Toshiba Qosmio X875-Q7190 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black Widow Styling in Diamond-Textured Aluminum)

Love this laptop, lots of cool and handy features, such as sleep & charge and sleep & music and runs all my programs fast and to a high quality.

The screen and sound quality is also amazing, I have yet to need to use the sound output above 50%, just to show how loud the sound can go!

One issue I have had so far is that during a relatively low graphically demanding game I get a black rectangle on the floor and I have yet to find a solution to correct this issue. If it wasn't for that problem (And the fact Windows is still not to the same level as Windows 7 in my opinion) I would probably have given the laptop a five star rating.

This was my 5th Toshiba Laptop between me and my family but will definitely be my last. Bought it customized from Toshiba Direct. It worked for about a month, and failed. They directed me to take it personally to their authorized service center for fastest service. It sat for a month waiting for a part that didn't fix it and now they are waiting for a new hard drive that they estimate will take 6 WEEKS to deliver. When I called support they told me that it would be faster if I go pick it up and mail it back to them (with no commitment on what "faster" means). They offer no explanation of why it would take 6 weeks for a new hard-drive. Also the warranty continues to expire while the unit sits in their hands. (It is warranted from purchase date only)

I asked for my money back. After 2 weeks they come back with an offer of store credit to Toshiba Direct because they don't give refunds. They only want to credit the purchase price so I would need to eat about $200 in sales tax and shipping on the original and another $200 when I use my credit. They explained to me that this was a great favor as they were not depreciated the value of the computer for the one month that I was apparently honored to have it work for me.

So the only choice I get from Toshiba are take a credit and get another Toshiba craptop eating the shipping and tax charges 2 twice or wait until they fix the one I have with no guarantee of how long it will take while my warranty ticks away.

Here are some other fun facts they won't give me anything in writing about my options won't send me an email. You also can't send them emails. Strikes me a little odd a computer company won't take an email. Nothing in writing appears to be their policy.

Buy Toshiba Qosmio X875-Q7190 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black Widow Styling in Diamond-Textured Aluminum) Now

I am a super-geek. I want a laptop with a big screen, big memory capacity and the ability to have 2 hard drives. The memory capacity of this laptop is 32GB which is really nice! Also, you can have 2 hard drives in this baby! I think the memory on the video is 2GB? I'm sold. The only question left is how easy it it to install Windows 7/8 and have the drivers ready to go without hassle. Also It is very important how easy it is to upgrade the hardware on this model (increase memory, change hard drives). I'm still researching but if the answer to the questions I have are "Yes, the drivers are easy to install and Yes, the hardware is easy to upgrade them i'm going to get 2 of these....*Update: (1 hour later) I downloaded the User Guide for this model to find out more about the 2nd Hard drive installation and it was no help AT ALL. I called Toshiba and the guy on the phone told me that I would have to take the Laptop to a dealer/repair shop to install the 2nd hard drive. I told him that I am a tech and that it should not be that hard to add a 2nd drive. Also, my decision to purchase this laptop is based on how easy it is to upgrade... He gave me this site link: [link removed by Amazon? search for Qosmio Hard Drive upgrade] and WOW! This laptop has now become a dream come true! The images show you how easy this laptop is to upgrade (if you already know how to upgrade laptops) I am supersold on this and will buy two of them when they become available. I won't be able to report on how easy the drivers are to install until I get them. *Update: June 6, 2013: I got the Qosmio 875-Q7190 and it is still me dream laptop BUT #1 CD/DVD Discs don't cost much these days When I spend this much on something I want EVERYTHING that comes with it, especially all of the software. I shouldn't have to read a manual or search the internet to find out that I need to make my own discs from the laptop; and "restore" discs at that! Shame on any company that won't spend $1 or $2 to make sure their PC/laptop is shipped with all the discs. # 2 the power connection to this laptop is not sturdy there should be a latch or something I am a tech and I have worked on some Toshiba laptops and I was not impressed by how flimsy the power cable connects to the units I will send a note to toshiba about this this laptop is NOT Far from perfection. #3 There is NO HARD DRIVE LED on the unit.. can you believe this ?! I wonder who made that decision? Hard drive leds hve been a standard since 1985, and that fact that it is missing on this unit is NOT an improvement. #4 and the worst part: Windows 8 was pre-installed I had no choice Well guess what? There is no flexibility here for me, Windows 8 is just a re-masked, more cumbersome version of Windows 7. Also I CAN'T USE THIS COPY OF WINDOWS 8 ON ANY OTHER PC EVER. So I purchased Windows 8, but I got the "OEM" version so I can't delete it from this laptop and use it somewhere else. BUT...If I purchased Windows 8 in a store i could do that. Do I feel cheated?.. Ya Think? Also, no Windows 8 serial.. If I upgrade to Windows 8 Pro do I have to call someone to get it? Hmmmm...I still love this hardware but I hate it when companies do things on the cheap Sorry Toshiba, but not including the software discs makes you cheap. Lack of the HD LED is a design mistake. If Toshiba had done any market testing with this design I think that everyone who gave a review would write "Where is the Hard drive light?" Love ya Toshiba but you still have some work to do. This product is so close to perfection....

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Qosmio X875-Q7190 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black Widow Styling in Diamond-Textured Aluminum) Here

I'd like to start off this review by saying that I previously have only owned Dell laptops of off the shelf quality (no gaming specs). This is the first gaming laptop I have purchased, and so far it has met or exceeded my expectations, for a laptop. Games run well on it, even at full configs, and the graphics are nice, overall just a good experience. My only two minor issues with it are Windows 8 and that it runs hot when you play a demanding game. Windows 8, definitely seems designed for touch pads and I do not know why they didn't redesign a version for a "normal" pc (non-touch). But that's not the product's fault, that's on MS. The issue with running hot is really not a big deal, it is just because of the fan's exhaust being pointed out to where your right hand would be holding a mouse, it can get warm. I was able to mitigate this greatly by purchasing one of those laptop fan desk things.

So my recommendations for this are experiement with Windows 8, or reformat to an older OS and purchase an external fan for the laptop. All in all, I would recommend this laptop to someone on a lower budget that maybe cannot afford a high end model.

Want Toshiba Qosmio X875-Q7190 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black Widow Styling in Diamond-Textured Aluminum) Discount?

I've had two or three HP laptops in the past which I loved but they ran very hot. So far this Toshiba runs cool and fast. The only things I don't really care for are the textured aluminum case.... it seems to collect dust and crumbs, etc, more easily than a smooth aluminum case .... and its weight. It seems heavier than my last HP which was the same size. This is not a convenient laptop for traveling, although I do take it with me, but it is heavy and bulky to carry around. It is a great laptop replacement! The other problems I'm having are Windows 8 related. Windows 8 is really designed for touch-pad computers...I wish I had known that . I may have looked into getting a touch-pad laptop instead.

