HP Folio 13-1051nr, the Hunger Games Special Edition

HP Folio 13-1051nr, the Hunger Games Special EditionI purchased this machine and have been using it for a few days. The laptop is extremely thin and looks very sharp. I've used it in a few public settings and get a lot of compliments and small talk about it from random people that want to hold and feel it. I believe the design is better than macbook and very solid with no creeks as I hold it or move the screen. The screen has great viewing angles from above and from the sides, has very rich color, and can be turned up very bright. I have no dead pixels and the screen backlight is very uniform and the resolution is great.The keys are slightly on the stiff side, with expected limited travel, but not a deal breaker and still great to type on. The trackpad is nice and large, supports multi-touch and is very nice no complaints.

The hard drive is on the small side, but upgradeable. I wish HP had included a 256 gig one instead of the 128 gig one. I have already upgraded the drive to the MyDigitalSSD 256GB SMART SATA III SandForce mSATA Solid State Drive which is extremely fast and I highly recommend it. It took about 10 minutes for me to removed the old SSD and install the new one.

Ram is the only area that regret about the laptop. 4GB of RAM is ok, but not ideal, especially in a few years. I think I'll be able to get by and I haven't run short on memory yet. The battery life runs between 6 and 7 hours of battery life on a full charge with light web usage. I would prefer a little more, but this seems acceptable. The Wireless signal is strong and smooth. It seems to perform well and has as much if not more signal strength than any other laptop I've used.

This thing is blazing fast for an ultra book. My desktop is a second gernation i5 at 3.00GHZ and this machine is as fast as or faster than it! It can do a cold boot in about 10 seconds and wakes up from sleep in about 1 to 2 seconds. Graphic performance is very good too, for an ultrabook. No issues playing HD videos. I even loaded Diablo III and it runs very smooth with all high settings and a resolution of 1600 x 900. That's the only game I've tried so far.

Just what i was looking for: fast boot, nice battery life, decent screen, good trackpad, decent *backlit* keyboard, slim, light, good wifi .... All that remains is how long it will last. I am happy. I only purchased the Hunger Games edition cuz it was cheaper than the non-branded one at the time..

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This item was not a hunger games special edition, but the standard edition. Be warned about items "fulfilled by Amazon." Customer service is terrible because Amazon provides the customer service, but doesn't own the shelves so the best they can do is offer you a refund. The refuse to acknowledge that this is basically a bait and switch, and send you the correct product. Furthermore, they refuse to change the language on their product listing to reflect the actual product. I would give zero stars if i could for not-as-advertised and really painful customer service.

That said, this laptop is great, good enough despite all this to garner two stars. Just look to purchase it from elsewhere!

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Apple MacBook Pro ME665LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop with Retina Display (NEWEST VERSION)

Apple MacBook Pro ME665LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop with Retina DisplayI purchased the newest version (Early 2013) which had the upgrade to 16GB Ram and 512GB SSD.

The notebook is extremely fast. Computer seems solid, boots in 10-15 seconds from off, sleep to ready in 4-5 seconds. It opens programs in no time flat. It is not light as an air book, but still defiantly lighter than previous models. The screen is great, bright, and responsive. With heavy use I get about 5-5 1/2 hours of use on the battery.

Some peoples complaints are the new power adapter, I will agree with them, the new adapter sticks out further and gets knocked off a lot. Not having a dvd drive, not a big deal...I dont think i've used a dvd or cd in a computer in a few years! If I need to I will just have to purchase the external.

This is by far the best laptop I've ever owned. A 2.7GHz quad-core processor, 16GB RAM and (I opted cheap) 256GB flash storage makes for the fastest, smoothest computing experience I've ever seen! The design is superb, materials are by far the best in any computer, and the overall package blew me away. I've had powerbooks and macbook pros, but this is a whole new level. I love all the trackpad gestures, it makes operating the laptop very intuitive and easy. The display is incredible I can't wait to get photoshop and final cut up and running! No, it doesn't come with a CD/DVD drive and I'm glad it doesn't! Besides, you can get a usb one for pennies on the dollar now if you really need to have a physical disc (I have one lying around that I haven't used in ages). Yes, it's expensive, but I honestly don't foresee ever having to buy another laptop! I'm sure at some point I'll replace the flash memory, but maybe 6-7 years down the road, and 16GB RAM will hold me over forever!

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I ordered this computer on may 21st, received it on may 23rd. The shrink wrap on the box was intact, but when I opened it I found the charger missing. So I called customer support and they were willing to refund the amount for the charger so that I can I pick one up at the apples store, since I was leaving out of the country. I took the computer along with me to the apple store, bought the charger and I also asked them to check it out. They input the serial number on the Mac and guess what showed up.. The name of the owner of the computer and already 20 days of the warranty has lapsed. So I come home call the support and they agreed to refund it. I don't know if the apple store or Amazon is responsible for this. On the whole it was a bitter experience, I never expected this from amazon.

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I bought this computer a year ago and guess how many viruses and problems I've had with it? ZERO!!! This is bar none the BEST computer I've EVER had!!! My step-father and my husband are both in the computer industry. For YEARS, I struggled with PC's and they were always fixing my computer. After my laptop of only 6 months started acting up terribly, I bit the bullet and bought the macbook pro. I got it directly through Apple. They were WONDERFUL!!! They were AMERICANS and spoke ENGLISH that I could understand. With the infinite patience of Job, they helped me choose the right computer for me, as there are many options on the Macbook pro. I wound up with a middle of the road 15" which is PERFECT for my school, professional and personal needs. I invested in the Apple Care extended warranty and the year of lessons (One to One membership). The screen is beautiful and the images are crisp and clear. I LOVE the keyboard that lights up in the dark. I was able to set it up and install software MYSELF, which is something I've NEVER been able to do with the old PC's. It's a very fast machine with a battery that lasts a long time and is just wonderful. I waited a year to write the review because I wanted to see how many problems I would have. I'm happy to report NONE. Not ONCE have I hollered for my husband or called my step-father out of frustration. In fact, my biological father was so impressed, he got one for himself to use at his office and for personal use! He loves his as well! I also have gotten an ipad, which syncs with this computer, and will be completing the "trilogy" soon with an iphone. All I can say is, this computer just works, and it works wonderfully! If you're reading this, contemplating the price, etc... GO FOR IT!!! You will NEVER regret it! It's worth the extra money to have a product that holds up and works flawlessly. I will NEVER go back to a PC. In fact, when I have to use one, it is frustrating. Windows runs better on my macbook pro than it did on my old PC!!!! Go for it!!! I did and I am a happy and satisfied customer.

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Here I am at day 10 of ownership trying to decide if I should take advantage of Apple's 14-day return policy and reclaim the better part of my retirement fund back from what until recently was one of the world's richest kingdoms (or companies or whatever).

I'm mostly a PC guy, but I use Mac's enough to appreciate them and perhaps even enough to take them for granted. This is not a device you will take for granted. The refinements in the latest version of Mac OS X (mine came with Mountain Lion) are truly elegant. I giggle a little every time I use it. The retina display defies belief. (Just hope you are lucky enough, as was I, to get one manufactured by Samsung and not an LG display where there is talk of a class action suit for screen burn-in.) It boots almost instantaneously (and I'm grateful for that because mine is rebooting ALL THE TIME). And it's put together in typical gem-like fashion, though I also think the design is starting to appear dated. But I don't need to describe it. People you know who have one can't wait to show it off. And you can just go down to the Apple Store or the Amazon showroom (err, your local Best Buy) and check it out yourself.

I gave up on Macs the first time in 1997 when I had a Power PC and System 7.6 and the stock was trading at $4.00 per share. (Yes, the decimal place is correct.) System 7.6 was also rather elegant (remember, the competition was Windows 95, ugh) but it crashed at least twice a day. The bitter memory of tears shed when I realized I lost forever my precious work that I thought I had saved to disk but really only was just cached took more than a decade to wear off. Only recently have Macs wormed their way back into my cold little heart.

Or so I thought. Not since System 7.6 or Windows ME (which is a repressed memory for probably even Melinda Gates) have I dealt with such a flakey OS. Oy, where do I begin?

