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I wanted an inexpensive computer I could use on job sites to track excel spreadsheets. This purchase met my budget goals and allows me extra capacity to do all of the computer functions I need in the field. I am pleased.
Showing posts with label notebook speakers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label notebook speakers. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
HP ProBook 6565b 15.6" Black Notebook Review
I have had my HP Probook for over a year and absolutely love it. It is powerful and well designed. I have avoided retail HP laptops. I found them to be poorly constructed. I am a developer and push mine to the limit everyday. The only draw backs are the hp battery only lasted about 9 months, it is not light and the edges of the aluminum case are bit sharp.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Super Google Chromebook Pixel (4G LTE) Touch Screen 12.85" Reviews
OK, let's be clear. The Pixel is something special. It is a work of art, an engineering triumph, and a game changer. You really have to experience it to fully understand it. I have been using Chromebooks for a couple of years, the first Acer model, then the Samsung 5 550 model. Both decent for what they cost, but with limitations as far as quality and performance. Samsung performed better, Acer actually had the nicer display. So I use them and I understand ChromeOS and the experience it delivers. I also understand the virtues it brings and the trade-offs you make in exchange. I have some excellent Windows Notebooks accumulated over the years, a tablet and other similar devices. So I know the gear, the OS, and what to expect.
I read probably every review of the Google Pixel online and all the comments. Thankfully, there were some good reviews in all the chaff. But...you really have to see, touch, and use the Pixel to know. That said, I ordered mine sight unseen...a man of faith. ;)
I have always felt the physical limits of the low cost devices were a mixed blessing. Yes, cheap is good and has it's attractions. But if you spend untold hours online as I do, you begin to long for a nice keyboard and, especially, a nice display for tired eyes. Also, as someone who enjoys art, photography and videography as hobbies, a good display is something I require. I appreciate the value of having a good one and am willing to pay for it. Life is too short to endure the crappy displays so prevalent these last many years. Thankfully, that's now changing.
So...to me, the Google Pixel, while expensive, was something of which I could understand the value proposition on offer. The minute I got mine, I knew. This was what I had been looking for, not just in a Chromebook, but as my primary computing device. Yes, damn expensive (even though I got a very good deal on mine), but worth every penny to me.
Incredible display, gloriously clear text and beautiful colors and images. Excellent keyboard, one of the best I have used on a notebook. And absolutely the best trackpad/touchpad I have ever used in my life. What a joy! I feel no need for an external mouse at all and that's exceptional, because I feel that way about no other notebook. Perfect right out of the box. No false taps or errors. It simply works. (For those who have experienced the truly abysmal touchpads on many recent highend notebooks, this will catch your attention and I hear your sigh of relief!)
An "intelligent" back-lit keyboard...best I've used (in a thin ultra-portable size device). Fabulous tactile feel and response. And the perfect size and shape! The Pixel is exactly the right size. That is no small thing. And the screen is exactly the right size and the perfect ratio (3:2), same as my photographic images. At working distance, the width is correct for your eyes and the height as well. I can live with wide displays and even prefer them for certain things. But the 16:10 and 3:2 ratios have always seemed the best to me for general use.
The quality of the display and the appearance of text reminds me of the very expensive typesetting machines I used many years back when I worked in publishing. They had very expensive high resolution monitors for displaying fonts with precision...just as the Pixel. My eyes are loving this.
The build quality. The elegance of the design. If you have to work long hours online and then you are crazy enough to also want to play longs hours online...well, then you might rejoice at using such a finely crafted rig, one where you enjoy it every time you open the lid, or feel the solid mass and quality as you pick it up. I value good gear highly, so this is a natural pleasure for me.
The speakers are also outstanding. The stereo separation is excellent. The tonal qualities are very good for a small unit such as this. Music is very pleasant. Good clarity, plenty of volume. The tonal range seems very good, bass is meager, of course, but overall the sound is very good and you can get by without headphones or speakers (though, of course, either will improve the sound). Sound while watching videos/movies/Netflix/Amazon Instant Video and so on is also fine. Never did I feel I had to go looking for my bluetooth speakers. Perfectly acceptable sound for a portable device.
It is nice to use something where everything feels right, works well, and you never think...oh, I wish it had a better screen, or keyboard, or whatever. That is worth a little extra in my book. Watching movies is fantastic. Great contrast, black levels, detail, color...and it was weird at first. I am so used to having to adjust the screen for the best image...here the image quality is constant...no need to adjust the display angle...move left or right, stand up, sit down...the image still looks great. Amazing. Good image quality and a good video/movie experience are a hard requirement for me and the Pixel delivers.
The free terabyte of cloud storage is nothing to sneeze at, either. It's free for three years. At the end of three years, you get to keep everything you have stored there indefinitely, but must pay if you wish to add more. Google Drive as it's called is well integrated with the File Manager and is very easy to use and quite convenient. It's worth $1800 if you bought it outright, so a nice bonus. (If you are a small business, this is something to consider. A terabyte of Google managed storage at your disposal and an excellent high-end notebook...hmmmm.)
The Pixel comes in a nice box with a magnetic latch (mirroring that of the Pixel display). There is no manual, per se, but there are extensive 'getting started' items in an included app of that name and plenty of info online and on the unit itself. And, of course, if you've already used a Chromebook, as I have, then you're all set. There are a bunch of useful apps preloaded, such as the main offline apps you might want (Gmail offline is very nice), and it automatically syncs up with your apps, bookmarks, and other content as ChromeOS is designed to do. So, whichever of my chromebooks I use, I can access everything and it will always be up to date. Sweet!
At about 8.75 x 11.75 inches (slightly larger than a sheet of paper) it's very portable and easy to handle. And the solid feel and heft are a pleasure in use. This rig is about as close to perfect as you can get as far as design and build. It really is that good. Really.
The ChromeOS which elicits so much comment and sometimes scorn is, in my view, an equally great asset. I have been in IT nearly all my life and have been living and breathing computers and tech since I was a child. I have owned and used an incredible variety of units, from the Commodore, Apple, Amiga days til now, and worked with Linux in the late 80's and 90's, back when only a few hundred people had ever heard of it. I have spent countless hours installing and maintaining both hardware and software. I know the nitty, gritty details quite well. I have power-user rigs at hand. Maybe that's why I understand and value what Chromebooks are all about. First of all, the security. For daily use, nothing beats a Chromebook for security. Reliability. Synchronization across all of your chrome devices. Ability to easily wipe the unit clean and start fresh -without losing anything, without having to constantly backup and manage disk, without having endless updates, viruses, and other annoying problems popping up. The Chromebook is the most stable, reliable, secure computing environment I have ever used. The hardware and OS are designed for security from the ground up. Back in my UNIX Sys V days I championed thin clients and I still appreciate their virtues.
Chromebooks are the perfect notebook for 80% of the people who just want to do the common things like read email, surf the web, post their photos, watch streaming video, listen to music, and so on. Very few people actually edit video or photos at any level that requires Sony Vegas or Photoshop. Having spent many hours helping friends and colleagues with computer and software issues, I know how happy they'd be with a Chromebook if they made the switch. But, though it's popularity is growing fast, it's still a small part of the overall market. That may well change. The Pixel stands as a beacon as to what is possible.
I just use it. It works. I enjoy what I'm doing and can focus on what I am doing and not the tool I am using to do it. Though, as a techie, I do stop now and then to admire the elegance of the Pixel. For me, it is well worth the price I paid.
Pros:
Very fast web surfing, faster than any of my windows notebooks. Web pages look great, easy to scroll and zoom.
Gorgeous 2560x1700 Display has beautiful colors, contrast, and detail. Everything looks good.
Solid aluminum body looks great, feels great. Top quality build.
Keyboard is one the best I've seen. Intelligent back-lighting works very well. Use Alt-BackSpace for DELETE. ;)
Touchpad/Trackpad might be the best in existence. Works exceptionally well.
Elegant design means a pleasure to use, everything just works and well. Ultra-portable.
Chromebooks are very secure, data syncs automatically across devices, very stable and reliable.
Includes a Terabyte of Google managed online storage (an $1800 value) probably the best quality cloud storage on offer.
Has a touch screen that works well.
Cons:
Expensive. (But you get what you pay for.)
ChromeOS wifi connect can be flaky sometimes (a known software issue which hopefully will be fixed by an update).
Keyboard missing keys like Delete, Home, End, Page Up/Down, etc. (There are equivalents, like Alt-BackSpace for DELETE)
Display is glossy so some reflections now and then. But it's very bright, so a minor issue.
ChromeOS still maturing. An occasional minor quirk here and there.
Battery life is only 5 hours or so, could be better. Mitigated a bit by the nearly instant on/off cycle of the Pixel.
"So good, I kept it!"
I bought my Chromebook Pixel direct from Google, fully expecting to return it within the 15-day return period once I had taken it for a spin. But, you know what? It was so good... I kept it! Despite the hefty price tag.
Having used other Chromebooks such as the "cheep and cheerful" Samsung Chromebook (Wi-Fi, 11.6-Inch), and being more concerned with their function rather than their form, I surprised myself by falling in love with the potentially gimmicky and indulgent features that set the Chromebook Pixel apart from other Chromebooks:
1. The display really is awesome, even when simply browsing the web and noticing the sheer sharpness of the on-screen characters.
2. The sound is really awesome, nice and loud despite the fact that you can't see the speakers (which are hidden under the keyboard).
3. The touch screen is surprisingly useful for scrolling up and down through web pages and documents, and I seem to be able to hit the right buttons on screen with less hit-and-miss than I have experienced (for example) when operating the Microsoft Surface (32GB) web browser in desktop mode.
4. I love the solid feel and square simplicity of the aluminium casing on the Chromebook Pixel.
As explained in The Chrome Book (Fourth Edition): The Essential Guide to Cloud Computing with Google Chrome and the Chromebook, all Chromebooks are born equal in the sense that you should be able to do pretty much the same things on all of them. But it's so much more pleasurable to do those things on this beautiful machine. And I didn't expect to say this!
Why four stars rather than five? Only the price. But I guess that if you want quality... you have to pay for it.
So who is it for? For people who live in the cloud, Google cloud in particular. Without knowing it, I realized I pretty much only use gmail, browser, youtube and Office. 50% of time I actually use google docs instead of the desktop office suite. Given that MS office is now freely available in the brower at skydrive, I figured, I will try to live in the cloud completely and see how it goes. I do not play games, I do not edit photos or videos. I am not planning to, and if I am tempted, it would be a good thing to not be able to do these time sinks. Unless you are a real pro, but then you are probably not editing your stuff or playing your games on an ultrabook anyways.
For me, it is rather a step up from my ipad 3 than a step down from my regular laptop. I paid something like 1k for ipad 3 64gb LTE model + extra keyboard from Logitech. This notebook has a better and bigger screen, free LTE for two years, free keyboard, free cloud storage, and it's not Apple. What's there more to wish for?
So what is important for those who live in the cloud?
1. Connectivity, built-in LTE in particular. Oops, that is the only ultrabook that has it. And 12 GoGo passes for in-flight WiFi. I'll need them.
2. Cloud storage. 1tb for free for 3 years? Unparalleled.
3. Great screen. Apart from MBPr, this is the only choice with hi-res screen.
4. Speed. Lightness. Keyboard. Check. Check. Check.
My conclusion? This notebook is incredibly useful, actually. It will never have the popularity of mainstream notebooks and tablets, but it was made for specific audience in mind. If you live in the cloud, or wonder what it feels like, you can give it a try. You'll be surprised how little you actually need apart from what you have here.
The only drawbacks here would be the unimpressive battery life, and the slight heat issue (upper left side gets slightly warm).
P.S.: Oh, and the 3:2 screen ratio makes my heart melt :)
The best part is the screen. Absolutely beautiful. I can pull up my stock charts and they are easier to read than those on my desktop with screens 4x bigger.
Second best part is the weight. It is light and easy to carry around and I don't get tired using it.
Third best part is the touch screen which surprised me. Not having had a touch screen before I didn't think I would use it much. But to my surprise it is very useful. Even though the screen is smaller and the spots that you want to touch are correspondingly smaller it is easy to hit the sweet spot that you want to touch. I tend to use my pinky to do the touching and even if I'm off the mark a bit it is rare that I have to correct my touch.
Fourth best part is the touch pad. It is sensitive and it is the best touch pad I have ever used. The keypad is also very nice.
I use the machine mostly on the internet. My charts are from Stockcharts.com. The programs and apps have to be in Googles domain but they have a lot to choose from including a word processor, spreadsheets, calendars etc etc. I'm on my computers 8 or more hours a day so I don't mind spending more to get better quality.
Bottom line: I think I got more than my money's worth.
I read probably every review of the Google Pixel online and all the comments. Thankfully, there were some good reviews in all the chaff. But...you really have to see, touch, and use the Pixel to know. That said, I ordered mine sight unseen...a man of faith. ;)
I have always felt the physical limits of the low cost devices were a mixed blessing. Yes, cheap is good and has it's attractions. But if you spend untold hours online as I do, you begin to long for a nice keyboard and, especially, a nice display for tired eyes. Also, as someone who enjoys art, photography and videography as hobbies, a good display is something I require. I appreciate the value of having a good one and am willing to pay for it. Life is too short to endure the crappy displays so prevalent these last many years. Thankfully, that's now changing.
So...to me, the Google Pixel, while expensive, was something of which I could understand the value proposition on offer. The minute I got mine, I knew. This was what I had been looking for, not just in a Chromebook, but as my primary computing device. Yes, damn expensive (even though I got a very good deal on mine), but worth every penny to me.
Incredible display, gloriously clear text and beautiful colors and images. Excellent keyboard, one of the best I have used on a notebook. And absolutely the best trackpad/touchpad I have ever used in my life. What a joy! I feel no need for an external mouse at all and that's exceptional, because I feel that way about no other notebook. Perfect right out of the box. No false taps or errors. It simply works. (For those who have experienced the truly abysmal touchpads on many recent highend notebooks, this will catch your attention and I hear your sigh of relief!)
An "intelligent" back-lit keyboard...best I've used (in a thin ultra-portable size device). Fabulous tactile feel and response. And the perfect size and shape! The Pixel is exactly the right size. That is no small thing. And the screen is exactly the right size and the perfect ratio (3:2), same as my photographic images. At working distance, the width is correct for your eyes and the height as well. I can live with wide displays and even prefer them for certain things. But the 16:10 and 3:2 ratios have always seemed the best to me for general use.