Read More >>

HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15-b120us 15.6-Inch Laptop

I got this computer so I can do some work on the road. I have an older HP and always liked the design. This new one is very sleek looking and is very fast. Although I agree with the design with the arrow buttons, it isn't a big deal to me because I don't use them that often. The battery life on mine is very good. I can use this laptop for a good 3-4 hours before it needs to be plugged in again. I have taken it out on the road several times and have had to log on to public wi fi with no problems at all. I have been in situations where I couldn't plug it in, and have been able to get all my work done while just sitting having coffee in a fast food place or coffee shop. This is a great lap top for my needs.

This is competitively priced and offers a lot of features in a very thin and easily portable format. I like the full QWERTY keyboard with the calculator stype numeric keypad on the rightside. HP made a good compromise by dropping the internal optical drive to keep the size small.I found the need for an external optical drive only a minor inconvenience as most media and softwares are downloadable. This comes loaded with Windows 8 not everyone's cup of tea

Buy HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15-b120us 15.6-Inch Laptop Now

When you purchase a computer, you buy a whole package. The tech support is an important part of the package. In my experience, the HP support was a big disappointment.

My new laptop was sleek and beautiful indeed, but the touchpad didn't work. So I googled and read the forum and tried to fix it myself. I reset the machine, re-configured touchpad driver, updated Bios, but nothing worked. Based on my research, it seems the touchpad problem is common (then why didn't HP fix it?).

So I contacted the HP support assistant for help. The first technician (his name is Azhar) closed my case while I was still typing and left me flabbergasted. I still remembered the last sentence I typed was, "Wait, what about the mouse app you just asked me to open?" I lost the chat with the second technician after he (or she) instructed me to restart the laptop. He said he would wait for me for 5-7 minutes and I should come back to continue the chat with him. The restart process took more than 5 minutes. So I lost him. The third technician was nice and told me he would definitely help me to fix the problem. But I lost the communication with him too after a hard reset and problem was still not fixed.

I went through three technicians in three hours. I politely greeted and answered the same questions over and over again. I told them what the previous tech asked me to do and the tasks that were unfinished. Each one of them ignored what I said and asked me to do different things. The first technician didn't even have an idea on how the touchpad supposed to work.

I liked the look and price of the laptop, so I ordered a replacement. The new one arrived in just two days, but the touchpad didn't work either. I knew this is a minor issue and I just needed to do some minor adjustment to get it going. Since the HP support assistant was non-responsive on the replacement. I download the software from HP and got their phone number and called them this time. It took me about 10-15 minutes to finally talk to a real person. He asked me to keep tapping the touchpad on/off switch until it worked. I tried multiple times but it didn't work. Then the reception got terrible and I lost the communication, AGAIN. I have never had a bad reception in my house, but I guess I do if the call was routed to India.

I decided to return the replacement and I will never buy another HP product again due to its poor support.

Read Best Reviews of HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15-b120us 15.6-Inch Laptop Here

I have been looking for a touch screen laptop for a while now. Saw this one and the same day I went and bought it. I am very pleased with it. I wasn't sure if I would like the windows 8 but I actually really enjoy it. It is very easy to understand and use. Especially with the touch screen. The touch screen makes all difference as I don't think I would have liked Windows 8 otherwise. The touch screen and the touch pad both respond really well. This computer is also very fast. From what I have noticed also the sound is also pretty good. Don't really have any complaints about this computer. Possibly the only complaint is that it doesn't have a cd drive but I can always get an external drive so that isn't such a big issue. I would definitely recommend this computer if someone is on a budget and wants a touch screen.

About the keyboard, another reviewer mention he didn't keyboard's enter and arrow keys layout, I disagree. The keys feel and look great. What I like about the arrows keys is the right and left arrow keys are as big as standard size keys. I have another laptop and all the arrow keys are small.

Want HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15-b120us 15.6-Inch Laptop Discount?

Would Highly recommend getting one of these to my friends. Easy to use and easy to connect. Packaging was very good as well. TWO THUMBS UP! Michael Smith TN

Save 11% Off

Read More >>

ASUS VX5-A2B 16-Inch Black Lamborghini Laptop (Windows 7 Ultimate)

Great style... Love the start button, and subwoofer. These are very hard to find..... beautiful, and top of the line components.. Asus spared no expense here

Read More >>

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

This 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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)?

Save 7% Off

Read More >>

Lenovo Edge14 05796AU 14-Inch Laptop

As part of Lenovo's lower-end line, this has a plastic case that doesn't feel as solid as some of their other machines. But it seems solid enough, boots quickly, has a nice screen. It's primarily being used for Office documents and to watch streaming video; both work well. No issues so far. For those who are interested, I set this up to dual-boot between Windows and Ubuntu, which is working great.

If you're looking for a small notebook, this Lenovo is an exceptional value. From the Dual Core processor to the large hard drive this computer is a class act. I could not find anything I did not like about it. Buy two--they're cheap!!

Buy Lenovo Edge14 05796AU 14-Inch Laptop Now

When it arrived from china it was defective, with broken screen, and they refused to accept it back. In a month, the keyboard came apart. Never had a single issue with my prior dell for 5 years. I wish I knew this junk is directly from china.

Read Best Reviews of Lenovo Edge14 05796AU 14-Inch Laptop Here

Don't be fooled, Lenovo has lost the IBM quality culture and builds very cheap (not to be confused with inexpensive) computers that you cannot find replacement parts for. I bought an edge 14 0578 model in April 2011 on sale for around $550. It started having a screen backlight problem in mid 2012 and the motherboard finally failed in November 2012. This forced me back to my 2005 IBM Thinkpad Z60t that with $100 in parts was usable again. . My motherboard replacement option was to spend $185 on a used motherboard with a 14 day warranty! For that price, I could nearly buy a replacement cheap computer with another one year warranty. I owned two very solid IBM's, but I will never buy another Lenovo because they obviously liked the IBM brand but have thoroughly ruined it with low quality build and zero parts support.

Want Lenovo Edge14 05796AU 14-Inch Laptop Discount?

Read More >>

Apple iBook G4, 1.33 GHz, 768MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, Internal Combo Drive, 56k Modem

I've had a 12" iBook G4 since 2005 and it's still my favorite notebook for browsing the internet, writing letters, and even reading pdf's. It's very lightweight and I consider the screen the perfect size. It's held up very well. One of the keys has a hairline crack and one of the rubber feet on the bottom fell off but I clean it every month or so and it still looks almost new.