Apple indeed does have a Blue Screen of Death. Only it's gray and looks stylish. But it emerges unexpectedly in the middle of doing something or not really much of anything at all, unpredictably, two or three times a day. Kernal Panic is I guess what their calling it nowadays. Get used to it.

Time machine for backups is a model of simplicity. It has two modes. In one mode, with a brilliant and erudite nod to Charles Simonyi's Hungarian code, it flashes nothing but, "The Backup disk image #^&!##!&.sparsebundle is already in use." In the other mode it runs eternally and seemingly won't stop until it backs you up all the way to the Big Bang, or at least until before you existed and hence find yourself pondering existential questions about killing your grandfather and not having to worry about finding the file you were never born to delete.

Then there's the amazing solid state drive. Not only is it fast, but defying the laws of physics, whenever I check the hard drive's "get info" I astonishingly learn that I have more available space than the disk capacity itself, and it grows every day. Here again, Apple has figured out how to magically warp my little scrap of the fabric of the space-time continuum.

When you close that lid to fill up at Starbucks, you'll be glad to know that you'll have plenty of time to drink that cup of Joe. The dang thing takes so long to wake up from sleep, at least when it hasn't fatally OD'd, that you'll be tempted to wonder if coffee is what this machine need. That or Narcan.

One other thing you should know. Apps, like the OS, that are made for the Retina Display are indescribable. There is nothing you will ever see as sharp, not on paper, film, or a screen. Unfortunately, everything else looks like a$$. Want to run Office? How about a year-old version of Photoshop? It's worse than Mr. Magoo without his glasses. Inexplicably, apps that are sharp on lesser Macs and even on cheapo netbooks are so fuzzzy you won't even be able to tell if there is an extra Z or two.

Well, if you've read this far you probably can tell not only do I love this machine, but I love to hate it, or hate to love it. I'm not sure. How can a product this good be so bad? How can I pay so much and be so disappointed but so hesitant to return it to get my money back? You'll just have to own one to understand.

UPDATE:

I decided to keep it. Apple has since introduced an update (10.8.3), which has greatly improved the stability of the system. In the two weeks since updating I've only :( had just 4 crashes/freezes requiring reboots, and it no longer reliably freezes when the lid is closed overnight. In contrast, I can't remember when either of the couple-year old Windows 7 systems I use last crashed (if ever)--yet I still prefer to work on this machine. The update to 10.8.3 does completely fix the fan issue; previously, even while idle, the fan would go on at full blast (actually loud enough to interfere with conversation) seemingly for no reason and the only way to stop it was to reboot.

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X201 540M 2GB/320 Dvr Bt F C W7-32

X201 540M 2GB/320 Dvr Bt F C W7-32Not much to say here for introduction, I guess if you are reading this review chances are you know why we professionals buy ThinkPads... ;) :P

Pros:

world-famous, excellent quality FULL-SIZED KEYBOARD (=essentially Lenovo built an ultra-portable road-warrior around a regular-sized keyboard sans dedicated numeric pad which is available as accessory)

COMES WITH ULTRABASE w/ DVD-RW dockin station (model #32492FU from J&R, at least) included in the box ($200 savings!)

Ultrabase can charge a second battery and sports loads of extra ports while does not block any on-board ones

runs COLD, even after 5+ hours

netbook-class dimensions and battery life but much faster than a netbook and it can pretty

very good battery life/CPU performance ratio with mid-range battery and fast (i5-540) CPU combo: I regularly score above 5 hours on WiFi with medium-light usage (VPN Client connected, putty/SSH, Firefox + Chrome, both running 10+ tabs and loads of plugins including Flash Player etc)

good weight at 3.xx lbs w/ 6-cell battery

Windows 7 Professional license included

decent-sized 320GB hard drive

finally a 'reasonably slow' integrated (on-die) Intel HD graphics core

full Intel vPro stack including vT-d (DirectIO) means future Citrix XenClient support (launches in October 2010)

excellent security: fingerprint reader, Intel AMT, optional encrypting hard drive upgrade

excellent status lights with proper 'icons', readable even with closed lid

very convenient, very useful ThinkVantage Tools: all updates, profiles, locations, warranty, support issues etc can be accessed by the push of a button

dedicated hardware buttons all around: radio on/off/ volume mute/down/up, ThinkVantage Tools button to access everything else

usual unbreakable ThinkPad chassis (though feels a bit less sturdy than old IBM ThinkPads)

mile-long list of options (accessories, warranties/support, upgrades etc)

and of course, built-in ThinkLight, a switchable LED light source for nighttime typing, checking card numbers etc! :)

Cons:

2GB memory -> Windows 7 Pro 32-bit preinstalled, you need to reinstall from scratch to get 64-bit (serial works for both)

no bloatware (no, ThinkVantage Tools are NOT bloatware)

wimpish battery life with 4-cell -> only buy it with 6-cell!

9-cell gives great battery life but stands out in the back and pushes the weight well above 4lbs

rather craptastic LCD colors out of the box -> run a calibration tool, it makes a difference though viewing angles etc won't be better (cheap screen panel tech:

X201/i is 'only WXGA (1280x800), not available with WXGA+ (1440X900) -> only ultra-light X201s got it but then say goodbye to webcam... dumb compromise?

personal grievance: Fn button is outside instead of Ctrl... aaahhh, you shouldn't use anything other than ThinkPade, period. :)

Summary: for $1,200 it is the best all-around ultraportable road warrior with the most power and longest battery at the same time.

PS: make sure you check your warranty status because J&R apparently screwing around with your dates, mine came with a June 2010 warranty start date, that's a 2-months loss right there... just contact Lenovo and fax them your actual invoice, they will fix it (takes some time.)

Warning: if you want to upgrade your warranty to ThinkPad Protection (accidental damage etc) you MUST add in the first 30 days!

Dell Inspiron 15r Notebook Intel Core i3-380(2.53ghz) 15.6" 2gb Memory Ddr3 1333 250gb Hdd 5400rpm

Dell Inspiron 15r Notebook Intel Core i3-380(2.53ghz) 15.6' 2gb Memory Ddr3 1333 250gb Hdd 5400rpm Dvd±r/rw Intel HD Graphics Hdmi WebcamWhen I decided to purchase a new Laptop I did a search for various brands for my requirements.

As I had a good experience with my previous Dell laptops, I settled on this Dell Inspiron 15R. I have used this laptop for around 2 months now and works really well for me.

Pros:

1. Good Performance: Core i3-380M (2.53ghz)

2. Supports Virtualization

3. Supports Wireless Tech., Wi-fi

4. Supports Hyper Threading and turbo Boost Technology

5. Onboard HD Graphics(Intel)

6. HDMI port and e-SATA port. (Sounds Amazing)

7. Inbuilt card Reader supports SD, MMC, MS Pro

8. 3 USB ports and 1 high Speed LAN port.

9. Windows 7 Home Premium.

Cons:

1. No Firewire Port.

Review:

If you are looking for complete package for your job, study and entertainment then this is the product. I dont think anybody could get disappointed.

The article has problems, the carcass is starting with a swipe. The mouse buttons do not work. I am not satisfied with the product, has many flaws.Dell Inspiron 15r Notebook Intel Core i3-380(2.53ghz) 15.6" 2gb Memory Ddr3 1333 250gb Hdd 5400rpm Dvd±r/rw Intel HD Graphics Hdmi Webcam

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After 4 months of moderate use of my brand new Dell Inspiron computer the keyboard stopped functioning. After multiple phone calls to a call center (where english was a second language and they could only respond to what was written in their script)I was told I would have to replace the keyboard myself. That failed, so after many more calls they agreed to send someone to replace the keyboard. They did.

After 7 months of less than moderate use, the keyboard and mouse pad failed. Many calls later, the repairman replaced both parts.

After 9 months of infrequent use, the hard drive crashed. After spending $89 at staples to copy my hard drive, and at least 4 hours of telephone frustration, including hangups, and restating the problem multiple times, I was "promised" that "Dell would make things right". I told them I wanted an extended warranty or a new computer," they told me "once the hard drive was replaced I would be "taken care of".

