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I bought a Lenovo IdeaPad U110 through Amazon about a year ago, paying about $1,000 for it. It was pre-loaded with Windows Vista, software so bloated and heavy that it couldn't get out of its own way, sometimes taking 3 minutes to boot and over a minute to shutdown. I dumped Vista and loaded XP, and now it comes out of standby in less than 5 seconds and is conneced to my wireless network. At the current price of in excess of $2,000 I would not recommend it. But, if you can score one for around $1,000 and have the means to load XP, it is the incredible.
Showing posts with label notebook sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label notebook sales. Show all posts
Friday, December 12, 2014
Cheap Lenovo IdeaPad U110 11.1-Inch (1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L7500
I've had the Lenovo U110 now for 1 year. It is light and portable. However, the plastic casing is very flimsy and breaks easily. Recently, I turned it on, but does not stay on. Support is non-existence. Searching forum on the internet for possible solutions is impossible. It seems like nobody owns one. Other than that, the lap top works fine.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Sony VAIO VPC-EE31FX/BJ 15.5-Inch Laptop (Black) Review
I just got this laptop for $448 at Walmart and I love it. It looks a lot more expensive than it is, has more than enough power for everyday use and is loaded with features wireless Wi-Fi, webcam, 4 USB ports, HDMI, Sony assist feature for troubleshooting and maintaining the laptop and more. Coming from a 12 inch screen, the 15.6 inch screen is like looking at a flat screen TV. The speaker volume is nice and loud. It is realatively light weight, but at 5.9 lbs heavier than many. I do wish the battery life was longer. But so far, I'm lovin it.
I almost feel my turion had more of a zing when doing a lot of multi-processing. But all in all for the price you can't beat it. I mean I purchased this exact computer over the summer at walmart for 590 and ended up taking it back because I wasn't ready to spend that much yet again on a laptop when I just spent 700 on my hp 2 yrs ago..
As most store bought computers the manufacturer tends to load it up with their garbage "helpful" software, which really only slows the machine down more. I would recommend removing that useless stuff, but hey, if it doesn't effect you than no need.
Final thoughts, if you can get this computer for $449 it's a great deal. Jump on it, if I had one big complaint vs my hp it'd be the sound. The speaker quality could be better but hey for $449 can't have it all..
I like the full keyboard including a separate numerical keypad. But, that means everything is shifted to the left. Most new laptops are configured this way. But, it is hard to rest the computer on my lap and use it without cramping my wrists to one side. In addition, the vent slots on the bottom of the computer are placed so that there is no place I can rest the computer on my left knee without covering some of the vents. I have resolved both of these problems by placing a piece of Plexiglass on my lap and resting the computer on it. The computer felt hot on the bottom near the vents when I rested it on my lap, but when I rest it on the Plexiglass, it still feels cool, even after hours of use. The Plexiglass support also allows me to shift the placement of the computer so that I do not need to cramp my wrists to one side. I usually have this piece of Plexiglas with me to use as a writing board, anyway.
I am trying to restrict my comments to an evaluation of this computer without drifting into a review of Windows 7. Having said that, I used a computer with Vista on it and did not like Vista. Somehow, I am finding Windows 7 to be very nice, even though there are strong similarities between them. Already I have found some things easier to find and do than on Windows XP, like add a second keyboard configuration.
The keyboard is nicely responsive. The display is crisp and clear, even on battery. My old HP laptop went to a less bright display on battery. I have allowed the battery to go down until the low battery warning appeared, but did not time how long battery life is. I am guessing it is around three hours.
I am pleased that the larger, wider "letter box" format still allows the computer to fit into the bag I used earlier to carry my old laptop.
The touchpad can be programmed so that a tap to the upper left corner functions just like a right mouse button. It has taken a while, but I have finally learned how to find the right spot quickly. I let my finger slide over the corner around the touchpad and then lightly onto the touchpad. Then I simply raise my finger and the menus prompted by the right mouse button appear. I have also found the touchpad responds to the padded area below the tip of my index finger better than to the tip of my finger. There is no need to tap hard on the touchpad. It responds to electrical capacitance between it and your finger.
I know there are problems for synchronizing Palm Handhelds with Windows 7, since Palm handhelds ceased to be available well before Windows 7 was introduced. I was able to download a free copy of Palm Desktop Software, version 6.2 and it runs well on this laptop. My handheld is a Sony Clie' and I have a Sony Memory Stick card for backing up all of its data. My Sony Vaio computer has slots for memory cards, but neither of them accepts a Sony Memory Stick. My Clie' does not synchronize with the Palm desktop software, but I can export my Palm files to a thumb drive and load them onto my Sony laptop. To update calendar items without making duplicate entries, I delete the user name which deletes all entries. Then I can enter my user name again and load updated Palm files.
I do not play games, but surf the Internet and do word processing. The keyboard is very comfortable for continuous touch typing. This computer has plenty of power for what I do.
I know some have had difficulty installing a printer on computers using Windows 7, but I had no trouble at all. I am finding this is a great laptop. Surfing the 'Net is faster on the same wireless connection I have been using now for a couple of years.
I had some problems a few days after I got this computer. SONY's support people were very polite and helpful. I documented everything with e-mails to technical support. After a while it became clear to them that my hard drive was failing. They told me a local technician would contact me and replace the hard drive. He came to my house within the specified time frame promised by the technical service people. He also left the software installation discs. Those are a $40 item if purchased on-line. Hard drives are like water pumps on automobiles. They can last a long time, or they can fail shortly after installation. (I once had a new water pump fail within its first 100 miles.)
Overall, I am pleased with this computer. I have been using it for more than a year since the installation of the new hard drive. Not only has it been flawless, but it is a delight to use.
I am not a gamer although I wanted something responsive and the Pentium 6100 with the L3 cache clearly benchmarks faster than the Athlon P340 but the VAIO uses ATI Radeon 4250 graphics. After using both laptops the Acer booted up noticeably faster although the VAIO appeared to perform more smoothly overall. They were both very responsive for my needs which are mainly to browse the web, use MS Word and Excel (The Starter Edition that does not expire is included), watch videos and listen to music from MS Media Center with the ability to multitask well.
I ended up keeping the VAIO because of the build quality, excellent island style keyboard with 10-key, great touchpad, and the included Sony software which I found very useful and enjoyable to use. One feature I like is Sony's VAIO Gate that conveniently places your favorite icons easily available from a neat drop down menu at the top of the screen.
The numeric keypad is great to have even though the touchpad will be off-centered, there's no way around it unless you want your left index finger at the [J] key and the right one at the [ ;] key on the home row. The VAIO 10-key configuration for a laptop is easy to adjust to and very efficient after just a short period of use.
Having installed Norton 360 internet security the VAIO still performs very well with no noticeable slowdown.
PROS:
+ Athlon P340 is plenty fast and responsive even without L3 cache.
+ Excellent build quality and feel.
+ Great screen with ATI Catalyst control center software for adjustments.
+ Comfortably responsive keyboard and touchpad.
+ I personally like Sony's software.
CONS:
Weak speakers. (bought a Logitech Z-305 sound bar which is amazing)
Only 3GB of RAM.
Glossy palm rest shows smudges and finger prints.
Textured touchpad has good feel but bumps may wear out over time.
Price is higher than the competition for relative specs although VAIO build quality is better.
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I purchased an Hp almost 2yrs ago. The motherboard went out on me twice, all though I was happy with my turion 64 dual core, I needed something more stable and I was done with HP at that point. After doing some research, I read that Athlons are actually best in desktop computers because they use more power but are faster than turions. When I compared the specs they seemed pretty equivalent to my old HP laptop which ran great with Windows 7. I guess the big seller with the turions was the 1mb cach, which I took note that this computer has as well. This computer however uses DDR3 which is faster than DDR2. I had 3gb in my old laptop with ddr2 and this has 3gb of ddr3... I want to say this is faster but it really is not.I almost feel my turion had more of a zing when doing a lot of multi-processing. But all in all for the price you can't beat it. I mean I purchased this exact computer over the summer at walmart for 590 and ended up taking it back because I wasn't ready to spend that much yet again on a laptop when I just spent 700 on my hp 2 yrs ago..
As most store bought computers the manufacturer tends to load it up with their garbage "helpful" software, which really only slows the machine down more. I would recommend removing that useless stuff, but hey, if it doesn't effect you than no need.
Final thoughts, if you can get this computer for $449 it's a great deal. Jump on it, if I had one big complaint vs my hp it'd be the sound. The speaker quality could be better but hey for $449 can't have it all..
Best Deals for Sony VAIO VPC-EE31FX/BJ 15.5-Inch Laptop (Black)
Do not be dissuaded by the reviews giving this laptop only one or two stars. Most of those complain about characteristics common to almost all new laptops, like the position of the keypad; or they are based on comparisons between apples and oranges.I like the full keyboard including a separate numerical keypad. But, that means everything is shifted to the left. Most new laptops are configured this way. But, it is hard to rest the computer on my lap and use it without cramping my wrists to one side. In addition, the vent slots on the bottom of the computer are placed so that there is no place I can rest the computer on my left knee without covering some of the vents. I have resolved both of these problems by placing a piece of Plexiglass on my lap and resting the computer on it. The computer felt hot on the bottom near the vents when I rested it on my lap, but when I rest it on the Plexiglass, it still feels cool, even after hours of use. The Plexiglass support also allows me to shift the placement of the computer so that I do not need to cramp my wrists to one side. I usually have this piece of Plexiglas with me to use as a writing board, anyway.
I am trying to restrict my comments to an evaluation of this computer without drifting into a review of Windows 7. Having said that, I used a computer with Vista on it and did not like Vista. Somehow, I am finding Windows 7 to be very nice, even though there are strong similarities between them. Already I have found some things easier to find and do than on Windows XP, like add a second keyboard configuration.
The keyboard is nicely responsive. The display is crisp and clear, even on battery. My old HP laptop went to a less bright display on battery. I have allowed the battery to go down until the low battery warning appeared, but did not time how long battery life is. I am guessing it is around three hours.
I am pleased that the larger, wider "letter box" format still allows the computer to fit into the bag I used earlier to carry my old laptop.
The touchpad can be programmed so that a tap to the upper left corner functions just like a right mouse button. It has taken a while, but I have finally learned how to find the right spot quickly. I let my finger slide over the corner around the touchpad and then lightly onto the touchpad. Then I simply raise my finger and the menus prompted by the right mouse button appear. I have also found the touchpad responds to the padded area below the tip of my index finger better than to the tip of my finger. There is no need to tap hard on the touchpad. It responds to electrical capacitance between it and your finger.
I know there are problems for synchronizing Palm Handhelds with Windows 7, since Palm handhelds ceased to be available well before Windows 7 was introduced. I was able to download a free copy of Palm Desktop Software, version 6.2 and it runs well on this laptop. My handheld is a Sony Clie' and I have a Sony Memory Stick card for backing up all of its data. My Sony Vaio computer has slots for memory cards, but neither of them accepts a Sony Memory Stick. My Clie' does not synchronize with the Palm desktop software, but I can export my Palm files to a thumb drive and load them onto my Sony laptop. To update calendar items without making duplicate entries, I delete the user name which deletes all entries. Then I can enter my user name again and load updated Palm files.
I do not play games, but surf the Internet and do word processing. The keyboard is very comfortable for continuous touch typing. This computer has plenty of power for what I do.
I know some have had difficulty installing a printer on computers using Windows 7, but I had no trouble at all. I am finding this is a great laptop. Surfing the 'Net is faster on the same wireless connection I have been using now for a couple of years.
I had some problems a few days after I got this computer. SONY's support people were very polite and helpful. I documented everything with e-mails to technical support. After a while it became clear to them that my hard drive was failing. They told me a local technician would contact me and replace the hard drive. He came to my house within the specified time frame promised by the technical service people. He also left the software installation discs. Those are a $40 item if purchased on-line. Hard drives are like water pumps on automobiles. They can last a long time, or they can fail shortly after installation. (I once had a new water pump fail within its first 100 miles.)
Overall, I am pleased with this computer. I have been using it for more than a year since the installation of the new hard drive. Not only has it been flawless, but it is a delight to use.
Honest reviews on Sony VAIO VPC-EE31FX/BJ 15.5-Inch Laptop (Black)
With a $400.00 budget I compared two laptops from W-mart, an Acer Aspire 7714Z-4643 with an Intel Pentium P6100 for $358.20 and the Sony VAIO VPCEE31FX/BJ AMD Athlon P340 for $403.20 both with 3GB of RAM. The Acer is a great deal and spec-wise is superior of the two with L3 cache and an excellent 17.3" screen in a very slim design.I am not a gamer although I wanted something responsive and the Pentium 6100 with the L3 cache clearly benchmarks faster than the Athlon P340 but the VAIO uses ATI Radeon 4250 graphics. After using both laptops the Acer booted up noticeably faster although the VAIO appeared to perform more smoothly overall. They were both very responsive for my needs which are mainly to browse the web, use MS Word and Excel (The Starter Edition that does not expire is included), watch videos and listen to music from MS Media Center with the ability to multitask well.
I ended up keeping the VAIO because of the build quality, excellent island style keyboard with 10-key, great touchpad, and the included Sony software which I found very useful and enjoyable to use. One feature I like is Sony's VAIO Gate that conveniently places your favorite icons easily available from a neat drop down menu at the top of the screen.
The numeric keypad is great to have even though the touchpad will be off-centered, there's no way around it unless you want your left index finger at the [J] key and the right one at the [ ;] key on the home row. The VAIO 10-key configuration for a laptop is easy to adjust to and very efficient after just a short period of use.
Having installed Norton 360 internet security the VAIO still performs very well with no noticeable slowdown.
PROS:
+ Athlon P340 is plenty fast and responsive even without L3 cache.
+ Excellent build quality and feel.
+ Great screen with ATI Catalyst control center software for adjustments.
+ Comfortably responsive keyboard and touchpad.
+ I personally like Sony's software.
CONS:
Weak speakers. (bought a Logitech Z-305 sound bar which is amazing)
Only 3GB of RAM.
Glossy palm rest shows smudges and finger prints.
Textured touchpad has good feel but bumps may wear out over time.
Price is higher than the competition for relative specs although VAIO build quality is better.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Sony VAIO VPC-EE31FX/BJ 15.5-Inch Laptop (Black)
I have had this computer for about 16 months. It has been buggy from day 1, but I assumed it was a Windows 7 thing since it was relatively new when I bought the computer. I have finally decided it must be this computer. It won't shut down unless you force it to due to some Sony program running in the background. I have tried to figure out how to shut it off to no avail. The DVD drive has gone bad, the power cord has gone bad, and it randomly shuts down periodically. What a $500 lemon! Stay AWAY! I'm going back to DellMonday, October 6, 2014
Cheap NV76R23u-53214G50Mnws 17.3" LED Notebook - Intel Core i5 i5-3210M
For years it been Gateway computers only.... I believe in them... They last long....
A couple years ago I bought a Gateway NV79C52u 17.3 Inch Laptop Velvet Blue: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Y733KU/ It's been through a lot of use, not to mention travel. It's still holding up, but is basically for business only. I like so much I tried to find one for personal use but couldn't. Gateway/Acer complicates matters when it comes to getting a Gateway, anymore... When I see what I want on their site I have to do an almighty search to find it on or offline... There was nothing locally. I did find this one (as close to the NV79C52u, as possible) via Amazon/TigerDirect -after multiple searches....
It came directly from TigerDirect. The laptop arrived safely and well packed...
The BLUE NV79C52U has headset/mic/usb/power(and more) on left; 2.0 usb / BlueRay driver on right. Speakers at the front, underneath / Windows 7. It has a sturdy DVD/BlueRay.
The WHITE NV76R23U seems heavier; Ports are on the opposite side... mic/headset/power/3.0 usb on the right w/ DVD drive no Blueray ; Wide/Long Speaker behind the keyboard. Windows 8.