My only criticism is that it gets a little warm so I keep it on top of a clipboard when holding it in my lap. No viruses, no crashes, no worries.

When netbooks started becoming popular a couple of years ago, I had to laugh because I already have a lightweight, handy netbook. In fact, I'm using it right now to write this review. Given a choice between a new Asus or Dell netbook or a used iBook G4 for the same price, I would take the G4 without thinking about it for a second.

I have had my ibook for almost 5 years now. I bought it Christmas of '05. I am going to tell the problems I have had with it first because that's probably what your most interested in.

The biggest problem I had was the battery. It worked great for about 3 years then died completely. (this can be expected with any rechargeable battery)

Other than that there have been NO MAJOR PROBLEMS EVER. I have not once taken it in for a tune-up, repair, inspection, ect.

The only minor hindrances are as follows:

The keyboard doesn't light up which makes typing in the dark difficult.

For some reason my hard-drive is almost full so everytime I search for something in the search bar, it runs really slow.

It doesn't use an IBM processor so I guess you can say it is a true blood mac, which makes some programs incompatible.

Now the good stuff:

I actually think that if you consider it was made 5 years ago, it is a better computer than what apple makes now. I was way ahead of its time and it still works great! The user face is really easy, it has done everything I have asked it, it just works. I cannot say enough good things about this computer. If you are just an average computer person looking for a nice little laptop, I highly recommend it. The only reason I'm getting a new one is because I like the camera, faster processor, and added memory. Only after 5 years am I just starting to see it become slightly outdated. I actually think that back in the day apple gave you more for less. This computer came with its own word processing program and a lot of added software. The new ones require you to buy every piece of software. And this one has a removable battery which allowed me to charge 2-3 batteries for road trips and just pop them in as I went through them. I think apple's biggest mistake with the new laptops is the nonremovable battery. When it dies, that's it, find an outlet. And eventually when it completely dies (and it will probably only last 3 years) they want you to pay a technician for labor+parts to put a new one in. It's ridiculous! If you can get this computer for a low price. Go for it!

2 Years Later:

It is now 2012, and my dad is STILL using this laptop every day. I must warn you, it has become outdated to a point where it's really not worth buying. Everything is today's world has become tailored towards Intel processors. But the fact that is still doing what it was built to do is amazing! This mac has served us well, and we certainly got our moneys worth. I highly recommend one of apples new macbooks.

Buy Apple iBook G4, 1.33 GHz, 768MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, Internal Combo Drive, 56k Modem Now

This thing was made 5 years ago and keeps up with my brand new netbook. The battery life is amazing and it runs smooth. The only downside to this computer is the 40gb HD. But with networked and regular external drives, flash memory and such, it not that big of a deal.

All in all, this is my first mac and I love it.

Read Best Reviews of Apple iBook G4, 1.33 GHz, 768MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, Internal Combo Drive, 56k Modem Here

Just recieved my G4 Ibook recently and I can honestly say I love it! im a college student and my pc laptops kept freezing and crashing nonstop! and I really wanted a mac but I didnt have the "mac" money or so I thought. This is my first mac and its life saver! for less than $300 dollars you can have a portable mac that does everything a $1000+ new mac does ( minus the camera)... It does get warm but that isnt a real big issue with me...as far as battery life it doesnt seem to be the greatest, in my case it isnt a problem because I intend on having my charger with me. I think people should consider this computer as a start mac.

Want Apple iBook G4, 1.33 GHz, 768MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, Internal Combo Drive, 56k Modem Discount?

This G4 iBook is old (6+ years I believe), it has a small hard drive by current standards, a small screen (near netbook size), and an operating system some view as out of date BUT, the machine is quick has a full GB of memory, has an internal airport extreme card, and if we are really serious about portable computing needs this machine beat the heck out of netbook, at a lower cost and better performance. Old Apples Just Don't Seem To Go Bad at least not as quickly as some more recent machines.

Read More >>

Sony VAIO VGN-AW230J/B 18.4-Inch Laptop (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB

I have always had very good luck with Sony equipment so I decided on a Sony notebook this time. So far after about one week I am not disappointed. This is a fast, beautiful, well-made notebook with an awesome screen. Amazon's delivery was very fast, and the product is as described. Right now I am dealing with a steep learning curve with the Windows Vista 64 bit that came with the notebook and it's compatibility issues with software and printers, but that is another story.....

Excellent and beautifully screen, I love the full keyboard and the software packages is fantastic. The start-up, customization and data transfer was easy, the start-up and support software are well design. The only minor thing I can say is the batteries are actually a haft one and last only an hour in normal setting and also there a problem with the sleep mode and the screen saver... not a big deal for me. Also to take a grate advantage of the multi-media they should add an HD TV tuner.

But after all it is fast, beautifull and I'm very happy with it.

Buy Sony VAIO VGN-AW230J/B 18.4-Inch Laptop (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB Now

The backlight on the VGN-AW230J is poorly designed, resulting in an area approximately 0.5 cm high at the bottom of the panel that is evenly and significantly brighter than the rest of the panel. This same effect can be seen to a lesser extent along the sides of the panel. The opposite effect occurs at the bottom corners of the panel, where the backlight appears pinched and at times completely black.

Sony initially told me this was a defect and sent a technician to repair the laptop. After the technician replaced the LCD panel (and broke the bezel in the process), the problem remained. Sony then requested that I send the laptop to their repair center. The repair center has since notified me that the strip of light is "normal," and that despite multiple unnecessary repairs made at their suggestion, they will not provide me a with new, unmodified laptop.

Sony has also added a vaguely worded article to their knowledgebase describing the problem as normal. While they refer to the problem as a "glow," which can in fact be normal for some backlights, this is not how the problem presents itself. ®ion=UMRE_UNITEDSTATES_2_5&sonyregion=US&searchString=lcd%20bright&product=SG_VGNAW230J_1_5&sonytemplate=1&sonymodel=VGNAW230J

I was quite surprised with Sony's response given the marketing behind this particular laptop's display and their direct support of Adobe's color profiles. If you're looking for a laptop with a clear, even, and professional display, look elsewhere.

Read Best Reviews of Sony VAIO VGN-AW230J/B 18.4-Inch Laptop (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB Here

This is my 3rd sony vaio laptop. I love almost everything about it.

The screen is very nice, bright and clear, blu-ray player, full keyboard, nice looking, speakers and etc....

It is like you have a portable desktop.

The down side is the weight, battery life and hard to find the bag but I got one from Amazon.com that is perfectly fit this laptop, it is Targus TLE400.

I have been using this laptop for about 2 weeks and haven't had any problem yet.