I made multiple phone calls to the "direct line" of the customer service person over the next three months. I resorted to writing to the owner of Dell, Michael Dell, received my letter and a few weeks later I got a call from someone that had no idea what the issue was. After explaining to him he said someone would get back to me.

Months later I did get a call, this person thought I was calling to have the hard drive replaced, nd told me I had missed that house call.Dell Optiplex Computer with 19 inch LCD Flat Panel Monitor (Single Core 2.8Ghz Pentium 4 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 750 GB Hard Drive, Windows XPDell Inspiron 14R i14RN4110-8073DBK 14-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black)Dell Inspiron 15RM i15RM-7412DBK 15-Inch Laptop (Black) The end result... I was offered a $50 credit towards Dell products.

I will never buy a Dell again.

Sylvia

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This is my first laptop and it definitely meets my needs and expectations. The primary reason for the purchase was to have a portable computer/DVD player with WIFI for times when I travel and need a diversion on the plane/train and to have email and Internet access on my own account. I'm no guru and don't need anything for technical purposes; but based on my rather limited experience, Dell computers are the only ones I would own. It did not disappoint in that respect. It virtually set itself up right out of the box. Credit Microsoft for that, I guess. The only drawbacks keeping me from giving it 5 stars is that the battery life seems so short, particulary as I do like to Skype with family members... That really eats up the battery life. It's lucky if it lasts an hour. I will look into getting a longer-lasting battery if one is out there.

I'd recommend this Dell for anyone who needs a good basic laptop with WIFI. It did not come with any office type software except for some "trials" of MS Office. That is probably why the price was so reasonable. WIFI setup instructions could have been a bit better, but with a little help from my cable company it finally got done and works great. I can't wait to see how it works out there on a public WIFI connection.

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Dell Inspiron 14R Laptop - 2nd generation Intel Core i3-2310M processor 2.10 GHz / 6GB DDR3 Memory

Dell Inspiron 14R Laptop - 2nd generation Intel Core i3-2310M processor 2.10 GHz / 6GB DDR3 Memory / 640GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive / 14.0' High Definition LED Display with TrueLife / Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit / 8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner / Intel Centrino Wireless-N1030, 1x2 bgn + Bluetooth / Exchangeable Lid - Diamond Black PatternThis is a very nice laptop at a good price. I bought this one for a friend and He's delited with it. He's a programmer so in Linux works blazing fast. Also in its original OS works great because the amount of RAM and the processor.

Totally recommended for daily use.

This computer was a great purchase. I love the size, design, and speed of this model. The only thing I would change is the keypad, the buttons seem to have a little blur to them if you look closely, but my other Dell had the same keys.

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I bought this laptop for my then girlfriend (now wife) as an everyday use computer, i.e. internet, photos, etc. Well worth the money, and very dependable.

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I have bought Dells for over 20 years. My last Dell laptop has been in use for 12 years without any problems. The Dell before that is still in the house as a backup for 16 years. So when I broke down and bought my 10th grade daughter her first laptop this year for Christmas the choice was not which brand but which Dell. I decided on the 14R because it was on sale with the i3 processor, the 6GB memory and the large harddrive. She opens it up on Christmas morning and it crashed the first three times she turned it on. I guess Dell has replaced the "blue screen of death" with a black screen of death. Check disk errors, can't find the OS, and the charger sent with the unit is not capable of charging the battery to its full capacity. The unit will slow accordingly. SLOWER because the charger won't charge the battery. Seriously? I was able to salvage Christmas by at least getting it running and I replaced the cover with the pink top, but I was pissed that not only had I blown it for Christmas but Dell had let me down, BIG TIME.

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Bought it on a Sunday and the adapter wouldn't charge. To Dell's credit, they sent a tech out the next day who replaced the motherboard and power supply. About the only original part left was the RAM. Dell even game me another 3 months on the warranty as a consolation.

3 days later the adapter went bad again and back to the store it goes.

Now comes the fun part. How can you literally replace nearly all the guts on a computer and it still doesn't work (and the tech flashed the BIOS to the newest level, too)?

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Acer Aspire E1-571-6481 15.6-Inch Laptop (Glossy Black)

Acer Aspire E1-571-6481 15.6-Inch LaptopPros: good build. and configuration is sufficient for moderate day to day work loads (email, internet, wordprocessing, multimedia). Nice finsihing.

cons: For the price No complaint. (It is not expected to be a high end gaming machine or workstation)

I will recomend this product, it is a great laptop.

My son uses it for school, it is light and easy to carry around.

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I need more training to enjoy the full range 0f possibilities. This is probably more than I need for the limited ways I use the computer.

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The screen flickers on and off if the laptop is moved or touched. Acer had me ship it to their repair center at my expense. It was returned to me two weeks later, supposedly "fixed". I turned it on and the screen flickers much worse than before. I have once again shipped it back to Acer for repair. NO apology, no offer of simply replacing the item for a working computer. I emailed the company asking for help & nobody has responded. Customer service is awful. What a frustrating experience!

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I really like this laptop its good, just what I needed good price I love windows 8 its really not that bad it just takes time to get used to it

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Lenovo IdeaPad U310 4375 - 13.3" - Core i5 3317U

Lenovo IdeaPad U310 4375 - 13.3' - Core i5 3317UI am definitely satisfied with the purchase, good price, excellent computer.

it just has one issue when connecting to wifi, it seams to have low "antenna" capacity, though it works fine when the wifi signal is good.

Sony VAIO Lifestyle VGN-P688E/G 8-Inch Laptop - Green

Sony VAIO Lifestyle VGN-P688E/G 8-Inch Laptop - GreenMaybe I got a fluke, but Sony's so-called "full laptop" computer in an 8" form factor is like trying to run Vista on your mom's old P3. Seriously, this thing absolutely crawls. All this would be acceptable were it not for the very mediocre battery life (forget 4 hours, I couldn't even manage 2 with moderately heavy use), when any other netbook (that's right, netbook) for well under half the price outperforms it in battery life AND performance. Ironic; the 1.33Ghz processor really is a step down from the 1.66Ghz Atoms in netbooks, despite what I've been told to the contrary about the different "architecture."

But that's just on the hardware front. It powers on fast enough, but right from the get-go you're slammed with loads of bloatware and tons of programs that are slow to load into memory, one after the other (that's right, it's not even a dual core). These can be uninstalled--though not cleanly, as they leave some registry junk data behind. But there's little that can be done about yet another software-related problem: drivers. The video driver on here is one of the worst experiences I've had to date with video displays. HD video was an absolute disaster, even though the chipset (google "Poulsbo" or GMA500) claims it to be able to decode 720p HD video. So when I tried to play a simple HQ youtube vid (not even HD) and met with stuttering far worse than my friend's Asus Eee PC, which cost about 350, I was understandably upset. As for the faster disk drive with the SSD, this may be true. But when you can't run even basic productivity apps at full speed, any HD speed increase was unnoticeable. My Eee for instance has a conventional "slow" HD but gets the job done (except for copying files) much more quickly.

A lot of this might be Vista's fault. But before you think of downgrading to the faster, lighter XP, let me warn you--you'll have even more issues with Sony's drivers. Linux? Forget about it; Intel's Poulsbo drivers are in a pitiful state there too. When the most appealing attribute of the system--the hi-res screen, mind you--is nearly unusable with any other options, one can't help but feel a bit ripped off. The webcam's quality isn't very good (the Eee wins again), and the WWan (mobile broadband) is locked to Verizon, so don't think about other companies unless you "unlock" the chip: more time and trouble. The wireless-N support is supposed to be great, but it was dodgy on my home network (maybe it was just my unit or config...or vista, but again, my other devices worked fine). They keyboard and ergonomics are fine, but again, the only good words for this unit, for this price, are surface-deep.

Parting advice: the reviews on this "Lifestyle PC" are low for good reason. I really wish I'd seen Amazon's reviews earlier. (This unit wasn't from Amazon but from Sony themselves).

I bought this with about $550 couple month ago and have been using it in my business trips.

It is very light weighted and full function PC laptop and it a wonderful device to remote log into the corporate desktop and get some work done.