The quality of the display and the appearance of text reminds me of the very expensive typesetting machines I used many years back when I worked in publishing. They had very expensive high resolution monitors for displaying fonts with precision...just as the Pixel. My eyes are loving this.
The build quality. The elegance of the design. If you have to work long hours online and then you are crazy enough to also want to play longs hours online...well, then you might rejoice at using such a finely crafted rig, one where you enjoy it every time you open the lid, or feel the solid mass and quality as you pick it up. I value good gear highly, so this is a natural pleasure for me.
The speakers are also outstanding. The stereo separation is excellent. The tonal qualities are very good for a small unit such as this. Music is very pleasant. Good clarity, plenty of volume. The tonal range seems very good, bass is meager, of course, but overall the sound is very good and you can get by without headphones or speakers (though, of course, either will improve the sound). Sound while watching videos/movies/Netflix/Amazon Instant Video and so on is also fine. Never did I feel I had to go looking for my bluetooth speakers. Perfectly acceptable sound for a portable device.
It is nice to use something where everything feels right, works well, and you never think...oh, I wish it had a better screen, or keyboard, or whatever. That is worth a little extra in my book. Watching movies is fantastic. Great contrast, black levels, detail, color...and it was weird at first. I am so used to having to adjust the screen for the best image...here the image quality is constant...no need to adjust the display angle...move left or right, stand up, sit down...the image still looks great. Amazing. Good image quality and a good video/movie experience are a hard requirement for me and the Pixel delivers.
The free terabyte of cloud storage is nothing to sneeze at, either. It's free for three years. At the end of three years, you get to keep everything you have stored there indefinitely, but must pay if you wish to add more. Google Drive as it's called is well integrated with the File Manager and is very easy to use and quite convenient. It's worth $1800 if you bought it outright, so a nice bonus. (If you are a small business, this is something to consider. A terabyte of Google managed storage at your disposal and an excellent high-end notebook...hmmmm.)
The Pixel comes in a nice box with a magnetic latch (mirroring that of the Pixel display). There is no manual, per se, but there are extensive 'getting started' items in an included app of that name and plenty of info online and on the unit itself. And, of course, if you've already used a Chromebook, as I have, then you're all set. There are a bunch of useful apps preloaded, such as the main offline apps you might want (Gmail offline is very nice), and it automatically syncs up with your apps, bookmarks, and other content as ChromeOS is designed to do. So, whichever of my chromebooks I use, I can access everything and it will always be up to date. Sweet!
At about 8.75 x 11.75 inches (slightly larger than a sheet of paper) it's very portable and easy to handle. And the solid feel and heft are a pleasure in use. This rig is about as close to perfect as you can get as far as design and build. It really is that good. Really.
The ChromeOS which elicits so much comment and sometimes scorn is, in my view, an equally great asset. I have been in IT nearly all my life and have been living and breathing computers and tech since I was a child. I have owned and used an incredible variety of units, from the Commodore, Apple, Amiga days til now, and worked with Linux in the late 80's and 90's, back when only a few hundred people had ever heard of it. I have spent countless hours installing and maintaining both hardware and software. I know the nitty, gritty details quite well. I have power-user rigs at hand. Maybe that's why I understand and value what Chromebooks are all about. First of all, the security. For daily use, nothing beats a Chromebook for security. Reliability. Synchronization across all of your chrome devices. Ability to easily wipe the unit clean and start fresh -without losing anything, without having to constantly backup and manage disk, without having endless updates, viruses, and other annoying problems popping up. The Chromebook is the most stable, reliable, secure computing environment I have ever used. The hardware and OS are designed for security from the ground up. Back in my UNIX Sys V days I championed thin clients and I still appreciate their virtues.
Chromebooks are the perfect notebook for 80% of the people who just want to do the common things like read email, surf the web, post their photos, watch streaming video, listen to music, and so on. Very few people actually edit video or photos at any level that requires Sony Vegas or Photoshop. Having spent many hours helping friends and colleagues with computer and software issues, I know how happy they'd be with a Chromebook if they made the switch. But, though it's popularity is growing fast, it's still a small part of the overall market. That may well change. The Pixel stands as a beacon as to what is possible.
I just use it. It works. I enjoy what I'm doing and can focus on what I am doing and not the tool I am using to do it. Though, as a techie, I do stop now and then to admire the elegance of the Pixel. For me, it is well worth the price I paid.
Pros:
Very fast web surfing, faster than any of my windows notebooks. Web pages look great, easy to scroll and zoom.
Gorgeous 2560x1700 Display has beautiful colors, contrast, and detail. Everything looks good.
Solid aluminum body looks great, feels great. Top quality build.
Keyboard is one the best I've seen. Intelligent back-lighting works very well. Use Alt-BackSpace for DELETE. ;)
Touchpad/Trackpad might be the best in existence. Works exceptionally well.
Elegant design means a pleasure to use, everything just works and well. Ultra-portable.
Chromebooks are very secure, data syncs automatically across devices, very stable and reliable.
Includes a Terabyte of Google managed online storage (an $1800 value) probably the best quality cloud storage on offer.
Has a touch screen that works well.
Cons:
Expensive. (But you get what you pay for.)
ChromeOS wifi connect can be flaky sometimes (a known software issue which hopefully will be fixed by an update).
Keyboard missing keys like Delete, Home, End, Page Up/Down, etc. (There are equivalents, like Alt-BackSpace for DELETE)
Display is glossy so some reflections now and then. But it's very bright, so a minor issue.
ChromeOS still maturing. An occasional minor quirk here and there.
Battery life is only 5 hours or so, could be better. Mitigated a bit by the nearly instant on/off cycle of the Pixel.
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While I can't review the 4G LTE version of the Chromebook Pixel specifically, I can repeat what I said about the Super Google Chromebook Pixel (WIFI) Touch Screen 12.85" 2560x1700 3:2 LCD i5-3427U 4GB DDR3 32GB SSD 3.4lbs Ultraportable, which was..."So good, I kept it!"
I bought my Chromebook Pixel direct from Google, fully expecting to return it within the 15-day return period once I had taken it for a spin. But, you know what? It was so good... I kept it! Despite the hefty price tag.
Having used other Chromebooks such as the "cheep and cheerful" Samsung Chromebook (Wi-Fi, 11.6-Inch), and being more concerned with their function rather than their form, I surprised myself by falling in love with the potentially gimmicky and indulgent features that set the Chromebook Pixel apart from other Chromebooks:
1. The display really is awesome, even when simply browsing the web and noticing the sheer sharpness of the on-screen characters.
2. The sound is really awesome, nice and loud despite the fact that you can't see the speakers (which are hidden under the keyboard).
3. The touch screen is surprisingly useful for scrolling up and down through web pages and documents, and I seem to be able to hit the right buttons on screen with less hit-and-miss than I have experienced (for example) when operating the Microsoft Surface (32GB) web browser in desktop mode.
4. I love the solid feel and square simplicity of the aluminium casing on the Chromebook Pixel.
As explained in The Chrome Book (Fourth Edition): The Essential Guide to Cloud Computing with Google Chrome and the Chromebook, all Chromebooks are born equal in the sense that you should be able to do pretty much the same things on all of them. But it's so much more pleasurable to do those things on this beautiful machine. And I didn't expect to say this!
Why four stars rather than five? Only the price. But I guess that if you want quality... you have to pay for it.
Best Deals for Super Google Chromebook Pixel (4G LTE) Touch Screen 12.85"
The professional reviews for this product all go the same way: it is a great ultrabook, but you should not buy one. And they are right: you should not. Unless you actually understand what it provides, and find it useful. I certainly do.So who is it for? For people who live in the cloud, Google cloud in particular. Without knowing it, I realized I pretty much only use gmail, browser, youtube and Office. 50% of time I actually use google docs instead of the desktop office suite. Given that MS office is now freely available in the brower at skydrive, I figured, I will try to live in the cloud completely and see how it goes. I do not play games, I do not edit photos or videos. I am not planning to, and if I am tempted, it would be a good thing to not be able to do these time sinks. Unless you are a real pro, but then you are probably not editing your stuff or playing your games on an ultrabook anyways.
For me, it is rather a step up from my ipad 3 than a step down from my regular laptop. I paid something like 1k for ipad 3 64gb LTE model + extra keyboard from Logitech. This notebook has a better and bigger screen, free LTE for two years, free keyboard, free cloud storage, and it's not Apple. What's there more to wish for?
So what is important for those who live in the cloud?
1. Connectivity, built-in LTE in particular. Oops, that is the only ultrabook that has it. And 12 GoGo passes for in-flight WiFi. I'll need them.
2. Cloud storage. 1tb for free for 3 years? Unparalleled.
3. Great screen. Apart from MBPr, this is the only choice with hi-res screen.
4. Speed. Lightness. Keyboard. Check. Check. Check.
My conclusion? This notebook is incredibly useful, actually. It will never have the popularity of mainstream notebooks and tablets, but it was made for specific audience in mind. If you live in the cloud, or wonder what it feels like, you can give it a try. You'll be surprised how little you actually need apart from what you have here.
The only drawbacks here would be the unimpressive battery life, and the slight heat issue (upper left side gets slightly warm).
P.S.: Oh, and the 3:2 screen ratio makes my heart melt :)
Honest reviews on Super Google Chromebook Pixel (4G LTE) Touch Screen 12.85"
My business is trading the stock markets so we have several desktop computers with dual 27" screens. I bought a Samsung Chromebook (the $250+one) for use when I sit outside and I liked it. Nice & light & reasonably fast. So much better than a 15" laptop I have been using. Then I saw the Pixel, liked the specs and even though I could have bought an Apple for only a little more I decided to take a chance. For me it is a winner.The best part is the screen. Absolutely beautiful. I can pull up my stock charts and they are easier to read than those on my desktop with screens 4x bigger.
Second best part is the weight. It is light and easy to carry around and I don't get tired using it.
Third best part is the touch screen which surprised me. Not having had a touch screen before I didn't think I would use it much. But to my surprise it is very useful. Even though the screen is smaller and the spots that you want to touch are correspondingly smaller it is easy to hit the sweet spot that you want to touch. I tend to use my pinky to do the touching and even if I'm off the mark a bit it is rare that I have to correct my touch.
Fourth best part is the touch pad. It is sensitive and it is the best touch pad I have ever used. The keypad is also very nice.
I use the machine mostly on the internet. My charts are from Stockcharts.com. The programs and apps have to be in Googles domain but they have a lot to choose from including a word processor, spreadsheets, calendars etc etc. I'm on my computers 8 or more hours a day so I don't mind spending more to get better quality.
Bottom line: I think I got more than my money's worth.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Review of HP G60-553NR Notebook PC - Intel Pentium Dual Core T4300 2.1 GHz
This is my second HP and I love it! My other laptop is a netbook and it is great as well. The only thing I do not like is that the screen is so shiny because it reflects glares, but if you are using it somewhere that does not have any glare then the screen is really beautiful. I definitely recommend HP products even though my computer tech says they suck.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Discount Lenovo G570 4334DBU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Expecting great performance from this product is unrealistic. The laptop does have a surprisingly decent touch-pad which is always nice to have on a laptop. It is pretty pack for the price, and for less than $50 you can throw 4gb more of ram to help give it a further boost. It is also fairly light for a budget 15" laptop and has great battery life. My complaints on it would be the screen quality. The picture is not great and it does give off a lot of glare. Given the price, I can't really complain about the product. Consider it buying last years technology only new and cheaper (i.e. it runs USB 2.0 and not 3.0)
The computer starts up quickly and runs just fine for me. I'd say it's typically ready to go in well under a minute. As others have stated, it does not come pre-loaded with a bunch of software. That may be a drawback for some folks, depending on what you're looking for. For me it works out great as I can add things later, as needed, without having to delete extra pre-loaded items that I never wanted to begin with. You do get a basic version of Microsoft Office including Word & Excel, as well as Google's Chrome and IE Explorer for web browsing. All of which fit my needs and have given me no problems.
As far the fingerprint issue that other people have mentioned, yes, the cover is a fingerprint magnet. I couldn't care less about that myself. The only minor complaint I might have is that the screen is reflective and can be a bit hard to see in the sunlight. But you can work around this pretty easily. But on a 1-10 Bothers Me scale, I'd rank the screen issue at about a 2. Meaning that I can easily live with it.
As for the computer feeling a bit cheap and plastic-y, as I think someone else may have said...about all I can say is, it doesn't seem that way to me. Hey, it's not a high-end computer. But it's not an etch-a-sketch either, you know? It more than does the job I ask of it, and I think it looks and feels perfectly fine while doing it. If that's an issue for anyone.
The keyboard and touchpad both work perfectly. The keyboard is surprisingly big for a laptop, at least to me, and is quite easy to use. The cooling vent is located on the side, and I've never had any issues at all with the computer getting hot, or even noticeably warm. Connection ports are located on both sides and easily accessible.
The DVD drive.....others have mentioned the bullet-like speed with which it opens. They aren't kidding about that. It pops out in a hurry, and unfortunately the button that opens it is fairly easy to hit by accident. Again though, this is a pretty minor issue.
Also, and again as I think other reviewers have said, the speakers aren't the greatest. They're not awful, but you may decide you want to attach some external speakers, or some earphones. I use a cheap pair of earphones I got at Wal-Mart for ten bucks, and they work great.
All in all, for under $500 you're getting a surprisingly good little computer. As someone else wrote, it may not be a $1,500 laptop, but it's not supposed to be. But if you're like me, after you've used it a while, you'll find yourself thinking that it's a heck of a lot better than it's price-point might lead you to believe. It's a very good value.
I would definitely recommend this computer to others.
The speakers sound noticeably small, the top surface is a fingerprint magnet and well the webcam is not the best but for this price i can't complain.
Well update if things fall apart....just giving Lenovo a chance :)
~Update 3rd April 2012~
Forgot to mention that the DVD drive kicks out with such ferocity...."look out", but even so it closes flush with the side of the system. The button on the drive is also somewhat recessed so pressing it without looking will take some practice.