Want Sony VAIO VGN-AW230J/B 18.4-Inch Laptop (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB Discount?

PROS:

This laptop is great! At first, I could not get used to the size of the screen, but that quickly grew on me. The full keyboard is absolutely a plus for me. The picture is very clear, the sound is great (not party loud though.) Recording videos and chatting through the webcam is great also. I love watching DVD's on here, downloading music, writing papers, browsing the internet, checking e-mails, etc. If you're a traveler, I would recommend purchasing the Neoprene laptop case for the AW series which was only $24.99!! I also bought the Linksys Ultra Rangeplus Wireless-N Broadband Router (the best price found on Amazon of course).

CONS:

The laptop is only 8 lbs. However, I was unaware of how heavy that actually is. Not really a downside, but it would be nicer if it were a bit lighter. The standard capacity battery that the laptop comes with has a very short life. That battery will last you just over one hour, which is not a lot of time if you're typing a paper, dl songs, or watching a movie. You can leave it plugged in, but I highly recommend purchasing the Large Capacity battery as well.

Hope this helps!!!! =)

Read More >>

Dell Inspiron i1545-4583JBK 1545 15.6-Inch Laptop (Jet Black)

I'm not sure where the above bad reviews came from, but I find it hard to believe that anyone had such a bad experience with the same system that I bought from Amazon. Looks like most of the reviews are for computers bought from someone else or even directly from Dell, and the guy that bought 3 in the last year and had all of them crash within a month after the warranty expired????? well that doesn't make since.... they all come with a 1 yr warranty, and if he bought three within the last year, then they would still be under warranty..... but I digress,,, and here is my review:

I bought the Inspiron i1545 that is sold on Amazon.com and it has more than met my expectations. I figured that a $619 laptop would be the low end of the spectrum when looking for performance, but this has all the componants of the "high end", as far as RAM and Hard disc. Win 7 makes it easy and has very fast start up and shut down times. It runs very effeciently when I have multiple windows open and I'm gettting close to 8 hours between charges (so far). I did a ton of research for computers before making this purchase, and even went to places like Best Buy so I could get a better feel for what the computer looks and feels like. This Inspiron has all the qualities I was looking for: Sleek, light weight, incredibly clear screen, and responsive keys. Add that together with the 4GB of RAM, 500GB of Hard disc, and I love the "Dell Dock" that allows me to put all my icons in one place, which keeps my desktop clean and professional looking.

My opinion is that you cannot go wrong with this system. You certainly get more for your money!

I have purchased three from this company in the past year -we have twins in college and each needed one -then one for personal/home use.

Within a month after each warranty expired, the hard drive died. Nothing could be done but order a replacement which first requires a $49 diagnostic fee....before they can even tell you what the part is that is needed and how much that will cost.

They cannot replace items lost on the drive --so be sure to have your own external hard drive or system for back up. They are no help.

This happened three times!! Three different laptops!! All with simple use at home and university. Each just AFTER the warranty expired -and they are in India -and make no adjustments to "policy" -and have the most effective system of blocking customers from access to attaining help.

Never, ever again. Burned THREE times -with THREE different laptops. Never, never again.

Buy Dell Inspiron i1545-4583JBK 1545 15.6-Inch Laptop (Jet Black) Now

My wife and I have been loyal Dell customers over 10 years and four machines. All our previous machines have performed well and we have never had much reason to call customer service for anything. The few times we did (years and years ago) were reasonably pleasant experiences, though. My impression of Dell has always been that they are a solid company that produces solid products.

Not now.

This laptop, which is my wife's, has been nothing but a nightmare from day one. Pathetic battery life, hardware and software issues, trackpad problems, cursor jumping around, intermittent wireless problems, a shoddily-made machine with flimsy screen hinges that easily break.

Dell's customer service has been the absolute worst experience I have ever had with any company in my entire life. I started out trying to return the unit, but quickly found out that they count the number of days that you have had the computer as starting on the day you order the unit, not the day you receive it, so I was two days past the last day I could return the unit. After being transferred back and forth between two different departments who each thought the other department was supposed to help me, I finally found someone who understood the issue and said he would work on getting special approval to return the unit and then call me back. He also sent me an email. He never called back, never responded to emails, never answered the phone, never returned calls. Anyone else I talked to acted like they knew nothing and told me I could not return the unit. Then I tried to appeal to their business sense, by trying to exchange the unit for a higher model (figuring that if they saw I wanted to pay them more money, they would forgive the 2-day thing).

It took me two more weeks of calling every day to find a guy in their corporate customer service group who (even though he shouldn't have even helped me) agreed that what I wanted to do made good business sense and would help the company hold onto a loyal customer. It took him two more weeks to get what he told me was internal approval for the return (their system only allowed them to process it as a return, not a repair or replacement). He even CC'd me on the email where the manager approved the return and gave him instructions on how to process it. I was told I would receive a return code and instructions on how to return the unit for credit. A week went by--nothing. I called and emailed the guy over and over. No response. I finally got someone else who's email address was on the approval email to respond, who explained that the person who approved the return was in one of two different departments who had to approve the return. He said what everyone else always told me--that he would personally take responsibility for resolving my case. He gave me a phone number that was supposedly his direct number and an email. Never heard from him again. The phone number went to a generic mailbox.

After months of getting the runaround and taking every my lunch hour every day to sit on the phone while eating a sandwich, I simply gave up and decided it just wasn't worth it for a $560 laptop. We are already shopping for a replacement after 7 months of owning this thing. Guess who we won't be buying it from.

Read Best Reviews of Dell Inspiron i1545-4583JBK 1545 15.6-Inch Laptop (Jet Black) Here

After seeing some of the other reviews I thought I would add my two cents worth, as it may help out some of you who are looking to purchase an Inspiron 1545.

I've owned this laptop now for a little over a week and I am very happy with the experience so far. I am very knowledgeable about computers, and currently run several machines running Windows 7, Windows Home Server, Mac OSX, and Ubuntu. I have also worked in IT support in the past, so diagnosing and upgrading PCs is something I'm very comfortable with.