Okay... I'm not a Windows 8 Fan... And Gateway has too many Apps installed, but they can be uninstalled... Thank goodness the old-fashion desktop is available that's where I put my icons for quick access... I'll figure out Windows 8, slowly... and maybe I'll like it...
here are the features to WHITE NV76R23U amazon/tigerdirect
Key Features and Benefits:
Intel Core i5-3210M processor
2.50GHz, 3MB L3 Cache
4GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 8GB)
Gives you the power to handle most power-hungry applications and tons of multimedia work
500GB SATA hard drive
Store 333,000 photos, 142,000 songs or 263 hours of HD video and more
8x SuperMulti DVD Double-Layer drive
Watch movies, and read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
Connect to a broadband modem with wired Ethernet or wirelessly connect to a WiFi signal or hotspot with the 802.11b/g/n connection built into your PC
17.3" HD Ulbrabright LED-backlit display
Intel HD Graphics 4000 with 128MB of dedicated system memory
Additional Features:
Built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam
5-in-1 memory card reader
2 x USB 3.0 ports, 1 x USB 2.0 port, 1 x headphone/speaker/line-out jack, 1 x microphone-in jack, 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port, 1 x VGA port, 1 x HDMI port
6-cell lithium-ion battery, up to 4.5 hours battery life
A couple years ago I bought a Gateway NV79C52u 17.3 Inch Laptop Velvet Blue: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Y733KU/ It's been through a lot of use, not to mention travel. It's still holding up, but is basically for business only. I like so much I tried to find one for personal use but couldn't. Gateway/Acer complicates matters when it comes to getting a Gateway, anymore... When I see what I want on their site I have to do an almighty search to find it on or offline... There was nothing locally. I did find this one (as close to the NV79C52u, as possible) via Amazon/TigerDirect -after multiple searches....
It came directly from TigerDirect. The laptop arrived safely and well packed...
The BLUE NV79C52U has headset/mic/usb/power(and more) on left; 2.0 usb / BlueRay driver on right. Speakers at the front, underneath / Windows 7. It has a sturdy DVD/BlueRay.
The WHITE NV76R23U seems heavier; Ports are on the opposite side... mic/headset/power/3.0 usb on the right w/ DVD drive no Blueray ; Wide/Long Speaker behind the keyboard. Windows 8.
Okay... I'm not a Windows 8 Fan... And Gateway has too many Apps installed, but they can be uninstalled... Thank goodness the old-fashion desktop is available that's where I put my icons for quick access... I'll figure out Windows 8, slowly... and maybe I'll like it...
here are the features to WHITE NV76R23U amazon/tigerdirect
Key Features and Benefits:
Intel Core i5-3210M processor
2.50GHz, 3MB L3 Cache
4GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 8GB)
Gives you the power to handle most power-hungry applications and tons of multimedia work
500GB SATA hard drive
Store 333,000 photos, 142,000 songs or 263 hours of HD video and more
8x SuperMulti DVD Double-Layer drive
Watch movies, and read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
Connect to a broadband modem with wired Ethernet or wirelessly connect to a WiFi signal or hotspot with the 802.11b/g/n connection built into your PC
17.3" HD Ulbrabright LED-backlit display
Intel HD Graphics 4000 with 128MB of dedicated system memory
Additional Features:
Built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam
5-in-1 memory card reader
2 x USB 3.0 ports, 1 x USB 2.0 port, 1 x headphone/speaker/line-out jack, 1 x microphone-in jack, 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port, 1 x VGA port, 1 x HDMI port
6-cell lithium-ion battery, up to 4.5 hours battery life
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
HP Envy 4-1010us Sleekbook 14-Inch Laptop (Black) Reviews
This laptop arrived and then went completely lifeless after two days. Had to send it to HP for repair. HP support was easy to work with but I was without the brand new laptop for a few weeks. It ended up needing a new motherboard.. so that was unfortunate.
Now that I've been using it for a while, here's the scoop. I wanted a simple windows laptop for work mainly because I don't like the way Office runs on a mac Office and the mac appear to dislike each other. My preference is still my mac :) (Note I ordered it in October so it came with Windows 7.)
Things I like:
-it's lightweight
-has a backlit keyboard that's also nice to type on having it be backlit is an extremely great feature
-the black and red casing is attractive and has a smooth feel
-the screen is glossy, but it still looks fine/nice
-it's pretty fast (i know, it's "slower" than the newer processors, but i3 is still fast)
-plenty of hard drive space
-4G of RAM is better than 2G
-the trackpad is just ok (allows for two finger scrolling, pinching, etc coming from a mac, I'm glad to have this)
-there are dedicated volume and screen brightness buttons on the keyboard
-beats audio sound is pretty good
-bluetooth is convenient for connecting to the smartphone, pairing with a bluetooth speaker, adding a mouse
-battery life is above average
Things I don't like:
-the fan seems to run a lot even with coolsense .. it's not "loud", but you will notice it in a quiet setting.. this is just something you have to accept with a windows laptop
-of course there's bloatware but you can remove some of it
Things to know:
-no DVD/CD drive
In the end, this is a good deal on a decent laptop with a hefty hard drive, 4G of RAM, backlit keyboard, lightweight, etc. I was also looking at the Vizio 14inch, but decided on this one since it had a backlit keyboard (and the Vizio had a lot of complaints about the keyboard and trackpad). If you just need a regular laptop, you'll probably be content with this model.
Word to the wise it does NOT ship in an amazon box so everyone will know you have a new HP laptop once it's delivered to you and left outside. You may want to opt for "this is a gift" at check out.
This is my first Vine review for a higher end technology product. This machine is $749.00 so I will give it the best review I can. When I compare it to my current laptop, I'll be comparing it to a Dell Inspiron N7010 (google it if you're interested). My Dell has its issues but has served me well since December, 2010. I bought it from a shopping channel for about $949.00. It came with a lot of extra software and is a 17.3" widescreen. I currently use Windows 8, consumer edition. One nice thing was the free addition of Office 2010, Student/Teacher edition. Not the testing/preview, the FULL edition. I still scratch my head as to WHY manufacturers put the trial (another name for it) edition of Office on computers. Just charge a little more and put at least the Student/Teacher edition. That's another debate for another time.
Pros: I'm including packaging, shipping, and carrier: The Whole Kit and Caboodle!
* Minimal packaging creates less carbon foot printing. The getting started is about an 11x17 sheet, front and back. You take it out, plug it in, hook up to wireless and you're off. If you can't do that, email me and I'll tutor you via the `net..lol. Seriously, it's very easy.
* USB 3.0...yes! I'm surprised it isn't color coded but it's there. Now I can use the portable drive I accidentally bought. (OK..you can use a 3.0 on a 2.0 port...I know technology pretty well. ' )
* Keyboard....very nice (especially if you like working in the dark with the lighting of it); the feel of the keys is wonderful-comfortable, easy to press, the spacing is perfect!
* Temperature-wise, it is one of the 'coolest' I've ever come across. No overheating!
* The battery life is nice but NOWHERE near the 8 hours they brag about. Having been an owner of laptops for many years and of many different manufacturers, this is very common. Always decrease the amount of battery life a company boasts about. Even Apple!
* It is much lighter, obviously, than my Dell. Not nearly as light as I thought it would be but a good weight for students.
* As mentioned in my intro, I use a 17.3 inch laptop. I was worried about 'moving down' to a 14 inch. (I also use a Macbook pro that's 13 inches but not enough to be used to the smaller size.) It wasn't that bad. I plan on creating a class/eduators website and plan to use this laptop as the primary laptop that holds the software and files.
Cons: I'm including packaging, shipping, and carrier: The Whole Kit and Caboodle here too!
* Amazon did NOT package it so that the laptop wouldn't slide around. Shame on Amazon!
* My laptop had been opened before. MAYBE it was because it was a Vine laptop, I don't know as I've never received a higher-end piece of technology before. I will presume that yours will be sealed by H-P.
* UPS left mine by my front door, on a rainy day. No signature required. Way to go! (This surprised me. I'm surprised Amazon didn't require a signature. They might with yours.)
* TRIAL version of Norton. Either give me the software for a YEAR or don't bother putting anything on there. (I'm not a big fan of Norton anyway so I vote for the latter.)
* Even though the lid is NOT glossy, it still loves your body oils. ' I will be getting a skin for it very soon like I have for my Dell.
* I love the keyboard...except for the backspace key. It's making a clunking sound and doesn't respond well. Maybe it's messed up on this laptop only.
* It boasts sound quality and it has the right to do so. In addition it has built-in bluetooth-a feature Mac always has bragging rights to. My issue was a Vulcan bluetooth-enabled speaker. I could pair it but never could get the music to play through it without using the cable. What's the use of having a bluetooth speaker if I'm still tethered with a cable?? Nonetheless, the sound is OUTSTANDING with the two put together!
* The power cable is NOT flush with the laptop-it sticks out. This gets me nervous with the possibility of it breaking. Bad thinking on HP's side of things.
* The touch pad...ahhhhh, the touch pad. Tricky little sucker. I'm used to this style of touchpad but I have to say that this one doesn't fully cooperate. There are times when I click on the lower left side but the laptop doesn't respond appropriately. The same is true for the right side. The hand gestures are nice. If you're used to a mac, you'll fit right in.
* There are only 3 USB ports. Because there is no optical drive, I feel it needs even more USB ports. At minimum 4, maybe 5 or 6. Yes...it would interfere with weight and size...possibly....but 3 isn't enough for this reviewer!
* Though this isn't really a con because I knew it going in...I MISS HAVING A dvd/cd rom/drive! Yes, there are many items that can be downloaded. Yes, there are many items that can NOT be downloaded. It's a simple solution: purchase an external one. The good news is you control whether you get a high end (blue ray) or low end (CD burner).
Overall it's a good laptop that I've pretty much used ever since I got it. I still get irritated with the touchpad and backspace key but I believe the backspace key is an issue with my laptop only and the touchpad, well, it will just take time to get used to.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
If you need an optical drive included in your laptop, DON'T GET THIS SPECIFIC PRODUCT (HP Envy 4-1010us Sleekbook). At this time, the specs on Amazon for this includes a "checklist" which explicitly says "Built-in-Blu Ray player" and "Built-in CD/DVD burner" which is not true. I think HP might be getting the specifications for other higher-end and pricier Ultrabook laptops in this line mixed up. On the bright side, it looked like this didn't have a backlit keyboard, but it does. Some sloppy quality control on the marketing end, but not the fault of the laptop. Do your homework on the specs before buying.
The software (Windows 8, etc.)
My HP Envy Sleekbook shipped with Windows 8 which I've never used before. When I ordered this the specs indicated it would ship with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit more sloppy marketing description. I have a hard time divorcing a review of the laptop from the operating system, but that's almost impossible. My personal nature is that I hate every new interface, mostly because I've become familiar with my current one (which was new and hated at one time). So regarding Windows 8 on this machine: from what I can tell there's nothing about this laptop that is anathema to Windows 8, but the trackpad could be a problem for some. Windows 8 is obviously designed for a touch screen (e.g., tablet) and the Sleekbook does not have one. Most of the interface issues/confusion I've had have to do with using the trackpad which is physically fine but it's been confusing and I'm working things out. As a piece of hardware it appears to be sensitive enough and does what it's supposed to do. I'm just not sure what it's supposed to do all the time and keep opening up new apps, screens, and menus by accident. Enough about Windows 8.
This Sleekbook comes with lots of bloatware pre-installed which I despise, but I've found that's pretty universal for computers with pre-installed operating systems. I hate it, but I can't downgrade it (I'd rather downgrade the entire industry sometimes). I also recognize that some of that bloatware I probably would install. I just deal with it.
Installation of the system does require a wireless or wired network connection.
The hardware (laptop)
Mine is a nice looking black top, red bottom. The brushed metal cover will immediately pick up smudges, but that's not a big deal (just want to note it). The backlit keyboard is very bright, and there is an always lit "backlit keyboard key" that's nice for toggling backlighting on and off.
The screen's large and sharp and serves nicely for watching media. Speakers are better than what you'd expect for built-in laptop speakers, but they're still just that laptop speakers. The keyboard is, um, serviceable? Keyboards are like operating systems you have to get used to new ones. I have no real complaints at this time.
My favorite feature is the "CoolSense" technology. I have no idea how they do it, but it only seems to get "slightly warm" on the bottom even after a couple of hours of use. This is the first laptop I've had that I can prop up on my stomach and chest in bed and not feel like I'm getting burned. The weight is also much lighter than most laptops, but still heavier than almost all netbooks.
Overall, I find this "nifty" because it really does what it purports to do, and the lightness and coolness are definitely noticeable. I give it 4 out of 5 stars for being an excellent product, but have reluctantly knocked off a star for the confusing description of features (I know, that's not really about the laptop, but it gives me pause).
I will update this review if durability issues crop up. Most of the other things I don't like are purely about the software, but I can't see subtracting a star for something that's new to me (Windows 8).
The bad: the touchpad isn't centered with the space bar. That's fine if this is the only computer you use and you get used to it. With two other laptops in the family, though, this "difference" becomes noticeable. It is large and works well, but it would be better centered on the "typing" part of the keyboard rather than the case. (That was the first thing my son noticed about this, too.)
The good: this is unbelievably lightweight and handy to carry around. It is quite fast, it looks nice and works well.
I use it far, far less than I would if it had come with Windows 7.
Five stars for the computer itself. Minus at least one star for the unadvertised Windows 8.
(Of course, HP has pre-installed Norton stuff which is annoying, not free and always a pain to get rid of.)
Now that I've been using it for a while, here's the scoop. I wanted a simple windows laptop for work mainly because I don't like the way Office runs on a mac Office and the mac appear to dislike each other. My preference is still my mac :) (Note I ordered it in October so it came with Windows 7.)
Things I like:
-it's lightweight
-has a backlit keyboard that's also nice to type on having it be backlit is an extremely great feature
-the black and red casing is attractive and has a smooth feel
-the screen is glossy, but it still looks fine/nice
-it's pretty fast (i know, it's "slower" than the newer processors, but i3 is still fast)
-plenty of hard drive space
-4G of RAM is better than 2G
-the trackpad is just ok (allows for two finger scrolling, pinching, etc coming from a mac, I'm glad to have this)
-there are dedicated volume and screen brightness buttons on the keyboard
-beats audio sound is pretty good
-bluetooth is convenient for connecting to the smartphone, pairing with a bluetooth speaker, adding a mouse
-battery life is above average
Things I don't like:
-the fan seems to run a lot even with coolsense .. it's not "loud", but you will notice it in a quiet setting.. this is just something you have to accept with a windows laptop
-of course there's bloatware but you can remove some of it
Things to know:
-no DVD/CD drive
In the end, this is a good deal on a decent laptop with a hefty hard drive, 4G of RAM, backlit keyboard, lightweight, etc. I was also looking at the Vizio 14inch, but decided on this one since it had a backlit keyboard (and the Vizio had a lot of complaints about the keyboard and trackpad). If you just need a regular laptop, you'll probably be content with this model.
Word to the wise it does NOT ship in an amazon box so everyone will know you have a new HP laptop once it's delivered to you and left outside. You may want to opt for "this is a gift" at check out.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Review for HP Envy LaptopThis is my first Vine review for a higher end technology product. This machine is $749.00 so I will give it the best review I can. When I compare it to my current laptop, I'll be comparing it to a Dell Inspiron N7010 (google it if you're interested). My Dell has its issues but has served me well since December, 2010. I bought it from a shopping channel for about $949.00. It came with a lot of extra software and is a 17.3" widescreen. I currently use Windows 8, consumer edition. One nice thing was the free addition of Office 2010, Student/Teacher edition. Not the testing/preview, the FULL edition. I still scratch my head as to WHY manufacturers put the trial (another name for it) edition of Office on computers. Just charge a little more and put at least the Student/Teacher edition. That's another debate for another time.
Pros: I'm including packaging, shipping, and carrier: The Whole Kit and Caboodle!
* Minimal packaging creates less carbon foot printing. The getting started is about an 11x17 sheet, front and back. You take it out, plug it in, hook up to wireless and you're off. If you can't do that, email me and I'll tutor you via the `net..lol. Seriously, it's very easy.
* USB 3.0...yes! I'm surprised it isn't color coded but it's there. Now I can use the portable drive I accidentally bought. (OK..you can use a 3.0 on a 2.0 port...I know technology pretty well. ' )
* Keyboard....very nice (especially if you like working in the dark with the lighting of it); the feel of the keys is wonderful-comfortable, easy to press, the spacing is perfect!
* Temperature-wise, it is one of the 'coolest' I've ever come across. No overheating!
* The battery life is nice but NOWHERE near the 8 hours they brag about. Having been an owner of laptops for many years and of many different manufacturers, this is very common. Always decrease the amount of battery life a company boasts about. Even Apple!
* It is much lighter, obviously, than my Dell. Not nearly as light as I thought it would be but a good weight for students.
* As mentioned in my intro, I use a 17.3 inch laptop. I was worried about 'moving down' to a 14 inch. (I also use a Macbook pro that's 13 inches but not enough to be used to the smaller size.) It wasn't that bad. I plan on creating a class/eduators website and plan to use this laptop as the primary laptop that holds the software and files.
Cons: I'm including packaging, shipping, and carrier: The Whole Kit and Caboodle here too!