Didn't come with a lot of bloatware and what it did come with was easy enough to get out. For the intended purpose we have (email, web browsing, downloading pictures from a p&s and very light word processing) it's reasonably fast. Extra memory is cheap and that would help but it's certainly not required unless your running something more serious. Battery life so far is quite good BUT the devil of that is in longevity so I expect it to crash like all my other laptops over time :-/
I hesitate to include this as an IT person I realise how little it means but will anyway. Like most laptops, it's hurt from the GP more then the other stuff with the cpu been better then I would expect. From the windoze experience thingi :-
Processor 6.7
Memory 7.2
Graphics 4.6
Gaming (3D) 6.1
Hard Drive 5.8
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I've owned this computer for about a month now, have had no problems at all, and am very happy with it. I'm writing this review with it, in fact.The computer starts up quickly and runs just fine for me. I'd say it's typically ready to go in well under a minute. As others have stated, it does not come pre-loaded with a bunch of software. That may be a drawback for some folks, depending on what you're looking for. For me it works out great as I can add things later, as needed, without having to delete extra pre-loaded items that I never wanted to begin with. You do get a basic version of Microsoft Office including Word & Excel, as well as Google's Chrome and IE Explorer for web browsing. All of which fit my needs and have given me no problems.
As far the fingerprint issue that other people have mentioned, yes, the cover is a fingerprint magnet. I couldn't care less about that myself. The only minor complaint I might have is that the screen is reflective and can be a bit hard to see in the sunlight. But you can work around this pretty easily. But on a 1-10 Bothers Me scale, I'd rank the screen issue at about a 2. Meaning that I can easily live with it.
As for the computer feeling a bit cheap and plastic-y, as I think someone else may have said...about all I can say is, it doesn't seem that way to me. Hey, it's not a high-end computer. But it's not an etch-a-sketch either, you know? It more than does the job I ask of it, and I think it looks and feels perfectly fine while doing it. If that's an issue for anyone.
The keyboard and touchpad both work perfectly. The keyboard is surprisingly big for a laptop, at least to me, and is quite easy to use. The cooling vent is located on the side, and I've never had any issues at all with the computer getting hot, or even noticeably warm. Connection ports are located on both sides and easily accessible.
The DVD drive.....others have mentioned the bullet-like speed with which it opens. They aren't kidding about that. It pops out in a hurry, and unfortunately the button that opens it is fairly easy to hit by accident. Again though, this is a pretty minor issue.
Also, and again as I think other reviewers have said, the speakers aren't the greatest. They're not awful, but you may decide you want to attach some external speakers, or some earphones. I use a cheap pair of earphones I got at Wal-Mart for ten bucks, and they work great.
All in all, for under $500 you're getting a surprisingly good little computer. As someone else wrote, it may not be a $1,500 laptop, but it's not supposed to be. But if you're like me, after you've used it a while, you'll find yourself thinking that it's a heck of a lot better than it's price-point might lead you to believe. It's a very good value.
I would definitely recommend this computer to others.
Best Deals for Lenovo G570 4334DBU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
This is the 2nd Lenovo and 4th "IBM" laptop that I have purchased, all have been great and never died, just needed to update processors and features over the years. This one is perfect for the price and highly recommend it for students and home use. Waiting for another one to arrive and will see how that one is as well.Honest reviews on Lenovo G570 4334DBU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Well i will start by saying its built to a price and it kinda shows in some areas. my biggest concern is the plastic looking hinge for the screen...not sure how that will last, but for 450 you get a decent laptop.The speakers sound noticeably small, the top surface is a fingerprint magnet and well the webcam is not the best but for this price i can't complain.
Well update if things fall apart....just giving Lenovo a chance :)
~Update 3rd April 2012~
Forgot to mention that the DVD drive kicks out with such ferocity...."look out", but even so it closes flush with the side of the system. The button on the drive is also somewhat recessed so pressing it without looking will take some practice.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Lenovo G570 4334DBU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Great value to get an i3 for $400 in a decent shell like this one. No it's not comparable to a 1500 dollar laptop but better build then a Toshiba we have. It is plastic (as you would expect at the price point) but it could be a lot worse. The lid just sits closed instead of been clipped which is not ideal. Layout is good with keys and plugs e.t.c. Screen is reflective but everyone is copying the apple shinny thing now days and the back of the lid shows smudges and finger prints if you just look at it.Didn't come with a lot of bloatware and what it did come with was easy enough to get out. For the intended purpose we have (email, web browsing, downloading pictures from a p&s and very light word processing) it's reasonably fast. Extra memory is cheap and that would help but it's certainly not required unless your running something more serious. Battery life so far is quite good BUT the devil of that is in longevity so I expect it to crash like all my other laptops over time :-/
I hesitate to include this as an IT person I realise how little it means but will anyway. Like most laptops, it's hurt from the GP more then the other stuff with the cpu been better then I would expect. From the windoze experience thingi :-
Processor 6.7
Memory 7.2
Graphics 4.6
Gaming (3D) 6.1
Hard Drive 5.8
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Best ASUS ZENBOOK Prime UX51Vz 15.6" Ultrabook & Nexus 7 Tablet Bundle Deals
I usually don't write good review, only bad ones.
THis laptop is everything a stylized geek deserve. The outside is flawless, very well build compared with my previews laptops a Asus G51J and Alienware. It is really quiet even with the two internal fans. Lightweight as a tablet. The monitor is the best I have seen on a laptop (OK! the retina display is amazing!), the lighted keyboard is neat as well as the touch pad with the same APPLE-MAC gestures, it works perfect with no glitches or delays. I do record videos and screen-casts and the quality of the mic recording is really good, also the web cam. The sound is ok and when you connect the included subwoofer it is something else!. The aluminium finishes are beautiful.
Internally the machine is a monster!!! I compile Objective-C and Java code like nothing, I edit videos in second with no delay. Big files on adobe Photoshop or RAW professional pictures opens instantly. I can run back processes like a http server and 20 others BIG programs with no problem. The RAM is fast, and not even say the SSD hard drives.
This is something cool. It has WiDi, I had no idea what was that and now I use it every day. The Ethernet wireless is really sophisticated and with harmony with the Intel i7 processor it broadcast wirelessly video in 1080p to my TV (almost no delay). The Bluetooth antenna performs well and I really haven't needed more than the three USB included.
I am a heavy gamer and the video card is every I need for long multiplayer high demand games. I get 250 FPS stable running COD4 on high settings.
My wife got a DELL XPS 13 Ultrabook for $2,228.96 and that is a piece of shit compared with this beauty. Just to tell you, the DELL XPS 13 Ultrabook doesn't even have HDMI, can you imagine??? for that price??? DELL SUCKS HARD!!!
In conclusion your friends, attendees and co-works are going to envy the design of your machine (this one); your enemies on your multiplayer game are gonna get numb with your performance, and you boss or clients are going to get happy with your effectiveness.
The battery runs up to 3.5 hours
THE BAD: I don't like the fact that I can't change the RAM because the slot is not the generic SO-DIMM. The hard drives gets full easily.
This laptop is the best on the market for the price.
I have used it during the last 6 months. I didn't rush for reviewing.
The Nexus 7 Tablet: I feel like this was just a throw in. The newer versions are all minimum 16GB but the one included is 8GB.
The Package: Comes with the laptop, chargers, manuals, Nexus tablet AND SUBWOOFER. I called the seller, manufacturer and Amazon and they all told me that this package did not come with it because it was not specified. When I received the package I was pleasantly surprised that it did and amazed at how little people knew of their own products.
Seller's Customer Service: Confused my request, gave me the run around, shifted blame and ultimately delivered my package late.
THis laptop is everything a stylized geek deserve. The outside is flawless, very well build compared with my previews laptops a Asus G51J and Alienware. It is really quiet even with the two internal fans. Lightweight as a tablet. The monitor is the best I have seen on a laptop (OK! the retina display is amazing!), the lighted keyboard is neat as well as the touch pad with the same APPLE-MAC gestures, it works perfect with no glitches or delays. I do record videos and screen-casts and the quality of the mic recording is really good, also the web cam. The sound is ok and when you connect the included subwoofer it is something else!. The aluminium finishes are beautiful.
Internally the machine is a monster!!! I compile Objective-C and Java code like nothing, I edit videos in second with no delay. Big files on adobe Photoshop or RAW professional pictures opens instantly. I can run back processes like a http server and 20 others BIG programs with no problem. The RAM is fast, and not even say the SSD hard drives.
This is something cool. It has WiDi, I had no idea what was that and now I use it every day. The Ethernet wireless is really sophisticated and with harmony with the Intel i7 processor it broadcast wirelessly video in 1080p to my TV (almost no delay). The Bluetooth antenna performs well and I really haven't needed more than the three USB included.
I am a heavy gamer and the video card is every I need for long multiplayer high demand games. I get 250 FPS stable running COD4 on high settings.
My wife got a DELL XPS 13 Ultrabook for $2,228.96 and that is a piece of shit compared with this beauty. Just to tell you, the DELL XPS 13 Ultrabook doesn't even have HDMI, can you imagine??? for that price??? DELL SUCKS HARD!!!
In conclusion your friends, attendees and co-works are going to envy the design of your machine (this one); your enemies on your multiplayer game are gonna get numb with your performance, and you boss or clients are going to get happy with your effectiveness.
The battery runs up to 3.5 hours
THE BAD: I don't like the fact that I can't change the RAM because the slot is not the generic SO-DIMM. The hard drives gets full easily.
This laptop is the best on the market for the price.
I have used it during the last 6 months. I didn't rush for reviewing.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
The product at first seemed a little sketchy, but not to worry. Adorama Camera is on Asus' list of certified resellers. Therefore you don't have to worry about warranty issues. The product when ordered shipped within the time frame, actually early. When it arrived, there was no damage to the boxes. There was one big box that contained bubble wrap surrounding another box inside. Inside this box, was the Asus Laptop box, and the Google Nexus 7 Box. Both were in top condition. The laptop itself is the Asus UX51VZA model. In the Asus box, it contained, the laptop, power cable, mini-vga to VGA dongle, the mini-usb to USB dongle, and the external subwoofer. Everything seems to be in order! I'm open to answering questions. I highly recommend purchasing this bundle. Not only is it a good deal, the laptop itself is amazing, MACBOOK KILLER status I would say.Best Deals for ASUS ZENBOOK Prime UX51Vz 15.6" Ultrabook & Nexus 7 Tablet Bundle
See individual reviews for each of the products in this bundle for more information on each. However, each performed as expected and I am quite happy with the purchase overall. If you are considering getting this laptop, snatch up this deal right away! Excellent price and the bundle deal is quite good.Honest reviews on ASUS ZENBOOK Prime UX51Vz 15.6" Ultrabook & Nexus 7 Tablet Bundle
The Laptop: Is amazing and everything I expected. It's super fast with a 3 second boot time and runs everything very smoothly. A word of caution, I tried to downgrade the OS to Windows 7 and not all the drivers were compatible.The Nexus 7 Tablet: I feel like this was just a throw in. The newer versions are all minimum 16GB but the one included is 8GB.
The Package: Comes with the laptop, chargers, manuals, Nexus tablet AND SUBWOOFER. I called the seller, manufacturer and Amazon and they all told me that this package did not come with it because it was not specified. When I received the package I was pleasantly surprised that it did and amazed at how little people knew of their own products.
Seller's Customer Service: Confused my request, gave me the run around, shifted blame and ultimately delivered my package late.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Cheap 5102 N450 10.1 160/2GB Pc
Firstly, I should give credit where credit is due.
This machine is nicely put together, and very solid for a netbook. It's probably the nicest netbook I've used (physically).
Unfortunately it has a very significant problem:
A part of the included HP software causes very high CPU utilisation, and basically the machine runs at 90-100% CPU most of the time. The means that the computer is much slower than it should be to respond, and the battery life is very poor (as another reviewer pointed out). The piece of HP software that causes the issue is the HP Wireless Assistant. When this is disabled, the machine runs well, when it is running the whole machine grinds to a halt. You require this software to turn the machine's WLAN, BT and WWAN radios on or off. If you don't require turning these on/off, you might be able to get away with not running this software (I think). For my job in the field, I'm constantly required to turn the radios on and off. The runaway process is wmiprvse.exe.
There's a number of people experiencing this same problem.
I spent two weeks on the phone to HP trying to fix the issue. When they became convinced that the issue might be hardware, the machine was replaced. The new machine had the same symptoms, and after battling with both machines for almost 2 months I threw in the towel, got a refund, and bought another brand. After 2 months from being made aware of this issue, HP still hasn't done anything to fix it.
Before buying this machine, please ensure that they have rectified this issue... otherwise you'll regret your purchase (as I did).
This was functional but does not allow onscreen digital inking function of tablet pc computers which is important in medical practices to capture patient signatures. The keyboard was comfortable. The screen size was not optimized for my application.
Battery life was not as expected with the 6 cell option. Only lasted about 4 hours.
I will be using this as a backup ocmputer but cannot see this as my primary notebook
This machine is nicely put together, and very solid for a netbook. It's probably the nicest netbook I've used (physically).
Unfortunately it has a very significant problem:
A part of the included HP software causes very high CPU utilisation, and basically the machine runs at 90-100% CPU most of the time. The means that the computer is much slower than it should be to respond, and the battery life is very poor (as another reviewer pointed out). The piece of HP software that causes the issue is the HP Wireless Assistant. When this is disabled, the machine runs well, when it is running the whole machine grinds to a halt. You require this software to turn the machine's WLAN, BT and WWAN radios on or off. If you don't require turning these on/off, you might be able to get away with not running this software (I think). For my job in the field, I'm constantly required to turn the radios on and off. The runaway process is wmiprvse.exe.
There's a number of people experiencing this same problem.
I spent two weeks on the phone to HP trying to fix the issue. When they became convinced that the issue might be hardware, the machine was replaced. The new machine had the same symptoms, and after battling with both machines for almost 2 months I threw in the towel, got a refund, and bought another brand. After 2 months from being made aware of this issue, HP still hasn't done anything to fix it.
Before buying this machine, please ensure that they have rectified this issue... otherwise you'll regret your purchase (as I did).
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I bought this netbook with touchscreen option for my medical practice entering electronic health record info.This was functional but does not allow onscreen digital inking function of tablet pc computers which is important in medical practices to capture patient signatures. The keyboard was comfortable. The screen size was not optimized for my application.
Battery life was not as expected with the 6 cell option. Only lasted about 4 hours.