The preloaded Windows Vista home was a pain and I was able downgrade it to Windows XP, which makes the machine much faster. You can find the entire XP driver set in Sony's online library (the power management part is kind of difficult to figure out......, and I can't find the GPS driver)

The PowerDVD 10 has fully resolved the issue of video playback issue, as it can leverage on the hardware acceleration on the Intel video chip. It can play 720P movie without any difficulty.

Hope this helps.

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This is a fine product, in winodws 7 it perform ok, you have to keep in mind is a very small net book made for email et photo storage in a vacation , it like it do the job, do not replace your home computer whit this...but think if it like a speare tire,

rated 4-5

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I purchased this notebook to use as a travel laptop for this purpose, it is great. The display is bright and very legible (after changing the font DPI to 120 dpi). The keyboard is usable (given the size) and the built-in SD card slot comes in handy.

The main problem with this laptop is that it comes with Vista SP1. After updating the SP2, the performance is much better. I also got the Intel developer drivers from their website and used the "Have Disk" procedure to update. Now the graphics have reasonable responsiveness too.

I think I am going to get the extended battery which essentially doubles the battery life.

Overall, having purchased this refurbished for 600, I am happy with it. I will most likely update to Windows 7 to get even better performance. By the way, the Z series ATOM supports hyper-threading which is almost 2x the perfomance similar to a dual core.

I wish SONY/INTEL would release a graphics driver that took full advantage of the dual stream capability of the GMA500 PowerVR graphics chipset.

For Linux, try the Linux JoliCloud Netbook distro .

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I like Sony product overall, but this product was not too impress at all. I purhcased this 2 week ago, with 2 extra battery, travel bag, external VGA/Cat-5 network adapter (since I am traveling a lots and need a small notebook to do my work while traveling). Upon receive, it looks very cool, small and liteweight, but after use it, I am kind of disappoint, it is SLOW ( may be I get used to my 14.1 2.0G CPU, vs of this Atom slow CUP, for sure is slow). I know I can not return it, so I am planning to sell on eBay with discount, it can not really do my works at all (my wife is upset with me to only useit for few days and few hundred off to sell on ebay). I guess the Windows Vista Home and netbook CPU(Atom) is the main reason make it slow, most netbook come with XP (take less memory).

Also, the display text is too small to read(but it display all content within this high res. small LCD, make sense), I have to set text font to 150%, but compare to my regular notebook 14.1 notebook still small. I would say, overall, this notebook can funcion as checking email and browse internet and looks cool, if you need a very small notebook and not too worry about speed and storage space for your daily simple works, this is good one.

by the way, key board size and battery life is pretty good, I like it.

jeff

HP Pavilion dm1-4210us 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

HP Pavilion dm1-4210us 11.6-Inch LaptopPros:

# Ultra portable design, loved the look and feel , its about ipad2's size in length

# Weight just 3.5 lb !! Feels really light when compared to 15' notebooks

# Nice display and nice vivid colors !!

# Very good Sound !

# Battery !

# Decent video quality for low resolution webcam.

# Other features : Bluetooth , HDMI , USB 3.0 port , hotkey for One touch browsing

Cons:

# Feels slow when booting up for a brand new PC.

# Loads of HP software , which may not be required

# Trackpad, although is not bad but will take some time to adjust to the new feel.

Overall I feel this is a great product for people who love portable laptops and mostly use it for internet , chat , music and videos .

Definitely value for money if you want it for school and/or home/personal use and travel. Not sure if will serve the purpose for high CPU intensive applications though .

This product is great!

I love the laptop. It's small and super light weight. The web camera is really good. The laptop is very fast. The design is awesome!

The only downside for me is that it lacks a DVD/CD drive but the laptop is small and it already has so many features it's understandable. xD

Great buy totally worth the price!

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I really like this netbook. Though it is much heavier than what I prefer, It works ok, is fast and has a very smooth feel. Doesn't have a DVD drive but you can buy an external DVD player and you're good to go. :) Worth the price.

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I purchased the HP Pavilion dm1-4210us 11.6-Inch Laptop to use while traveling. My HP Pavilion p6-2108p Desktop remains my primary PC and I also consider the dm1-4210us to be a back-up to it because it has a 500GB HD. The HP dm1-4210us is a very nice little laptop; I wanted something small enough to watch my own movies/listen to my music on a plane or in a hotel, light and easy to carry and good to check e-mail. This laptop fits the bill. My most serious complaint is the built-in speakers. The HP BEATS audio hype led me to expect some pretty good sound but these speakers are just too small to deliver. I guess that's why they sell the BEATS headphones. I'm going to make do with some headphones and a set of portable speakers. I also wish manuals were included in the box; I don't like printing out 40+ pages at home. Other than that, I am still trying to figure out my battery life. Initially, the indicators said I had about 4 hrs of battery life, considerably short of the 7 advertised and my expectations of 5-6 hrs. Today I found I had over 5 hrs of battery life indicated, more in line with what I expect. The touchpad is a bit tricky but not a problem after a short while. I did buy a wireless mouse to use when space permits but I'll be OK without it. I'm really happy with my HP Pavilion dm1-4210us and can highly recommend it.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS 2 MONTHS IN: I'm still happy with my purchase but concerns about speed have cropped up. The dm-1 was taking a while to boot up until I got ruthless about start-up programs. It can also be slow responding while web-surfing if too many background programs are running. A key to this laptop is getting it set-up properly. The HP external speakers make a big difference in the sound quality. I really like the HDMI output to put my movies on my 32" TV.

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Usually I write long, profusely technical reviews.

This is short (busy today).

I love the whole DM1Z series and was one of the first adopters a year ago, got a new model a week ago DM1Z-4200 Customized.

Here you see a ship-ready (preconfigured model) but its basis is same as for my customized DM1Z (I selected E2-1800 processor instead of stock 1200).

Immediatelly I removed Harddrive & replaced with Crucial SSD, sold HDD (note: HDD is 5400 rpm speed, unlike my HP Elitebook's whose HDD is 7200rpm also coupled with SSD except it's Intel-branded).

I paid $30 more for a custom config.

People who waste money on MacbookAir need a life that product is so much about appearance & hype than function, likewise iPhone fad is a fad Motorola Atrix and Samsung galaxy beat iPhone into the dust.

But I am a dry technical professional so I don't represent teenagers, kids of housewives who think anything made by Apple is "good".

This HP is a dirt-cheap superNetbook or subNotebook whcihever term is preferred.

"super" is because it is NOT based on Intel-Atom, but is based on much better (for Netbooks only) E2-1800 processor which offers discrete-class Videocard, this little tiny supernetbook has video capability of a full blown midrange laptop.

While I do serious work on HP Elitebook that machine costs like a used car ($2K), requires ACpower (it eats battery in 4 or some hours due to crazy hi-end video), it has nVidia, weighs and sizes like a mobile workstation. That's fine. BUT for travel and fun computing on the go I got this DM1Z.

Sometimes I feel weird because some days even prefer using this DM1Z instead of a powerful Elitebook which sits at home.

DM1Z will run for 8-11 hours depending on how good you are with power management settings & wireless & video use, which far better than MacbookAir which is using Intel core i3/i5 processors more suitable for fullsized laptop than ultraportable laptop or netbook which is what MacboorAir or HP DM1Z are. Macbook air will die in 5-7 hours, and IF YOU NEED Intel core i3/i5 processing power I just had a thought, why not get a normal laptop then? Netbook is supposed to be optimized for portability, weight, batterylife and connectivity; in this case DM1Z is also optimized for imporessive Video card rivaling many normal-sized laptops. I run even Adobe Photooshop, YouTube, etc and all this multitasking is tolerable, not same experience as on HP EliteBook but still UNEXPECTEDLY good for a $400 netbook!

E.g. I set brightness to minimum.

Also I applied antiglare film to mimick HP Elitebook & other PROFESSIONAL displays which are always Antiglare, unlike consumer cheap type which is glossy to attract fools.

Not having an option for antiglare screen is my only complaint but really film costs $10-15 (HiDef version) and no big deal, besides many people aren't using it for business like myself and actually prefer glossy/glare screen.

P.S. Changing TN LCD to IPS type LCD would increase laptop price by $50 or so, and as a side note to HP's management:

I WOULD PAY FOR IT if it were available

IPS is a must for professional graphics work (e.g. CAD, photography).