* Amazon did NOT package it so that the laptop wouldn't slide around. Shame on Amazon!
* My laptop had been opened before. MAYBE it was because it was a Vine laptop, I don't know as I've never received a higher-end piece of technology before. I will presume that yours will be sealed by H-P.
* UPS left mine by my front door, on a rainy day. No signature required. Way to go! (This surprised me. I'm surprised Amazon didn't require a signature. They might with yours.)
* TRIAL version of Norton. Either give me the software for a YEAR or don't bother putting anything on there. (I'm not a big fan of Norton anyway so I vote for the latter.)
* Even though the lid is NOT glossy, it still loves your body oils. ' I will be getting a skin for it very soon like I have for my Dell.
* I love the keyboard...except for the backspace key. It's making a clunking sound and doesn't respond well. Maybe it's messed up on this laptop only.
* It boasts sound quality and it has the right to do so. In addition it has built-in bluetooth-a feature Mac always has bragging rights to. My issue was a Vulcan bluetooth-enabled speaker. I could pair it but never could get the music to play through it without using the cable. What's the use of having a bluetooth speaker if I'm still tethered with a cable?? Nonetheless, the sound is OUTSTANDING with the two put together!
* The power cable is NOT flush with the laptop-it sticks out. This gets me nervous with the possibility of it breaking. Bad thinking on HP's side of things.
* The touch pad...ahhhhh, the touch pad. Tricky little sucker. I'm used to this style of touchpad but I have to say that this one doesn't fully cooperate. There are times when I click on the lower left side but the laptop doesn't respond appropriately. The same is true for the right side. The hand gestures are nice. If you're used to a mac, you'll fit right in.
* There are only 3 USB ports. Because there is no optical drive, I feel it needs even more USB ports. At minimum 4, maybe 5 or 6. Yes...it would interfere with weight and size...possibly....but 3 isn't enough for this reviewer!
* Though this isn't really a con because I knew it going in...I MISS HAVING A dvd/cd rom/drive! Yes, there are many items that can be downloaded. Yes, there are many items that can NOT be downloaded. It's a simple solution: purchase an external one. The good news is you control whether you get a high end (blue ray) or low end (CD burner).
Overall it's a good laptop that I've pretty much used ever since I got it. I still get irritated with the touchpad and backspace key but I believe the backspace key is an issue with my laptop only and the touchpad, well, it will just take time to get used to.
Best Deals for HP Envy 4-1010us Sleekbook 14-Inch Laptop (Black)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program UPDATE 27 NOV 2012: I've upgraded this from 4 to 5 stars after three weeks plus of use, primarily because of its "HP Imagepad" (the touchpad) which is very large and very responsive once you get used to Windows 8 this touchpad works VERY well. I've compared this laptop to the similar HP Pavilion 14-b010us 14-Inch Laptop Sleekbook which has a different, VERY deficient Synaptics PS/2 Port Touchpad (smaller, less responsive). The "HP Imagepad" equipped laptops should be preferred equipment if you're going to be using Windows 8.ORIGINAL REVIEW:
If you need an optical drive included in your laptop, DON'T GET THIS SPECIFIC PRODUCT (HP Envy 4-1010us Sleekbook). At this time, the specs on Amazon for this includes a "checklist" which explicitly says "Built-in-Blu Ray player" and "Built-in CD/DVD burner" which is not true. I think HP might be getting the specifications for other higher-end and pricier Ultrabook laptops in this line mixed up. On the bright side, it looked like this didn't have a backlit keyboard, but it does. Some sloppy quality control on the marketing end, but not the fault of the laptop. Do your homework on the specs before buying.
The software (Windows 8, etc.)
My HP Envy Sleekbook shipped with Windows 8 which I've never used before. When I ordered this the specs indicated it would ship with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit more sloppy marketing description. I have a hard time divorcing a review of the laptop from the operating system, but that's almost impossible. My personal nature is that I hate every new interface, mostly because I've become familiar with my current one (which was new and hated at one time). So regarding Windows 8 on this machine: from what I can tell there's nothing about this laptop that is anathema to Windows 8, but the trackpad could be a problem for some. Windows 8 is obviously designed for a touch screen (e.g., tablet) and the Sleekbook does not have one. Most of the interface issues/confusion I've had have to do with using the trackpad which is physically fine but it's been confusing and I'm working things out. As a piece of hardware it appears to be sensitive enough and does what it's supposed to do. I'm just not sure what it's supposed to do all the time and keep opening up new apps, screens, and menus by accident. Enough about Windows 8.
This Sleekbook comes with lots of bloatware pre-installed which I despise, but I've found that's pretty universal for computers with pre-installed operating systems. I hate it, but I can't downgrade it (I'd rather downgrade the entire industry sometimes). I also recognize that some of that bloatware I probably would install. I just deal with it.
Installation of the system does require a wireless or wired network connection.
The hardware (laptop)
Mine is a nice looking black top, red bottom. The brushed metal cover will immediately pick up smudges, but that's not a big deal (just want to note it). The backlit keyboard is very bright, and there is an always lit "backlit keyboard key" that's nice for toggling backlighting on and off.
The screen's large and sharp and serves nicely for watching media. Speakers are better than what you'd expect for built-in laptop speakers, but they're still just that laptop speakers. The keyboard is, um, serviceable? Keyboards are like operating systems you have to get used to new ones. I have no real complaints at this time.
My favorite feature is the "CoolSense" technology. I have no idea how they do it, but it only seems to get "slightly warm" on the bottom even after a couple of hours of use. This is the first laptop I've had that I can prop up on my stomach and chest in bed and not feel like I'm getting burned. The weight is also much lighter than most laptops, but still heavier than almost all netbooks.
Overall, I find this "nifty" because it really does what it purports to do, and the lightness and coolness are definitely noticeable. I give it 4 out of 5 stars for being an excellent product, but have reluctantly knocked off a star for the confusing description of features (I know, that's not really about the laptop, but it gives me pause).
I will update this review if durability issues crop up. Most of the other things I don't like are purely about the software, but I can't see subtracting a star for something that's new to me (Windows 8).
Honest reviews on HP Envy 4-1010us Sleekbook 14-Inch Laptop (Black)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program The horrible: this shipped with Windows 8 instead of the advertised Windows 7. After a few months of use, I have found no reason to enjoy Windows 8 and it has affected my view of the laptop overall. Perhaps that isn't fair, but there is no way to separate them. It's a shame that HP chose to do that.The bad: the touchpad isn't centered with the space bar. That's fine if this is the only computer you use and you get used to it. With two other laptops in the family, though, this "difference" becomes noticeable. It is large and works well, but it would be better centered on the "typing" part of the keyboard rather than the case. (That was the first thing my son noticed about this, too.)
The good: this is unbelievably lightweight and handy to carry around. It is quite fast, it looks nice and works well.
I use it far, far less than I would if it had come with Windows 7.
Five stars for the computer itself. Minus at least one star for the unadvertised Windows 8.
(Of course, HP has pre-installed Norton stuff which is annoying, not free and always a pain to get rid of.)
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Envy 4-1010us Sleekbook 14-Inch Laptop (Black)
I have had the laptop six months, it barely gets used, and I take meticulous care of my stuff. It sits in a protective sleeve in my computer cabinet. Yesterday, the hard drive started clicking and went dead. This is now the THIRD time. I have already mailed my computer back to HP through their warranty program twice to have the hard drive replaced. Last time, I got it back about 1 month ago. I've probably turned it on 10 to 15 times since I got it back. Its never been dropped, there is absolutely no excuse for this. They now tell me that maybe "something else" is causing the problem, but I have to send it in for diagnosis. I used to be all for HP. Never again.Reviews of ASUS X501U-RHE1N21 15.6'' LED AMD E1 1200 x2 Core 320GB HDD 4GB RAM
List Price: $399.00
Sale Price: $309.00
Today's Bonus: 23% Off
Even though this is 1.4 GHZ it is faster then my fathers 2011 MacBook pro it has a nice big screen fast processor every thing about this laptop is great especially windows 8the only thing wrong with it is when go on desktop mode and use the browser it get slow but when you download the google app its fast as hell it is worth every penny
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Cheap Acer Aspire AS5733-6426 15.6-Inch Laptop (Gray)
well, i picked my Acer AS5733 up at my local wally world a little over a week ago. after cleaning up the junk apps and getting all of the updates, it's a great little machine. Also to be noted, and I'm not the only one to get this, there appears to be an unlisted update with the processor; it's an Intel i5 560M which has the turbo boost. Very nice little surprise indeed. The display is bright and vibrant with no dead pixels. Speakers are about average for a notebook; good enough for watching a movie in a quiet room. Cooling fan is dynamic and is very quiet. Only 2 USB ports and no hard drive activity light (funny how I miss something once it's gone). Unless you clean the software up first, it takes 4 DVD disks to make the factory restore disks. Haven't tried the camera yet so I cannot comment. All in all a very good buy.
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Great machines So far, I have bought 4 Acer laptops and all are doing excellent. NOT one issue with any of them -so far at least!! Would definitely buy another if I have a need for one.Best Deals for Acer Aspire AS5733-6426 15.6-Inch Laptop (Gray)
The laptop has a really beautiful screen, great color. The speed is also fine, and the price was good. However, after 7 months, my first problem with it is the keyboard. Perhaps it's because the number keys are on the right, so the rest are smaller, but I regularly hit the wrong keys. If I always had, no big thing, but not so. Also the touch is difficult, sometimes having to go back and press hard really slows me down. Second, the sound has problems, scratchy when changing screens, then clears up. I'm looking into plugging in another keyboard to remedy my worst problem. I can live with the rest but won't buy another Acer.Honest reviews on Acer Aspire AS5733-6426 15.6-Inch Laptop (Gray)
My new Acer laptop is much upon my satisfaction and I believe it will bring me satisfaction for quite a time to come. It is my second Acer computer and the quality, ease of use, and speed are all well worth the money I spent on both. Thank you.Friday, September 26, 2014
Best Dell Inspiron 8600 Deals
I love this the hinges might be a little loose but, it's fine for me and way better than my Daktech plus it's not new as soon as it arrived turned it on and it still had hours of battery time left did not know there was no charger but, that was my fault everything works great on it connected to wifi instantly love it!It works perfectly, I gave it to my dad as a gift and he loved it and uses it everyday.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Best Apple MacBook Air MD232LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) Deals
I purchased both the newly updated 13" MacBook Air and the updated 13" MacBook Pro the day they were announced at WWDC and released for sale in June 2012. After using the two machines side-by-side for a couple weeks now, I can say that the MacBook Air offers superior performance in virtually every respect to such a degree that I've pretty much stopped using my brand new MacBook Pro. Of course the Air (which I got factory upgraded to the 2.0 GHz i7 processor and 8GB of RAM) is lighter, slimmer, and sleeker than the Pro, and yes, it does have a much higher resolution display, but I was surprised just how much faster the MacBook Air is compared to the Pro is despite the Air's slower CPU clock speed. The SSD hard drive on the MacBook Air makes an enormous difference in everything from casual web browsing to video editing.
Speed and Performance: Advantage MacBook Air
Apart from the hard drives and port configurations, the technology inside the machines is virtually identical in both the newly refreshed MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Both Pros and Airs come with either i5 or i7 Intel "Ivy Bridge" processors, Intel HD Graphics 4000, USB 3.0, and lightning-fast Thunderbolt ports. While the MacBook Air models are at a disadvantage to the MacBook Pro models in terms of CPU clock speeds, any performance disadvantage from the processor speed is more than made up for by the lightning fast performance of the Air's SSD hard drive, which Apple markets as "Flash" storage. In everyday tasks from gaming to web browsing to watching Flash movies and editing video, the MacBook Air is faster significantly faster in virtually every task. The Air boots up in less than 12 seconds while the Pro takes upwards of one minute.
Screen: Advantage MacBook Air
Once you get used to the super high resolution 1440 x 900 LED display on the MacBook Air, the 1280 x 800 back-lit LED display on the MacBook Pro looks downright grainy and primitive. Simply put, once you get used to a higher resolution display, the 1280 x 800 display on the 13" MacBook Pro just isn't acceptable. Even for simple tasks like email or word processing where you wouldn't think the resolution would matter, the graphics look grainy and pixelated, which just isn't acceptable for a pro-level laptop in 2012.
Upgradability: Advantage MacBook Pro
One major difference that's important to consider between the Air and the Pro is that the Pro is more flexible and adaptable in terms of upgradability. With only a screw driver and about 10 minutes of your time, you can add more memory to the Pro, replace the hard drive, and even add a second hard drive in place of the optical disc drive. The Air, on the other hand, is stuck in the configuration you purchase it in except that you can opt to replace the SSD "Flash" hard drive with a higher capacity drive. However, both the Air and Pro have USB 3.0 (which is five times faster than USB 2.0 and backward compatible) and Thunderbolt (which is ten times faster than USB 2.0), I see no reason to replace the Air's hard drive any time soon given how cheap external hard drives are and how fast the connection has become.
Design, Weight, Portability, Battery Life, and Form Factor: Advantage MacBook Air
The MacBook Air is the most beautiful computer ever produced by man. The aluminum case is impeccably designed, almost tailored to accommodate the necessary internal components, while maintaining practical ergonomics. It's an incredibly thin, svelte, sexy little notebook. The aluminum case seems sturdy and durable, and its mechanics are very similar to the time-test unibody construction of the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro, on the other hand, is a bit of a dinosaur in its bulky circa 2006 unibody. The Pro is heavier than a half gallon of milk at 4.5 lbs, while the MacBook Air weighs in at less than 2.9 lbs. Battery life is roughly even on both machines at anywhere from 4 to 7 hours depending on workload and settings.
Summary Judgement: Buy the MacBook Air
Simply put, the guts of the two machines are basically the same, but the Air's SSD hard drive gives it a tremendously significant boost in performance. Sadly, the MacBook Pro's 5400-rpm hard drive leaves the machine unable to capitalize on the newest, most expensive Intel "Ivy Bridge" i5 and i7 processors that you're paying a $300 premium for in the newly updated Pros. If you are going to buy a Pro, invest the extra money and get it upgraded with a SSD hard drive and get an extra external hard drive if you need additional cheap storage space for multimedia files. When you also consider the superior display, lighter weight, increased portability, and lower price of the MacBook Air, it's hard to find a reason to justify purchasing the current 13" MacBook Pro, which to me looks like a dinosaur rapidly headed for extinction.
Specs on the models compared:
13" MacBook Air (mid 2012) factory upgraded to the 2.0 GHz dual core i7 processor and factory upgraded to 8 GB RAM (1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM) with standard 256 GB SSD ("Flash") hard drive
13" MacBook Pro (mid 2012) with 2.9 GHz dual core i7 processor, 8 GB RAM (1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM), and 750GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
Both feature Intel HD 4000 Graphics, 3.0 USB, Thunderbolt, 802.11n, etc.
Processor: The one word response would be "sufficient." Overall, the beauty of this laptop is that it gets out to the way and simply lets you do what you need to do. The processor isn't the fastest on the market, but I have never been left waiting for any processing tasks to date. As an email access point, word processor, and internet browser there is more than enough processing power to have a boatload of applications and multiple tabs open without a stutter. Web pages scroll nicely, new programs open in a second or two and when it comes to productivity tasks this is night and day better than my iPad since I can actually use the keyboard, Microsoft Office etc. The processor doesn't need to be all that powerful in large part due to the flash memory storage, upgraded in this generation to the faster 6 Gb/s connection so that read/write processes don't drag the computer down at all. While I use my desktop for all of my heavy duty processing of images and HD video, I will occasionally need to process an image or two on the road. So far I have found that Photoshop CS5 runs very nicely on this model, with nearly instant effects utilizing simple layer/curves adjustments. Processor intensive tasks such a gaussian blur related filters have a slight lag, taking approximately 30% longer than they do on my i7 920 desktop processor that is a few years old. It all gets done though, is far faster than my previous laptop, and nothing I regularly do has taken more than 2-3 seconds of processing time for an image, totally acceptable. It's the 30-40 second drags from my prior laptop that made me ready to throw it out the window. However, the few seconds of slowing is enough that I wouldn't want to process thousands of photos on this laptop, but for the casual edit it is more than sufficient. Lightroom runs smoothly as well, in large part due to the cache being on SSD storage, so even my 5D MkIII raw files at 30MB each are rendered to a smaller jpeg preview that the lighter processor can handle and render quickly off the SSD. Imports/export rendering take longer on this machine to be sure, but by that time I'm off doing other errands so I don't mind this lag. Video editing is functional as well and would likely work for most casual users, but massive projects simply wouldn't be possible on this machine for a multitude of reasons ranging from storage space to video card, screen size, processor etc. Overall, it does handle all casual productivity tasks that I need faster than any laptop I've owned, and can handle more processor intensive image applications acceptably for a laptop, though not fast enough that I'd consider using this as a full time professional machine.