I will be using this as a backup ocmputer but cannot see this as my primary notebook
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Cheap HP 2000-2b16NR 15.6" LED Notebook (4GB Ram, 500b hard drive
Being a loyal HP consumer for more than a decade, I feel that their 2000-2B16NR model fell short from impressing me in terms of performance. In a one-week period, I have had several blue screens of death after performing critical Windows Updates. Its AMD E1-1200 1.4GHz CPU can barely handle two Firefox Tabs (websites like Facebook, Youtube, and Pandora perform poorly) and the Task Manager without hitting the 100% speed limit. According to the store where I purchased this device, Fingerhut, claimed that the laptop had two RAM sticks of 2GB each. Since I am a PC geek, I discovered that it only had one 4GB RAM @ DDR3/PC3-12800 stick--which explains why the CPU struggles to handle more than one task online.
UPDATE (5-5-2013): I can't even watch online HD videos effectively even with high-speed, 15-mbps internet. What's the point of having an HD video card?
Recommendation to HP and those who own this model: to enhance your laptop's performance, get a bang for the buck, and if you're running on 64-bit Windows 8, UPGRADE YOUR RAM (if you have 4GB, boost it to 8GB).
The HD is large enough and 4g ram is really good. CPU works well. You cannot use it as a game device of course, but for daily use, it is really great.
UPDATE (5-5-2013): I can't even watch online HD videos effectively even with high-speed, 15-mbps internet. What's the point of having an HD video card?
Recommendation to HP and those who own this model: to enhance your laptop's performance, get a bang for the buck, and if you're running on 64-bit Windows 8, UPGRADE YOUR RAM (if you have 4GB, boost it to 8GB).
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
Great Computer and reasonable price.The HD is large enough and 4g ram is really good. CPU works well. You cannot use it as a game device of course, but for daily use, it is really great.
Best Deals for HP 2000-2b16NR 15.6" LED Notebook (4GB Ram, 500b hard drive
I bought this laptop from a different seller than amazon. This is my first HP computer I normally buy Toshiba. I wasn't too impressed with the speed, so increase the RAM to 8gb and put in a WD scorpio black hard drive. After that i could tell a big difference in the performance. Now its pretty good for how cheap it was. Im not a big fan of Windows 8. I liked 7 a lot better. But Windows 8 isn't that hard to navigate, its just a big learning curve. All in all the computer is good for everyday use and watching movies. I wouldn't use this for gaming if thats your sort of thing.Honest reviews on HP 2000-2b16NR 15.6" LED Notebook (4GB Ram, 500b hard drive
I have now had this Notebook for about four months and it is pretty awful. I have had a lot of laptops through work and for personal use and this is by far the worst one I have ever had. Many, many blue screens of death, restarts, etc. I had to stop using Mozilla Firefox as my browser because this device could not seem to handle it it would just shut down. Typing is almost impossible because the cursor just seems to move and jump around. You'll be typing a sentence and then it will suddently just start inserting your words somewhere else in the document, e-mail, etc. Very frustrating. Now, the screen has gone completely blank. I can tell that everything is on, but, I can't see anything. I've tried connecting to an external monitor and I only get a quick flash of the screen before it too goes blank. I do not recommend this laptop at all. I have told my kids that if they can somehow fix it, they can have it. I will go buy something else; and, not an HP after this experience.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP 2000-2b16NR 15.6" LED Notebook (4GB Ram, 500b hard drive
I need a laptop for my work, and this one does everything I need. The price was right, as well.Friday, March 7, 2014
Dell Inspiron i15N-4092BK 15-Inch Laptop (Black) Review
I have been buying Dell computers for years. This is my fourth Dell laptop and I've had 3 of their desktop models. I know this is not their top of the line or even mid line, but I'm currently a student and, well, you probably know about a student budget.
Anyway, it came with tons of Dell programs installed which I don't need because the hog the memory and take forever to boot. But my real issue is that it keeps dropping the wireless internet connection. I bring up a site and surf around conducting my studies and then i click a link and it loads and loads and loads and never finishes loading. I have a feeling it is McAfee, preloaded of course (how else would these companies make money), which I will remove as a test. The point is that I should not have to tweak a brand new computer to make it work at all.
My mom and my sister each bought the less expensive Acer from Wal-Mart and they have had no issues, even on my network. The outside of the computer is better quality on the Acer as well. I have always loved Dell, but maybe its time to try something else.
For being in the $600 range, this laptop is pretty good. The boot up is a little slow, but that is normal considering the 5400 RPM drive. The machine will slow down when multiple programs are trying to queue the HDD simultaneously, however there is more than enough storage for whatever they want and need to put on their computers. The battery life is about average; 3-4 hours depending on how you have the machine configured.
Both computers had no defects from the factory and Amazon had them packaged pretty well as usual. The Core i5 is more than enough processing power for what they are doing with the computer(s). I mean, common, a Core 2 Duo would be more than sufficient for word processing and checking email. My dad runs Quick Books along with a few other business programs for helping him manage his business, and the i5 has absolutely no problems running those programs either.
They wanted a model with a somewhat large amount of RAM from the factory so I would not have to open it up for upgrades very soon. Six GB of RAM is not the largest amount, but it is enough for the run-of-the-mill, everyday tasks. For some reason they do not want to trust me with opening up their computers....yet. I am in school getting an IT degree at the moment, so maybe they'll change their mind when I am certified; I don't know...
There was one difficulty with these laptops; both machines had this issue. This laptop comes with a 30 day free trial for McAfee's software. I decided to start from scratch and uninstalled the trial version. My mother still insisted on using McAfee Security Center where I recommended Norton, and while I was attempting to download and install McAfee's software (which I did several times), neither machine would accept the download and install attempts. She had just spent the $100 for a two year subscription too. I ended up having to call the McAfee customer service department, and they said Dell has a firewall on these machines that will not let you install third party security software unless it is through Dell. I have never heard of this before, and seemed like a false explanation from their end. In any case, I had to let them take control of the computers remotely to get McAfee's software installed. It took an hour and a half on the phone with a guy who spoke rough English to get them both up to speed with security software. Not terribly bad on McAfee's end, I think.
Anyway, without that minor hiccup trying to get McAfee installed there were no issues; not a single dead pixel on either machine, etc. I have only bought and worked with these new laptops from Dell, and an ASUS laptop which is for my personal use, and like my ASUS, there were several useless programs pre-installed. I hope this is not becoming the norm, but getting rid of the pre-installed stuff you do not want is easily taken care of through the Programs and Features in the Control Panel. The sound is not that great, but that is normal for laptops in my experience. A nice pair of headphones that can fix that. Ultimately, this is a pretty good machine that will serve any general purpose needs. But if you can afford it, I would still recommend an Ultrabook.
Build quality is generally pretty strong for a mostly plastic notebook, but you'll notice some minor flexing in the plastics if you firmly squeeze the notebook in your hands or press hard on the keyboard while typing. The main chassis, while reasonably strong, has a "hollow" feeling which makes you think there is some unused space inside this black box.Please note that the body construction is the same in 15N
Anyway, it came with tons of Dell programs installed which I don't need because the hog the memory and take forever to boot. But my real issue is that it keeps dropping the wireless internet connection. I bring up a site and surf around conducting my studies and then i click a link and it loads and loads and loads and never finishes loading. I have a feeling it is McAfee, preloaded of course (how else would these companies make money), which I will remove as a test. The point is that I should not have to tweak a brand new computer to make it work at all.
My mom and my sister each bought the less expensive Acer from Wal-Mart and they have had no issues, even on my network. The outside of the computer is better quality on the Acer as well. I have always loved Dell, but maybe its time to try something else.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
My parents were in the market for new computers because they really needed new ones. They were still using HP desktops from 2001... They purchased two of these through my account here on Amazon for the free two-day shipping. Neither of them are tech savvy, so I helped them set up their new computers, transfer their photos, etc. This is a simple process with a USB flash drive or other external storage device. Considering what they were coming from, they are very happy with how fast their new laptops are. (I have a custom PC I built with Corsair SSD's in RAID 1 so....it is hard to get any better than that. These are a lot slower than that, but decent for the 600 dollar price tag in my mind).For being in the $600 range, this laptop is pretty good. The boot up is a little slow, but that is normal considering the 5400 RPM drive. The machine will slow down when multiple programs are trying to queue the HDD simultaneously, however there is more than enough storage for whatever they want and need to put on their computers. The battery life is about average; 3-4 hours depending on how you have the machine configured.
Both computers had no defects from the factory and Amazon had them packaged pretty well as usual. The Core i5 is more than enough processing power for what they are doing with the computer(s). I mean, common, a Core 2 Duo would be more than sufficient for word processing and checking email. My dad runs Quick Books along with a few other business programs for helping him manage his business, and the i5 has absolutely no problems running those programs either.
They wanted a model with a somewhat large amount of RAM from the factory so I would not have to open it up for upgrades very soon. Six GB of RAM is not the largest amount, but it is enough for the run-of-the-mill, everyday tasks. For some reason they do not want to trust me with opening up their computers....yet. I am in school getting an IT degree at the moment, so maybe they'll change their mind when I am certified; I don't know...
There was one difficulty with these laptops; both machines had this issue. This laptop comes with a 30 day free trial for McAfee's software. I decided to start from scratch and uninstalled the trial version. My mother still insisted on using McAfee Security Center where I recommended Norton, and while I was attempting to download and install McAfee's software (which I did several times), neither machine would accept the download and install attempts. She had just spent the $100 for a two year subscription too. I ended up having to call the McAfee customer service department, and they said Dell has a firewall on these machines that will not let you install third party security software unless it is through Dell. I have never heard of this before, and seemed like a false explanation from their end. In any case, I had to let them take control of the computers remotely to get McAfee's software installed. It took an hour and a half on the phone with a guy who spoke rough English to get them both up to speed with security software. Not terribly bad on McAfee's end, I think.
Anyway, without that minor hiccup trying to get McAfee installed there were no issues; not a single dead pixel on either machine, etc. I have only bought and worked with these new laptops from Dell, and an ASUS laptop which is for my personal use, and like my ASUS, there were several useless programs pre-installed. I hope this is not becoming the norm, but getting rid of the pre-installed stuff you do not want is easily taken care of through the Programs and Features in the Control Panel. The sound is not that great, but that is normal for laptops in my experience. A nice pair of headphones that can fix that. Ultimately, this is a pretty good machine that will serve any general purpose needs. But if you can afford it, I would still recommend an Ultrabook.
Best Deals for Dell Inspiron i15N-4092BK 15-Inch Laptop (Black)
I'm not sure what all of these other people on here are complaining about. This laptop is outstaning! It's been flawless and lightning fast for me ever since I got it! You won't find a better laptop for the money. In response to one of the previous reviews, there really isn't any bloated software on here from Dell at all. I highly recommend this laptop.Honest reviews on Dell Inspiron i15N-4092BK 15-Inch Laptop (Black)
Bought instead the 15R with 6GB mem and 1T hard drive for $499.99. This one also has the same body structure. Notice the plastic around the keyboard squeaks and has hollow feeling. This is unacceptable for this price. I returned mine and also at the store noticed that the ones at display do have the same problem. I then search online and found this:Build quality is generally pretty strong for a mostly plastic notebook, but you'll notice some minor flexing in the plastics if you firmly squeeze the notebook in your hands or press hard on the keyboard while typing. The main chassis, while reasonably strong, has a "hollow" feeling which makes you think there is some unused space inside this black box.Please note that the body construction is the same in 15N
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dell Inspiron i15N-4092BK 15-Inch Laptop (Black)
Laptop configuration was good(good cpu, good hdd, good memory, etc), but the keyboard was so bad, looked like it was made for $2 in some teenager's garage...returned it...!!Sunday, February 23, 2014
Cheap HP Pavilion dv6-3140us 15.6-Inch Laptop PC - Up to 5 Hours of
I've had this computer for about a month now and have no problems so far. I've found that the battery lasts about 3 hours with wifi off and on power settings set to conserve battery life. They keyboard is great in my opinion. They keys are raised slightly above a glossy surrounding which keeps most dust and dirt from getting under the keys. It's really easy to wipe off any dust that might get on it.
The fingerprint reader doesn't work with Google chrome, so if you're a Chrome fan this might apply to you. There is a plugin for Firefox to use it, but I don't like Firefox. Otherwise it works great.
The entire trackpad area is touch-sensitive so that means you can't rest your thumb on the click buttons. It doesn't have the scroll area on the side of the pad like some computers do. Instead you have to use the two finger scrolling, which took me a few days to get used to but now it's simple and easy to use.
The keyboard has a column of 5 dedicated buttons on the leftmost side. The buttons open HP Mediasmart, which is this panel that opens on-screen to access the webcam, video editor, etc, there is one that opens your default web browser, a print button, and a calculator button which is mostly useless to me, but if you use the calculator included in Windows a lot then it would come in useful. The only thing is is that I often accidentally hit the button when trying to use the ctrl button.
After getting used to typing on the keyboard I find it very comfortable as it is not too mushy and not too hard.
This computer was a replacement for my old Compaq Presario, so I figured I'd buy an HP since Compaq is an HP owned company. The speakers on my Presario were fantastic, so I was a little worried that this laptop would have the much-hated cheap speakers that a lot of them have. I loved this one because the speakers are in the front like my Presario and let me tell you.. I was not disappointed with these speakers. They are plenty loud and don't echo like the ones on my sister's Dell. So I really think that's a big plus.
The hard-drive is advertised as 640 GB, which the computer has, but I thought you should know that there is a partition of it that is unaccessible as it is used for back-up and recovery, this was no problem for me, because I knew it would be like that as it was with my Presario. Anywhere from 580-590 GBs are usable depending on the configuration of software and features.
The plastic around the screen is really scratch-prone. So I use a soft towel to wipe it with.
I really love the aluminum body, as it doesn't collect fingerprints too bad.
Here are some little things that I liked about it aren't totally important:
It comes with a pretty long power adapter. I'd say it's almost ten feet long although I haven't measured it.
The HP logo on the front of the laptop lights up, which I thought was kind of cool.
The USB ports aren't all crammed in the same place, so you can use three USB powered devices at the same time and not worry about cramming the plugs in the same area.
It doesn't feel as heavy as you would think, considering that it's a 15.6 inch.
I actually didn't buy this item from Amazon, where I had originally planned on ordering it, because, at the last minute, I did a search and found the exact same laptop on the HP website for about $50 less.
Overall, I'm in love with this laptop. It's fast, beautiful, and easy to use.