Quick Pros and Cons List:

PROS:

+ Windows 7 (it really is a nice and stable OS)

+ Intel dual-core T4400 processor (works well for most users, easy on battery life)

+ 4GB of RAM (helpful for running programs simultaneously, such as Office, Photoshop, Media Center, etc)

+ 320GB hard drive (plenty of storage for most users)

+ Integrated 1.3MP Creative Labs Live! webcam

+ 7-in-1 media card reader (almost a necessity today)

+ Easily upgradeable (discussed below)

CONS:

T4400 is a dual-core processor, not as powerful as a Core 2 Duo, or the current Core i3 (1545R)

Memory is slower 800MHz speed, not current 1066MHz (1545R)

Wireless (wifi) card is A/B/G, but not N-spec

While the webcam is 1.3MP, it isn't of the highest quality but it's okay

VGA-out included, not HDMI-out like on the newer 1545R

Bluetooth not included (though upgradeable)

High gloss surfaces do attract fingerprints (not a big negative)

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

I've owned many Dells, and this is the third computer I've purchased from Dell this year... not because something was wrong, but they've had good deals on desktops and laptops this year. This is the first entry level laptop that I have purchased from Dell, and overall I am happy with the design, layout, and quality of the build. The high gloss plastic areas on the palmrest and LCD bezel are obvious fingerprint magnets, but not as bad as an iPhone or iPod. They keyboard is laid out well, with good distance between the keys and a nice feel when typing. The keyboard includes dedicated buttons on the right hand side for Home, Page Up/Down, End, and the four arrow keys.

The hard drive, a Seagate Momentus 5400.6 has decent storage space at 320GB, though it is slower at 5400RPM with an 8MB cache. After formatting, you have about 300GB of usable storage. The memory for this machine is 4GB, though the motherboard can support up to 8GB. The memory speed is 800MHz, which is fine, but is slower than the current 1066MHz memory available. It would have been nice if Dell included an HDMI video port, but instead chose VGA. The HDMI comes standard on the new 1545R with the Core i3 processor. The LCD is crisp and bright, with decent viewing angles. The native resolution of 1366x768 is good, though a little compact, but makes viewing 720p video very nice. The AC adapter is the slim variety... the only issue is that the power plug into the computer fits a little loosely though probably on purpose to prevent damage to the laptop if the cable is snagged by a passerby.

UPGRADEABILITY:

The nicest aspect of this laptop is that if you find that you need more speed, hard drive space, memory, faster wifi, or even bluetooth all of these components can be easily upgraded. Reading the service directions at Dell, you can see that taking apart the Inspiron 1545 is easy and straight forward. By removing the keyboard, you can easily add the bluetooth module and cable, which together go for about $25 on eBay. By removing the bottom cover, you can replace the memory, wifi card, and processor with little difficulty. An Intel 5100 N spec wifi card goes for about $12 on eBay. You can also add memory if need be up to 8GB is supported. The processor can also be replaced, though make sure that the processor you choose is supported by the laptop's bios. The 1545 supports Intel Socket P (478-pin Micro FCPGA) processors; with the bios specifically supporting the Celeron 900, Dual-Core T4200, T4300, T4400, and the Core 2 Duo T6400, T6500, T6600, P7350, P7450, P8600, and P8700. The faster processors, like the P8700 include more onboard cache, faster processor speed, faster bus speeds, and virtualization. Replacement processors like those mentioned can be found on eBay for around $20-150. The hard drive can also be easily upgraded I installed a new Western Digital 64GB SSD, which took about 60 seconds to install. The hard drive slot is on the right hand side, and comes out with the removal of two screws. I installed the new wifi in about 60 seconds, adding bluetooth took about two minutes. It doesn't take a lot of know-how to upgrade these components just a screwdriver and a quick read of the manual.

CONCLUSION:

It's a good laptop for the price, which can be upgraded into a better computer easily and cheaply... all you have to do is read the manual, which is straightforward. I usually keep computers for about a year or two, and by next year I'll probably be ready to sell this at a decent price and use the proceeds to get another Inspiron but it will have been worth it for sure. In my opinion, for the price, quality, and support, you can't go wrong with a Dell.

Want Dell Inspiron i1545-4583JBK 1545 15.6-Inch Laptop (Jet Black) Discount?

I have purchased two of these now.

The one I bought at Best Buy lasted 5 days before having hardware failure. I returned it.

I bought the second one at Staples. It lasted 3 hours before giving an error saying, "No hard drive detected."

Don't buy this laptop!

Read More >>

HP 17.3 Pavilion Laptop g7-1219wm / AMD Dual-Core E-450 1.65GHz processor / 4GB DDR3 Memory / 500GB

This machine has so far surpassed all my expectations. I didn't by it on Amazon and was quite frankly surprised to see it on here since it's model denotes made for Wal-Mart. This machine is not for the hardcore gamer, although the graphics and picture quality is very good, or the techno geeks who want to measure benchmarks or fps or any of that stuff that the majority of us either can't understand or frankly, don't care about. It runs VERY cool and according to HP this series, the G7, rarely gets hot. It is quiet-really quiet, as I said, never gets hot, the keyboard is stiff enough and the keys are textured making typing easy. The sound quality is really good due to the front firing speakers, and it has quickweb. An HP rep told me that this machine would surpass my expectations and you know what? He was right. I am an everyday user of email, burning cds, converting sound files, office and A LOT of Netflix watching. I actually love my new HP laptop which is a surprise since my last Hp product, a Compaq, lasted me less than 18 months and started having problems after only a month. If you are a user that doesn't require your laptop to be able to hack NORAD, do yourself a favor and buy this laptop. You won't be dissapointed.

Thought I was getting a good deal, but the laptop is a 2009 and unable to reboot it without the disk. Never again will I order anything on line.

Buy HP 17.3 Pavilion Laptop g7-1219wm / AMD Dual-Core E-450 1.65GHz processor / 4GB DDR3 Memory / 500GB Now

May sound less than smart, but I didn't always carry cooling pad with me cuz it didn't fit in laptop case. And I paid the price with big burn on my left leg from this laptop started with a blister that burst and is still healing after 2 months. Other than that, I love the computer. Great price. Great features. And I've learned my lesson and bought a bag big enough to hold both laptop and cooling pad.

Read Best Reviews of HP 17.3 Pavilion Laptop g7-1219wm / AMD Dual-Core E-450 1.65GHz processor / 4GB DDR3 Memory / 500GB Here

So far so good, I loaded several software onto it and it waits for full use when we give it to our grandson as a Christmas gift

Want HP 17.3 Pavilion Laptop g7-1219wm / AMD Dual-Core E-450 1.65GHz processor / 4GB DDR3 Memory / 500GB Discount?

Read More >>

Sony VAIO VGN-NW270F/S 15.5-Inch Silver Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium)

Since my previous laptop is now technically in two pieces due to the plastic bezel of the monitor breaking, I wanted a laptop that could withstand wear and tear of daily use without compromising on flexibility. After looking at the other brands around the same price point, I felt the VAIO NW was superior in terms of the design and durability. Having used it for a few days now, I am very happy with this product and I would recommend it to others.

