VAIO VPCF136FM/B 16.4" Notebook (1.73 GHz Intel Core i7

I've owned this laptop since Jan 2011 and its been great. Great hardware and all-around performance. I bought it at a brick and mortar store for $1300 after taxes, so $1800 strikes me as pricey (maybe I just got lucky?) but it was a great value buy for me.

Battery life is short(90-100min) if you're using wi-fi or running the bluray drive, however if you have the wi-fi off it jumps up to almost 3hrs on power saver mode. I haven't had issues since I plan around those things. In addition the 5400rpm harddrive seems rather laggy if you're running large programs, not annoying but noticeable when loading sometimes.

I'm currently looking into a RAM upgrade and getting an SSD drive to replace the stock hdd to help with "laggy" feeling.

All in all, this is a great laptop if you can find it at the right price point. I highly recommend it!

Honest reviews on Sony VAIO VPCF136FM/B 16.4" Notebook (1.73 GHz Intel Core i7

I find this laptop to be super fast and efficient for video editing, etc. so have to give it 5 stars. Using CS5 Creative Suite Pro Premiere Pro and it's a breeze working on this Vaio model. Left it at the standard 6G of RAM but upgraded the OS to Windows Ultimate (actually, dual-booted so I can continue to have Sony coverage).

Minor down-side is battery life (to be expected for i7 CPU) and also the fan nice (again, loaded machines tend to generate more heat). Bought it from the Sony outlet Center for a cut-throat price so am super-happy.

Bought my keyboard skin on eBay (from China because Sony didn't make em). Got my protector case and adapter case from Amazon (zero tax) so I'm all good.

Don't forget to email yourself the Serial Number for this and other gadgets you may have in case it's lost or stolen ;)

Good luck!

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I have owned this laptop for 8 months and I had to have the following done:

-Power jack went bad and had to be replaced

-Power supply went bad and had to be replaced

-Cooling fan went bad and had to be replaced

-Touch pad went bad and had to be replaced

Discount Samsung Series 3 NP300E5C-A07US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Customer Ratings:

This item works great. The keyboard is really nice especially on windows 8. The screen was nice and wide cos its on HD

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My son's laptop that was purchase as a Christmas gift went blank. Nothing could be done to retrieve any of his stored information by the tech team at his college. We sent it immediately to samsung. I was told it would be fixed and given back to us in 2 weeks. Well the computer is fried. I will get a new one in 7-14 business days. The semester maybe over by then.The customer relations department is worthless. I was blackmailed by them to pay to have the new one shipped to me sooner. I was told I should be happy I was getting a new one. I'm still paying on the one that fried.