Another complaint I see from another reviewer has to do with heat buildup. I don't find that to be the case at all. Actually, at one point people were encouraged to stop calling these computers "laptops" and instead call them "notebooks." Using them on your lap (or on soft surfaces such as bedding) can block the air vents and lead to burns or worse. Indeed, all computers give off heat, and the more powerful the processor, the more heat will be generated. One needs to use good sense and allow that heat to escape.
Aesthetically, the finish is elegant and (so far) seems resistant to scratches and general wear. The hard drive is huge by notebook standards, and should eliminate the need for anyone to add a second drive. And, finally, I love the fingerprint reader feature. I usually don't password protect my computer, but this makes it too easy not to. Moreover, it makes online shopping and site access much easier and secure. Thus far, I haven't found anything to complain about this excellent computer, though I am still getting used to the multi-touch pad...probably because I don't use the touch pad much, since I bought the excellent Logitech Wireless Anywhere Mouse MX (you will never need a mouse pad again).
The fingerprint reader doesn't work with Google chrome, so if you're a Chrome fan this might apply to you. There is a plugin for Firefox to use it, but I don't like Firefox. Otherwise it works great.
The entire trackpad area is touch-sensitive so that means you can't rest your thumb on the click buttons. It doesn't have the scroll area on the side of the pad like some computers do. Instead you have to use the two finger scrolling, which took me a few days to get used to but now it's simple and easy to use.
The keyboard has a column of 5 dedicated buttons on the leftmost side. The buttons open HP Mediasmart, which is this panel that opens on-screen to access the webcam, video editor, etc, there is one that opens your default web browser, a print button, and a calculator button which is mostly useless to me, but if you use the calculator included in Windows a lot then it would come in useful. The only thing is is that I often accidentally hit the button when trying to use the ctrl button.
After getting used to typing on the keyboard I find it very comfortable as it is not too mushy and not too hard.
This computer was a replacement for my old Compaq Presario, so I figured I'd buy an HP since Compaq is an HP owned company. The speakers on my Presario were fantastic, so I was a little worried that this laptop would have the much-hated cheap speakers that a lot of them have. I loved this one because the speakers are in the front like my Presario and let me tell you.. I was not disappointed with these speakers. They are plenty loud and don't echo like the ones on my sister's Dell. So I really think that's a big plus.
The hard-drive is advertised as 640 GB, which the computer has, but I thought you should know that there is a partition of it that is unaccessible as it is used for back-up and recovery, this was no problem for me, because I knew it would be like that as it was with my Presario. Anywhere from 580-590 GBs are usable depending on the configuration of software and features.
The plastic around the screen is really scratch-prone. So I use a soft towel to wipe it with.
I really love the aluminum body, as it doesn't collect fingerprints too bad.
Here are some little things that I liked about it aren't totally important:
It comes with a pretty long power adapter. I'd say it's almost ten feet long although I haven't measured it.
The HP logo on the front of the laptop lights up, which I thought was kind of cool.
The USB ports aren't all crammed in the same place, so you can use three USB powered devices at the same time and not worry about cramming the plugs in the same area.
It doesn't feel as heavy as you would think, considering that it's a 15.6 inch.
I actually didn't buy this item from Amazon, where I had originally planned on ordering it, because, at the last minute, I did a search and found the exact same laptop on the HP website for about $50 less.
Overall, I'm in love with this laptop. It's fast, beautiful, and easy to use.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
The $634 laptop computer worked wonderfully for 12 months. Within a few days of the warranty expiring, the powercord that originally came with the laptop charged the laptop inconsistently, but enough to keep it running. On the 13th month (1 month after the warranty expired), the powercord arced and fried the motherboard. This is an extremely expensive fix. We called HP customer service and were told that because the warranty expired a month ago, we are on our own! I googled this issue and found that this is a common problem. Before you purchase this computer, do a little more research to find out what problems people have had with HPs as well as what problems people have had with HP customer service. Had I done this before I purchased the HP laptop, I never would have made the purchase.Best Deals for HP Pavilion dv6-3140us 15.6-Inch Laptop PC - Up to 5 Hours of
This is my second HP notebook, my previous one being an HP Pavilion DV9334US 17". I currently use an HP Elite desktop, and previously had a similar HP desktop, both of which have served me well (I work mainly with graphics and book design). My previous HP notebook computer has been a reliable workhorse (passed on to my wife for her new career) and led me to look for another HP when it came time to buy a new one. I checked around, read reviews, and settled on the HP dv6-3140. This computer lives up to the excellent reviews. It is a mystery to me what the negative reviews are about. The hinge seems pretty solid (almost too solid, since you cannot simply lift the screen to open it, but must hold the bottom to lift the screen). The "island-style" keyboard is quite nice, as are the dedicated keys along the left and right of the keyboard. My previous notebook being 17", I miss the number pad, but I am adjusting willingly for the saved weight and size. I also find the 15.6" screen quite large enough (and beautifully bright) for my purposes.Another complaint I see from another reviewer has to do with heat buildup. I don't find that to be the case at all. Actually, at one point people were encouraged to stop calling these computers "laptops" and instead call them "notebooks." Using them on your lap (or on soft surfaces such as bedding) can block the air vents and lead to burns or worse. Indeed, all computers give off heat, and the more powerful the processor, the more heat will be generated. One needs to use good sense and allow that heat to escape.
Aesthetically, the finish is elegant and (so far) seems resistant to scratches and general wear. The hard drive is huge by notebook standards, and should eliminate the need for anyone to add a second drive. And, finally, I love the fingerprint reader feature. I usually don't password protect my computer, but this makes it too easy not to. Moreover, it makes online shopping and site access much easier and secure. Thus far, I haven't found anything to complain about this excellent computer, though I am still getting used to the multi-touch pad...probably because I don't use the touch pad much, since I bought the excellent Logitech Wireless Anywhere Mouse MX (you will never need a mouse pad again).
Honest reviews on HP Pavilion dv6-3140us 15.6-Inch Laptop PC - Up to 5 Hours of
Graphics not as good as advertised, battery didn't last 5 hours. Definately recommend seller RedCore computers, they were very nice in returning the item and sending me a different computer.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Pavilion dv6-3140us 15.6-Inch Laptop PC - Up to 5 Hours of
This is a first product I buy it from online shop. I like this item. it is still work fine with me untill I rate this product.Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Toshiba Satellite P25-S507 17" Laptop (2.80-GHz Pentium 4 Reviews
if you're looking for a portable desktop/multimedia center, look no further. although it's probably one of the heaviest notebooks out there at 9.9 lbs, you'll soon forget about the weight once you see the enormous 17" widescreen display. not to mention the blazing fast p4 2.8gHz hyper-threading chip and the 800mHz system bus. the dvd-rw is also a nice feature for home movie making and watching. because of the widescreen, it is able to house a full-size keyboard, which is always a plus when performing tasks that require lots of typing. the entire notebook is housed in a sleek, modern casing with a metallic blue outer shell, and silver metallic on the inside. it has all the ports you need, including an s-video out for connection to your tv, and four that's right, count'em four usb 2.0 ports for hooking up peripherals. it even has an SD drive for loading pictures from your digital camera.
the harman kardon speakers, while a good idea, are a little on the "tinny" side, so the integration of a subwoofer would have definately rounded out the audio experience. battery life is a little on the short side, but what do you expect from something this powerful? i probably wouldn't recommend extensive traveling with this beast due to it's sheer size and short battery life (in addition to finding a laptop case that will fit it), but as a portable desktop going from room to room in your house, it should fit the bill just fine.
First, the Toshiba carrying case is the only one that really works. You can get them at CompUSA. Kensington has a small one but not enough room for all your stuff.
It's possible to get a virus almost immediately after going on line. Mine needed 13 Windows critical updates and 9 other recommended. Norton was no help as it was an XP flaw. I did my updates on a LAN system behind a router configured to block all the nasty ports. I recommend this procedure if you can get access to Cable/DSL with a multi-port router.
The only shortcoming I found is the touchpad sensitivity. It's way too high and there's no way to reduce it through software properties. Toshiba has updates for numerous things but not touchpad sensitivity. You can shut off the pad, Ctrl-F9, and use an external optical wheelmouse plugged into the side USB port.
These few problems will be solved so don't wait to enjoy the machine.
Also speaking of the video card, why have 32 MB of RAM on it with no offical way of upgrading (i guess i could always ask yoshi on tech tv if there is a way i can mod this thing LOL)? This alone will probably make Half Life 2 unplayable at a decent resolution whenever it comes out.
If you are a Toshiba employee and you are reading this, show this to your bosses and show them that there ARE customers who actually expect their hardware to work as best as it can and if a company is too LAZY to ensure this they WILL look elsewhere when the time comes to buy a new machine (due to moore's law it will be sooner than later). I would be a toshiba fanboy for life if they just did the right thing on this issue since their hardware is of high quality. Ask your bosses why they don't want to support their hardware with new drivers. They may think that I will have to buy more hardware at a earlier time, but if I do, it definately won't be a toshiba machine.
Shame on nvidia for not supporting wide screens on their generic driver too! (but since it is a generic driver i don't really expect much) Would it really kill you guys to do this?...bad support from ATI on their Rage 128 (yes this a old school card) made me steer clear of their new cards and this incident isn't helping your standing with me right now either. You COULD pressure your OEM customers like Toshiba to do the right thing you know.
Another tip: whenever you buy a laptop or LCD screen at a store, make sure that there are NO BLOWN PIXELS before you pay for it or you will be stuck with it unless there are more than 8 (i even had the service plan)! If it wasn't for the DVD Burner not working right I would've been stuck with annoying blown pixels!
the harman kardon speakers, while a good idea, are a little on the "tinny" side, so the integration of a subwoofer would have definately rounded out the audio experience. battery life is a little on the short side, but what do you expect from something this powerful? i probably wouldn't recommend extensive traveling with this beast due to it's sheer size and short battery life (in addition to finding a laptop case that will fit it), but as a portable desktop going from room to room in your house, it should fit the bill just fine.
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This computer really does have it all. Its quick, has plenty of extra's and has a great screen. Sure its heavy, and the battery life is not great, but if your looking at THIS kind of power, those factors don;t matter. Your more likely to have this plugged in the wall and not on the go anyway. Its really a small desktop: 2.8P,(with 800mhz bus) 512MB RAM, 32MB Video RAM, DVD-R/RW, 17 inch screen, and a pretty good software package!!!! On paper, it matches or BEATS many of today desktops. And on top of it all, you can have it for under 2 grand. I've owned it for 5 weeks now, and its been running great. The built in Wi-Fi is great too, because if you manage to take it somewhere where there is wireless internet, its ready to jump on. The Screen is without a doubt, the greatest feature. You can see everything, and watching DVD movies are really fun. Its like you have a portable desktop with a 17" widescreen that you can carry with you if you had to. The battery lasts about 1 hour and a half, depending on how heavy you use it, but like I said, power like this comes with a price. Great for digital pictures, great for home movies, although the hard drive is a bit small, I suggest buying the opitional 2nd hard drvie for the unit. Great for a first time buyer, or the professional.Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite P25-S507 17" Laptop (2.80-GHz Pentium 4
This is one fantastic machine. I'd do it again even though I found a few problems.First, the Toshiba carrying case is the only one that really works. You can get them at CompUSA. Kensington has a small one but not enough room for all your stuff.
It's possible to get a virus almost immediately after going on line. Mine needed 13 Windows critical updates and 9 other recommended. Norton was no help as it was an XP flaw. I did my updates on a LAN system behind a router configured to block all the nasty ports. I recommend this procedure if you can get access to Cable/DSL with a multi-port router.
The only shortcoming I found is the touchpad sensitivity. It's way too high and there's no way to reduce it through software properties. Toshiba has updates for numerous things but not touchpad sensitivity. You can shut off the pad, Ctrl-F9, and use an external optical wheelmouse plugged into the side USB port.
These few problems will be solved so don't wait to enjoy the machine.
Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite P25-S507 17" Laptop (2.80-GHz Pentium 4
I have had this laptop for two months and it is in general a fine machine. The big screen, accurate colors on the screen, DVD burner, and powerful processor make this a fantastic machine to write code/design websites/edit multimedia files on. The reason why i haven't given it a five star review is that toshiba will probably never release an updated video card driver for the geforce fx 5200 that is part of this laptop. Usually I manually install the driver update nvidia makes (as of now it is the ForceWare Rel. 50 Driver Download) to avoid lazyness of the company selling the machine/card, but since this is a wide screen machine with a rare resolution (1440 x 900), nvidia's generic driver doesn't work. After speaking with a Toshiba rep on the phone I was told that their offical policy is to not make updated drivers unless a MAJOR problem happens. This is crazy. Everyone knows that updated drivers make a huge difference in performance and quality of hardware (especially since the FX series of cards are new and I'm sure that in a year the drivers will need major updates), so it is irriatating to see toshiba make such a fine machine in general and not bother updating their drivers. Am I going to have to wait until Half Life 2 comes out (and chokes on old drivers), and everyone complains due to poor performance of the video card for Toshiba to maybe do something? Does Toshiba seriously expect me to ever buy anything they make again if this continues to be a problem??? (i'm going to say hello to alien ware, LOL) The funniest part about all this is that the stickers on this machine when you pull it out of the box advertise the geforce fx card for gaming.Also speaking of the video card, why have 32 MB of RAM on it with no offical way of upgrading (i guess i could always ask yoshi on tech tv if there is a way i can mod this thing LOL)? This alone will probably make Half Life 2 unplayable at a decent resolution whenever it comes out.
If you are a Toshiba employee and you are reading this, show this to your bosses and show them that there ARE customers who actually expect their hardware to work as best as it can and if a company is too LAZY to ensure this they WILL look elsewhere when the time comes to buy a new machine (due to moore's law it will be sooner than later). I would be a toshiba fanboy for life if they just did the right thing on this issue since their hardware is of high quality. Ask your bosses why they don't want to support their hardware with new drivers. They may think that I will have to buy more hardware at a earlier time, but if I do, it definately won't be a toshiba machine.
Shame on nvidia for not supporting wide screens on their generic driver too! (but since it is a generic driver i don't really expect much) Would it really kill you guys to do this?...bad support from ATI on their Rage 128 (yes this a old school card) made me steer clear of their new cards and this incident isn't helping your standing with me right now either. You COULD pressure your OEM customers like Toshiba to do the right thing you know.