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch LaptopThis is an able computer, but the so called value additions that make this model $300 more expensive than the standard Macbook Pro 13 are hardly worth it. If you're thinking about buying this version of the 13 inch Macbook Pro, please consider taking a look at the standard Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop.

The only difference between this $1499 MBP 13 and the $1199 MBP 13 are processor speed and hard drive space this MBP 13 has a 2.66ghz processor and 320 gb hard drive while the standard MBP 13 has a 2.4 ghz processor and 250 gb hard drive.

So you're paying $300 more (20% of the cost of the $1499 MBP 13 or 25% of the cost of the standard $1199 MBP 13) and getting only 70 gb more hard drive space and a processor faster by 266 mhz (Approximately 10%). Whether that's worth a $300 price difference over the standard MPB 13 is questionable.

Everything else is IDENTICAL in both MPB 13's Superdrive, backlit keyboard, multi-touch trackpad, screen (1280 x 800 resolution Glossy LED backlit screen), iSight camera, Nvidia Geforce 320m integrated graphics, speakers, amount of ram (4gb good for multitasking),number of ports(1 Firewire 800 port,2 USB 2.0 ports), SD Card slot, wireless capabilities (802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet -10/100/1000). THE SAME EVERYTHING.

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

Let's consider a situation where you choose to buy the standard MBP 13 instead of this model. You'd save $300.

You could then put it towards purchasing a 500 gb hard drive (for approximately $80 on Amazon) and install it yourself. That's a bigger hard drive than the one included in this $1499 model. The installation instructions are included in the MBP 13 manual and it doesn't void the warranty. You'll need a Philips #00 screwdriver. Installation videos are also available online.

You'd also have $220 left with which,(if you decide to) you could buy Applecare or Squaretrade and protect your machine for 2 more years after the first year limited warranty runs out.

If you're interested in using your money optimally, do consider the standard Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop It's 99% identical in terms of hardware and capability in comparison to this $1499 MBP 13 and is in all aspects, a much better value for money buy.

Hope this helps!



I mentioned it in the video portion of the review, but the first step to purchasing a Mac is to determine if you are ready to make the leap from the world of the PCs. Personally, for my day-to-day use (and creating video reviews for Amazon.com) I love using Macs. They are very intuitive and importantlythey always seem to work. Rarely do programs randomly close down or does the computer just completely freeze.

Now that is out of the way why should you consider the 2.66GhZ MacBook Pro? Is it really worth the extra cost versus the Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop and the Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop? For me the answer was a (pretty) easy, yes. I love the increased speed in Video editing provided by the 4G of RAM (compared to the 2G on the standard Macbook) and the 2.66GHz Processor.

A run down of the things I like about this model

The display is awesome the LED screen is very crisp and uses less power.

Firewire port -

SD card reader it comes in more handy than you might expect

10 hours of battery life

The 4G of Ram helps with video processor and other memory intensive activities

Super Fast... programs open almost instantly.

I was able to load all of my old programs using Time Machine

Aluminum frame I had some issues with the plastic on our previous Macbook

Very lightweight

The wireless N card seems to work much faster than the N card on our older Mac ...in truth, it seems like it help to expand the range of the router Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Simultaneous Dual-Band) (MC340LL/A)

I really do like the backlit keyboard I know it seems like a minor thing, but we really do like it.

I do recommend purchasing the Apple Care. It is expensive but Apple customer service can not be matched.

Final VerdictWhile the Macbook Pros are more expensive than comparable laptops to me it does't make much of a difference the Macbook Pros are worth it. They work perfectly out of the box and offer great performance. I really couldn't be happier

5 Stars No Second Thoughts on this Purchase

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I programme a lot and use my laptop for both intensive work and sometimes for games too. It handles both supremely well and has a very crisp screen that's easy on the eyes. I got the 256 SSD harddisk and it's bloody quick! I changed over from my IBM thinkpad basically for the ascetics of the new macs (and the fact that I found out there are two programmable mouse buttons on it!)

Battery life is around 4-5 hours with normal use I'd say. With careful and low level stuff, I think maybe 6-7 hours is possible doing reasonable things... If you do almost nothing but use a text editor with everything else off one may well get 10hrs out but I've never tried it.

I got the 13 inch because I prefer something portable and sleek, which the mbp certainly is! The only thing I have against it is that the resolution for the 13" is very low for a high end laptop these days and you can't fit as much information on one screen as I would like. Typically at work I have to plug in an external monitor (non-apple, which displays to the full capabilities of the screen without fault or hassle).

Otherwise the computer sometimes runs a little hot (though nowhere near as hot as my old ibm).

It is in summary a very good laptop the best I've ever owned. It also helps that it's thin and gorgeous.

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This is my first Mac ever, and I absolutely love it. The only downside is the high price, but this laptop is certainly worth the price you pay. The trackpad is amazing, and the aluminum unibody is so nice. The keyboard feels so good to type on, and the backlit keys look awesome. I won't get into the software too much, but Mac OSX is so user-friendly and the programs that come on it are fantastic.

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I'm in a small Production Company so we work with Mac's. My old Macbook Pro a 15" video card finally died was an issue with my model but lasted 3yrs of heavy use. Our Company owns several Macbook Pros and just recently bought the small 13" 2.4ghz to data manage footage from our RED cameras. After My MBP broke I started using the 13" for other tasks since it was just sitting there and was very surprised by how much I really liked the small form factor I was allowed to take it home for a weekend and liked it so much that I just ordered the 2.66ghz version to replace my downed machine.

HP Compaq Mobile Workstation 8510w Notebook

HP Compaq Mobile Workstation 8510w NotebookI got this laptop last year and was worried that I'd paid too much. My worries were put to rest right away! Not only is the screen amazing but the graphics capability is as well. It really did what it was supposed to do.. Get me away from my desktop. Mine is the Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz model but with the ATI Fire GL graphics card. It has everything you could ask for in any computer, laptop or desktop. The design still looks like something that would be out this year too (2012). I upgraded to Windows 7 on mine (not a fan of Vista) and it runs even smoother and quicker than before. I definitely recommend this to anyone. My friend is even able to game on his (I've never tried but I know the graphics are pretty state of the artplus I found out that it's one of the only laptops out that actually has a removable Graphics card. That means you can upgrade or replace it if it goes bad. Almost all laptops have integrated graphics so this is a pretty big deal).

The power adapter failed within a month. And the hard drive failed after about a year and half.

It has also developed a strange problem: sometimes it runs very slow when on AC power and as soon as the AC power adapter is unplugged it runs fine. It is very repeatable; the cpu usage goes up and down as the power adapter is plugged and unplugged. There are discussions on the web by other HP notebook PC users with similar experience. The cause appears to be the power low condition from the adapter is incorrectly detected by the PC and the PC reduces the clock rate to save power. It corroborates with the fact that the CPU clock rate stays at 777MHz (instead of 2.6GHz) regardless the power scheme setting when on AC. Other people have corrected the problem by replacing the power adapter.

Given the many problems that I experienced with the HP notebook PC 8510w and also HP PhotoSmart 2575 printer, I don't think I'll buy another HP product.

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the laptop runs like jet plane all the time. The fan noise never stops and much loader than my desktop sitting of the floor.

I would consider this as a defect product.

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Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5234 15.6" HD LED Laptop, AMD Dual-Core C-50 processor, 3GB, 320GB, Webcam

Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5234 15.6' HD LED Laptop, AMD Dual-Core C-50 processor, 3GB, 320GB, WebcamI bought this at Office Depot in October 2011 at Office Depot, price was $289 plus tax it does everything you expect, has an external SD card reader, some USBs, and that's about it, but what else do you need? I would certainly recommend any large screen laptop for under $300.

I bought this laptop in december 2011 at an office depot. The sales person suggested it over several laptops. Got it on sale for $299 before tax. Within a week it crashed on me. It was a display error problem. Would have bought an extended warrenty but they wanted $130 for it. Wish I had now. So I just set it back to factory settings. Hope that solves the problem.