I purchased the sony vaio VGN-NW270F. Initially I was happy with it and the blue-ray. Shortly however I noticed when I charged the laptop to 100% and turned the laptop off,24 hours later the battery would be at 90% or less. This issue is common on ALL newer vaios, google it if you do not believe me. Search "Sony Vaio battery drain". Sony will not release a "fix" for it,in fact in one customer service report they describe this as a feature. The battery life never exceeds 2.5 hours either (4 hours listed). I jumped the gun big time buying this laptop. Do your research, now I will take a 85% hit in return price and need a new laptop for school starting January.

Buy Sony VAIO VGN-NW270F/S 15.5-Inch Silver Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium) Now

After comparing all the laptops in the BestBuy store, We pick this laptop for the BEST.

Not only elegant design, beautiful body, but it also has a very sharp and bright lcd screen for the built-in Blu-ray Drive!

In short, You can't go wrong for the price of this laptop!

Sony will become a big guy in the computer market!

Read Best Reviews of Sony VAIO VGN-NW270F/S 15.5-Inch Silver Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium) Here

After playing around with every brand of laptop at various stores it was clear to me that Sony does design better than anyone but mac. The overall feel is better than the competition. The track pad has a unique texture of raised dots that keeps fingers from sticking, and is very precise. The key board is well proportioned, the space between keys allows for more accurate typing than many of the newer keyboards that feel like one giant flat key.

The screen is beautiful, it is glossy so it looks mirror like, but suffers from minimal reflection. It is 780P which is fine when you are looking at a 15.5in screen. Bright, rich colors are refreshed quickly in fine detail. Bluerays played on a 1080p TV looked perfect via the hdmi output, zero hesitation.

The speakers are good. Average volume, but sound great.

The box is slightly lighter than similarly priced laptops, the textured waves look nice and do not collect finger prints. The folding action is smooth and firm.

Microsoft word opens in about 2.5sec.

The battery life seems less than advertised, 2.5hrs is about all I get. It could use better controls for volume, one must use FN>Fx keys to adjust volume/brightness.

I'm happy, at $715 it was worth the extra $50-75 over similarly configured laptops, (none of which had a blueray payer). I'd rather have the Sony design than $75 worth of extra gigawatts.

Want Sony VAIO VGN-NW270F/S 15.5-Inch Silver Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium) Discount?

I am a self proclaimed apple fan (not a fanboy) -as I a have an imac, macbook air, 2 iphones, and too many ipods to mention and all I can say is that this is a sweet computer I always keep a pc around b/c I dont like to run parallels or other programs to run on my mac --and I usually use a netbook just for size. I saw this at bestbuy (699) and was intrigued. The specs are awesome and the fact that it has a bluray drive with HDMI out sealed the deal. So far so good -it's really fast -at least compaired to my old sony viao w netbook (I tried the new viao x but that was slow as molasis too actually took a 15% hit -200 bucks to return it). It is pretty nice looking -I kinda dig the texture. It is really heavy -I would not use this to carry around all the time (macbook air is much better for that) -but overall this is a great computer at a great price (sorry amazon it is cheaper at best buy and not even on sale there)

Read More >>

Dell XPS L501X

I have had the dell XPS L501X since 2010, i have never been comfortable with any other laptop. It is great laptop. The performance is fantastic except for the new touchpad driver. I hope they go back to the original touchpad driver, it stopped some feature on the touchpad button the hot key is not responsive with the new updated driver.

Other than that I would recommend this product to my family members.

I customized adding Bluetooth, blueray video player, and 2GB video card.

Boy this is the laptop.

I bought this laptop a year ago to replace my Dell Studio 1535 laptop. This core I5 processor is fast along with up to 16GB of memory this thing runs like a gaming desktop! The design is pleasing to the eyes and very sturdy although this is on the bulky side so it really isn't for carrying around and is more suited for a desktop replacement. The video playback of HD movies looks terrific and the speakers and sub-woofer on this thing are the best I've ever heard on any laptop to date! I like the backlit keyboard, USB 3.0, eSata and HDMI ports. Dell did a good job on this unit, but then again the XPS line of laptops are the top of the line from Dell which is why they are called Xtreme Performance Systems!

Buy Dell XPS L501X Now

pros: very fast, can play most games on very high settings, light (for a computer with its performance) has not had any problems so far

cons: a little pricy

Read Best Reviews of Dell XPS L501X Here

It's been 1 day and my power supply stopped working.

I called customer care but it's going to take almost 1 week to replace it.

and my laptop battery died right now so I cannot use it anymore.

I googled it and I found that there are a lot of people who has same issue.

Never buy this and never trust dell.

Want Dell XPS L501X Discount?

Read More >>

Toshiba Satellite A205-S5843 15.4" Laptop (1.73 GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core T2370 Processor, 2 GB R

I've written two books and a bunch of articles; I've designed and created a website with intensive graphics; I've used it for Skype and Netflix. No problems with any of it. Maybe it's not a Mercedes, but it's certainly a Cadillac. The only real complaint would be the battery life; running heavy graphics and text at full screen power, I'll get maybe three hours. If I ever need more, I'll get an external.

I like this laptop because it has such good battery life. Would recommend this. Plays games fairly well..I installed Windows 7 after a bluescreen of death, and haven't had any problems since. It starts up fairly quickly, as well.

Buy Toshiba Satellite A205-S5843 15.4" Laptop (1.73 GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core T2370 Processor, 2 GB R Now

Read More >>

Alienware AM14XR2-7222BK 14-Inch Gaming Laptop Black, Intel Core i7-3610QM 2.3GHz, 6GB Memory, 500G

I have yet to utilize this laptop to its full capabilities, but I can run Minecraft on its full settings and I don't lag at all. It is a very quick laptop. The speed is quite fast, plenty of storage for gaming and I love it.

Save 27% Off

Read More >>

Refurbished Apple iBook Laptop with Microsoft Office 2004, Garage Band and Toast! G4 iBook 1.33GHz

I've been a fan of Apple products since I bought my first imac. This laptop is of similar quality. I bought it mainly to use for music projects but it's proved useful for much more. For the money spent, this has been well worth it, a number of times over.

Very nice computer and works great. Bought this for my daughter to use for her school work and she loves it very much. Despiute being older it is a good solid APPLE product.

Buy Refurbished Apple iBook Laptop with Microsoft Office 2004, Garage Band and Toast! G4 iBook 1.33GHz Now

Read More >>

Lenovo ThinkPad T61p 6460 Notebook

If you are thinking about getting a T61p, I suggest you

find one you can see and feel first.

Mine is working properly -I got it with XP Pro.

But, I was disapointed in the quality.