Another tip: whenever you buy a laptop or LCD screen at a store, make sure that there are NO BLOWN PIXELS before you pay for it or you will be stuck with it unless there are more than 8 (i even had the service plan)! If it wasn't for the DVD Burner not working right I would've been stuck with annoying blown pixels!
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Toshiba Satellite P25-S507 17" Laptop (2.80-GHz Pentium 4
this machine is one of the most awesome pieces of equipment i have ever come across...it is fully loaded...like buying a rolls royce with a ferrari engine...the 2.8GHZ processor keeps it humming...while the huge screen and RAM keep it kicking...i love itSunday, December 22, 2013
MSI Core i5 4GB 15.6" Refurbished Notebook PC Reviews
This laptop is an amazing deal (I got mine for $620 after tax at officedepot) if you're looking for high performance and speed at a really low price. But there are sacrifices for that low price. I was looking for a cheap laptop that would be able to play games such as StarCraft 2, World of Warcraft, Counter-strike, etc. as well as watch movies and multi-process like a monster. I was basically trying to find the best possible laptop that didn't have a dedicated graphics card and was around $600. I wasn't too concerned with the laptop specific features because I plan on setting it up on a desk with external mouse/keyboard when doing a lot of gaming. So for me, this is the perfect machine!
Pros: Very fast i5! (And for such a low price!). 500gb HDD, 4gb ddr3 ram, good graphics (even though it's intel HD), great at multi-tasking, playing games, etc. It has a beautiful HD screen, decent weight, great sound volume/quality. And did I mention how fast this things is?!
Cons: My cons are only cons if you plan on using this latptop on your actual lap. If you're going to put it on a desk, hook up a mouse and keyboard, then there really aren't any cons! With that said, the cons are heat (most noticeable on your lap, and also on your wrist if you're playing a game using the WASD keys), battery life (I can play WoW for about an hour before I have to plug it in), noise (you can definitely hear the powerfulness of this machine), the mousepad is a bit unusual (it's studded? and no scrollbar, but instead it has a "multi-touch feature" which is also unusual and doesn't work too well).
All-in-all, I got exactly what I was looking for and I've been very happy with it.
A sound app is included and my iPod sounds great. I don't know about battery life as of yet. The chiclet key board is far too sensitive however I'll put up with it. We're traveling and it connected well with the condos weak WiFi. My wifes 3 year old acer laptop will NOT connect unless it's moved to the main office. Not too sure about the e-Sata input, would have liked a fire wire instead for my ext. HD, The USB-2 however works fine. I'll report back as I learn this laptop.
Update Nov 06:
I loaded up Photoshop CS5 and so far it is a good performer. A core monitor "Gadget" indicates that the dual core,(4 threads)i5 processor is loafing and waiting for the hard drive. Most likely file swapping with the slow 5200 rpm hard drive. I'm wondering if a 7200 HD would help with the >30Mb image files I toss around in Photoshop. Although with Win 7 64 bit and 4 gig of ram it should be a screamer.
update July 15, 2011
I've upgraded the ram from 4 to 6 gig by adding a Crucial 4 gig stick, 4+2=6 gig. There is a huge improvement in responce with Adobe PS CS5 and Explorer 8 is more responsive as well. So not all of the lag was with the slow HD afterall.
Update August 10, 2011
Continuing with the RAM upgrade I went for the max, and now have two sticks of Crucial 4 gig with a total of 8 gig. I really can't say it's made any improvement in performance over the 4 gig. Most likely I'm up against the 5400 rpm HD.
Despite that, it's still a good laptop. Light weight, slim, ok sound quality, i5-quad-core, and a lot more.
The only con are the keyboard and the look. Sometime it just miss some letter when typing. The outlook just too simple.
MSI isn't a well know brand for laptop user, but for desktop user, its mother-board are very well know, as well as graph card. So I hope this laptop will last for long.
Update: I got my $50 rebate just forget to update in a long time; the pc still work well. The screen had to be replace since it got broken by ?someone?
Hope this helps other buyers.
Pros: Very fast i5! (And for such a low price!). 500gb HDD, 4gb ddr3 ram, good graphics (even though it's intel HD), great at multi-tasking, playing games, etc. It has a beautiful HD screen, decent weight, great sound volume/quality. And did I mention how fast this things is?!
Cons: My cons are only cons if you plan on using this latptop on your actual lap. If you're going to put it on a desk, hook up a mouse and keyboard, then there really aren't any cons! With that said, the cons are heat (most noticeable on your lap, and also on your wrist if you're playing a game using the WASD keys), battery life (I can play WoW for about an hour before I have to plug it in), noise (you can definitely hear the powerfulness of this machine), the mousepad is a bit unusual (it's studded? and no scrollbar, but instead it has a "multi-touch feature" which is also unusual and doesn't work too well).
All-in-all, I got exactly what I was looking for and I've been very happy with it.
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Picked up this one at Office Depot today and so far very excellent. Absolutely the best sound system I've heard on a laptop.A sound app is included and my iPod sounds great. I don't know about battery life as of yet. The chiclet key board is far too sensitive however I'll put up with it. We're traveling and it connected well with the condos weak WiFi. My wifes 3 year old acer laptop will NOT connect unless it's moved to the main office. Not too sure about the e-Sata input, would have liked a fire wire instead for my ext. HD, The USB-2 however works fine. I'll report back as I learn this laptop.
Update Nov 06:
I loaded up Photoshop CS5 and so far it is a good performer. A core monitor "Gadget" indicates that the dual core,(4 threads)i5 processor is loafing and waiting for the hard drive. Most likely file swapping with the slow 5200 rpm hard drive. I'm wondering if a 7200 HD would help with the >30Mb image files I toss around in Photoshop. Although with Win 7 64 bit and 4 gig of ram it should be a screamer.
update July 15, 2011
I've upgraded the ram from 4 to 6 gig by adding a Crucial 4 gig stick, 4+2=6 gig. There is a huge improvement in responce with Adobe PS CS5 and Explorer 8 is more responsive as well. So not all of the lag was with the slow HD afterall.
Update August 10, 2011
Continuing with the RAM upgrade I went for the max, and now have two sticks of Crucial 4 gig with a total of 8 gig. I really can't say it's made any improvement in performance over the 4 gig. Most likely I'm up against the 5400 rpm HD.
Best Deals for MSI Core i5 4GB 15.6" Refurbished Notebook PC
Well, I bought this computer from Frys, $704.26. It will cost $50 less after rebate. However, it's 1 month now since the day I sent out my rebate form, and still nothing comes. It seems like MSI won't honer their rebate.Despite that, it's still a good laptop. Light weight, slim, ok sound quality, i5-quad-core, and a lot more.
The only con are the keyboard and the look. Sometime it just miss some letter when typing. The outlook just too simple.
MSI isn't a well know brand for laptop user, but for desktop user, its mother-board are very well know, as well as graph card. So I hope this laptop will last for long.
Update: I got my $50 rebate just forget to update in a long time; the pc still work well. The screen had to be replace since it got broken by ?someone?
Honest reviews on MSI Core i5 4GB 15.6" Refurbished Notebook PC
A couple of years ago I bought my husband this same computer and it has worked well. The only trouble has been the lettering on the keyboard is wearing off but that is probably because he has a hard touch. This happened with another computer he had. The main aggravation I have had with this computer is downloading so many updates because it was not new but it would have happened with any older computer. I liked the price and processor speed which is why I purchased this one.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for MSI Core i5 4GB 15.6" Refurbished Notebook PC
I have had this laptop for enough time to be able to make a review. This computer is amazing for the price, the finish is kind of fancy and it is very compact. I consider a plus it has the numeric pad at the right side of the keyboard because it makes easier for me to type numbers (I work configuring routers and servers so typing IP addresses, codes, etc with this keyboard is faster). The graphic card is just fine, provides good quality images and I can watch movies with no glitches or f r a m e t o f r a m e annoying stops. This laptop is quiet and doesn't go very hot even if I work with it for hours, and actually I have never had to use a cooler base with it. The screen is good enough for most of the purposes. The only thing I'd wish this computer to have is a backlighted keyboard but for what I need it, that is a minor issue. I'd also wish it had more USB ports (only has 2) and Mini SD card port.Hope this helps other buyers.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Reviews of Series 9 15" Core i7 1.9Ghz 8GB DDR3 256GB Solid State Drive 64bit
I know is an expensive machine but:
I use it every day and carry it on my bagpack so the weight was a very important issue
It doesn't get hot even while charging and the battery last for almost 6 hours with wifi or 3g (not included) so if you are not going to use it for long you don't have to carry the charger AND even the charger isn't heavy but it does get kind of hot
must recommend this seller also!
I use it every day and carry it on my bagpack so the weight was a very important issue
It doesn't get hot even while charging and the battery last for almost 6 hours with wifi or 3g (not included) so if you are not going to use it for long you don't have to carry the charger AND even the charger isn't heavy but it does get kind of hot
must recommend this seller also!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Best ASUS X201E-DH01 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Deals
Ratings Summary: 4-Stars for the technically capable. 1-Star for the novice.
The ASUS X201E is like, what I call, an Ultra-Chromebook. It is in the price range of a Google Chromebook notebook computer. I bought mine for $299 with free shipping. There are indeed some serious issues with the stock product that required an easy solution by a technically capable person. However, this product is a poor release with abysmal product testing with regard to WIFI connectivity. ASUS should have caught and resolved some serious software problems prior to being available for sale.
The big problem: WIFI
I struggled with WIFI on this computer with the stock Ubuntu 10.04 release. The WIFI took a long time to connect, and then it would 'hang' periodically. The remedy that worked: A stock install of Ubuntu 12.10. So, the WIFI issue has been resolved with a fresh install of the latest Ubuntu OS.
It has now been two weeks, and I still am working well with the WIFI solution that worked for me.
Performance: "Great!" (for it's intended purpose)
This computer is like a Chromebook or the class of computers formally known as a Netbook. That means you can use it to perform nicely for you for office work, web developer work, travel, communications, music, and watching videos. If you want to play any 3D FPS games, don't even go there. It is not meant for 3D FPS games or video editing. But that is not why I want a highly portable notebook computer.
My real-world (well, sort of) performance tests:
I played 4 videos simultaneously with a dozen open browser windows and tabs. I had a couple of games (Sodoku and Mahjongg) opened, and I had one browser window playing a YouTube video. I also had one Virtualbox open with windows Vista in it with a browser opened (I am a web developer so, I do need to test on IE browsers). Overall, that's way more going on than I will typically be doing at any given moment by far.
With all of that my CPUs were maxiing out at 90% of capacity, and my memory was about 2GB of the 4GB available. The computer still performed satisfactorily, and I could move about with almost no noticeable issues (the YouTube (flash) video did have a few problems competing for it's time-share slot).
In a more realistic tests of the somewhat troublesome YouTube playback in the "stress test", I closed everything except a couple of browser windows. One played a YouTube video, and it did so without flaw.
Battery Life: pretty good
I get about 4.5 hours of real world usage on the battery. Overall, that meets my requirements. My typical use without plugged in power is a meeting at a coffee shop or something for an hour. So, it the less-than stellar battery life is well within my operational needs.
When I am on a plane, I really only use my Nexus 7 tablet for reading, audio books, videos, and games. The tablet is much better for a plane than even a small computer like this, IMHO.
Ports and Connectors: Two USB 2.0 ports; One USB 3.0 (sweet!); One HDMI (full sized); One VGA; Multi-card reader; Ethernet! Combo headphone / mic
Other very good qualities:
* The case is very nice, with a textured feel that is nice
* The keyboard and track-pad work very nicely, and the large track-pad worked perfectly
*The sound system is very loud. This is far superior to many notebook computers I have owned. It is a bit wanting in the base, but there is no problem with the volume .. I think it goes to 11.
*The screen is excellent for viewing straight on, or on there lateral periphery. It gets washed out in the tilt quite a bit, but I wouldn't use it that way any way.
This Computer is Good For:
*General office work: word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, browsing, etc
* Developer: web-development, edit source code, browsing, browsing in virtual box (like Vista, Win7, XP, ...)
* Server: Apache server with PHP, etc; local storage server, music server, video server, etc.
* Travel: lightweight enough at 3 pounds; power adapter is multi-voltage/freq, SD slot for camera photos, USB-3.0 for fast external storage; wifi a/b/g/n + ethernet. And with a "Chromebook" cost of under $300 not too painful if it were lost or stolen.
* Simple non-3D FPS games: Solitaire, Mahjongg, Sudoko, etc.
Simple to moderate image processing. Excellent for casual user for editing travel photos
* Nice for listening to music with the speakers. No need for an external set like many laptops
* Videos play flawlessly from the hard drive, and streaming video worked without any hiccups or problems
* Google-Earth no graphics problems the rendering of the 3D images worked well
Not Good For:
* Gaming of any type where 3D and FPS is important at all
* Video editing
* Serious/Professional Photoshop work
Ratings for the market this notebook serves (5-Star scale):
Design: 5 Stars: nice size, nice feel to cover
Portability: 4 Stars: under 3 pounds is great (2.5 would be better!)
Build quality: 5 Stars: it feels pretty solid
Keyboard & Trackpad: 4 Stars: keys feel good, trackpad works nicely. It would have been nice to have a back-lit keyboard
OS and Software: 5 Stars: I augment my Ubuntu experience with the Cinnamon desktop, but that's the beauty of Linux: "to each their own".
Overall:
FAIL: 1 Star Overall Rating for a Novice computer user because of the out of the box WIFI issue. This product meant to work out-of-the-box and it didn't. All you will do with this abysmal failure is turn people off to Ubuntu. Shame on you ASUS!
For me, and any technically capable person, it is a solid 4-Star device. But I thought since it came stock with Ubuntu, this would be the first time I wouldn't need to tweak a computer to get it working for me. This was a disappointment.
In the end, I am satisfied. Frankly, I wish it would have come installed with a minimal crippled version of Windows-8. That way, I would have simply installed Ubuntu 12.10 from the start, and I wouldn't have had any WIFI problems. However, with the savings of the "Windows Tax", I can use that money to buy my lift ticket at Mt. Bachelor today.
+ Low Cost
+ Easy Setup
+ Fast Boot
+ Lightweight
+ Ample Hard Drive
+ Decent Keyboard
The Bad:
Wonky Trackpad
Popular Streaming Services Require Workarounds
Spotty Printer Support
No Exchange Sync (At Least For My Company)
Erratic Bluetooth Performance
Poor Android 4.1 Support
Overall: While it is not perfect, the ASUS X201E-DH01 is an excellent Windows and Chromebook alternative.
