Just bought this yesterday at Best Buy $349. My old DELL crashed, I really like the light weight and even with a smaller screen you get used to it pretty fast. Upgrading from Win XP to Win 7 takes a little time if you just dabble on the comp. I would recommend this. One thing to know, Best Buy has the GEEK Squad preload all their systems and then wants to charge you an additional $70 for this service. I balked at this as nothing is mentioned in the ad that they do this. Since they did not have one that had not already been pre-loaded and I made my argument and did not have to pay for this 'service'. Good to know..
So, I checked it out and here is what I think: You should buy the HP G42-303DX instead. It has a faster processor with twice the cache memory.
The 303 model has a Turion II processor instead of a Atholon II processor. The Turion is a better processor. It also runs cooler. Because of this it is a better processor for a laptop. And because the Turion runs cooler because it operates on less amps, your computer will (theoretically) last longer also.
Everything else in the two computers seem to be exactly the same, except the 303 model has a better processor platform also.
So given the choice, I would buy the 303 as it is better than this one. In fact, I did buy the 303 and I obtained it cheaper than this one.I was looking for a smaller laptop. I use it for internet, email, pictures, music and movies,and will try out the webcam soon. Works fine so far, is better than I had expected. Movies are sharp and clear. Seems plenty fast enough for internet and email. Tried a few games and they were fine too. It's great if you are looking for a basic, light weight laptop. I bought mine at Best Buy for around $359.00 just before Christmas. I wanted something small enough to take along when I travel, yet light enough that it wouldn't be a pain to carry. This one fits the bill perfect for me. And I really like the outside case being embosedno finger prints! Some have complained about the mouse pad. I haven't had a real problem with itit's not as accurate and fast as a wireless mouse would be, but I won't be adding one. The keyboard seems fine, very easy to type on. I use a good quality headset for movies and music. So far this little laptop has been great!I just bought this laptop for my mother who needed a lightweight, entry level laptop. Her previous laptop, a refurbished 17' Dell Inspiron died after 1.5 years use in Mumbai, probably due to dust and humidity. I was not looking to spend a ton of money, but I wanted the laptop to have good performance in the applications she would use mainly playing classical music, editing simple word documents and browsing the net.
After much research, and with the assumption that online was always cheaper than stores, I scoured the net putting together statistics and analyzing them for a good price point. The choice seemed to come down to cheap, low powered and tiny netbooks which would meet the portability requirements, or more expensive 15' laptops that had internal dvd drives and better performance, but were also heavier.
As a last resort, we went to a local store with an alliterative name to see which form factor she liked better. We stumbled on this laptop, priced at the lower end of the 14' laptop section at $399. I used my phone to compare prices online and found that it was more expensive online, and had good features and reviews.
I've used it for around 4 days now, installing Itunes, Skype, Chrome, Office Starter (for now) and testing boot times and performance. So far, the device has exceeded my expectations for a computer at this price point. It is faster than the old Inspiron I paid twice as much for.
Pros:
-Cheap
-Webcam
-HDMI out (works great)
-HD Playback (netflix HD)
-Good performance
-Battery life is variable based on usage, but can do upto 4 hours with non-intensive applications
-I like the design. The wireless key (F12) also has a tiny light, which is cool looking. The touchpad has a tiny red led on the top left corner which, if tapped toggles the touchpad off or on.
Cons:
-Does not seem to have gigabit ethernet
-Wireless only connected at 74 Mbps to my wireless-n network. Wireless file transfer speeds were only 1 MBPS, while I was getting up to 3-4 MBPS on my other computers.
Have not yet tried
-Gaming (did not buy for gaming)
-Burning DVDs (yet)I kept looking at all kinds of laptops for a while and I finally decided to get this kiddo. This laptop is perfecto! It fits nicely into my backpack so I can take it with me anywhere. That is really nice if you are a student like me, and if not, laptops mobility and weight is what most people want or need anyway. This model does the trick.
I read some reviews of people complaining about this model's "mouse and navigation". Well.. laptops ARE like that, and it takes some time getting used to that. I actually dont really like the notebook navigation myself, so i also own a tiny wireless mouse ($15) which I use whenever I am doing intensive web browsing. With that said, I dont really see why this is such a big deal to a lot of people. The specs are really nice and computer performs very well. Admittedly, I havent yet tested it for real life multitasking with any heavy duty soft, but I am certain that a 2.2 dual core and 3GB Ram will be more or less adequate. For stuff like Photoshop or pro video editing you would be better off with Mac anyway. Overall, I think this one is a steal (got it on sale for $399). Love the keybord feel, its VERY quiet and a decent notebook all-around.
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