Buy Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5234 15.6" HD LED Laptop, AMD Dual-Core C-50 processor, 3GB, 320GB, Webcam Now

Acer Aspire Laptop 5349-2592 Intel Celeron B800 1.5GHz 2GB 250GB DVDR/RW 15.6'' Win7

Acer Aspire Laptop 5349-2592 Intel Celeron B800 1.5GHz 2GB 250GB DVDR/RW 15.6'' Win7I want to personally thank you to the sellers the laptop is more than I expected it is very fast convenient and has a longer battery life. It was a great investment.

Dell Studio XPS 1640 15.6-Inch Obsidian Black Laptop - Up to 3 Hours 8 Minutes of Battery Life (Win

Dell Studio XPS 1640 15.6-Inch Obsidian Black Laptop - Up to 3 Hours 8 Minutes of Battery LifeOkay, so how many laptops can you find with a 15.6" screen, 1080p resolution, and a decent graphics chipset for under $1000? Not many! This laptop met all three of these needs for me. It came with enough RAM that I don't need to upgrade it until the 8GB of SODIMM modules become ridiculously cheap. The video chipset M96XT (AKA Radeon 4670) has pretty decent performance . There are just way too many other laptops out there that have 1080p screens and an Intel GMA chipset, or low resolution 1280x800 screens with decent video chipsets. This laptop has both high resolution and a good chipset.

I recently took it to a LAN party to play Team Fortress 2 and it ran beautifully with all the settings turned up to high (60fps+). My last laptop died because the CFL backlight failed, with the LED backlight that should never be a problem. It's also super bright. I usually have it set to a quarter of the brightness and it's still pretty bright.

If you don't like the disk I/O speed (I think it's fine) you can always put a SSD in this as it's a standard SATA disk drive. There are USB ports on the left AND one eSATA/USB on the right, so you can use either one.

My laptop actually did have a gigabit network adapter (not the 10/100 listed here) but no jumbo frames support :( Typical with Broadcom.

Oh, and Windows 7, 64bit is amazing. You have the full 4GB of system memory and 1GB of video.

Cons?:

No scroll lock button, no pause/break button. Not sure how if there is some hidden Fn shortcut to get these. But who uses these really? There's no Fn num-pad, but really, I never used that. The wireless enable/disable switch is a capacitive touch button right above the keyboard. It's easy to accidentally hit it and turn the wireless off and not realize it.

This Dell Studio XPS 1640 was a very good buy. Its battery lasts a little less than three hours when browsing the web and some light work in Word with the help of Dell Extended Battery Life. All the newer games I've tried have very acceptable framerates with most settings at High. Om most older games such as Oblivion and The Sims 2 I can leave the options at Very High and I haven't found any noticeable slowdown.

I also do all my programming and college work in this computer and I'm very happy with it.

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Very nice laptop. I shopped obsessively. I looked at many different laptops in this size/power class and ended up with this one. I'm very pleased with its looks and performance, especially for the price. The 1920 x 1080 screen is very nice. The keyboard has a nice feel. It gets warm but not excessively hot. My only complaint is with the optical drive, it is very noisy and it seems to spin up for no apparent reason sometimes. This is a desktop replacement for me and it also needed to run 3D games reasonably well. It runs Half Life 2 with everything cranked and runs my Realflight 4.5 Simulator very well also.

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Purchased this computer a few weeks ago for my son who is heading to college and we have been very happy with it. Sleek, responsive, and able to handle gaming and media applications with the well-above-average video card, memory, display and processor combination. All for under $1000.00? Impressive. A fingerprint magnet, which bothers some, but is not a big deal to me. Battery life is average compared to the other laptops I have owned, but acceptable, and I am confident, but admittedly have not looked, that an aftermarket upgrade at battery is available. I have seen complaints that it runs hot, but have not experienced that, at least not hotter than any other laptop with a dedicated video card running during intensive applications and certainly not uncomfortably so. The fan is partially blocked by the monitor, but does its job, and for long sessions of gaming I would recommend a secondary cooling device for any laptop. I have also seen at least one review indicate that the video card was not good for gaming, but other independent reviews of the specific card and pc configuration, and my own experiences, refute that, this pc was built with demanding gaming in mind, while not sacrificing portability or versatility.

I have only one beef with the purchase. Amazon no longer price guarantees its products. This machine dropped in price $35.00 shortly after I purchased it (within a week). I still had it, unopened, and contacted Amazon about a price credit, and was basically told to pound sand. The most frustrating thing about that was I could have simply returned it for a full refund under the 30 day return policy for unopened computers, and bought another one at the new price, discounting my price savings by the 15 dollars or so in return shipping costs (I do not think the return policy covers that), and when I pointed that out to Amazon, I was invited to go ahead and do that. To me, it appeared Amazon was effectively banking on the fact that I would not go through such hassle for such a "small" savings. And they were correct, but only because I did not want to be empty handed for my son's 18th birthday. So they won my business with a good price on a great machine, but lost my respect as a company for such poor customer service. I make many internet purchases, and absent a serious reason to do so, will not be shopping at Amazon in the future.

EDIT REVIEW after I wrote this it got me worked up all over again so I contacted Amazon a second time and low and behold I was given a 35 dollar credit! While they deserved the smack on the nose with a rolled up paper they got for how I was treated the first time, they likewise deserve a treat and an attaboy for eventually doing the right thing. Amazon you have won back my business.

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This is the first Dell i purchase since ever, I was expecting the experience i received when i got this great PC, and i got it.

Pros: Light, excellent performance, great LED display (It has better resolution than the M17X from Alienware), i love the glowing buttons, strong case, GREAT MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE.

Cons: Lack of cases and Backpack's for this size of Laptop, Glossy finish leaves fingerprints all over the PC, it is hard to keep it without them, When playing a few games it gets very hot (Dirt 2 on Medium graphics), because of Dell applications it takes a while to get it started.

It has a great value, i purchased this laptop at a great price and i received more than expected, A+ purchase, will get another Dell like this one when i get my next purchase.

The only thing im waiting to find is the leather finish from the case, never able to find it!

HP Pavilion DM4-1062NR Notebook Pc

HP Pavilion DM4-1062NR Notebook PcSo I purchased this from the microsoft store and really love it. Its aluminum case is beautiful and solid feeling. Its fast and gets a 6.6 for windows experience processor and a 4.5 for graphics. In fact I wrote a detailed review on my blog but heres some points in a nut shell. There a couple of emissions of the product discription as it does have the fingerprint scanner and webcam. It seems to be the same as the HP Pavilion dm4-1060us 14.1-Inch Laptop but sold thru microsoft hence the microsoft signature. Microsoft signiture means no bloatware so it should be easier to set up.

But mine had touch pad click problems. I initially tried to change mouse settings but it still failed then I called microsoft tech support (its a microsoft signiture) and he told me I was changeing windows mouse settings not driver. When I went to to mouse driver settings they were grayed out but I was able to hit restore default and that corrected problems and got mouse settings ungrayed.

Another low point is that I actualy only get about 4 1/2 hours of battery life for browsing without pluging in so 6 1/2 is very optimistic.

As for bloatware freeI had to download the simple pass finger print scanner software from hp to use the fingerprint scanner and install the hp web cam software. You would think that microsoft would have already installed these programs. The antivirus thats installed is Microsoft security essentials which I like better then norton and they include office starter 2010 a scaled down version of word and excel. They also have a trial version of office 2010. they also have click to install software form hp if you like the hp stuff. But overall its pretty free of bloatware just wish that Microsoft would know what HP stuff is needed and what is not.

Samsung Series 3 NP300E5C-A01US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Blue Silver)

Samsung Series 3 NP300E5C-A01US 15.6-Inch LaptopReceived samsung in the mail earlier this week. Every other computer I have had has been an hp. This one runs alot cooler. My last hp I had to do a reflow on the gpu it ran so hot(from day one) Another thing I like is that samsung includes some different software with windows than hp. As well as a system recovery disk for the operating system. My last two hps did not come with that. The battery seems to last pretty well. I had to do a few mods to the samsung battery optimizer to make it work for me. The track pad also needed some adjustment as well but Ive got it working pretty well. It seems like the most bang for the buck currently in this price range. Not every one can spend 1000+ on a laptop. If you are looking to download, play media, photo edit, surf, burn, rip, upload, and run most programs, this laptop should work great for you.