Background: I was looking for something more portable than my 15.6" Windows laptop and more work oriented than my Android tablet. I've actually soured a bit on the tablet experience, and I'm trying to decide if I need or even want one. I was actually looking at the Acer C710-2055 when I stumbled across this model from ASUS. The specs are quite similar with the exception of the OS (Ubuntu Linux vs. Chrome). For the extra $20, I decided to get a machine with a full-fledged OS that works offline by design.
Setup: Unlike what some others have reported, my X201E came with Ubuntu 12.04 pre-installed. When I powered it on, there wasn't a whole lot to do. However, the initial boot does take a while. It guides you through a simple process collecting some basic information such as language, time zone, etc. It also asked me to create a user account with a password, which is easy enough. From there, I was ready to roll after a reboot. I had no problem adding my wireless network (or subsequent networks). I have connected to hidden and enterprise networks without issue. As long as you know the settings, you get in. If setup were the only consideration, I would say that this laptop is for any user level.
User Input: The keyboard of the X201E has the common "chicklet" style keyboard, and it feels good to type with. It has enough resistance so that it doesn't feel bouncy. However, it is not overly stiff either. The layout is pretty good, yet some may find the lack of dedicated page up, down, etc. buttons a disappointment. They are available through the function key, but I do find that I miss them on long web pages. The trackpad, on the other hand, has fewer positives. Actually, it is really no worse than most trackpads, and I really think these were invented to promote mouse sales. The trackpad doesn't have separate buttons, and it just doesn't feel comfortable. However, my biggest gripe (with trackpads in general) is the accidental touch during typing that sends your cursor to some distant place on the page away from where you intended to type. For serious typing sessions, I use a mouse and disable to trackpad. This does create a tradeoff for portable use. Do I fight through the wonky trackpad or take a mouse with me from conference room to conference room?
Web Browsing: Unless you are a die-hard IE fan, you have good options for browsing the web. The X201E has Firefox installed by default, but I preferred Chrome. It was easy to download and install from Google's site. With limited exceptions (that I will note in a later section), it is indistinguishable from using Chrome on a Windows machine. It is here that I access both my Gmail and Corporate email, and I also use Evernote to go paperless in meetings.
Office Software: Ubuntu comes with LibreOffice installed by default (although there are a couple of other options to try if it is missing your favorite features). Here's the bottom line, though. No matter what you choose, nothing is going to work seamlessly with docx, xlsx, pptx, etc. files. Microsoft doesn't want this to happen, and they have done a good job of keeping things this way. For my purposes, however, I generally only need to be able to view documents on the go, and any MS Office alternative does a good enough job. One last note item in this area is e-mail. There is not an Outlook equivalent in any of the other office suites, and Thunderbird is the default email client. I looked for Exchange support, and found that a Thunderbird plug-in was supposed to work with Exchange Web Services (EWS). I installed the plug-in, but I could never get it working. This may have as much to do with how my company has exchange setup, but the lack of support for corporate email is nonetheless disappointing.
Media: As I mentioned earlier, I have my entire music collection copied to my X201E. The default music player for Ubuntu is Rhythmbox, and it is sufficient for my needs. You do have to go through some extra steps to enable mp3 decoding because this requires proprietary drivers. This is a Linux philosophical issue, and true open source distributions do not enable proprietary software out of the box. This is the first feature that is likely to trip up the Linux novice. Googling reveals easy to follow steps, but the X201E just became work for the lay user. Video playback is another story. Both Netflix and Amazon Instant Video streaming are non-functioning out of the box. There are workarounds for these, but I was only able to get Amazon Instant Video working in Firefox. My Netflix has sound but no picture, and this was after a lot of work. Even with Amazon Instant Video, it doesn't look good when maximized. The streaming quality seems to be set for the "in browser" sized video. YouTube works well enough. I don't really watch stored videos, but support for this is available through clients like VLC. However, as with mp3 formats, you may need to install proprietary software in order to watch a particular format. This will definitely be the case if you connect an external DVD/Blu-Ray player. Perhaps video (streaming at least) is something better left to the likes of a Kindle Fire HD.
Bluetooth: This is not a core feature requirement for me, but I decided to test it out and report my findings. First, I tried my pairing with my HTC Rezound. Things started out rocky, and they never really got better. My first attempts at pairing were unsuccessful as neither device could see the other after making them both visible. I tried again on a subsequent session, and I was able to pair the devices. However, they didn't agree on the profiles that their pairing supported. My Rezound wanted to send phone and media audio to the X201E while the X201E wanted to send and receive files. As you might expect, ne'er the twain shall meet.
Other: So far, this might not sound like much of a differentiator from the Chromebook, but there are other uses beyond my core requirements that others a likely to find appealing. Linux has a good array of photo and video editing software that the Chrome OS just can't come close to matching. It would also be trivial to grab Eclipse and other Java development tools although I'm not sure how these would perform on the limited hardware. The point is that have a full-fledged OS gives you a lot of options. There are also a fair number of games, but that is not really my area of expertise.
Overall: This ASUS X201E is a unique device. It is one of two current laptops (the other is from Dell targeted at software developers) from major manufacturers that comes with Linux installed. Depending on your needs, this might be the perfect low cost, portable alternative to Windows that you are looking for. Potential Chromebook users should definitely give it a look.
I purchased this for my wife, who prefers the XFCE desktop. Unfortunately, the XFCE power management seems to fight with the power management in the Unity desktop. Upgrading to XFCE 4.10 (via a PPA) seems to have helped. There have been wireless problems, but upgrading to kernel 3.2.40 seems to have helped (the latter upgrade was automatic).
When power management works, the computer suspends, but doesn't hibernate. Since the computer uses Intel's Sandy Bridge chipset, suspend uses very little power. There is also remarkably little space on the drive, given it's capacity (320 G). That can be traced to an empty, extended 105 G NTFS partition. I suppose you can mount it and put stuff there (like Windows?), or you can use GParted to resize it and the other partitions, or possibly delete it and resize the other partitions. It's a strange disk arrangement.
This is not a netbook. Yes the Asus uses a wimpy Celeron, but that Celeron is more powerful than the Intel Atom CPUs that resided in netbooks. Further, this machine comes with 4 G of RAM. Perhaps the greatest speed boost comes with the CPU's support for virtualization. That means a five fold speed increase over what an Atom based CPU can do when running Virtualbox.
The other big improvement over a netbook lies in the screen. It's bigger (11.6", instead of 10.1") and sports a higher resolution 1366x768. This is a resolution found in all sorts of cheap laptops. The difference here is that such a resolution looks good at 11.6".
Battery life is something better than 4 hours. You can't swap the battery, because it's built in. The keyboard works, and has the typical, poor Asus layout. There was room for dedicated PgUp-PgDn, Home-End keys, but Asus chose to ignore this and make them all function key based. On the plus side, the touch is OK, and there in no keyboard "bounce."
What you get is a cheap machine with no "crapware," update capabilities that are second to none, and that runs quickly. That said, since it is running Linux, it will continue to run quickly.
Update 3 Apr. 2013: Issues with power management on XFCE when installed after Ubuntu's Unity interface persisted, so I installed Debian. This marked my first 64 bit install, and my first install on a UEFI machine (all the previous machines had a BIOS). I burned a Debian Wheezy netinstall disk to CD, and rebooted. Holding the ESC key when booting brings up the UEFI menu. There were two CD boot options, one that listed my drive, and the other that listed it with UEFI. You want the latter, trust me. ;)
If you want to add Skype, or any other 32 bit only software, the command given as root, "dpkg --add-architecture i386", is your friend.
What did I loose by going to Debian? The screen brightness and touchpad disable function keys. I typically set up the touchpad with Synclient, and add palm detection, so the touchpad toggle is no great loss, but the screen brightness is. The package xfce4-power-manager-plugins adds a slick widget you can add to your panel (taskbar) that lets you adjust the brightness.
What did I gain? Speed. As usual, Debian is a lighter weight distribution by default. I gained a more intelligent partitioning, with about another 100 G for data. I also gained the ability to hibernate the machine.
To sum up, I'm still scratching my head over some of Asus' choices when offering this machine. Why they included an unused, 100 G NTFS formated partition escapes me. Also, I'm not sure why they did not include hibernation support. In general, Ubuntu, even with their long term releases is buggier than Debian, but if you don't like to "play" with your machine, and you are satisfied with the Unity interface, this remains a good buy.
Update 14 April, 2013: An update to Debian Wheezy has fixed the screen brightness keys.
Update 15 May, 2013: Received a second unit to set up for another person. Part of the setup included a Debian install with most of the drive encrypted. I used an encrypted LVM (logical volume manager), and it went fairly smoothly, except when the installer announced it was erasing the drive. It was an extremely thorough erasure, as it took 18 hours. Only then did the installer proceed with partitioning the drive.
The encryption is largely transparent in operation. The only time you realize you are running an encrypted disk is when booting, or resuming from hibernation.
Update 1 July, 2013: A third unit developed wireless connection issues. These included difficulty connecting, spontaneous disconnects, and strongly fluctuating signal levels. I finally removed the back of the unit, and discovered a loose antenna wire. The plug used (I'm assuming it's an industry standard) is extremely small, and hard to line up properly, but once properly plugged in, all issues went away.
BIOS can be upgraded without needing any boot CDs or Windows installs, which is nice.
Laptop came with Ubuntu 12.10 [nothing wrong with it], but I removed it right away and put Fedora 18 on it. The only thing that doesn't work 'out of the box' is the gigabit ethernet, but the driver can be easily compiled and loaded by following these directions:
One heads up, even though the title says 'Grey Aluminum' the body is made out of plastic, but it is very sturdy, much better quality than HP Pavilions as an example.
The two cell battery can be a bit a of an issue to some, but I have gotten 2+ hours on it so far, even though I am not on battery power a lot.
The only downside I've had with it so far is that Suspend/Resume [on Fedora] is still a bit buggy, it works sometimes, but sometimes it failts to suspend... I have a hunch it may be related to the gigabit ethernet extra kernel module, but haven't fully tested yet.
Anyway... I much rather spend $325 or so on this machine than on a tablet, much more useful. There are ways to watch Netflix on Fedora [google for it], and it works OK.
Pretty happy with the purchase.
Took off one star for photoshopped product pictures posted everywhere. All product pictures are taken from a high angle that hides the thickness and makes it look slimmer than it really is. I am not complaining that it is thick but simply stating that the images are a deliberate attempt to make it look slimmer.
I am getting battery life of 3-3.5hrs at lowest brightness setting with web browsing and no flash video playback. This could be a Ubuntu issue as Ubuntu battery optimization is not as good as windows or Mac. Will have to load WinXP or Win7 to test that. However you will need a $10-15 external DVD drive to load any other OS, unless you are good in doing it off a USB drive.
Overall I am happy with what i got at the price I paid.
Update: April 14th 2013
The wireless connection was not reliable and it would just loose connection without reason. So I upgraded the OS to Ubuntu 12.10 from within 12.04. Wireless problem got fixed and battery life looks like it improved a tad to 4-4.5hrs. Also installed a power management software.
The ASUS X201E is like, what I call, an Ultra-Chromebook. It is in the price range of a Google Chromebook notebook computer. I bought mine for $299 with free shipping. There are indeed some serious issues with the stock product that required an easy solution by a technically capable person. However, this product is a poor release with abysmal product testing with regard to WIFI connectivity. ASUS should have caught and resolved some serious software problems prior to being available for sale.
The big problem: WIFI
I struggled with WIFI on this computer with the stock Ubuntu 10.04 release. The WIFI took a long time to connect, and then it would 'hang' periodically. The remedy that worked: A stock install of Ubuntu 12.10. So, the WIFI issue has been resolved with a fresh install of the latest Ubuntu OS.
It has now been two weeks, and I still am working well with the WIFI solution that worked for me.
Performance: "Great!" (for it's intended purpose)
This computer is like a Chromebook or the class of computers formally known as a Netbook. That means you can use it to perform nicely for you for office work, web developer work, travel, communications, music, and watching videos. If you want to play any 3D FPS games, don't even go there. It is not meant for 3D FPS games or video editing. But that is not why I want a highly portable notebook computer.
My real-world (well, sort of) performance tests:
I played 4 videos simultaneously with a dozen open browser windows and tabs. I had a couple of games (Sodoku and Mahjongg) opened, and I had one browser window playing a YouTube video. I also had one Virtualbox open with windows Vista in it with a browser opened (I am a web developer so, I do need to test on IE browsers). Overall, that's way more going on than I will typically be doing at any given moment by far.
With all of that my CPUs were maxiing out at 90% of capacity, and my memory was about 2GB of the 4GB available. The computer still performed satisfactorily, and I could move about with almost no noticeable issues (the YouTube (flash) video did have a few problems competing for it's time-share slot).
In a more realistic tests of the somewhat troublesome YouTube playback in the "stress test", I closed everything except a couple of browser windows. One played a YouTube video, and it did so without flaw.
Battery Life: pretty good
I get about 4.5 hours of real world usage on the battery. Overall, that meets my requirements. My typical use without plugged in power is a meeting at a coffee shop or something for an hour. So, it the less-than stellar battery life is well within my operational needs.
When I am on a plane, I really only use my Nexus 7 tablet for reading, audio books, videos, and games. The tablet is much better for a plane than even a small computer like this, IMHO.
Ports and Connectors: Two USB 2.0 ports; One USB 3.0 (sweet!); One HDMI (full sized); One VGA; Multi-card reader; Ethernet! Combo headphone / mic
Other very good qualities:
* The case is very nice, with a textured feel that is nice
* The keyboard and track-pad work very nicely, and the large track-pad worked perfectly
*The sound system is very loud. This is far superior to many notebook computers I have owned. It is a bit wanting in the base, but there is no problem with the volume .. I think it goes to 11.
*The screen is excellent for viewing straight on, or on there lateral periphery. It gets washed out in the tilt quite a bit, but I wouldn't use it that way any way.
This Computer is Good For:
*General office work: word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, browsing, etc
* Developer: web-development, edit source code, browsing, browsing in virtual box (like Vista, Win7, XP, ...)
* Server: Apache server with PHP, etc; local storage server, music server, video server, etc.