Screen: The 13 inch model seems to be the perfect blend of portability and functionality for me. This particular screen is vibrant, and has the capability to professionally render the images that I need with a few caveats. Firstly, the factory set color profile for the screen looked good enough for basic use, but to my sensitive eyes had a bluish hue to it. Apple laptops are notoriously inaccurate for color rendition (increased contrast, saturation in reds and blues) so I would highly recommend that users who do much imaging work create a custom color profile their monitor. Even casual users are likely to be disappointed when actually printing images that look great on this screen (i.e. pumped up colors and contrast with a flat and lifeless print in real life). Also, for all of us that send files over the internet to Facebook/email etc, I would think it would be nice to know what your photos would look like "on average" to most of the users out there without a similar Mac screen. The "profile" utility built into OS X is worthless, and I'd recommend a software solution such as ColorEyes Display Pro, combined with a sensor such as the Spyder 4. I wish I could have assessed the default profile to find out how much it was off at baseline, but my software can only analyze custom profiles that it creates. Needless to say, things look a lot different after the profiling, and at 75% brightness I was able to get the monitor down to an average dE of 0.51 with a max dE of 2.99 in the greys (less than 1 is great accuracy, less than 5 is sort of standard to start professional work for me). I also notice that the edges of the screen on all sides have a very slight dark tinge/wave that extends for about half an inch. It is only faintly noticeable, shows up most against white backgrounds, and decreases with increased screen brightness. This isn't a defect unique to my unit, as it seems to affect all of the models at the Apple store that I went to see, as well as a few friends with Airs from years past. It would be nice if this screen were perfect, but it works and the minor screen variation doesn't effect the center working space of the image...so I think of it sort of like a built in vignette. This is a well documented complaint you can find on many forums with a quick internet search. If it's persisted into the 3rd generation of modern Air I don't see it going away soon. The resolution is also acceptable and a noted improvement over the 13" standard Macbook pro. Not retina, but the graphics on this model couldn't handle that resolution anyways. Retina display on the Macbook air will be a welcome addition in the years to come when the technology to scale everything down at a reasonable cost becomes feasible. Till then, this does the trick.
Battery life: one of my most important considerations for a laptop. This computer consistently achieves 7hrs of battery life as advertised. Screen brightness can be set to a custom level for increased battery life but I have yet to beat 7.5hrs. Surprisingly, Wifi intensive tasks such as downloading large files seem to have the biggest impact on battery life. I'd love to have a 10hr laptop at some point, but this model can get me through a busy work day every time so long as I start with a fully charged battery before.
Value/Upgrades: I am happy with the 128GB base model with 4GB ram, and made that decision mainly based on the value offered by the Apple upgrades. First off, with the base processor, all of my tasks seem to fly along with the exception of major processing such as photo or video exporting after edits. The i7 2.0 GHz upgrade would only be of marginal help, with the advantage of the "turbo boost" performance at 3.2 GHz versus 2.8 or a 11-14% increase for $100 (but requiring the $300 memory upgrade as well). I seriously considered the 8GB of ram as well, as the $100 upgrade would help to future proof the computer's performance. The problem with this, or any other upgrade over the stock base model is that you need to purchase the custom Air models directly from Apple, without the Amazon discount, with the added sales tax and recycling fee. That's an additional $150 or so in immediate outlay for privilege of even beginning to customize the computer at an additional price (or about $250 extra for 8GB of ram rather than the initially apparent $100 which would have been worth it). I have found that most Mac laptops depreciate at about 10-15% per year from the base price (any additional cost to tax etc is thrown out immediately), so selling this computer in a year or two to stay current with technology is by far the better value for me.
Regarding space, I have all of my programs (Lightroom, Office, Photoshop and a few others) on the 128GB drive with 95GB to spare. That's a lot of extra space for working files so long as they aren't media based. For that, you would need an external drive either way, as a day of photography can produce 60-70GB, and video can get into the hundreds of GB quickly, nothing that the minor 128GB upgrade would cover. The USB3 connection and a 7200RPM external drive does a great job, and ensuring that Photoshop etc are using the onboard flash storage as a scratch disk makes for great performance without compromise. Also, for storage in a pinch, the SD card slot provides an opportunity for a cheap upgrade. A 64GB SD card just barely sticks out of the side and can be had for $50 or so, while a 128GB SD card costs ~$150 with prices dropping fast. These won't have anywhere near the same read write speeds as built in memory, but would be more than sufficient for music, document, image storage etc when needed.
Overall, I'm thrilled with this machine and would recommend it without hesitation. I thought briefly about the new Retina Macbook Pro, since I could find many uses for the extra resolution and processing power. However, I ultimately decided to use this machine for its exceptional value and extra portability. The rMBP is a beautiful machine, but even with its performance it isn't close to a modern desktop machine of similar pricing equipped an i7 3770 processor, SSD boot and scratch drive, GTX 670 or similar, 16GB ram and a nice 24" dual monitor setup all for the same 2k price tag. So I'll take this with me on the road or the coffee shop, and save the serious work for my desktop with multiple monitors etc. No computer can be everything for everybody, but this Air is surprisingly versatile and ranges between best in class and acceptable for everything I've thrown at it. I'm a big fan.
1/6/13 3 months in, and still going strong. Picked up Applecare about a month in (you can buy it at any point before the included warranty expires). Cost me ~$200 (you can use student discount at Apple stores) for 3 years of support. All the Mac people I know swear by Applecare, and it seems like a pretty good thing to have just in case. Battery life is still a solid 5-7hrs. if not more, depending on my usage. As expected, watching HD movies or playing games does kill the battery life. Bought this neoprene sleeve since it looked solid, was inexpensive, and had good reviews. Definitely recommend a case/sleeve of some kind to avoid scratching up the shell.
Preface: I own a computer I built myself and have been continuously tinkering with and upgrading since 2007. This is my "primary" computer, and I virtually never use my Macbook while at home as a result. Prior to this purchase, the only Apple product I've owned is an iPod Touch from 2010. This is the perspective of a long-time Windows user with access to a computer of considerable horsepower. If you want to hear from someone who spends >90% of their computer time on this Macbook, I'm not your guy. However, I can still talk about the properties that make it strong for my demands of a portable, secondary computer for use whenever I'm not at home. I'll be breaking this review down into the criteria I needed my next laptop to satisfy, and where the Macbook Air fell in relation to the competitors.
One-Sentence Review: The 2012 Macbook Air is not head-and-shoulders above the competition (it's not even the best in any one category) but it's so great at everything that it's hard to say no to.
1. Portability: Both the 11" and 13" model have set the standard for the portable "ultrabook", and competition from Asus, Samsung, Lenovo, Dell, HP, and anyone else has used these laptops' dimensions as the benchmark. This 13" model weighs in at a svelte 2.9lbs., but in 2012 that's not really saying much. Look up the ultrabook offerings from the above companies and you'll see they're all within +/-0.1lbs. It's no doubt a lightweight and portable design, but I can't hand this one to Apple given how close everyone else is.
Verdict: Draw for the Macbook, since everyone has the same dimensions and weight.
2. Design & Build Quality: This used to be Apple's home court. The unibody aluminum shell of the Macbook Air was a league apart from the plastics of certain competitors. However, Samsung's Series 9 and Asus' Zenbook Prime give the Macbook Air a serious run for its money. To its credit, Apple is one of the few manufacturers who grace their ultrabooks with a super-large trackpad (which is superior to any PC laptop trackpad I've ever used) and backlit keyboard. The frame is sturdy, the lid doesn't creak or sway, and there's very little flex in the body.
Verdict: Other guys look nice, but I have to give this to Apple on the back of the keyboard and oversized trackpad.
3. Battery Life: I have yet to run my Macbook from full to empty, but I have used it for long stretches and (assuming the battery meter is accurate) can make a reasonable assessment of battery life. While browsing the web, writing a Word document, and listening to music, with screen at half-brightness, I was going for about 3.5hrs when I hit the 50% mark. A reasonable estimate places total battery life at 6.5-7hrs., which is right in Apple's factory estimate of 7. I bet you could squeeze an easy 9hrs. out of this by turning Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off and dimming the screen some. Regardless, I'm usually not away from an outlet for more than a few hours anyway, so this is a nice cushion to have. Also worth noting that the Sleep function seems to be extremely battery-efficient. 24hrs. of sleep resulted in only a 1% loss of battery life, and the Macbook instantly took me to the login screen when I hit the spacebar.
Verdict: Extremely respectable battery life and fantastic sleep efficiency.
4. Screen Quality: This is in my opinion the laptop's weakest category. The Macbook Airs use TN panels, with resolutions of 1366x768 for the 11" and 1440x900 for the 13". For the unacquainted, TN panels are the bottom shelf of LCD panels in terms of color quality. The aforementioned Zenbook Prime absolutely kills the competition with a 1080p (1920x1080) IPS panel (IPS is the top-shelf panel), and even the Series 9 has a respectable 1600x900 PLS (mid-range panel) display. This fall Apple introduced a Retina 13" Macbook Pro with an insane 2560x1600 display, but did not similarly update the Macbook Air. It may happen next year, but for now you're stuck with a low-end display. This is not to say it is objectively bad (it's not), but the competition does leave this laptop feeling somewhat inadequate.
Verdict: The Macbook Air's TN panel just cannot compare to the IPS and PLS panels on other ultrabooks.
5. Software: I had a passing familiarity with Mac OS X, and thought it to be a generally snappy, good-looking, but not well-supported OS. That last point is mostly untrue, as I have virtually everything I use on my desktop (MS Office, Spotify, Chrome, VLC Player, Steam(!), Dropbox) running natively on OS X without any issues. There's a bit of a learning curve, but I found it a genuine joy to acquaint myself with Mountain Lion's "Mission Control" feature. This allows you to create multiple desktops with independent docks and applications, effectively allowing you to segregate your computer for work and play. Many of Mountain Lion's features, as well as Safari, are well-integrated with multi-touch gestures on the trackpad, so executing commands through the trackpad is wonderfully simple. I miss the comfort of Windows only slightly, to be honest.
Verdict: OS X is a very well-designed OS for anyone who isn't strictly tied to Windows.
6. Value: Value is awkward and highly subjective. You have to make your own goals before any purchase, and evaluate which alternative offers the best chance of fulfilling that goal. As a first-year medical student with a very competent primary computer, my goals were to have a reliable, portable, and decently powerful laptop for bringing around with me to class, the library, lab, and anywhere else that wasn't my apartment. Ideally this would be a 4-year computer, lasting me the entirety of medical school. $1100 is a lot of money to spend on a laptop, so I had to be sure of what I picked. In the end I went with this because of the literally dozens of classmates and friends who have had the same Macbook (Pro/Air/whatever) for years without a hiccup or slowdown. I feel this is due in part to Apple's willingness to make its OS as backwards-compatible as possible, which means you get a non-bloated OS that's designed to work as well on yesteryear's technology as tomorrow's.
Verdict: TBD
If you've made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read, and I hope you found this useful. I would add a final caveat about potential improvements to the 2013 Macbook Air, but honestly don't give it much thought. There's always one more thing coming around the corner, and if you need a laptop now just get this one. Like I said, it's not the best at anything (except the trackpad maybe) but it's great at everything and should last you for years.
Things I like:
It's fast! I plan on using this when I travel for Office, Adobe Lightroom and other photography applications. I'm able to move quickly, even when shuffling around hundreds of photos in Lightroom. This is remarkably different from my old Macbook.
The SSD. Absolutely fast. Bootup/shutdown/restart times are in seconds. Yes, it's pricy, but I love it.
Solid build. It feels much like other Macbook Pros, despite the thinness. Yes, it feels like it'll be a magnet for scratches, so I'm off to find a case/skin.
Opposite side USB ports! The most annoying thing about my Macbook (old White, new MBP as my office computer) is that there's not enough spacing between the USB ports, so a chunkier flashdrive and another USB device won't fit. Now I don't feel like I have to choose what gets plugged in.
USB 3.0. I've got enough USB 3.0 flash drives and the speed increase will be noticeable. Thunderbolt technology is supposed to be a lot faster, but a lot more expensive and quite frankly, cost-prohibitive.
Weight: I've gotten used to heavier laptops so this feels downright thin. Thin enough that I don't notice it in my bag.
Screen resolution: 1440x900 gives me more real estate than the 1280x800 of the 13" Macbook Pro. The screen was bright and vivid.
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Things I don't like:
Non-upgradeable: So much for adding more RAM down the road.
New Magsafe power connector: This might cause an issue with places that have older Macbooks as well and determining which is which. That's what labels are for.
Aluminum case: It's beautiful but I'm feeling worried that I'm going to scratch it.
Software update: 350MB worth of fixes out of the box. Ugh.
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Sound. It's decent enough it seems like any other laptop's audio that I've ever used. If you're serious about audio, you'll have external speakers (or even pair it up with Airplay speakers.)
Battery: I got about 6 hours in a torture test of watching video while surfing the web on WiFi. It's pretty decent and within the 5-7 range that Apple stated.
DVD drive: I don't miss it. I thought I would, but I don't. It just adds weight and bulk to the computer.
The webcam is also a higher resolution 720p camera. It's quite nice, but now the downside is that during Facetime, my friends and family can see my ugly self more clearly. Also, early adopters won't have the computer come with the newest version of OS X Mountain Lion. That will come in mid/late July. It's nice that this will come gratis to those who bought early.
The big question is Macbook Air or Macbook Pro? It comes down town a number of issues. If this will be your primary computer, then Macbook Pro is the way to go. The MBP is a faster computer with more storage and an optical drive. If you plan on doing any high-end computing, you'll notice the difference. If this is going to be a secondary computer or if weight is the deciding factor, then the Macbook Air is for you. Either way, you can't go wrong.
Here are some my observations after owning it for about a month:
The multitouch trackpad is one of my favorite features. It is intuitive and much better than a mouse/scrollwheel. Going back to a Windows computer actually felt a little weird because I didn't have the multitouch gesture controls (e.g. swiping to go back in the web browser or two finger zoom). The keyboard has a nice feel to it and is quite quiet.
The computer boots up in 10 15 seconds, which is around 3 to 4 times faster than my friend's 2009 MacBook Pro. And the Air usually shuts down in 3 seconds. Waking up from sleep is almost instantaneous. All of this is possible because the Air has a SSD whereas most laptops today have traditional hard drives.
Wi-fi connects really fast. I can visit a website right after boot up/wakeup.
The Air is relatively quiet. The only time I usually hear the fan is after I have been streaming a video for a while. Even then, you don't hear the fan for long.
FaceTime looks much better with the 720p camera in the Air compared to the new iPad.
The speakers are solid. If I have computer playing music downstairs, I can still hear it upstairs. And turning up the volume doesn't distort the sound. Of course, the computer speakers pale in comparison to my Logitech Z-2300's.
GeekBench score of around 6150.
The appstore makes installing software much easier.
It's easy to plug in a monitor and use my computer with the lid closed (clamshell mode). You'll need to plug in a keyboard and mouse.
The Air is beautiful and light. It was almost too nice to use at first.
The battery charges pretty fast it's at 22% right now and OS X estimates that it'll take an hour and 16 minutes to charge the rest of the battery.
Some reviewers and users have complained about the MagSafe 2 power connector (they like the first one more). As a first time Mac owner who haven't experienced the MagSafe 1, all I can say is that it hasn't been a problem for me, though my Air pretty much stays on my desk all day long.
But it's not perfect:
I like my screen to be bright but based on my estimations, the battery won't last 7 hours if the screen is set to the brightest setting.
The bottom left corner of the trackpad is much lower than the other three corners of the trackpad. I don't think it'll be a big deal, but it'd be nice if it was perfectly aligned, especially considering how much Macs cost.
Two USB ports aren't enough, especially if you plan on using clamshell mode a lot. Since I don't have a USB hub, I have to exit clamshell mode whenever I wanted to plug in my external hard drive or print something.
Minecraft froze on me twice.
Not Apple's fault:
Chrome is my favorite browser but I can't use it right now because of some bug that causes Lion to freeze up when Chrome is used. (See update below.)
I'm still figuring out some things in Lion but overall, I'd give it 4 and a 1/2 stars! Recommended.
Update (7/4): I downloaded Chrome after Google came out with an update for it. I haven't had any issues so far.
Update (7/21): I've stuck with Safari because it feels snappier than Chrome.