PS even though its low heat I still use a lap desk to let it breath.

My primary computer is a fairly nice Dell PC desktop. When I knew I would be returning to school full-time, I essentially knew I wanted a basic laptop that would get me through three years of writing basic Word documents and looking up info online. So far this computer has fit the bill and it a bit nicer looking than many of the similarly-priced laptops from other companies.

PROS:

Price

Memory and Storage

Quiet and cool running

Better-than-average looks for a basic laptop

Nice sleep mode

CONS:

A bit heavy for backpack toting

Annoying Norton software to remove

AC adapter outlet on the left side only (it always seems like I need it on the right!)

Screen takes some tweaking to get bright and crisp enough

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After owning this lovely pc for a while now, I find that this machine excels my expectation in terms of running smoothly. Even though its got its little problems here and there, those are proven to be minor (being the fact that the "delete" button seems to be favorite thing to do every now and then. Other than that, I'm really loving this Samsung-made laptop the fullest over my Dell Inspirion. The one thing I'm absolutely pleased about is the longer battery life for this particular model (being able to last close to 4-5 hrs at a time without having to be plugged in to recharge).

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Very nice computer, the wife loves Lots of great features and a great display. I wish I had one. Thanks, Jim

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Nice business peformance from a mid-priced laptop with enough RAM to run multiple memory-intensive programs. It does not 'feel' as durable as some others I've owned, but then it's much lighter than any of those previous models, so I suspect it's comparable to other similar laptops in that regard. While I like having a standard numerical number pad, some of the keys are not intuitively placed, perhaps as a result. And it may be an industry-standard configuration. But it sure seems like the delete key, which is used ALOT (at least, by me), should still be top-row/last-key where it's easy to 'punch.' And it should have the 'end' key next to it. The page up/page down keys are not deserving of that location. Also, I find the touch pad to be just a little finiky. I suspect part of this is 'user error' on my part, but it's far more enjoyable using a separate mouse. The machine does boot up quickly and has run flawlessly. After spending a month with this Samsung, I would purchase it again.

Dell Latitude D610 Pentium M 740 1.73GHz 1GB 40GB CDRW/DVD 14.1" XP Professional

Dell Latitude D610 Pentium M 740 1.73GHz 1GB 40GB CDRW/DVD 14.1' XP ProfessionalI was surprised the good condition the laptop looked, also like new.

Everything worked and it was in great shape.

I received it very quickly and I'm more than satisfied with it

HP ENVY DV6-7215nr Windows 8 Notebook PC; 16GB RAM Upgrade

HP ENVY DV6-7215nr Windows 8 Notebook PC; 16GB RAM UpgradeI have to say that besides the Windows 8, it's an excellent machine. Of course the 16 GB of RAM makes the Laptop outstanding. The beat audio system is amazing. I have a 2.1 creative speakers and when I connected the Laptop I was blown away by the sound definition. The performance is very good, works excellent with every application, I've been testing the wireless with GoToMeeting and no flaws at all. Video is amazing, I have also tested "Ice Age 4 Blu-Ray" and the definition is very good, the sound as well. One tiny thing is that the key-pad at the right seems a little soft for my taste, but it's ok. The machine is light enough, very happy so far.

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Lenovo Ideapad U-550 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 6 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

Lenovo Ideapad U-550 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 6 Hours of Battery LifeNot quite as solid as a Thinkpad, but not the price of one, either, nor the weight. And much sexier. This is a larger 15.6 inch version of the U350, the earlier version of which critics seemed to love for form factor, but complained about sub-par processing performance. The new lineup seems to fix that problem, and now it is the complete package. The SU7300 Core 2 Duo is lightning fast for the tasks I am doing to this point. Granted, I haven't pushed it to generate 3D CAD drawings, but for Office, Web browsing, working with iTunes and the things most of us do on a daily basis, I certainly am impressed. Huge HD, plenty of RAM. Beautiful keyboard as always from Lenovo. It does lack Firewire, but has every other connection you could want. 3 USBs are nice, as is the card reader and HDMI output. I thought it had bluetooth, but I can't seem to locate it this appears to be a difference between this beautiful black version (bought right here on Amazon) and the brown versions sold by Lenovo directly. The other difference appears to be I seem to have an integrated graphics card, while the brown Lenovo version has a 512MB card. Not that I can tell a difference so far. This is a great value.

Here's the summary of my experience with the Lenovo U-550

Pros

* Combination of 15.6 inch screen and relatively light weight

* Relatively long battery life

* Reasonably solid construction

* More than sufficient for moderate MS Office use and heavy internet/ entertainment use

Cons

* Lenovo customer support is a bureaucratic nightmare

* Numeric keypad occupies right-most section of the keyboard, shifting the remainder of the keyboard to the left

* Glossy screen and body translates into a grimy appearance due to finger prints

* Screen will slam shut against the keyboard unless you slow it as it closes

My previous Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop was near death, so it was time to replace it after ~ 4 years of heavy use. I was happy with the Dell, but it was a heavy beast that plowed through battery power. In looking for the replacement, I wanted an impossible combination of desktop replacement like the E1505, but minus the weight, bulk, and limited battery performance of the E1505. Upon shopping, I was unimpressed with MacBook Pro given the price. Other Wintel thin and light machines appeared to be cheaply built or with low-quality components/ limited screen size. The Lenovo Ideapad U-550 stood out to me as a higher quality build with a large screen. I knew that it came with a glossy screen, but I couldn't find any other comparable machine without this annoyance. Also the numeric keypad placed on the rightmost section of the keyboard displaces the other keys to the left, which seems unnecessary to me (how many of us really key in data with a numeric keypad?).

All considered, I am happy with the purchase. The U-550 is easy to carry around, is good for the intended use (i.e. moderate MS Office use, heavy use for internet, movies, music), and has a reasonable battery life (~4+ hrs under perpetual use, less with a movie/ DVD thrown in).

The major shortcoming is Lenovo customer support. I wanted an additional battery for the U-550 to really cover a 6 hour flight under moderate use with DVDs. Attempting to get even this simple of a request accommodated through Lenovo customer support was a true nightmare. It took two days of transfers and frustration. Dell support was much better (but I was not impressed with their thin and light PCs).

Buy Lenovo Ideapad U-550 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 6 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Now

This is my first Lenovo laptop and so far it has been a good experience. On the practical side, the laptop has a bigger screen than my old 15" Dell Latitude, but so much lighter that it doesn't hurt my back carry it around in a shoulder bag. It is very quiet. That battery seems last forever. Design-wise, being an architect, I think it is one of the best looking laptop out there that is not a mac (but so much cheaper). It looks very thin. It has a very interesting texture on the cover that reminds you of a Louis Vuitton bag. From gadget standpoint, beside the multi-touch pad, the computer come with a face recognition software that work with the built-in webcam, so you don't have to type in password ever again to log in.

Read Best Reviews of Lenovo Ideapad U-550 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 6 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Here

I was just about to purchase this Ideapad U550 from but, I read the first review on this product and changed my mind due to the color comments. The ones on Lenovo website are DARK BROWN, I read these ones were BLACK but NOT... they're DARK BROWN also so don't get confused. The color is not bad, let's say it's different from the one I thought I was purchasing.

I recieved my deapad U550 (model # 374959U) on Dec 10th and so far it's up to spec, shipping was pretty fast (Free Super Saving) and got on the third day to South Texas.

If you don't mind getting a DARK BROWN laptop, this is a great value for $699.99 (4GB + 320GB), if you want to save $110 usd, get the 3GB + 250GB HD.

Note: Amazon's description says it's 1000GB but it's a 320GB HD.

Happy Holidays !!!

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My lenovo y 430 is just 1+ year old it has screen flickering issue. Same problem with my friend's. Horrible customer service. more over you will not find parts in market.

DONT BUY!! Check the lenovo forum to get clear idea.

Dell Inspiron 1526 Laptop Midnight Blue (15.4" Wide Screen with true life, built-in Webcam, AMD Tur

Dell Inspiron 1526 Laptop Midnight BlueOk, as an actual user of an Inspiron 1526, I can honestly say that this has been a great buy. This other review that is in this page is not a fair review because it is stating an opinion in general of Dell instead of writing about the actual product.