1) The T series Laptops used to be solid

like a tank -now they are flimsy like a potatochip.

2) There is a flex cable from the keyboard base unit to the

monitor lid -first I have seen in a loptop --

Concerned about reliability of the flex.

3) Mine has a lump (or bulge) behind the LCD.

I feel it as I swipe my hand across it.

It is not too visible due to the mat finish,

but it is there. I did an internet search and

others are seeing the same thing.

4) besides the bulge, there is a noticable dip

on the lid near the flex cable area.

I just got one of these second hand, but in very good condition from my dads work. It doesn't have a single scratch on it. My dad has the T61 and I have the T61P, this laptop is as solid as a tank and feels so good. Its just made right. Although I wouldn't recommend paying 2000 dollars for one of these, if you find a second hand one you should definitely go for it, if its in good condition. I have a G73 and two desktops one of them with an I7-2700k and the other one with I5-750, I use them mostly for gaming and stuff but this is for my school work its not a gaming machine but it does what its supposed to. fantastic laptop.

Buy Lenovo ThinkPad T61p 6460 Notebook Now

I was excited when I bought this laptop. Because I know IBM thinkpad was the top of the line laptop that time. So strong construction and good keyboard. But.. after a year, the battery did not even hold power for full 30 minutes even after fully charging it. Then I noticed that even with full brightness the LCD looked dull. The maximum volume is half the volume when I compare my 5 year old Dell machine. Disappointed with T61p. It is not worth for the price! Lenovo is not upto original IBM quality.

Read Best Reviews of Lenovo ThinkPad T61p 6460 Notebook Here

I have owned 10 IBM computers and this is the first Lenovo I have ever owned. The machine worked well and the software was pretty good; although, some of the preloaded software wasn't that helpful and just used up some of the hard drive space.

The screen isn't very good and powerful graphics chip goes to waste with a not so clear screen. The computer is fast, when it works.

It only took four months before my hard drive crashed. Lenovo service did a great job of sending out the new hard drive and recovery disks but they couldn't help me restore my machine from my external Western Digital drive. Windows Vista kept on asking for an installation disk and as Windows Vista was pre-installed I didn't have this disk. Eventually, I gave up and paid a local tech to restore my computer for $300.

The replacement hard drive lasted about 1 year and then it crashed as well. When I originally purchased the machine, I bought the expensive 5 year on-sight service as well. The extra cost didn't bother me, I have money and NO time to deal with computer crashes.

Lenovo apparently reset my warranty period when they sent me the new hard drive, to an absurdly short period of time. As such, my machine was already past its warranty period. I purchased the recovery disks for $60 and bought a Western Digital hard drive from Tiger Direct. There is no way I am paying Lenovo for another substandard hard drive.

Any benefits this machine may have, is outweighed by the fact that if the hard drive is dead you have an expensive door stop and nothing more.

This will be my first and last Lenovo laptop.

Want Lenovo ThinkPad T61p 6460 Notebook Discount?

As an owner of 3 IBM Thinkpads in the past I have been very disappointed with the Lenovo Thinkpad T61p. It worked well enough for nine months but then the screen went out. When I returned it to Lenovo for warranty repair they said the screen was not covered and demanded $700.00. I pointed out that the machine had not suffered physical damage(not dropped or dented) but they said that "sometimes this just happens" and it is not covered under the warranty. Some warranty! Lenovo is not in the same class as IBM. I suggest you look elsewhere for a reliable machine and a reputable manufacturer that honors it warranty.

Read More >>

Acer Aspire S3-951-6646 13.3-Inch Ultrabook

I'm an IT professional and VERY picky when it comes to my laptop. I read the reviews on this and was mixed between the good and bad on here, so I decided to visit a Microsoft Store and check it out on my own. I immediately was amazed how thin and light this was just like a MacBook Air (which I used and had before). I compared this to the Samsung series 9 laptop and although yes I wish it had a non-glossy screen it still beats it in price tag and performance.

Pros:

-Laptop does not show any traces of fingerprints (which annoyed me with other laptops)

-Screen is very crisp and clear. Yes, its glossy but its a "comfortable glossy" like the macbook air

-Keys are very responsive and comfortable. You do have to press a bit more but I easily got used to it.

-The touchpad is the best I've ever used on any Windows laptop. Very smooth and responsive like a macbook.

-Great performance as it has the i5 processor

-Super fast bootup and screen on/off time

-Simple and basic in terms of ports (2) USB and HDMI which are positioned perfectly in the back. I see no need for laptops to have tons of ports on the sides and back adding bulk to it.

-For this price its a steal compared to what other manufacturers are charging.

Cons:

-The up/down/left/right keys are tiny, but eventually you get used to it

-Battery life is not as long as MacBook Air but its still descent for an ultrabook.

-Yes, its true that the click button below the touchpad you have to press very hard (mostly for a right click), however if you go into mouse settings and just enable "single tap" and set up "double tap" as a pop up menu, you will have no need to press down on pad at all. This has such amazing trackpad drivers that I can glide through pages and screens with no effort.

Overall, don't let the Acer name or price fool you, this laptop is a gem and best design, performance and feel I have ever seen outside of Apple. I bought mine from a Microsoft Store which has the Microsoft Signature service (basically they re-load the OS with no bloatware). If your in the market for a Windows 7 thin, fast and on the go laptop, this is the one for you!

I had this ultrabook for a week now and I can say it's amazing so far. It's thin, light, fast and comfortable. It looks good, it's quiet and cool (I mean temperature). Before I bought this I read all the reviews available online. I completely understand the reviewers have to criticize something but for me this computer works perfectly well. For example, many people say that the keys are too short. In my opinion the keys are comfy. The screen is not the best, but it's very good. This is not a gamer computer; it's for the ones that need to carry it from one place to the other. Taking into account its size and weight, I couldn't expect more from this machine. I come from a ThinkPad that is a heavy duty. I can see this computer is not as strong as the ThinkPad, but it's on a different league if you take into account the price you pay for one of the smallest computers available.

The Core i5 it's powerful enough for the tasks I perform (Web, Excel, Word, some Photoshop). The SSD for "instant on" works as magic. You open the computer and its right there asking for your password (if you setup one). Battery life seems to be good although I can imagine it will suffer in the long term as I'm not able to remove the battery when it's plugged in. On normal use (internet, mail, and few YouTube videos) you get between 4 and 5 hours. I haven't tried playing a movie yet, but I guess you'll get enough power to watch it all the way.

Buy Acer Aspire S3-951-6646 13.3-Inch Ultrabook Now

I bought the laptop for $799 on Amazon.com around Jan 2012. After it arrived, it worked OKAY. The track pad was not nearly as responsive as in a larger laptop, or in a MacBook Air, but no big deal. I can adjust to that, and I did. But there were significantly worse problems.