* Travel: lightweight enough at 3 pounds; power adapter is multi-voltage/freq, SD slot for camera photos, USB-3.0 for fast external storage; wifi a/b/g/n + ethernet. And with a "Chromebook" cost of under $300 not too painful if it were lost or stolen.
* Simple non-3D FPS games: Solitaire, Mahjongg, Sudoko, etc.
Simple to moderate image processing. Excellent for casual user for editing travel photos
* Nice for listening to music with the speakers. No need for an external set like many laptops
* Videos play flawlessly from the hard drive, and streaming video worked without any hiccups or problems
* Google-Earth no graphics problems the rendering of the 3D images worked well
Not Good For:
* Gaming of any type where 3D and FPS is important at all
* Video editing
* Serious/Professional Photoshop work
Ratings for the market this notebook serves (5-Star scale):
Design: 5 Stars: nice size, nice feel to cover
Portability: 4 Stars: under 3 pounds is great (2.5 would be better!)
Build quality: 5 Stars: it feels pretty solid
Keyboard & Trackpad: 4 Stars: keys feel good, trackpad works nicely. It would have been nice to have a back-lit keyboard
OS and Software: 5 Stars: I augment my Ubuntu experience with the Cinnamon desktop, but that's the beauty of Linux: "to each their own".
Overall:
FAIL: 1 Star Overall Rating for a Novice computer user because of the out of the box WIFI issue. This product meant to work out-of-the-box and it didn't. All you will do with this abysmal failure is turn people off to Ubuntu. Shame on you ASUS!
For me, and any technically capable person, it is a solid 4-Star device. But I thought since it came stock with Ubuntu, this would be the first time I wouldn't need to tweak a computer to get it working for me. This was a disappointment.
In the end, I am satisfied. Frankly, I wish it would have come installed with a minimal crippled version of Windows-8. That way, I would have simply installed Ubuntu 12.10 from the start, and I wouldn't have had any WIFI problems. However, with the savings of the "Windows Tax", I can use that money to buy my lift ticket at Mt. Bachelor today.
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The Good:+ Low Cost
+ Easy Setup
+ Fast Boot
+ Lightweight
+ Ample Hard Drive
+ Decent Keyboard
The Bad:
Wonky Trackpad
Popular Streaming Services Require Workarounds
Spotty Printer Support
No Exchange Sync (At Least For My Company)
Erratic Bluetooth Performance
Poor Android 4.1 Support
Overall: While it is not perfect, the ASUS X201E-DH01 is an excellent Windows and Chromebook alternative.
Background: I was looking for something more portable than my 15.6" Windows laptop and more work oriented than my Android tablet. I've actually soured a bit on the tablet experience, and I'm trying to decide if I need or even want one. I was actually looking at the Acer C710-2055 when I stumbled across this model from ASUS. The specs are quite similar with the exception of the OS (Ubuntu Linux vs. Chrome). For the extra $20, I decided to get a machine with a full-fledged OS that works offline by design.
Setup: Unlike what some others have reported, my X201E came with Ubuntu 12.04 pre-installed. When I powered it on, there wasn't a whole lot to do. However, the initial boot does take a while. It guides you through a simple process collecting some basic information such as language, time zone, etc. It also asked me to create a user account with a password, which is easy enough. From there, I was ready to roll after a reboot. I had no problem adding my wireless network (or subsequent networks). I have connected to hidden and enterprise networks without issue. As long as you know the settings, you get in. If setup were the only consideration, I would say that this laptop is for any user level.
User Input: The keyboard of the X201E has the common "chicklet" style keyboard, and it feels good to type with. It has enough resistance so that it doesn't feel bouncy. However, it is not overly stiff either. The layout is pretty good, yet some may find the lack of dedicated page up, down, etc. buttons a disappointment. They are available through the function key, but I do find that I miss them on long web pages. The trackpad, on the other hand, has fewer positives. Actually, it is really no worse than most trackpads, and I really think these were invented to promote mouse sales. The trackpad doesn't have separate buttons, and it just doesn't feel comfortable. However, my biggest gripe (with trackpads in general) is the accidental touch during typing that sends your cursor to some distant place on the page away from where you intended to type. For serious typing sessions, I use a mouse and disable to trackpad. This does create a tradeoff for portable use. Do I fight through the wonky trackpad or take a mouse with me from conference room to conference room?
Web Browsing: Unless you are a die-hard IE fan, you have good options for browsing the web. The X201E has Firefox installed by default, but I preferred Chrome. It was easy to download and install from Google's site. With limited exceptions (that I will note in a later section), it is indistinguishable from using Chrome on a Windows machine. It is here that I access both my Gmail and Corporate email, and I also use Evernote to go paperless in meetings.
Office Software: Ubuntu comes with LibreOffice installed by default (although there are a couple of other options to try if it is missing your favorite features). Here's the bottom line, though. No matter what you choose, nothing is going to work seamlessly with docx, xlsx, pptx, etc. files. Microsoft doesn't want this to happen, and they have done a good job of keeping things this way. For my purposes, however, I generally only need to be able to view documents on the go, and any MS Office alternative does a good enough job. One last note item in this area is e-mail. There is not an Outlook equivalent in any of the other office suites, and Thunderbird is the default email client. I looked for Exchange support, and found that a Thunderbird plug-in was supposed to work with Exchange Web Services (EWS). I installed the plug-in, but I could never get it working. This may have as much to do with how my company has exchange setup, but the lack of support for corporate email is nonetheless disappointing.
Media: As I mentioned earlier, I have my entire music collection copied to my X201E. The default music player for Ubuntu is Rhythmbox, and it is sufficient for my needs. You do have to go through some extra steps to enable mp3 decoding because this requires proprietary drivers. This is a Linux philosophical issue, and true open source distributions do not enable proprietary software out of the box. This is the first feature that is likely to trip up the Linux novice. Googling reveals easy to follow steps, but the X201E just became work for the lay user. Video playback is another story. Both Netflix and Amazon Instant Video streaming are non-functioning out of the box. There are workarounds for these, but I was only able to get Amazon Instant Video working in Firefox. My Netflix has sound but no picture, and this was after a lot of work. Even with Amazon Instant Video, it doesn't look good when maximized. The streaming quality seems to be set for the "in browser" sized video. YouTube works well enough. I don't really watch stored videos, but support for this is available through clients like VLC. However, as with mp3 formats, you may need to install proprietary software in order to watch a particular format. This will definitely be the case if you connect an external DVD/Blu-Ray player. Perhaps video (streaming at least) is something better left to the likes of a Kindle Fire HD.
Bluetooth: This is not a core feature requirement for me, but I decided to test it out and report my findings. First, I tried my pairing with my HTC Rezound. Things started out rocky, and they never really got better. My first attempts at pairing were unsuccessful as neither device could see the other after making them both visible. I tried again on a subsequent session, and I was able to pair the devices. However, they didn't agree on the profiles that their pairing supported. My Rezound wanted to send phone and media audio to the X201E while the X201E wanted to send and receive files. As you might expect, ne'er the twain shall meet.
Other: So far, this might not sound like much of a differentiator from the Chromebook, but there are other uses beyond my core requirements that others a likely to find appealing. Linux has a good array of photo and video editing software that the Chrome OS just can't come close to matching. It would also be trivial to grab Eclipse and other Java development tools although I'm not sure how these would perform on the limited hardware. The point is that have a full-fledged OS gives you a lot of options. There are also a fair number of games, but that is not really my area of expertise.
Overall: This ASUS X201E is a unique device. It is one of two current laptops (the other is from Dell targeted at software developers) from major manufacturers that comes with Linux installed. Depending on your needs, this might be the perfect low cost, portable alternative to Windows that you are looking for. Potential Chromebook users should definitely give it a look.
Best Deals for ASUS X201E-DH01 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
This laptop manages to be both sleek, and offer considerable connectivity. You get one USB3 port, two USB2, one Ethernet, HDMI, VGA, and SD card slot. Then there is Bluetooth. That's pretty good for a cheap machine.I purchased this for my wife, who prefers the XFCE desktop. Unfortunately, the XFCE power management seems to fight with the power management in the Unity desktop. Upgrading to XFCE 4.10 (via a PPA) seems to have helped. There have been wireless problems, but upgrading to kernel 3.2.40 seems to have helped (the latter upgrade was automatic).
When power management works, the computer suspends, but doesn't hibernate. Since the computer uses Intel's Sandy Bridge chipset, suspend uses very little power. There is also remarkably little space on the drive, given it's capacity (320 G). That can be traced to an empty, extended 105 G NTFS partition. I suppose you can mount it and put stuff there (like Windows?), or you can use GParted to resize it and the other partitions, or possibly delete it and resize the other partitions. It's a strange disk arrangement.
This is not a netbook. Yes the Asus uses a wimpy Celeron, but that Celeron is more powerful than the Intel Atom CPUs that resided in netbooks. Further, this machine comes with 4 G of RAM. Perhaps the greatest speed boost comes with the CPU's support for virtualization. That means a five fold speed increase over what an Atom based CPU can do when running Virtualbox.
The other big improvement over a netbook lies in the screen. It's bigger (11.6", instead of 10.1") and sports a higher resolution 1366x768. This is a resolution found in all sorts of cheap laptops. The difference here is that such a resolution looks good at 11.6".
Battery life is something better than 4 hours. You can't swap the battery, because it's built in. The keyboard works, and has the typical, poor Asus layout. There was room for dedicated PgUp-PgDn, Home-End keys, but Asus chose to ignore this and make them all function key based. On the plus side, the touch is OK, and there in no keyboard "bounce."
What you get is a cheap machine with no "crapware," update capabilities that are second to none, and that runs quickly. That said, since it is running Linux, it will continue to run quickly.
Update 3 Apr. 2013: Issues with power management on XFCE when installed after Ubuntu's Unity interface persisted, so I installed Debian. This marked my first 64 bit install, and my first install on a UEFI machine (all the previous machines had a BIOS). I burned a Debian Wheezy netinstall disk to CD, and rebooted. Holding the ESC key when booting brings up the UEFI menu. There were two CD boot options, one that listed my drive, and the other that listed it with UEFI. You want the latter, trust me. ;)
If you want to add Skype, or any other 32 bit only software, the command given as root, "dpkg --add-architecture i386", is your friend.
What did I loose by going to Debian? The screen brightness and touchpad disable function keys. I typically set up the touchpad with Synclient, and add palm detection, so the touchpad toggle is no great loss, but the screen brightness is. The package xfce4-power-manager-plugins adds a slick widget you can add to your panel (taskbar) that lets you adjust the brightness.
What did I gain? Speed. As usual, Debian is a lighter weight distribution by default. I gained a more intelligent partitioning, with about another 100 G for data. I also gained the ability to hibernate the machine.
To sum up, I'm still scratching my head over some of Asus' choices when offering this machine. Why they included an unused, 100 G NTFS formated partition escapes me. Also, I'm not sure why they did not include hibernation support. In general, Ubuntu, even with their long term releases is buggier than Debian, but if you don't like to "play" with your machine, and you are satisfied with the Unity interface, this remains a good buy.
Update 14 April, 2013: An update to Debian Wheezy has fixed the screen brightness keys.
Update 15 May, 2013: Received a second unit to set up for another person. Part of the setup included a Debian install with most of the drive encrypted. I used an encrypted LVM (logical volume manager), and it went fairly smoothly, except when the installer announced it was erasing the drive. It was an extremely thorough erasure, as it took 18 hours. Only then did the installer proceed with partitioning the drive.
The encryption is largely transparent in operation. The only time you realize you are running an encrypted disk is when booting, or resuming from hibernation.
Update 1 July, 2013: A third unit developed wireless connection issues. These included difficulty connecting, spontaneous disconnects, and strongly fluctuating signal levels. I finally removed the back of the unit, and discovered a loose antenna wire. The plug used (I'm assuming it's an industry standard) is extremely small, and hard to line up properly, but once properly plugged in, all issues went away.
Honest reviews on ASUS X201E-DH01 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
This is not a laptop to do heavy lifting with, but for web surfing, a pretty close to perfect ssh terminal thin client.BIOS can be upgraded without needing any boot CDs or Windows installs, which is nice.
Laptop came with Ubuntu 12.10 [nothing wrong with it], but I removed it right away and put Fedora 18 on it. The only thing that doesn't work 'out of the box' is the gigabit ethernet, but the driver can be easily compiled and loaded by following these directions:
One heads up, even though the title says 'Grey Aluminum' the body is made out of plastic, but it is very sturdy, much better quality than HP Pavilions as an example.
The two cell battery can be a bit a of an issue to some, but I have gotten 2+ hours on it so far, even though I am not on battery power a lot.
The only downside I've had with it so far is that Suspend/Resume [on Fedora] is still a bit buggy, it works sometimes, but sometimes it failts to suspend... I have a hunch it may be related to the gigabit ethernet extra kernel module, but haven't fully tested yet.
Anyway... I much rather spend $325 or so on this machine than on a tablet, much more useful. There are ways to watch Netflix on Fedora [google for it], and it works OK.
Pretty happy with the purchase.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for ASUS X201E-DH01 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Everything worked right out of the box. Came with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and after initial user account creation it downloaded some 350+ updates and legacy driver for the wireless card and things were much smoother. I have a Ubuntu machine running my HTPC so I am familiar with the OS. The screen is perfect for web browsing, email and word processing and presentation. Spreadsheet work can be a pain die to 11inch screen. Small package, solid feel, no flex, the hinges are sturdy and have no play. Overall real good construction. Was not expecting a stellar screen at this price but even in lowest brightness setting it is not a problem to work indoors.Took off one star for photoshopped product pictures posted everywhere. All product pictures are taken from a high angle that hides the thickness and makes it look slimmer than it really is. I am not complaining that it is thick but simply stating that the images are a deliberate attempt to make it look slimmer.
I am getting battery life of 3-3.5hrs at lowest brightness setting with web browsing and no flash video playback. This could be a Ubuntu issue as Ubuntu battery optimization is not as good as windows or Mac. Will have to load WinXP or Win7 to test that. However you will need a $10-15 external DVD drive to load any other OS, unless you are good in doing it off a USB drive.
Overall I am happy with what i got at the price I paid.
Update: April 14th 2013
The wireless connection was not reliable and it would just loose connection without reason. So I upgraded the OS to Ubuntu 12.10 from within 12.04. Wireless problem got fixed and battery life looks like it improved a tad to 4-4.5hrs. Also installed a power management software.
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