My Inspiron specks are a little different from the one advertised. Mine, which I had now for 4 days today (8/30/08) has an AMD Athlon X2 1.9 GHz processor with 2 GB of RAM (Insp. 1526 can be expandeble to 4 GB of RAM) with a 160 GB HD, a DVD RW, and Windows Vista Home Premium. This also includes 4 USB ports, Ethernet, Modem, Wireless network connection, IEEE and HDMI ports and 8-in-1 Media Card Reader for your digital camera. I did not include the Web Cam nor Microphone.

Right out of the box, this machine has performed very well. This is designed for the casual user in mind. The main reason for me to buy this laptop is for writing screenplays. I added Office 2007 and Movie Magic Screenwriter 6. Both work great in this machine.

The system has been stable so far. Video quality is great with the True Life Widescreen display with vivid colors. The speakers are not the greatest, they sound rather tiny, but you do have two headphone jacks (if you're watching a DVD with somebody) or you can add external speakers to this laptop.

The video card is a X1270 AMD Radeon. It can display 3D graphics, but this card is not a good option for any of the new games out there. If you want to play any of those games like Halo 2, Bioshock, etc., then this machine is not for you.

Now, this machine can play older games, published about 2004 like World of Warcraft, which I can play it at the normal screen resolution of 1200x800 in the ranges of 18 to 32 FPS, which is playable and it looks good. I also have Unreal Tournament 2004 which performs well enough to play it, and and Magic The Gathering Online V3 which is a newer game but it will not tax your video card.

Overall I'm very pleased with this. It is a solid machine that would be great for a writer, student, or casual user who can read e-mail, surf the web, write documents and play World of Warcraft and is on a budget.

I bought this baby the same day I was going to get ripped off/tricked by someone into buying one of their old laptops. I figured why get an old one when can get a brand new one for the same price with more hard drive space.

When I opened the box I was pleasantly surprised to see my brand new jet black inspiron 1526 with all those wonderful specs, sans the video card (I don't play games on my laptop much anyway so not a problem.) It and Vista worked great, especially because every piece of hardware that I had (mouse, printer, digital camera, cell phone) all were compatible with Vista.

3 Months later I get an error code that will not allow me to log onto my computer. I figured the nice people at Dell would help. They gave me a hardy *BLANK* Off, go to the retailer that you purchased the laptop from for help. I go to Best Buy who wanted to back up my files for $90? ahmm how bout no. (Best buy didnt have a warranty option on the website when I purchased it) They sent it to get "repaired" under the dell warranty. Dell had it for a week, did a diagnostics check, sent it back to me with an A OK! Got home, STILL COULD NOT LOG ON!

I had to split the drive into 3 partitions, re-install Vista on a second partition, in order to access all my files. Then burn them on disks for safe keeping while I formatted the entire hard drive and reinstalled all the drivers myself and put back all my files.

2 Months later. Sitting listening ( the speakers aren't great at all. But plug some headphones in and turn it up you'll be partially deaf for a minute or so) to a CD in the laptop while browsing, BLIP system shuts down wont turn back on. Take it back to best buy. They send it out for another week. Diagnosis... Mother Board burned out (after 5 months). I'm hearing its a common problem with the 1526. Dell fixed that. I get my laptop back from Worst Buy WITHOUT my CD. My calls have not been returned by Hells repair people or Worst Buy.

I would give this laptop a low 3. A 2.9 if possible. When its good its good, but when its bad it REAL bad.

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I apologise first of all because I didn't buy this from Amazon. I bought it from a dealer in Beijing's Computer Area for roughly the RMB equivalent of GBP600. After my last laptop, a BenQ JoyBook which should really have been called MiseryBook, this truly is a joy to use. It's fast: on a fast internet connection you can work almost as fast as you can think and that feels amazing. Compared to the Benq, the screen is really bright. Really bright. It looks totally cool in navy blue and silver. The keyboard (which was the reason I had vowed never to have a Dell again)is a real pleasure to use: I love it. I'm running Avira, Spybot, Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, CCleaner, Stopzilla, Eusing Registry Cleaner, Ad-aware, Glary Utilities and Superdefrag and it runs really clean. Before I was always having to waste time getting rid of viruses. All in all, IMHO this is a just a wonderful machine to use. My only gripe is that all the documentation and software was in Chinese and Dell China/Hong Kong refused point blank to provide a duplicate in English despite my many efforts, although they could have done so had they wanted to. I did manage to download an English manual from their US website, but no thanks to them. Shameless. So I will never buy from them again since their's is a culture of contempt. What self-sabotaging incompetents they are. "One customer properly looked after is worth more than $10000 of advertising" Jim Rohn

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My 11 year old son purchased this laptop 11 1/2 months ago with his own money. Three weeks ago the hard drive failed suddenly. The hinge on the left side of the machine was also failing, so I contacted Dell. The hard drive is a self install and I was sent a postage paid box to send the laptop to Texas for the hinge repair. Dell contacts me the following week to inform me they WILL NOT cover the hinge because the unit has been "abused". This laptop has NEVER been dropped, thrown, etc. They want to charge me $120 for the hinge repair which will not happen.. When you complain online or via telephone you will NEVER speak with a english speaking tech unless you buy an extended warranty in which case that will entitle you to speak with someone in the good old USA. If you like throwing your money away and being frustrated, please purchase this laptop!

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I have the Inspiron 1526 and have had it since 2008. Overall it hasn't been a bad operating computer and I haven't needed Dell Support Service as I am able to solve most of my computer problems and am mechanical enough to repair and replace parts my computers need (having been the first female office equipment repair technician in the Denver area in the 1970's). While the operation of the computer has been good, the overall construction is chintzy, flimsy, and of poor quality. The computer's overall appearance is attractive, but having offered that positive observation, I would caution that the case will fall apart easily with minimal use. I bought this computer as a secondary computer, my primary being a HP Pavilion. With opening the computer no more than 4 times, the plastic hinges began to separate exposing the wires contained within. Then the top back cover began to separate from the bezel. These problems worsened with every use. One day the computer fell off of the sofa onto a thick and thickly padded carpet while closed. Keys popped off of the keyboard. Normally keys can be pressed back on, but one of the keys broke a clip necessitating the replacement of the keyboard. With the stress being placed on the bezel from the separation of the top back cover and hinges, the bezel has cracked in half at the bottom nearest the left hinges. Estimates to replace these parts were almost $500. Ordering the parts directly from Dell is out of the question as they are more expensive than ordering them from online computer repair companies. I have ordered the parts from an independent Dell repair company for slightly more than $100 and will repair the computer myself. My HP Pavilion was dropped on a hard floor by TSA at the Denver Airport and other than a couple of scratches to the case, the Pavilion's case and keyboard emerged unscathed, and the computer is fully operational. Had that happened to the Dell, I would have been carrying the Dell through the airport in a million pieces, I'm sure. Additionally, the touchpad to the Dell show a great deal of wear from minimal use, while my 7 year-old Pavilion's touchpad shows no wear and tear from hours of use daily. In doing searches for the parts to repair my Dell, I found numerous computer repair companies that do complete cosmetic refurbishing of Dell computers (including replacement of the top and bottom cases, keyboards, palm rests, touchpads, etc.) for $250 to $300 which indicates to me that Dell's computer cases and the other plastic parts aren't built to last. I can't comment on Dell's technical support having never needed to use it, but overall I'm not impressed with the quality of the Dell laptops in comparison to HP, Toshiba, etc. If the laptop will be getting a great deal of use or is being carried around a great deal, I wouldn't recommend a Dell unless one buys a Dell that has been manufactured for business use (which also comes with a high price tag). I just replaced a broken screen in an E Machine, and in comparison, the case to the E-Machine is far sturdier than the case to the Dell Inspiron and the E-Machine laptop wasn't nearly as expensive. My rating of this computer is probably better than it should be and wouldn't have been as low as it is were it not for the poor quality of the computer case and its lack of durability and suitablilty for everyday use. I can't rate a computer very high if with light use, one has to duct tape the case together.