Update (7/29): I downloaded and installed Mountain Lion. Dictation is my favorite new feature (Safari's unified URL/search bar is my second favorite). Even with speakers playing music less than a foot away from my Air, the mic picks up what I'm saying quite accurately. I'd give accuracy a B+/A-. See my example below. And I recently had issues with videos buffering really slowly, though I don't know if it's the modem/router's fault. The problem seems to be fixed after the Mountain Lion update.
Update (9/1): I have Avast Free Antivirus installed and it's been causing some issues. When I shut down the computer, it automatically restarts it and I get a report saying there was some sort of kernel panic. This usually happens once or twice a week. I don't think this is Apple's fault though. On another note: Using an external monitor along with your Air's monitor doesn't require you to have the power adapter plugged in but using the Air in clamshell mode does require the adapter to be plugged in. Kind of dumb if you think about it. You'd think that clamshell mode uses less power than supporting two monitors.
Update (9/12): I updated Avast and haven't had the restart issue since. it's also interesting to note that when I use FaceTime while blasting music from an external speaker ~2 feet away, the other person can't hear the music but can hear me.
Update (10/28): I had to bring my Air into the Apple store because of an issue with my screen if you looked at it from an angle, there was a white/bluish spot that wouldn't go away. Scheduling an appointment at the Genius Bar (my first ever) was easy and it started right on time, even at 6:30pm on a Friday evening. The Apple Genius took a quick look at it and determined it was an issue with the interior of the screen. And instead of fixing it, which they said would've taken at least 10 days, they replaced my machine with a top-of-the-line 13" Air with a 2.0 GHz processor and 512GB SSD (my old machine had a 1.8GHz processor and the standard 128GB SSD) at no charge. Since they gave me a brand new computer, I got a new MagSafe 2 charger too. The retail difference between the two machines is over $700. On top of that, they "refunded" my AppleCare and restarted it from the day I took it in. To say the least, I'm an extremely satisfied customer.
Update (11/17): My new MBA (see the update on 10/28) seems to be quieter than my original MBA. I don't hear the fan as often, even after streaming videos for a while.
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Dictation example [Nothing after the colon will be edited except for punctuation/capitalization. Things in brackets are not dictated]: This is an example of the dictation feature in Mountain Lion. I am speaking about one and a half feet away from the mike in a room that is relatively quiet. The only background noise is coming from a different room. I am talking relatively slowly right now so let's see how well the dictation feature works when I talk little faster and with the music in the background.
[Turned music on, speakers are about 2 1/2 to 3 feet away. The volume is set at 25% on the speakers and 50% in OS X]
Okay, no music playing in the background and I'm talking a little faster. I would say it is still pretty accurate. I think the dictation feature is pretty useful. However, I think it would be pretty awkward to use in public or at work. The best place to use it would still be at home in private. Next I'm going to read awesome tests on the right side column in a normal speaking rates with the music still playing in the background.
[Begin reading random text]
What makes a good review?
Be detailed and specific but when you wanted to know before you purchase the product? Not too short and not too long in for between 75 and 300 works
For video reviews
make it fun is that he can't informative and entertaining? How about a little action the next those cuts and product reviews as you describe your experience with it.
The FinePrint
awesome in the reviews are subject to the license terms set forth in our conditions of use. Your reviews will be posted within 48 hours.
[End of reading the random text]
Okay, that wasn't as great as I would have liked it but I still think it is a pretty accurate example of the dictation feature in Mountain Lion. I hope you found this helpful.
[End of dictation]
Speed and Performance: Advantage MacBook Air
Apart from the hard drives and port configurations, the technology inside the machines is virtually identical in both the newly refreshed MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Both Pros and Airs come with either i5 or i7 Intel "Ivy Bridge" processors, Intel HD Graphics 4000, USB 3.0, and lightning-fast Thunderbolt ports. While the MacBook Air models are at a disadvantage to the MacBook Pro models in terms of CPU clock speeds, any performance disadvantage from the processor speed is more than made up for by the lightning fast performance of the Air's SSD hard drive, which Apple markets as "Flash" storage. In everyday tasks from gaming to web browsing to watching Flash movies and editing video, the MacBook Air is faster significantly faster in virtually every task. The Air boots up in less than 12 seconds while the Pro takes upwards of one minute.
Screen: Advantage MacBook Air
Once you get used to the super high resolution 1440 x 900 LED display on the MacBook Air, the 1280 x 800 back-lit LED display on the MacBook Pro looks downright grainy and primitive. Simply put, once you get used to a higher resolution display, the 1280 x 800 display on the 13" MacBook Pro just isn't acceptable. Even for simple tasks like email or word processing where you wouldn't think the resolution would matter, the graphics look grainy and pixelated, which just isn't acceptable for a pro-level laptop in 2012.
Upgradability: Advantage MacBook Pro
One major difference that's important to consider between the Air and the Pro is that the Pro is more flexible and adaptable in terms of upgradability. With only a screw driver and about 10 minutes of your time, you can add more memory to the Pro, replace the hard drive, and even add a second hard drive in place of the optical disc drive. The Air, on the other hand, is stuck in the configuration you purchase it in except that you can opt to replace the SSD "Flash" hard drive with a higher capacity drive. However, both the Air and Pro have USB 3.0 (which is five times faster than USB 2.0 and backward compatible) and Thunderbolt (which is ten times faster than USB 2.0), I see no reason to replace the Air's hard drive any time soon given how cheap external hard drives are and how fast the connection has become.
Design, Weight, Portability, Battery Life, and Form Factor: Advantage MacBook Air
The MacBook Air is the most beautiful computer ever produced by man. The aluminum case is impeccably designed, almost tailored to accommodate the necessary internal components, while maintaining practical ergonomics. It's an incredibly thin, svelte, sexy little notebook. The aluminum case seems sturdy and durable, and its mechanics are very similar to the time-test unibody construction of the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro, on the other hand, is a bit of a dinosaur in its bulky circa 2006 unibody. The Pro is heavier than a half gallon of milk at 4.5 lbs, while the MacBook Air weighs in at less than 2.9 lbs. Battery life is roughly even on both machines at anywhere from 4 to 7 hours depending on workload and settings.
Summary Judgement: Buy the MacBook Air
Simply put, the guts of the two machines are basically the same, but the Air's SSD hard drive gives it a tremendously significant boost in performance. Sadly, the MacBook Pro's 5400-rpm hard drive leaves the machine unable to capitalize on the newest, most expensive Intel "Ivy Bridge" i5 and i7 processors that you're paying a $300 premium for in the newly updated Pros. If you are going to buy a Pro, invest the extra money and get it upgraded with a SSD hard drive and get an extra external hard drive if you need additional cheap storage space for multimedia files. When you also consider the superior display, lighter weight, increased portability, and lower price of the MacBook Air, it's hard to find a reason to justify purchasing the current 13" MacBook Pro, which to me looks like a dinosaur rapidly headed for extinction.
Specs on the models compared:
13" MacBook Air (mid 2012) factory upgraded to the 2.0 GHz dual core i7 processor and factory upgraded to 8 GB RAM (1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM) with standard 256 GB SSD ("Flash") hard drive
13" MacBook Pro (mid 2012) with 2.9 GHz dual core i7 processor, 8 GB RAM (1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM), and 750GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
Both feature Intel HD 4000 Graphics, 3.0 USB, Thunderbolt, 802.11n, etc.
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I am a professional photographer, and recently purchased the Macbook Air 13" base model as an addition to my desktop workstation. It replaced a 2010 13" Macbook Pro as the machine I'll use when away from the office. After a few days of testing, here are my thoughts:Processor: The one word response would be "sufficient." Overall, the beauty of this laptop is that it gets out to the way and simply lets you do what you need to do. The processor isn't the fastest on the market, but I have never been left waiting for any processing tasks to date. As an email access point, word processor, and internet browser there is more than enough processing power to have a boatload of applications and multiple tabs open without a stutter. Web pages scroll nicely, new programs open in a second or two and when it comes to productivity tasks this is night and day better than my iPad since I can actually use the keyboard, Microsoft Office etc. The processor doesn't need to be all that powerful in large part due to the flash memory storage, upgraded in this generation to the faster 6 Gb/s connection so that read/write processes don't drag the computer down at all. While I use my desktop for all of my heavy duty processing of images and HD video, I will occasionally need to process an image or two on the road. So far I have found that Photoshop CS5 runs very nicely on this model, with nearly instant effects utilizing simple layer/curves adjustments. Processor intensive tasks such a gaussian blur related filters have a slight lag, taking approximately 30% longer than they do on my i7 920 desktop processor that is a few years old. It all gets done though, is far faster than my previous laptop, and nothing I regularly do has taken more than 2-3 seconds of processing time for an image, totally acceptable. It's the 30-40 second drags from my prior laptop that made me ready to throw it out the window. However, the few seconds of slowing is enough that I wouldn't want to process thousands of photos on this laptop, but for the casual edit it is more than sufficient. Lightroom runs smoothly as well, in large part due to the cache being on SSD storage, so even my 5D MkIII raw files at 30MB each are rendered to a smaller jpeg preview that the lighter processor can handle and render quickly off the SSD. Imports/export rendering take longer on this machine to be sure, but by that time I'm off doing other errands so I don't mind this lag. Video editing is functional as well and would likely work for most casual users, but massive projects simply wouldn't be possible on this machine for a multitude of reasons ranging from storage space to video card, screen size, processor etc. Overall, it does handle all casual productivity tasks that I need faster than any laptop I've owned, and can handle more processor intensive image applications acceptably for a laptop, though not fast enough that I'd consider using this as a full time professional machine.
Screen: The 13 inch model seems to be the perfect blend of portability and functionality for me. This particular screen is vibrant, and has the capability to professionally render the images that I need with a few caveats. Firstly, the factory set color profile for the screen looked good enough for basic use, but to my sensitive eyes had a bluish hue to it. Apple laptops are notoriously inaccurate for color rendition (increased contrast, saturation in reds and blues) so I would highly recommend that users who do much imaging work create a custom color profile their monitor. Even casual users are likely to be disappointed when actually printing images that look great on this screen (i.e. pumped up colors and contrast with a flat and lifeless print in real life). Also, for all of us that send files over the internet to Facebook/email etc, I would think it would be nice to know what your photos would look like "on average" to most of the users out there without a similar Mac screen. The "profile" utility built into OS X is worthless, and I'd recommend a software solution such as ColorEyes Display Pro, combined with a sensor such as the Spyder 4. I wish I could have assessed the default profile to find out how much it was off at baseline, but my software can only analyze custom profiles that it creates. Needless to say, things look a lot different after the profiling, and at 75% brightness I was able to get the monitor down to an average dE of 0.51 with a max dE of 2.99 in the greys (less than 1 is great accuracy, less than 5 is sort of standard to start professional work for me). I also notice that the edges of the screen on all sides have a very slight dark tinge/wave that extends for about half an inch. It is only faintly noticeable, shows up most against white backgrounds, and decreases with increased screen brightness. This isn't a defect unique to my unit, as it seems to affect all of the models at the Apple store that I went to see, as well as a few friends with Airs from years past. It would be nice if this screen were perfect, but it works and the minor screen variation doesn't effect the center working space of the image...so I think of it sort of like a built in vignette. This is a well documented complaint you can find on many forums with a quick internet search. If it's persisted into the 3rd generation of modern Air I don't see it going away soon. The resolution is also acceptable and a noted improvement over the 13" standard Macbook pro. Not retina, but the graphics on this model couldn't handle that resolution anyways. Retina display on the Macbook air will be a welcome addition in the years to come when the technology to scale everything down at a reasonable cost becomes feasible. Till then, this does the trick.
Battery life: one of my most important considerations for a laptop. This computer consistently achieves 7hrs of battery life as advertised. Screen brightness can be set to a custom level for increased battery life but I have yet to beat 7.5hrs. Surprisingly, Wifi intensive tasks such as downloading large files seem to have the biggest impact on battery life. I'd love to have a 10hr laptop at some point, but this model can get me through a busy work day every time so long as I start with a fully charged battery before.
Value/Upgrades: I am happy with the 128GB base model with 4GB ram, and made that decision mainly based on the value offered by the Apple upgrades. First off, with the base processor, all of my tasks seem to fly along with the exception of major processing such as photo or video exporting after edits. The i7 2.0 GHz upgrade would only be of marginal help, with the advantage of the "turbo boost" performance at 3.2 GHz versus 2.8 or a 11-14% increase for $100 (but requiring the $300 memory upgrade as well). I seriously considered the 8GB of ram as well, as the $100 upgrade would help to future proof the computer's performance. The problem with this, or any other upgrade over the stock base model is that you need to purchase the custom Air models directly from Apple, without the Amazon discount, with the added sales tax and recycling fee. That's an additional $150 or so in immediate outlay for privilege of even beginning to customize the computer at an additional price (or about $250 extra for 8GB of ram rather than the initially apparent $100 which would have been worth it). I have found that most Mac laptops depreciate at about 10-15% per year from the base price (any additional cost to tax etc is thrown out immediately), so selling this computer in a year or two to stay current with technology is by far the better value for me.
Regarding space, I have all of my programs (Lightroom, Office, Photoshop and a few others) on the 128GB drive with 95GB to spare. That's a lot of extra space for working files so long as they aren't media based. For that, you would need an external drive either way, as a day of photography can produce 60-70GB, and video can get into the hundreds of GB quickly, nothing that the minor 128GB upgrade would cover. The USB3 connection and a 7200RPM external drive does a great job, and ensuring that Photoshop etc are using the onboard flash storage as a scratch disk makes for great performance without compromise. Also, for storage in a pinch, the SD card slot provides an opportunity for a cheap upgrade. A 64GB SD card just barely sticks out of the side and can be had for $50 or so, while a 128GB SD card costs ~$150 with prices dropping fast. These won't have anywhere near the same read write speeds as built in memory, but would be more than sufficient for music, document, image storage etc when needed.
Overall, I'm thrilled with this machine and would recommend it without hesitation. I thought briefly about the new Retina Macbook Pro, since I could find many uses for the extra resolution and processing power. However, I ultimately decided to use this machine for its exceptional value and extra portability. The rMBP is a beautiful machine, but even with its performance it isn't close to a modern desktop machine of similar pricing equipped an i7 3770 processor, SSD boot and scratch drive, GTX 670 or similar, 16GB ram and a nice 24" dual monitor setup all for the same 2k price tag. So I'll take this with me on the road or the coffee shop, and save the serious work for my desktop with multiple monitors etc. No computer can be everything for everybody, but this Air is surprisingly versatile and ranges between best in class and acceptable for everything I've thrown at it. I'm a big fan.
Best Deals for Apple MacBook Air MD232LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)
UPDATES:1/6/13 3 months in, and still going strong. Picked up Applecare about a month in (you can buy it at any point before the included warranty expires). Cost me ~$200 (you can use student discount at Apple stores) for 3 years of support. All the Mac people I know swear by Applecare, and it seems like a pretty good thing to have just in case. Battery life is still a solid 5-7hrs. if not more, depending on my usage. As expected, watching HD movies or playing games does kill the battery life. Bought this neoprene sleeve since it looked solid, was inexpensive, and had good reviews. Definitely recommend a case/sleeve of some kind to avoid scratching up the shell.
Preface: I own a computer I built myself and have been continuously tinkering with and upgrading since 2007. This is my "primary" computer, and I virtually never use my Macbook while at home as a result. Prior to this purchase, the only Apple product I've owned is an iPod Touch from 2010. This is the perspective of a long-time Windows user with access to a computer of considerable horsepower. If you want to hear from someone who spends >90% of their computer time on this Macbook, I'm not your guy. However, I can still talk about the properties that make it strong for my demands of a portable, secondary computer for use whenever I'm not at home. I'll be breaking this review down into the criteria I needed my next laptop to satisfy, and where the Macbook Air fell in relation to the competitors.
One-Sentence Review: The 2012 Macbook Air is not head-and-shoulders above the competition (it's not even the best in any one category) but it's so great at everything that it's hard to say no to.
1. Portability: Both the 11" and 13" model have set the standard for the portable "ultrabook", and competition from Asus, Samsung, Lenovo, Dell, HP, and anyone else has used these laptops' dimensions as the benchmark. This 13" model weighs in at a svelte 2.9lbs., but in 2012 that's not really saying much. Look up the ultrabook offerings from the above companies and you'll see they're all within +/-0.1lbs. It's no doubt a lightweight and portable design, but I can't hand this one to Apple given how close everyone else is.
Verdict: Draw for the Macbook, since everyone has the same dimensions and weight.