First problem Defective Wireless Card. (See also, e.g., the 2-star review by "The Inveterate Scofflaw 'J'"). On random occasions, perhaps once every one to three hours of use time, the wireless adapter just goes out. *POOF* No, it is not that I went out of network range, etc. Rather, the computer acts as if I had manually disabled the wireless, and there is nothing that can be done to bring it back. Rebooting will work, and I realized later that putting the computer to sleep, which takes much less time, will also cure the nuisance. So I have had to do that, usually once every several hours, randomly, whenever the wireless card craps out on me. This was not a big deal, as it usually takes no more than 10-15 seconds total to put the computer to sleep and wake it up. The quick sleep-awake response, to be fair, is a nice aspect of this computer.

Second problem Defective Hard Drive. (See also, e.g., the 1-star review by "frank"). About one month after getting this computer, I was using it on the train when all of the sudden I got a blue screen. Upon reboot, I keep getting an error message and windows will not boot. I google the error message, and learned that it was indicative of hard drive failure, and that other people whose laptops sustained a physical impact have had that message. My computer never fell. As a result of this, I shipped the computer in to Acer, and they ended up replacing the hard drive (just as I figured). So all my data was lost. Not a big deal, I only had it for a month, but still, but be warned!

My computer arrives in two weeks or so, and the invoice says that a new hard drive was installed. So far so good, but one day later, the computer starts doing clicking sounds randomly, and then I get a blue screen. Upon reboot, the clicking sounds (which are annoying an scary, think about fingernails on chalkboard) continue and I get an error message about have no boot drive.

Conclusion: This computer was a bad decision, and the problems discussed herein are likely a product of Acer trying to use sub-par technology in an ultra-thin laptop. MacBook Air laptops, for example, all have solid state drives -no disk drives. I think having an actual disk drive in such a thin computer is asking for trouble. Similar issues may have been with the poor contact between the wireless card and the mainboard.

At any rate, I am happy that Amazon.com has a very easy return policy for defective computers.

Read Best Reviews of Acer Aspire S3-951-6646 13.3-Inch Ultrabook Here

So, I won this thing on the Acer A Day Give Away. (So I might be a little biased, cause they just gave me a free computer.)

I was sort of in the market for a new laptop, and I really was not looking for a ultrabook. I'm more of a big clunky machine with a big screen and all the bells and whistles type of guy.

Imagine my surprise when I got this thing and have found that I really, really like it. I don't have an issue with the noise, nor do I mind the lack of CD drive. I think the start up time is fast, and the laptop overall is a great little machine. It feels really sturdy to me, despite the light weight. I really like that it does not get hot... like, at all. I had it running on battery power for nearly 4 hours the other day, shut it off, and felt the underside. It was tepid.

I read reviews before I got the laptop that the keys were an issue. Some people complained about the keys not having the right amount of heft, which caused them to miss keys, or were unable to hit the arrow keys. Again, I like big things. Big keyboards included. That said. I don't have an issue, at all with the keyboard. I've not had any problems with the arrow keys. In fact, my only issue so far is that there are no dedicated function keys. There are function keys, but they're not dedicated (That is I'd like to have a volume control, playback controls for video, etc.)

I'm a big fan of the multitouch trackpad. I love that I can use gestures to make stuff happen. Took me a while to figure out how to use them correctly, but now that I have, I'm enjoying it. My only complaint is that you cannot create your own gestures, and can only use a predefined list of finger motions to trigger a predefined list of actions -at least, using the stock software (I do not know of alternate software at the moment).

Beyond that, it came with a lot of bloatware. Easily fixed, but a minor annoyance.

___________________

Edit: Exactly one year to the day after I received this thing, the trackpad stopped functioning properly and I cannot penetrate ACER's paywall to their warranty support. Absolutely no one has helped me with this. They're being very, very unhelpful and that has completely changed my opinion of this product.

I would not buy this computer again, nor would I have any future business dealings with ACER because of their (obviously) well timed product failures, and refusal to help their customers.

Want Acer Aspire S3-951-6646 13.3-Inch Ultrabook Discount?

I usually do not write reviews, but felt what I read was not correct. This computer is great. The keyboard which some have said is bad is not the case. I had an Apple laptop and found it similar. The screen is great and I've got Slingbox which is TV internet and it looks great. The small buttons on the right get real!! no big deal. This things starts up before i blink!! The speed and connection are great!! I did a lot of research before buying and when I clicked send in the buying cart, I initiallly had remorse as I was wishing that I was being too cheap and a few hundred would have made my life complete. When i got the computer. What a great surprise. The top is great. As for plastic, it does not feel cheap, but smart in cost. Also, my Mac was hot on the bottom, this computer is cool on bottom. Not sure why but it is. The layout is great. The hinge is fine, no problem that I see that some reported. Love the keyboard, which the experts said was lacking. Still not sure what they are talking about. I can buy almost two of these computers for what the others are charging. No Brainer!! Buy it!! P.S. They came out with a new one that is $1400 with SDD and i7. Get the i5 not that big a difference to pay $700 extra.

Save 6% Off

Read More >>

HP Pavilion DV7T DV7 Laptop / Intel CoreTM i5-2430M Processor/ USB 3.0 / 17.3" HD Display / 6GB Mem

This is a great laptop for the price and Amazon has great customer service. It is fast and the only thing I did to make it faster, is installed an SSD hard drive and am using it as my primary drive and using the hard drive that came with it, as my secondary hard drive. The only negative thing that people should know is that it only comes with a 2.4GHz Wireless card and I would like to have a 5GHz card which is 8 X faster. When I spoke to HP about upgrading to a 5Ghz card they sent me a link to an outside vendor and I purchased that card. After installing it, it came up with a BIOS error stating that it was not an HP supported product. I just purchased another card directly from the HP site and I am hoping it will work.

We use this laptop primarily for photos, email, facebook, Sykpe and movies. The 17.3 inch HD display, Blu-Ray player, i5 processor, and 4 USB ports make this a great laptop for our needs. We also love the finger print reader for signing on quickly.

On the downside, there is no indication of which USB ports are 3.0 and which are slower 2.0 and HP manuals are no help since they have so many laptops that are configured differently. The other downside is that the battery that comes with the laptop doesn't hold a charge for more than 2 to 3 hours, so we are looking for a 12-cell battery that will last longer.

Buy HP Pavilion DV7T DV7 Laptop / Intel CoreTM i5-2430M Processor/ USB 3.0 / 17.3" HD Display / 6GB Mem Now

Read More >>