Sony VAIO VPC-F215FX/BI 16-Inch 3D Laptop (Black)

Tried a few different 3D pc all in one, desktop, laptop models. By far Sony has the best. With Sony 3D technology built in the HD 1080p screen and Sony 3D glasses, nothing else on the market compares. Backlit keyboard is great. Blu ray 3d movies and games are awesome on this machine. Stay away from Nvidia 3D glasses they are so dark, its not worth it plus lots of ghosting going on. With Sony no ghosting and they come with the same 3D glasses you would get if you bought one of thier 3D tv's. Not dark at all, no ghosting. Was able to transfer my old files on my old laptop with ease simply using a network cable and sonys transfer program. Customer service was great when I had a few questions on the 3D capability. The sony's program that updates patches and firmware automatically makes it a worry free process. You can connect to a HDMI port on your tv and run 3D if your tv is 3D or just HD 1080P. So you can use this as a 3d blu ray player aswell. Has the latest parts in it, so as far as computing functionality its more then enough. Very light weight for its size. I saw the other review with the refresh rate issue, I do not have this problem nor do I have to mess with the refresh rates at all. When doing something in 3D it switches automatically, so this is a worry free process. The speakers could have been of better quality, but atleast they are loud. They could have used more bass, but really a minor issue otherwise this laptop has been rock solid. Love it. Sony VAIO VPC-F215FX/BI 16-Inch 3D Laptop (Black)

Purchased this to replace my Desktop. This laptop is BIG and HEAVY. That might sound bad but it's actually good, this laptop comes with some heavy duty power. After several months of rigorous use, it has performed wonderfully. The LED HD screen is one of the best I have ever seen on a laptop. It handles the most graphic intensive games well, blu ray movies look amazing and the 3D is a major bonus. I honestly never got this for it's 3D capability but was pleasantly surprised at how amazing the 3D looks. I was also able to connect this to my Sony 3D HD tv and able to watch movies in 3D through my laptop without needing the 3D adapter! I was actually blown away by the picture output on my TV. Crystal clear.

I was very impressed by how sleek this machine looks too. It's a fingerprint magnet with the glossy piano black finish on the oustide and inside. But it's easy to clean. The keyboard takes some getting used to as it includes a number keypad but it's a bonus to have a full size keyboard. The light up keys are also a welcome addition as Vaio PC's were late in including this feature.

All in all this is about the biggest flagship Laptop model offered by Sony and powerful enough to rival most laptops in the market. Given it's advanced technology, the price was actually reasonable. While this laptop is portable, it is large and I certainly wouldn't recommend it for traveling but if you are looking for a powerful desktop replacement with the ability to be moved, this is highly recommended.

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I had Sony build me a Vaio VPCF2190X with the i7-2820QM processor and 8 gb RAM. I have tried straining the CPU by running multiple large-task programs but the laptop doesnt slow down a bit. The HD/3D screen is stunning (vivid and clear picture). The numeric keypad is also a nice feature to have. Sony includes some useful programs with the laptop, too. I highly recommend the Vaio F2190X (or equivalent models). Extremely quick CPU with great graphics/screen.

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1-The keyboard on the VAIO F Series is comfortable and spacious, with a dedicated number pad (but oddly, no dedicated volume buttons).

2-The laptop comes with one pair of Sony's active-shutter 3D glasses. The included polishing cloth is a must for the lenses and the laptop itself, which shows every smudge and speck of dust.

3-When the room lighting is dim, the keyboard's soft white backlight makes typing easier.(*****)

4-The pebbled surface in the wrist rest is the touch pad. It makes mousing smooth and precise, but in dim light, it's hard to tell from the surrounding area.

Finally :Nice! This would really be good with a very awesome

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I love the computer itself first off. The computing power more than meets my needs. I was shopping for the best 3D as well because a company called Yabazam was offering a 3D player and programs in 3D that was compatible with the Sony laptop. So, I looked at the technical specs and found this one.

It handled the 3D video images at 1080p with the first episode I downloaded of the show Safety Geeks 3D on the Yabazam site with their 3D player. I also tried the 3DeeCentral / Spatial Views player and both looked great in 3D. The active glasses work fine and overall I love the laptop and use it constantly.

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Lenovo ThinkPad W520 427638U 15.6" LED Notebook - Core i7 i7-2720QM 2.2GHz

Fast, longish battery life, feels very robust, runs quiet, all the ports I need, and useful utility software for hotkeys and so forth.

I wish it had the large, smooth touchpad of my macbook pro, but the fantastic keyboard feel almost makes up for it.

Main downside is the huge power brick needed to run its monster processor. If you get a dock, be sure to get the compatible 170W model.

This laptop is an absolute disaster. It shuts down intermittently during both normal operation and sleep mode.

Search for "lenovo w520 shutdown"

Search for "lenovo w520 lawsuit"

I have returned it to the depot 4 times with no resolution. Every time I call, I point out that this is a known issue with 140 *pages* of postings on the Lenovo support website thread (search for "lenovo w520 shutdown", it will be the first result).