2. Design & Build Quality: This used to be Apple's home court. The unibody aluminum shell of the Macbook Air was a league apart from the plastics of certain competitors. However, Samsung's Series 9 and Asus' Zenbook Prime give the Macbook Air a serious run for its money. To its credit, Apple is one of the few manufacturers who grace their ultrabooks with a super-large trackpad (which is superior to any PC laptop trackpad I've ever used) and backlit keyboard. The frame is sturdy, the lid doesn't creak or sway, and there's very little flex in the body.
Verdict: Other guys look nice, but I have to give this to Apple on the back of the keyboard and oversized trackpad.
3. Battery Life: I have yet to run my Macbook from full to empty, but I have used it for long stretches and (assuming the battery meter is accurate) can make a reasonable assessment of battery life. While browsing the web, writing a Word document, and listening to music, with screen at half-brightness, I was going for about 3.5hrs when I hit the 50% mark. A reasonable estimate places total battery life at 6.5-7hrs., which is right in Apple's factory estimate of 7. I bet you could squeeze an easy 9hrs. out of this by turning Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off and dimming the screen some. Regardless, I'm usually not away from an outlet for more than a few hours anyway, so this is a nice cushion to have. Also worth noting that the Sleep function seems to be extremely battery-efficient. 24hrs. of sleep resulted in only a 1% loss of battery life, and the Macbook instantly took me to the login screen when I hit the spacebar.
Verdict: Extremely respectable battery life and fantastic sleep efficiency.
4. Screen Quality: This is in my opinion the laptop's weakest category. The Macbook Airs use TN panels, with resolutions of 1366x768 for the 11" and 1440x900 for the 13". For the unacquainted, TN panels are the bottom shelf of LCD panels in terms of color quality. The aforementioned Zenbook Prime absolutely kills the competition with a 1080p (1920x1080) IPS panel (IPS is the top-shelf panel), and even the Series 9 has a respectable 1600x900 PLS (mid-range panel) display. This fall Apple introduced a Retina 13" Macbook Pro with an insane 2560x1600 display, but did not similarly update the Macbook Air. It may happen next year, but for now you're stuck with a low-end display. This is not to say it is objectively bad (it's not), but the competition does leave this laptop feeling somewhat inadequate.
Verdict: The Macbook Air's TN panel just cannot compare to the IPS and PLS panels on other ultrabooks.
5. Software: I had a passing familiarity with Mac OS X, and thought it to be a generally snappy, good-looking, but not well-supported OS. That last point is mostly untrue, as I have virtually everything I use on my desktop (MS Office, Spotify, Chrome, VLC Player, Steam(!), Dropbox) running natively on OS X without any issues. There's a bit of a learning curve, but I found it a genuine joy to acquaint myself with Mountain Lion's "Mission Control" feature. This allows you to create multiple desktops with independent docks and applications, effectively allowing you to segregate your computer for work and play. Many of Mountain Lion's features, as well as Safari, are well-integrated with multi-touch gestures on the trackpad, so executing commands through the trackpad is wonderfully simple. I miss the comfort of Windows only slightly, to be honest.
Verdict: OS X is a very well-designed OS for anyone who isn't strictly tied to Windows.
6. Value: Value is awkward and highly subjective. You have to make your own goals before any purchase, and evaluate which alternative offers the best chance of fulfilling that goal. As a first-year medical student with a very competent primary computer, my goals were to have a reliable, portable, and decently powerful laptop for bringing around with me to class, the library, lab, and anywhere else that wasn't my apartment. Ideally this would be a 4-year computer, lasting me the entirety of medical school. $1100 is a lot of money to spend on a laptop, so I had to be sure of what I picked. In the end I went with this because of the literally dozens of classmates and friends who have had the same Macbook (Pro/Air/whatever) for years without a hiccup or slowdown. I feel this is due in part to Apple's willingness to make its OS as backwards-compatible as possible, which means you get a non-bloated OS that's designed to work as well on yesteryear's technology as tomorrow's.
Verdict: TBD
If you've made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read, and I hope you found this useful. I would add a final caveat about potential improvements to the 2013 Macbook Air, but honestly don't give it much thought. There's always one more thing coming around the corner, and if you need a laptop now just get this one. Like I said, it's not the best at anything (except the trackpad maybe) but it's great at everything and should last you for years.
Honest reviews on Apple MacBook Air MD232LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)
Going from a White Macbook circa 2008 to the 2012 Macbook Air is a massive leap forward in technology for me. The big question is deciding which one will be best for you: The 13" Macbook Pro or the 13" Macbook Air.Things I like:
It's fast! I plan on using this when I travel for Office, Adobe Lightroom and other photography applications. I'm able to move quickly, even when shuffling around hundreds of photos in Lightroom. This is remarkably different from my old Macbook.
The SSD. Absolutely fast. Bootup/shutdown/restart times are in seconds. Yes, it's pricy, but I love it.
Solid build. It feels much like other Macbook Pros, despite the thinness. Yes, it feels like it'll be a magnet for scratches, so I'm off to find a case/skin.
Opposite side USB ports! The most annoying thing about my Macbook (old White, new MBP as my office computer) is that there's not enough spacing between the USB ports, so a chunkier flashdrive and another USB device won't fit. Now I don't feel like I have to choose what gets plugged in.
USB 3.0. I've got enough USB 3.0 flash drives and the speed increase will be noticeable. Thunderbolt technology is supposed to be a lot faster, but a lot more expensive and quite frankly, cost-prohibitive.
Weight: I've gotten used to heavier laptops so this feels downright thin. Thin enough that I don't notice it in my bag.
Screen resolution: 1440x900 gives me more real estate than the 1280x800 of the 13" Macbook Pro. The screen was bright and vivid.
---
Things I don't like:
Non-upgradeable: So much for adding more RAM down the road.
New Magsafe power connector: This might cause an issue with places that have older Macbooks as well and determining which is which. That's what labels are for.
Aluminum case: It's beautiful but I'm feeling worried that I'm going to scratch it.
Software update: 350MB worth of fixes out of the box. Ugh.
---
Sound. It's decent enough it seems like any other laptop's audio that I've ever used. If you're serious about audio, you'll have external speakers (or even pair it up with Airplay speakers.)
Battery: I got about 6 hours in a torture test of watching video while surfing the web on WiFi. It's pretty decent and within the 5-7 range that Apple stated.
DVD drive: I don't miss it. I thought I would, but I don't. It just adds weight and bulk to the computer.
The webcam is also a higher resolution 720p camera. It's quite nice, but now the downside is that during Facetime, my friends and family can see my ugly self more clearly. Also, early adopters won't have the computer come with the newest version of OS X Mountain Lion. That will come in mid/late July. It's nice that this will come gratis to those who bought early.
The big question is Macbook Air or Macbook Pro? It comes down town a number of issues. If this will be your primary computer, then Macbook Pro is the way to go. The MBP is a faster computer with more storage and an optical drive. If you plan on doing any high-end computing, you'll notice the difference. If this is going to be a secondary computer or if weight is the deciding factor, then the Macbook Air is for you. Either way, you can't go wrong.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Apple MacBook Air MD232LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)
The first Apple product I owned was a 1st generation iPod Nano. From there I got an iPhone (1st Gen), iPad 1, and the 3rd generation iPad (most of these were gifts). I had good experiences with all of them and my MSI laptop was dying on me, so I decided to get my first Mac. I ordered an upgraded Air with 8GB or RAM from the Apple store. It arrived in eight days, and as always, it was beautifully packaged.Here are some my observations after owning it for about a month:
The multitouch trackpad is one of my favorite features. It is intuitive and much better than a mouse/scrollwheel. Going back to a Windows computer actually felt a little weird because I didn't have the multitouch gesture controls (e.g. swiping to go back in the web browser or two finger zoom). The keyboard has a nice feel to it and is quite quiet.
The computer boots up in 10 15 seconds, which is around 3 to 4 times faster than my friend's 2009 MacBook Pro. And the Air usually shuts down in 3 seconds. Waking up from sleep is almost instantaneous. All of this is possible because the Air has a SSD whereas most laptops today have traditional hard drives.
Wi-fi connects really fast. I can visit a website right after boot up/wakeup.
The Air is relatively quiet. The only time I usually hear the fan is after I have been streaming a video for a while. Even then, you don't hear the fan for long.
FaceTime looks much better with the 720p camera in the Air compared to the new iPad.
The speakers are solid. If I have computer playing music downstairs, I can still hear it upstairs. And turning up the volume doesn't distort the sound. Of course, the computer speakers pale in comparison to my Logitech Z-2300's.
GeekBench score of around 6150.
The appstore makes installing software much easier.
It's easy to plug in a monitor and use my computer with the lid closed (clamshell mode). You'll need to plug in a keyboard and mouse.
The Air is beautiful and light. It was almost too nice to use at first.
The battery charges pretty fast it's at 22% right now and OS X estimates that it'll take an hour and 16 minutes to charge the rest of the battery.
Some reviewers and users have complained about the MagSafe 2 power connector (they like the first one more). As a first time Mac owner who haven't experienced the MagSafe 1, all I can say is that it hasn't been a problem for me, though my Air pretty much stays on my desk all day long.
But it's not perfect:
I like my screen to be bright but based on my estimations, the battery won't last 7 hours if the screen is set to the brightest setting.
The bottom left corner of the trackpad is much lower than the other three corners of the trackpad. I don't think it'll be a big deal, but it'd be nice if it was perfectly aligned, especially considering how much Macs cost.
Two USB ports aren't enough, especially if you plan on using clamshell mode a lot. Since I don't have a USB hub, I have to exit clamshell mode whenever I wanted to plug in my external hard drive or print something.
Minecraft froze on me twice.
Not Apple's fault:
Chrome is my favorite browser but I can't use it right now because of some bug that causes Lion to freeze up when Chrome is used. (See update below.)
I'm still figuring out some things in Lion but overall, I'd give it 4 and a 1/2 stars! Recommended.
Update (7/4): I downloaded Chrome after Google came out with an update for it. I haven't had any issues so far.
Update (7/21): I've stuck with Safari because it feels snappier than Chrome.
Update (7/29): I downloaded and installed Mountain Lion. Dictation is my favorite new feature (Safari's unified URL/search bar is my second favorite). Even with speakers playing music less than a foot away from my Air, the mic picks up what I'm saying quite accurately. I'd give accuracy a B+/A-. See my example below. And I recently had issues with videos buffering really slowly, though I don't know if it's the modem/router's fault. The problem seems to be fixed after the Mountain Lion update.
Update (9/1): I have Avast Free Antivirus installed and it's been causing some issues. When I shut down the computer, it automatically restarts it and I get a report saying there was some sort of kernel panic. This usually happens once or twice a week. I don't think this is Apple's fault though. On another note: Using an external monitor along with your Air's monitor doesn't require you to have the power adapter plugged in but using the Air in clamshell mode does require the adapter to be plugged in. Kind of dumb if you think about it. You'd think that clamshell mode uses less power than supporting two monitors.
Update (9/12): I updated Avast and haven't had the restart issue since. it's also interesting to note that when I use FaceTime while blasting music from an external speaker ~2 feet away, the other person can't hear the music but can hear me.
Update (10/28): I had to bring my Air into the Apple store because of an issue with my screen if you looked at it from an angle, there was a white/bluish spot that wouldn't go away. Scheduling an appointment at the Genius Bar (my first ever) was easy and it started right on time, even at 6:30pm on a Friday evening. The Apple Genius took a quick look at it and determined it was an issue with the interior of the screen. And instead of fixing it, which they said would've taken at least 10 days, they replaced my machine with a top-of-the-line 13" Air with a 2.0 GHz processor and 512GB SSD (my old machine had a 1.8GHz processor and the standard 128GB SSD) at no charge. Since they gave me a brand new computer, I got a new MagSafe 2 charger too. The retail difference between the two machines is over $700. On top of that, they "refunded" my AppleCare and restarted it from the day I took it in. To say the least, I'm an extremely satisfied customer.
Update (11/17): My new MBA (see the update on 10/28) seems to be quieter than my original MBA. I don't hear the fan as often, even after streaming videos for a while.
---
Dictation example [Nothing after the colon will be edited except for punctuation/capitalization. Things in brackets are not dictated]: This is an example of the dictation feature in Mountain Lion. I am speaking about one and a half feet away from the mike in a room that is relatively quiet. The only background noise is coming from a different room. I am talking relatively slowly right now so let's see how well the dictation feature works when I talk little faster and with the music in the background.
[Turned music on, speakers are about 2 1/2 to 3 feet away. The volume is set at 25% on the speakers and 50% in OS X]
Okay, no music playing in the background and I'm talking a little faster. I would say it is still pretty accurate. I think the dictation feature is pretty useful. However, I think it would be pretty awkward to use in public or at work. The best place to use it would still be at home in private. Next I'm going to read awesome tests on the right side column in a normal speaking rates with the music still playing in the background.
[Begin reading random text]
What makes a good review?
Be detailed and specific but when you wanted to know before you purchase the product? Not too short and not too long in for between 75 and 300 works
For video reviews
make it fun is that he can't informative and entertaining? How about a little action the next those cuts and product reviews as you describe your experience with it.
The FinePrint
awesome in the reviews are subject to the license terms set forth in our conditions of use. Your reviews will be posted within 48 hours.
[End of reading the random text]
Okay, that wasn't as great as I would have liked it but I still think it is a pretty accurate example of the dictation feature in Mountain Lion. I hope you found this helpful.
[End of dictation]
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Buy Fujitsu Lifebook AH532 Notebook
But I'm not impressed with Windows7. Would have given a 5 with XP. At least windows has a site for research for issues that does help. Also wasn't impressed with the packing it came in. Just the cardboard around the styraforam end caps. Maybe that is sufficient, it seems fine. Only had it a couple of months. Still trying to get control of my own computer away from microsoft. XP wasn't this obnoxious. I've almost dumped microsoft several times. I did buy this understanding that Linux would work. My last Fujitsu lasted over 10 years with daily use...all day all night sometimes, constant travel. Did have it on a cooler immediately, as is this one. Amazon is great, & vendors on time. Received case early. I love the full size keyboard & the separate number pad. So far it's wonderful, I'll update later if I can. If you use a wireless mouse...disable touchpad. It's a windows glitch. For the quality I've experienced in the past, you can't beat the price or the machine.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Discount Acer Aspire 7738G-6006 17.3-Inch Notebook PC
The laptop looks very nice, doesn`t look like a cheap made to me and it's almost perfect.
1.Fingerprint doesn`t work very good. You will have to slide your finger at least 10 times so it recognizes you.
2.Somehow the fingerprint is activating while you're using the touchpad and the touchpad buttons. Sometimes very often, which is annoying.
3.The laptop speakers very often are making bad noise, even if it's not that high(50% volume for example)
4.I don`t know if it is because of the laptop or the OS(which is the original one it came with), but sometimes it just freezes, and you have to force it to shut down and turn on again. Never happened while playing games, so I think its because of the OS. Not very sure about this one.
For the price I bought this product I am still very satisfied, all other features are fine. The graphics are great(better than expected), CPU is working great(doesn`t overheat), sound quality is really good(on headphones and/or digital sound system) and etc.
I can play almost any game and the 17.3 inch screen is simply amazing.
This is where the Acer comes in. I talked to some computer experts (and did my own research) and they understood my pain and frustrations and recommended that I get back into a windos environment to do the video editing. They recommended this machine because of the space, graphics, sound, and overall good looks.
While I have not used a laptop before let me say I like this one because of the construction (it doesn't look cheaply made), price, and what I needed to do some video editing. Having already put more money into the Apple imac than I wanted to I just purchased this machine and only added Roxio Creator 2010 Pro edition. I've added an external speaker to boost the sound a bit and I am now doing my video editing with little are no trouble and burning how much I want on a disc.
The overall weight of the machine is just right. It is network ready for those who travel and need wireless. The screen has one of the richest colors that I've seen on any computer screen well next to the apple. The keys have the right feel to them considering they're compact and the feel is extra nice when keying.
Operating Roxio with Windows 7 has not been any problem at all. The only critical down load I needed was an update for my video capture device so that it is recognized by window 7. I did add the virus software bitdefender(?). Transferring music either by flash drive or disc is a breeze as well. The speaker sound really nice; however, I prefer to use an external speaker. The Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T66002.20GHz is fast and really handles things well. This is the amount of space I have: 4GB (2/2) DDR3 1066 SDRAM /320GB SATA hard drive although I have only 225gb free. Roxio is a rather huge program. I haven't worked with this much; but, the Fingerprint reader built-in is a nice touch.
I've mention that speakers. This is the only con that I have as that they don't blast you out of the room. However, I am glad I have the NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M Graphics graphics card so I would expect a sacrifice somewhere.
Once again, I plan on using this for video editing; but, hor those that travel and need a laptop for video presentations as well as wireless and space to hold things this is it. Acer has been around for awhile from what I've been told so I'm glad I took the plunge.
Unfortunately, tho my 6930G running vista had no stability problems, this laptop did crash in several occasions. I really cannot say if there is a hardware problem or a problem specifically related with this laptop running Win 7...i'm really tempted to return it, tho i will miss it...
EDIT: like many other laptops with early versions of Windows 7, this machine will become way more stable once you do a clean install of Win 7
1.Fingerprint doesn`t work very good. You will have to slide your finger at least 10 times so it recognizes you.
2.Somehow the fingerprint is activating while you're using the touchpad and the touchpad buttons. Sometimes very often, which is annoying.
3.The laptop speakers very often are making bad noise, even if it's not that high(50% volume for example)
4.I don`t know if it is because of the laptop or the OS(which is the original one it came with), but sometimes it just freezes, and you have to force it to shut down and turn on again. Never happened while playing games, so I think its because of the OS. Not very sure about this one.
For the price I bought this product I am still very satisfied, all other features are fine. The graphics are great(better than expected), CPU is working great(doesn`t overheat), sound quality is really good(on headphones and/or digital sound system) and etc.
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This laptops just great for all my entertainment needs.I can play almost any game and the 17.3 inch screen is simply amazing.
Best Deals for Acer Aspire 7738G-6006 17.3-Inch Notebook PC
I recently purchased an imac 27" quad core to do some video editing only to realize I couldn't burn 3 hours on a SD-DVD 4.7 Disc. When I tried to use Roxio's Apple Version of Toast and Popcorn I could; but, they would only burn the videos and drop all of my formatting. So, I was really feeling frustrated.This is where the Acer comes in. I talked to some computer experts (and did my own research) and they understood my pain and frustrations and recommended that I get back into a windos environment to do the video editing. They recommended this machine because of the space, graphics, sound, and overall good looks.
While I have not used a laptop before let me say I like this one because of the construction (it doesn't look cheaply made), price, and what I needed to do some video editing. Having already put more money into the Apple imac than I wanted to I just purchased this machine and only added Roxio Creator 2010 Pro edition. I've added an external speaker to boost the sound a bit and I am now doing my video editing with little are no trouble and burning how much I want on a disc.
The overall weight of the machine is just right. It is network ready for those who travel and need wireless. The screen has one of the richest colors that I've seen on any computer screen well next to the apple. The keys have the right feel to them considering they're compact and the feel is extra nice when keying.
Operating Roxio with Windows 7 has not been any problem at all. The only critical down load I needed was an update for my video capture device so that it is recognized by window 7. I did add the virus software bitdefender(?). Transferring music either by flash drive or disc is a breeze as well. The speaker sound really nice; however, I prefer to use an external speaker. The Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T66002.20GHz is fast and really handles things well. This is the amount of space I have: 4GB (2/2) DDR3 1066 SDRAM /320GB SATA hard drive although I have only 225gb free. Roxio is a rather huge program. I haven't worked with this much; but, the Fingerprint reader built-in is a nice touch.
I've mention that speakers. This is the only con that I have as that they don't blast you out of the room. However, I am glad I have the NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M Graphics graphics card so I would expect a sacrifice somewhere.
Once again, I plan on using this for video editing; but, hor those that travel and need a laptop for video presentations as well as wireless and space to hold things this is it. Acer has been around for awhile from what I've been told so I'm glad I took the plunge.
Honest reviews on Acer Aspire 7738G-6006 17.3-Inch Notebook PC
This Acer laptop is the second one I've had and as the first one (6930G series) it provides a huge set of features for the price: bright and hi-res scree, acceptable processor speed and most important, an acceptable GFX card. Both laptops are used for designing in 3D Architectural programs, as like as light work in 3DS, and light gaming. The bigger screen of the 17.3" really adds to this role, as it provides a huge improvement over the widescreen 15.6-16" panels with just 768p being glossy is not a great feature, but most of the competitors have similar or worse panels (believe it or not) selling for a lot more $...Unfortunately, tho my 6930G running vista had no stability problems, this laptop did crash in several occasions. I really cannot say if there is a hardware problem or a problem specifically related with this laptop running Win 7...i'm really tempted to return it, tho i will miss it...
EDIT: like many other laptops with early versions of Windows 7, this machine will become way more stable once you do a clean install of Win 7
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Best ASUS X550CA-DB31 15.6-Inch Laptop Deals
List Price: $449.00
Sale Price: $439.98
Today's Bonus: 2% Off
Excellent Price, the laptop is faster than expected , the screen is perfect if you want to work with two ore more Windows at the same time. Win 8 has some issues but it is a Microsoft problema.
Friday, June 20, 2014
Review of HP Pavilion g6-2010nr 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
This is a wonderful lap top for the money. Fast, nice screen resolution, clear, and the keypad is very accessible. Bought this for my 86 year old Dad and he loves it. This would make a wonderful lap top for someone going to school. as it is not that heavy. Great value for the money.
PROS:
1) intel i3 processor at 2.3 ghtz
2)above average size screen, not big, but definitely not small a 15.6 inches.
3) long battery life ive had it working on battery for over 5 1/2 hours.
4) Altec Lansing Speakers for loud, and clear sound.
5) 4 gigabytes of ram with just facebooking, school work or alot of other things 4 gigabytes is all you need. but you can also add 4 gigabytes of ram to this laptop. making it an 8 gigabyte monster. (which is what I am going to do soon)
6) 640 gigabyte hard drive!!! way above average. alot of laptops still come with a 280 or 320 gigabyte hard drive. making this one amazing.
7) Comes with windows 7. wich is very stable and well designed.
8) HDMI port, to connect to a tv for slideshows movies and other awesome things.
9) High Resolution Screen. running at 1366x768. its great for youtube, or movies.
10) Great camera. comes with lots of cool built in features mom's will love to use. This laptop EVEN COMES WITH FLASH for pictures. not a whole lot of laptops come with flash, usually just $800 and up laptops.
11) very light weight. less than 6 pounds.
12) usb speed 3.0 the newest and fastest speed. making file transfers faster than before.
13) Comes with 2 usb slots, a memory card slot a headphone slot9(3.5mm universal size in all laptops)
14) DOESNT GET HOT!!! cool to the touch! even after 4 or 5 hours of use, due to new hp cooling technology, typing on you lap is now MORE COMFORTABLE!!!
CONS:
1)this laptop still comes with a DVD player i really dont care since i usually dont watch movies on my laptop, i mean come on, why do we have t.v.'s?
Newer and more expensive computers usually have
intel i7 proccesors
6 gigabytes of ram
720 gigabytes of harddrive
and bluray players. but if you want that, expect to pay well over $800
Bottom Line: I highly recommend this laptop to anyone in need of one, but on a budget. HP is American and one of the highest rated laptop and desktop companies today. HP was so awesome that when i opened my box, i got a free 60 day anti-virus software FOR FREE!!!! HP has amazed me. hopefully it amazes you as well.
P.S. What do you think i wrote this review with? ^_^
Pros:
-Price. You cannot beat the price for such a large laptop with decent memory
-General usability. It's pretty much set up out of the box
Cons:
-The track pad. I cannot stand the track pad. It has an extremely steep learning curve, thus making me having to consciously think how to do something with it. To scroll down a page you use two fingers and swipe them down or up. Easy enough, right? Well, no, it's not. Sometimes the cursor doesn't move. Most of the time, it does move, but so fast it is as if your grab the scroll bar on the right side of the page and move it up or down as fast as you can. It is ridiculous. Same for moving horizontally, though that isn't needed as often.
I have a Macbook, as well. And while it has its own faults, the track pad on it is golden.
-Lots of bloatware on this machine. I had to delete quite a bit.
I'd be hard pressed to recommend this product.
The biggest problem, as others have mentioned, is the track pad, which is difficult to use. Scrolling (vertical or horizontal) uses a two-finger swipe. Sometimes this doesn't work at all. Sometimes it goes very slow. Sometimes it goes very fast. Sometimes it mistakes a swipe for a pinch (adjusting the zoom). Single-finger scrolling on the edge (right edge for vertical, bottom edge for horizontal) worked much better. And frankly, the track pad pinch-to-zoom is just stupid. It's a laptop computer, not a phone; if I want to adjust zoom I can do that via menu. If you get this laptop, you'll probably want to use a mouse.
I'm also fairly concerned about heat generated by the processor. Running even an older game (e.g. Sid Meiers Civilization IV: The Complete Edition [Download], which is 4+ years old) causes the fan to immediately kick on, and within 30 seconds it revs up to full-speed. It's a brand-new machine, so there should be no issue with any dust or other blockage, and this happens even with the computer sitting on a flat surface with the fan completely clear, in a 63-degree room. I don't know if this is an issue with the CPU, the GPU, the heat sink, or something else, but it's got me a bit concerned. However, this problem does not show up when playing music, watching video online (e.g., YouTube or Hulu), or doing other work, only when playing games.
Update (12/26/12): Downgraded by 1 star for poor customer service. On 12/21/12, "Scott B., Hewlett Packard Company, Executive Customer Relations" left a comment on this review inviting me to email him "...to discuss this issue...further". The same day, I emailed him, as invited. Today, 12/26/12, I received a response, in the form of what appears to be a form letter email, saying: "Thank you for your feedback. Hewlett-Packard always appreciates input from its customers. Your concerns and comments will assist us as we make future product decisions. We apologize for any problems or inconveniences this may have caused you. If you need technical assistance, please contact HP Technical Support at: 1-800-474-6836 (Please have your Product/Serial number when calling)"
Don't invite your customers to "discuss" their concerns with you and then throw a form letter back at them when they seek to take you up on the offer!
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The Pavilion G6 series lap top from HP may look nice but has some HP known issues. I purchase one about three month ago. And was working fine until the other day. I went to turn on the laptop and nothing. No display and No power led's. I verified that the power pack was working giving out the correct voltage with a volt meter. I called HP and told them what was happening. I ended up getting the laptop working with a couple of simple steps. 1st remove the battery and unplug the laptop. Plug the power pack back in with the battery removed. This resets the laptop. Once powered up I shut down windows. I then plug in the battery to test if I had a battery problem. The laptop came back up without any issues. After talking with the HP rep he stated that this was a known issue with the pavilion G6. Ii seems that static will build up on the plastic case causing a charge across the motherboard. When this happened the laptop needs to be reset to dispel the unwanted charge. I would expect a known with a company like HP to correct the problem instead of continuing to manufacture a defective product. A simple fix would be to use a static resistant plastic in the laptop design.Best Deals for HP Pavilion g6-2010nr 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
I bought this laptop at a local Micro Center. This thing is amazing!!! i paid $399.99 plus taxes and a 2 year accidental warranty it came out to a total of $575.00. let me make this clear to you..i am a Techie, i love technology, and i like to be up-to-date with lots of things, Computers and laptops Being among them, let me put it to you like this. The best computers on the market Have " intel core i7 processors" those are quad-core computers and usually have at least 6 gigabytes of ram and 500 gigabytes of harddrive space. This computer, the HP Pavilion g6-2010nr Notebook PC can definitely compete with that. let me show you pros.PROS:
1) intel i3 processor at 2.3 ghtz
2)above average size screen, not big, but definitely not small a 15.6 inches.
3) long battery life ive had it working on battery for over 5 1/2 hours.
4) Altec Lansing Speakers for loud, and clear sound.
5) 4 gigabytes of ram with just facebooking, school work or alot of other things 4 gigabytes is all you need. but you can also add 4 gigabytes of ram to this laptop. making it an 8 gigabyte monster. (which is what I am going to do soon)
6) 640 gigabyte hard drive!!! way above average. alot of laptops still come with a 280 or 320 gigabyte hard drive. making this one amazing.
7) Comes with windows 7. wich is very stable and well designed.
8) HDMI port, to connect to a tv for slideshows movies and other awesome things.
9) High Resolution Screen. running at 1366x768. its great for youtube, or movies.
10) Great camera. comes with lots of cool built in features mom's will love to use. This laptop EVEN COMES WITH FLASH for pictures. not a whole lot of laptops come with flash, usually just $800 and up laptops.
11) very light weight. less than 6 pounds.
12) usb speed 3.0 the newest and fastest speed. making file transfers faster than before.
13) Comes with 2 usb slots, a memory card slot a headphone slot9(3.5mm universal size in all laptops)
14) DOESNT GET HOT!!! cool to the touch! even after 4 or 5 hours of use, due to new hp cooling technology, typing on you lap is now MORE COMFORTABLE!!!
CONS:
1)this laptop still comes with a DVD player i really dont care since i usually dont watch movies on my laptop, i mean come on, why do we have t.v.'s?
Newer and more expensive computers usually have
intel i7 proccesors
6 gigabytes of ram
720 gigabytes of harddrive
and bluray players. but if you want that, expect to pay well over $800
Bottom Line: I highly recommend this laptop to anyone in need of one, but on a budget. HP is American and one of the highest rated laptop and desktop companies today. HP was so awesome that when i opened my box, i got a free 60 day anti-virus software FOR FREE!!!! HP has amazed me. hopefully it amazes you as well.
P.S. What do you think i wrote this review with? ^_^
Honest reviews on HP Pavilion g6-2010nr 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
I will keep my review concise:Pros:
-Price. You cannot beat the price for such a large laptop with decent memory
-General usability. It's pretty much set up out of the box
Cons:
-The track pad. I cannot stand the track pad. It has an extremely steep learning curve, thus making me having to consciously think how to do something with it. To scroll down a page you use two fingers and swipe them down or up. Easy enough, right? Well, no, it's not. Sometimes the cursor doesn't move. Most of the time, it does move, but so fast it is as if your grab the scroll bar on the right side of the page and move it up or down as fast as you can. It is ridiculous. Same for moving horizontally, though that isn't needed as often.
I have a Macbook, as well. And while it has its own faults, the track pad on it is golden.
-Lots of bloatware on this machine. I had to delete quite a bit.
I'd be hard pressed to recommend this product.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Pavilion g6-2010nr 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
This is a reasonably fully-featured laptop computer, mostly suitable as a desktop replacement, at a budget price. If having an optical (CD/DVD±RW) drive is a must for you, this is one of the least-expensive options. Speakers sound pretty good for the size, and WOW can they go loud!The biggest problem, as others have mentioned, is the track pad, which is difficult to use. Scrolling (vertical or horizontal) uses a two-finger swipe. Sometimes this doesn't work at all. Sometimes it goes very slow. Sometimes it goes very fast. Sometimes it mistakes a swipe for a pinch (adjusting the zoom). Single-finger scrolling on the edge (right edge for vertical, bottom edge for horizontal) worked much better. And frankly, the track pad pinch-to-zoom is just stupid. It's a laptop computer, not a phone; if I want to adjust zoom I can do that via menu. If you get this laptop, you'll probably want to use a mouse.
I'm also fairly concerned about heat generated by the processor. Running even an older game (e.g. Sid Meiers Civilization IV: The Complete Edition [Download], which is 4+ years old) causes the fan to immediately kick on, and within 30 seconds it revs up to full-speed. It's a brand-new machine, so there should be no issue with any dust or other blockage, and this happens even with the computer sitting on a flat surface with the fan completely clear, in a 63-degree room. I don't know if this is an issue with the CPU, the GPU, the heat sink, or something else, but it's got me a bit concerned. However, this problem does not show up when playing music, watching video online (e.g., YouTube or Hulu), or doing other work, only when playing games.
Update (12/26/12): Downgraded by 1 star for poor customer service. On 12/21/12, "Scott B., Hewlett Packard Company, Executive Customer Relations" left a comment on this review inviting me to email him "...to discuss this issue...further". The same day, I emailed him, as invited. Today, 12/26/12, I received a response, in the form of what appears to be a form letter email, saying: "Thank you for your feedback. Hewlett-Packard always appreciates input from its customers. Your concerns and comments will assist us as we make future product decisions. We apologize for any problems or inconveniences this may have caused you. If you need technical assistance, please contact HP Technical Support at: 1-800-474-6836 (Please have your Product/Serial number when calling)"
Don't invite your customers to "discuss" their concerns with you and then throw a form letter back at them when they seek to take you up on the offer!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Best Toshiba Satellite L655-S5117 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in Deals
Had this computer for a week now, paid $449.99, and have been very happy with it and will list some impressions.
--I3 Processor combined with 4GB of ram results in laptop that is very fast for this price range. Passmark benchmarks show the I3 to be almost half again as fast as the best CPU's from Intel and AMD found in comparably priced laptops.