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I have had several Lenovo computers over the years and they have always performed well and this one is no exception. It's fast, battery life is very good, and the screen looks great. The power supply is a brick, but I got a nice backpack for the computer and there is plenty of room for it. I have used 2 of these W520's with no problems at all. Get one with a warranty and you should be fine.

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I researched my options for fast reliable workstations long and hard. I work overseas and need a reliable and powerful machine. On paper the W520 seems like the best bet, and I have had great success with Thinkpad's in the past, however this is not the case with the w520.

The first week it performed flawlessly, on day 8 it would not turn on. I had powered it down for the night and in the morning it was just dead. I checked all usual suspects and contacted Lenovo. Came to the conclusion after long troubleshooting session over the phone with someone I could not even understand that the motherboard was most likely fried, and they have had the same issue before. They shipped the return box promptly free of charge with preprinted labels (a+ for effort) after a few weeks in the shop I got the laptop back supposedly fixed with mother board replacement and a few other things. No more than 3 days later the same thing, wouldn't turn on, no bios screen, nothing. called Lenovo again and they tried to say it's just a glitch and had static built up, and it was no big deal, they had my take it apart and disconnect internal battery. still didn't fix the issue. so I go through the whole process again. and Again get the repair order saying yet another motherboard is fried.

So for a laptop that claims superior quality and reliability this has hit as far from the mark as possible! I am now overseas for 4 months using my old laptop b/c there's no way I can trust the w520. In less than a month's time it has completely failed. So now it has become my wife's laptop until it needs to be fixed again at which point I will have to cut my loses and get them to take it back or throw it in the dumpster.

I had a huge love for the IBM Thinkpads, and after this I have no faith in Lenovo

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Acer C710-2055 11.6-Inch Chromebook (Iron Gray)

I have never written a review before, due to the fact i have never felt the need to. This is a great supplemental computer. I not sure I would have it for my only computer for now but i can see it becoming one in the near future after some needed upgrades (Skype for one). If it had Skype it would be the perfect computer for deployed military members. I have been deployed multiply times so when i say that i want you to know where i am coming from. It is quick and exceptional for travel. People complained about the weight but that complaint carries no weight. 4 1/2 stars is what it deserves but that's not a choice. I would recommend to other computer users who like to explore new IT solutions. Acer is the way to go with this....not the other choices.

Your instinct is to compare it to a Windows PC but this is a new internet device which is 100% cloud based. Its also a Google product machine yet it runs thousands of apps one of which is MS Office 365 which is cloud based if you must have complete compatibility with MS Office files. Security is a strong point since no Win malware can infect this new OS and you don't need anti virus at all.

The display on the Acer is better than the slicker looking Samsung but it also has a VGA port not just a HDMI which means you can create a desktop by porting your current vga monitor, usb mouse and keyboard; it also has a ethernet port not just WiFi. The 2GB memory version is very fast so this 4GB will allow even more tabs to be open and responsive. The 6 cell battery makes it competitive with Samsung version and runs Netflix with no flicker at all. It has 3 usbs which work well with flash, SD, usb HD and optical too but for mostly read only with some exceptions. Unlike Win it does not slow down with use and is being improved ever few months with new functions for free. The remote control Chrome app is great for networking with a Win PC if you must gain access to programs or data remote. Printing requires either a Google cloud based printer (I got an Epson wf-3520; does Apple airprint too and dual side scanning...all for $110..awesome) or a Win PC acting as a print server with legacy printers or you can print as a PDF and then port them with a flash drive to a Win based printer. If you get the $200 version you can buy a $50 6 cell battery from acer to get the extra endurance. If you want a full size screen than look at the HP version.

Update.....Acer recently replaced the HD with a 16G SSD for the 2MB versions which means it boots as fast as the

Samsung now but its unclear if they will do the same for the 4G HD version here; if boot speed is your thing then take a look at that model too.

Overall this is a great choice for any public use PC and for students of all flavors due to price and function........the more people get used to this OS the more they will like it since its the PC we should have had day one not the kludge MS created for us all...............

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The changes from the $200 Acer C710-2847 to this $280 Acer C710-2055 are just 2GB extra memory (for a total of 4GB) and a 6-hour battery (instead of a 4-hour battery).

$80 is not a bad price for 2GB memory and a longer-life battery. One of the best things about the Acer C7 is that it's upgradeable, so you could buy the $200 machine and upgrade the memory and battery yourself. (At present, March 2013, Acer C7 users mostly seem to get an after-market longer-life battery from a third-party supplier named CDW.) It would probably end up around $80 for an after-market upgrade too, so if you're sure you want the extra memory and battery life, this $280 one would be a fine choice.

I'd still advise most people to get the $200 Acer C7. I've found the 2GB memory and 4 hours of battery life to be good enough; and I can always upgrade later if I change my mind. Even though $80 is reasonable for what you get, I feel a visceral difference in the price. $280 is a remarkably affordable machine; but $200 is almost shockingly inexpensive for a quite good computer.