--Comfortable keyboard w/numeric keypad.
--Numeric keypad makes the computer a little wider than my HP without a keypad. Still fits in my zip up laptop case though.
--Screen is also a little wider, but it does not distort anything displayed.
--Graphics are good. Fine for viewing DVD movies and editing photos. Maybe not so great if you play a lot of demanding games. If so, proceed with caution. Test it or get an opinion from someone who has played the games you are interested in on the computer.
--No HDMI port. I won't miss it. Probably a statement by Toshiba that this is not a game machine.
--Can't comment on the built in camera or the face recognition--haven't tried them yet.
--Card reader only accepts Memory Sticks, MultiMedia Cards or SD cards (standard size only, you need an adapter for the smaller ones). Does not take XD cards which sucks for me because that is what my Olympus camera uses. As long as I don't lose the USB cable that came with it I can still connect through a USB port.
--Onboard speakers are very tinny sounding. Sound can be improved some if your software has an equalizer but only to the point of being just acceptable. Music sounds pretty good through headphones and can be tailored nicely if you have an equalizer. Volume of on board speakers is reasonable but since the speakers point directly at the ceiling, it helps to tilt the screen to about a 45 degree angle so the sound bounces off of it. Can't use the computer for anything else while the screen is tilted.
--Wireless download speed is very good, much better than my desktop, even though it is connecting through a G router.
--Amount of bloatware doesn't seem excessive.
--Getting use to Windows 7 64 bit. Very fast boot speed. Have been able to load most of my software without a problem. Windows 7/64 is ok with the 32 bit software but balks at the older 16 bit. One of my all time favorite programs was Micrografx Picture Publisher but it is one of the 16 bit programs--oh well.
--Top of the computer and most of the inside surfaces are a high gloss finish over a textured surface. Not really wild about it. Shows finger prints and smudges easily. Will show scratches readily if and when they occur. Would have done much better if they had just gone with the textured surface.
--Lid has no latch and I would like it better if it did.
--Battery life seems to be very good. I would estimate 3-4 hours. Haven't used it continuously for that long so it is just an estimate. When it powers down after not being used for a period of time the drain on the battery is very, very low.
--Overall, I don't think you will find a better machine for the price. The processor is very robust and the feature set is good. I wish it had a dedicated video processor, but since my game playing is limited to the likes of solitaire, I don't think it will cause me any problems.
Here are some pros and cons.
PROS:
+ Great value for the price! Much less than comparable laptops with same hardware.
+ Comes with one of the fastest budget laptop processors, the Intel Core i3 370M clocked at 2.4 Ghz.
+ 4GB of memory (64 bit Operating Systems are able to take advantage of the 4GB memory, while 32-bit systems can only use up to 3GB).
+ Under normal use, you can expect, on average, about 4 hours of battery life.
+ Great mouse and keyboard, very conveniently placed and the mouse pad has a lock feature.
+ Doesn't come with too much bloat-ware.
+ At 5.48 lbs, it is very light for its size.
+ Nice and sleek design, though feels a bit plasticky. No biggie though.
+ Has the numpad, something that HP laptops of similar size (15.6") tend to lack.
+ 320 GB, 5400 RPM hard drive is spacious and reasonably fast.
+ Compared to similar laptops with AMD processors, this laptop runs significantly cooler (temperature wise)! This was the major reason why I did not choose to consider AMD equipped laptops. Over time AMD equipped laptops tend to run so hot that it becomes unbearable to keep it on your lap. This Intel equipped laptop runs cool and quiet. The fan turns on to high only if you do some heavy work on the computer and keep it on a surface that doesn't dissipate heat as well (i.e. your bed). Normally, very quiet, very cool. Thank you Intel!
As great as this laptop is, it does have several, but minor cons:
CONS:
As mentioned before, feels a bit plasticky compared to other laptops in the price range. The plastic is also of the type that leaves fingerprints. However, much less fingerprints show if compared to my HP Pavillion dv-1400.
The webcam quality is sub-standard, but you can still skype with people without a problem. Just doesn't seem to pick up colors as vividly as other laptop webcams (i.e. HP).
The built in speakers are pretty bad. The sound quality that comes out of them is sub-standard as well, in my opinion. My iphone 3Gs has better speaker sound. When set to max volume, the noise makes the entire computer vibrate slightly so keeping your hands on it while playing a loud song or video becomes a bit irritating. However, the problem can be easily sold with some headphones. =)
The LED screen is nice and large, but I can identify individual pixels sitting a typical distance away. It's not that big of a problem, but I thought Toshiba could have built this laptop with a much better screen.
Does not have an HDMI output but with the build in wireless internet card and Intel MyWiFi technology, you can get an adapter to connect to your TV which allows you to connect your laptop to the TV without any cables.
Has the Intel HN55 chipset, which means that it has an integrated graphics car. It is ok for every day use and, but not if you plan to do any major, graphics-intensive gaming.
So to sum it up, I love the laptop. I got it for my girlfriend and it will be kinda hard to gift it to her on Christmas, because I like the laptop so much. It is fast, and very capable. Despite several minor drawbacks, I think this is a great value for the money. Now, if I had to pay $630 instead of the $449 dollars for it, I would definitely go with something else, possibly even a laptop with Core i5 at $630+ price.
Nice processor--Intel Core i3
4GB Ram--upgradable to 8GB
A decent integrated graphics card
A numeric key pad
Windows 7 Home Premium
Great battery life (approx. 5 hours personally--just doing some basic stuff, not gaming...)
A great brand name
I use this laptop for work and for light gaming. I play World of Warcraft. If anyone out there is wondering if this integrated card will run WoW, well let me tell you, IT DOES! It will run on low and fair settings. I have not tried it in a raid such as ICC. I have ran a few 5 man dungeons and it worked just fine. It ran through Dal extremely smoothly. This was pre-cata, but just a couple of weeks before with all of the pre-cata updates so I assume it will do fine post-cata as well. I'm including this info because in researching new laptops, I became very frustrated with the LACK of info about the graphics cards for these newer laptops. You can look up info on some integrated cards (AMD cards are easier it seems), but others are hard to dig up info on. If you are wanting to play games on this laptop that are very demanding in the graphics department, then this laptop may not be for you. Research the card and the games you wish to play as much as you can before making your purchase.
Other than gaming, I am running office on this machine and using it for internet browsing. I also hook it up to a projector from time to time. Programs and web sites load quickly and run smoothly. I paid $450 for it a couple of weeks ago and I am very pleased with my purchase. I am not seeing the intel version available at my retail location anymore, but it's available here on amazon now. There is an AMD version available if that's more your style for the same price I paid. Shop around. If you need a bigger hard drive, you can pay a bit more for that model as well.
I bought this laptop about 3 months ago for $449+tax at Best Buy, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. Its design is nothing short of immaculate, the L655-S5117 is an extremely aesthetically pleasing little piece of technology (as long as you don't mind wiping fingerprints off from time to time). As far as performance goes, I use mine mostly for watching videos, word processing, and a little casual gaming. Though many reviews comment on the L655's lack of 3D capability, it is capable of some playing some relatively advanced 3D games without a hitch, older MMORPG's (EQ, WoW) run just fine on it.
The Intel Mobile HD graphics system is excellent for watching streaming videos on your favorite TV (you have to buy a separate receiver), however it is not designed for playing games--there is about a 2 second lag between the laptop and the television. This lag is unnoticeable when watching video.
The display on the L655 is vivid and responsive, though as another reviewer remarked, it is possible to notice individual pixels at a relatively close distance. At 15.6" the display size is pretty big.
And who can go wrong with a full-sized keyboard with a number pad?
This computer may not be for you if you are a serious gamer, but the casual gamer need not be too discouraged. It has a very efficient cooling system, and according to the Toshiba PC Health Monitor that came installed on it, the CPU never goes above about 55% it's maximum safe temperature even with 3D games running.
For the price, I couldn't be happier. It's a beautiful little machine and it does its job well for a budget laptop. Every time I look at it I feel all warm and fuzzy (guess I'm a little materialistic!).
--I3 Processor combined with 4GB of ram results in laptop that is very fast for this price range. Passmark benchmarks show the I3 to be almost half again as fast as the best CPU's from Intel and AMD found in comparably priced laptops.
--Comfortable keyboard w/numeric keypad.
--Numeric keypad makes the computer a little wider than my HP without a keypad. Still fits in my zip up laptop case though.
--Screen is also a little wider, but it does not distort anything displayed.
--Graphics are good. Fine for viewing DVD movies and editing photos. Maybe not so great if you play a lot of demanding games. If so, proceed with caution. Test it or get an opinion from someone who has played the games you are interested in on the computer.
--No HDMI port. I won't miss it. Probably a statement by Toshiba that this is not a game machine.
--Can't comment on the built in camera or the face recognition--haven't tried them yet.
--Card reader only accepts Memory Sticks, MultiMedia Cards or SD cards (standard size only, you need an adapter for the smaller ones). Does not take XD cards which sucks for me because that is what my Olympus camera uses. As long as I don't lose the USB cable that came with it I can still connect through a USB port.
--Onboard speakers are very tinny sounding. Sound can be improved some if your software has an equalizer but only to the point of being just acceptable. Music sounds pretty good through headphones and can be tailored nicely if you have an equalizer. Volume of on board speakers is reasonable but since the speakers point directly at the ceiling, it helps to tilt the screen to about a 45 degree angle so the sound bounces off of it. Can't use the computer for anything else while the screen is tilted.
--Wireless download speed is very good, much better than my desktop, even though it is connecting through a G router.
--Amount of bloatware doesn't seem excessive.
--Getting use to Windows 7 64 bit. Very fast boot speed. Have been able to load most of my software without a problem. Windows 7/64 is ok with the 32 bit software but balks at the older 16 bit. One of my all time favorite programs was Micrografx Picture Publisher but it is one of the 16 bit programs--oh well.
--Top of the computer and most of the inside surfaces are a high gloss finish over a textured surface. Not really wild about it. Shows finger prints and smudges easily. Will show scratches readily if and when they occur. Would have done much better if they had just gone with the textured surface.
--Lid has no latch and I would like it better if it did.
--Battery life seems to be very good. I would estimate 3-4 hours. Haven't used it continuously for that long so it is just an estimate. When it powers down after not being used for a period of time the drain on the battery is very, very low.
--Overall, I don't think you will find a better machine for the price. The processor is very robust and the feature set is good. I wish it had a dedicated video processor, but since my game playing is limited to the likes of solitaire, I don't think it will cause me any problems.
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I bough this Laptop in November of 2010. At that time similar laptops with exact same hardware were selling for 600+. I bought this laptop during a 3-day Best Buy sale for 449 +tax. Excellent value for the money.Here are some pros and cons.
PROS:
+ Great value for the price! Much less than comparable laptops with same hardware.
+ Comes with one of the fastest budget laptop processors, the Intel Core i3 370M clocked at 2.4 Ghz.
+ 4GB of memory (64 bit Operating Systems are able to take advantage of the 4GB memory, while 32-bit systems can only use up to 3GB).
+ Under normal use, you can expect, on average, about 4 hours of battery life.
+ Great mouse and keyboard, very conveniently placed and the mouse pad has a lock feature.
+ Doesn't come with too much bloat-ware.
+ At 5.48 lbs, it is very light for its size.
+ Nice and sleek design, though feels a bit plasticky. No biggie though.
+ Has the numpad, something that HP laptops of similar size (15.6") tend to lack.
+ 320 GB, 5400 RPM hard drive is spacious and reasonably fast.
+ Compared to similar laptops with AMD processors, this laptop runs significantly cooler (temperature wise)! This was the major reason why I did not choose to consider AMD equipped laptops. Over time AMD equipped laptops tend to run so hot that it becomes unbearable to keep it on your lap. This Intel equipped laptop runs cool and quiet. The fan turns on to high only if you do some heavy work on the computer and keep it on a surface that doesn't dissipate heat as well (i.e. your bed). Normally, very quiet, very cool. Thank you Intel!
As great as this laptop is, it does have several, but minor cons:
CONS:
As mentioned before, feels a bit plasticky compared to other laptops in the price range. The plastic is also of the type that leaves fingerprints. However, much less fingerprints show if compared to my HP Pavillion dv-1400.
The webcam quality is sub-standard, but you can still skype with people without a problem. Just doesn't seem to pick up colors as vividly as other laptop webcams (i.e. HP).
The built in speakers are pretty bad. The sound quality that comes out of them is sub-standard as well, in my opinion. My iphone 3Gs has better speaker sound. When set to max volume, the noise makes the entire computer vibrate slightly so keeping your hands on it while playing a loud song or video becomes a bit irritating. However, the problem can be easily sold with some headphones. =)
The LED screen is nice and large, but I can identify individual pixels sitting a typical distance away. It's not that big of a problem, but I thought Toshiba could have built this laptop with a much better screen.
Does not have an HDMI output but with the build in wireless internet card and Intel MyWiFi technology, you can get an adapter to connect to your TV which allows you to connect your laptop to the TV without any cables.
Has the Intel HN55 chipset, which means that it has an integrated graphics car. It is ok for every day use and, but not if you plan to do any major, graphics-intensive gaming.
So to sum it up, I love the laptop. I got it for my girlfriend and it will be kinda hard to gift it to her on Christmas, because I like the laptop so much. It is fast, and very capable. Despite several minor drawbacks, I think this is a great value for the money. Now, if I had to pay $630 instead of the $449 dollars for it, I would definitely go with something else, possibly even a laptop with Core i5 at $630+ price.
Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite L655-S5117 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in
Great Laptop! Very affordable and look at everything you get...Nice processor--Intel Core i3
4GB Ram--upgradable to 8GB
A decent integrated graphics card
A numeric key pad
Windows 7 Home Premium
Great battery life (approx. 5 hours personally--just doing some basic stuff, not gaming...)
A great brand name
I use this laptop for work and for light gaming. I play World of Warcraft. If anyone out there is wondering if this integrated card will run WoW, well let me tell you, IT DOES! It will run on low and fair settings. I have not tried it in a raid such as ICC. I have ran a few 5 man dungeons and it worked just fine. It ran through Dal extremely smoothly. This was pre-cata, but just a couple of weeks before with all of the pre-cata updates so I assume it will do fine post-cata as well. I'm including this info because in researching new laptops, I became very frustrated with the LACK of info about the graphics cards for these newer laptops. You can look up info on some integrated cards (AMD cards are easier it seems), but others are hard to dig up info on. If you are wanting to play games on this laptop that are very demanding in the graphics department, then this laptop may not be for you. Research the card and the games you wish to play as much as you can before making your purchase.
Other than gaming, I am running office on this machine and using it for internet browsing. I also hook it up to a projector from time to time. Programs and web sites load quickly and run smoothly. I paid $450 for it a couple of weeks ago and I am very pleased with my purchase. I am not seeing the intel version available at my retail location anymore, but it's available here on amazon now. There is an AMD version available if that's more your style for the same price I paid. Shop around. If you need a bigger hard drive, you can pay a bit more for that model as well.
Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite L655-S5117 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in
Computer experience: Intermediate/AdvancedI bought this laptop about 3 months ago for $449+tax at Best Buy, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. Its design is nothing short of immaculate, the L655-S5117 is an extremely aesthetically pleasing little piece of technology (as long as you don't mind wiping fingerprints off from time to time). As far as performance goes, I use mine mostly for watching videos, word processing, and a little casual gaming. Though many reviews comment on the L655's lack of 3D capability, it is capable of some playing some relatively advanced 3D games without a hitch, older MMORPG's (EQ, WoW) run just fine on it.
The Intel Mobile HD graphics system is excellent for watching streaming videos on your favorite TV (you have to buy a separate receiver), however it is not designed for playing games--there is about a 2 second lag between the laptop and the television. This lag is unnoticeable when watching video.
The display on the L655 is vivid and responsive, though as another reviewer remarked, it is possible to notice individual pixels at a relatively close distance. At 15.6" the display size is pretty big.
And who can go wrong with a full-sized keyboard with a number pad?
This computer may not be for you if you are a serious gamer, but the casual gamer need not be too discouraged. It has a very efficient cooling system, and according to the Toshiba PC Health Monitor that came installed on it, the CPU never goes above about 55% it's maximum safe temperature even with 3D games running.
For the price, I couldn't be happier. It's a beautiful little machine and it does its job well for a budget laptop. Every time I look at it I feel all warm and fuzzy (guess I'm a little materialistic!).
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Toshiba Satellite L655-S5117 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in
Great laptop! Excellent screen, keyboard, battery life. Does all I need faster that I thought it could be done.
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