I'm a big fan of the $200 Acer C7; see my review here: New Acer C7 C710-2847 Chromebook 11.6" Intel Dual Core B847 1.1 GHz 2GB DDR3 320GB 5400RPM HDD Wifi HDMI USB3.0 VGA Card Reader. Now, at present (June 2013) you can't get it for $200 on Amazon. Best Buy is selling a $199 Acer C7 with a 16GB SSD; that's the Chromebook I wish I had.

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I love the idea of a laptop-type device that boots as quickly as this one does.

I can leave it on my desk for days, yet when I open the lid, it's ready to log in within 3 seconds! It starts up from a dead stop in 11 seconds!

I have yet to use all of the features, nor test the compatibly with MS Office products, but so far it does about everything that I need.

If all you need is a web-surfing solution, this is the system for you. Light and portable, it offers everything "google". Though you could easily get other webmail based emails on this system, it comes with a gmail shortcut, along with google docs, sheets, etc., as well as google drive (cloud-based storage).

The only issue I've found so far, was when I connected it to an external monitor. After disconnecting it and using it later, I found it still had the reference to the external monitor, so I had to reboot it...10 seconds later and everything was ready to go.

Very glad I made this purchase.

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I bought this as an experiment, to some extent, although having downloaded ChromeOS to fiddle with over a year ago, I knew about what to expect. But I'd never used it exclusively on a dedicated machine. I'm very pleasantly surprised.

*The OS: Am learning more all the time, but have found it to be very useful once I resigned myself to using mainly Google Docs, which I had resisted up to now. It was a good thing to learn, because my misconceptions about its limits proved to be pretty much unfounded. Part of this machine's role will be as a travel laptop that will need to access company documents sometimes, and I now know that while I might not be doing heavy editing or writing a new SMS manual in Google Docs it will work for what I do need it to do. I also like the speed of the OS, both starting up and on the web.

The more I learn about ChromeOS, the better I'm liking it. There is a learning curve, but it's pretty easy. There is also a fun factor. I look forward to continuing updates and improvements, which will come to the machine in free, effortless updates nothing to keep track of. Freedom from malware is huge, too. Given what I intend to use it for, thumbs-up on the OS.

*The Hardware: I had tempered my expectations for the Acer, based on its low price I told myself not to expect too much refinement. But it's quite nice, really, if a little plain-vanilla looking; I've ordered a skin to jazz it up a bit. Quality seems good, fit & finish are fine, it's solid, I even like the keyboard. The screen is good, and bright enough for outdoor use I sit and work on the porch at home a lot. Battery life is as advertised about 6 hours. So no complaints about the hardware.

One reason I wanted the Acer instead of the Samsung is that I thought I might put ChrUbuntu on it, for the full OS and apps and the Acer, with its 320GB HDD, has ample room for the extra OS. It also uses an X86 processor, so it will run standard apps like LibreOffice unlike the ARM-based Chromebooks. I still might install ChrUbuntu, though I want to sound the depths of ChromeOS first. But even if I don't put the full OS on, I think the extra HDD room will come handy, as I'd like to keep large DrobBox and Google Drive folders on the laptop for off-line access.

Another thing I like about the Acer's construction is that HDD, memory and battery are replaceable or upgradeable. I like the idea that when SSDs get cheaper, for example, I could swap one in for a performance increase.

This is a good little laptop with surprising quality and speed at a very low price. I'm happy with my purchase and would recommend it.

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Dell Inspiron i17R-1713 17.3-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black)

I've had the Dell Inspiron 17R (500 gig hard drive; 4 gigs RAM; i5-2410m processor) for about a month. I upgraded it to 6 gigs of RAM.

The Inspiron is a pretty good value. You get a lot of machine for the money. The i5-2410m processor is fast. Combined with the large amount of RAM, it'll handle with ease any normal, everyday task, such as watching movies, browsing, word processing, home video editing, and so on. I can't speak to whether it'd be suitable for gaming, because I don't use it for that. However, it is quite a powerful laptop for routine computer stuff.

I have seen the screen criticized elsewhere, for not being super-high resolution, but I disagree. The 17.3" screen is one of the high points of this laptop. It is bright, sharp, and easy to read. I've always been a fan of "desktop replacement" laptops, and have several over the years, always with a 17" screen. I think this is one of the better screens out there. It's 1600x900, which is not 1920x1080, but it's still very sharp, and the Inspiron 17R is half the price of a 1920x1080 laptop.

It comes with a nice mix of ports. Two USB 3.0, a USB 2.0, and an extremely useful eSATAe. The USB3.0 ports are not providing the kind of performance I was hoping for. I think that either the laptop or my external drives are not configured properly to take advantage of USB3.0. I'm getting USB3.0 speeds that are little better than USB2.0. On the other hand, the eSATAe port is blazin' fast. I plan just to use the eSATAe port and not bother with the 3.0 ports.

My main complaint with this laptop is the mouse pad. There are some laptops out there that have a mouse which jumps around too much. This is one of them. Many other laptops do not have this problem anymore; it was a design problem that was fixed over the years. So, what does this problem entail? When you're typing, the cursor will occasionally jump elsewhere on the screen, and if you're not careful, you can end up deleting important text. And, as another reviewer noted, there's the occasional related problem of the mouse-pointer sort of pinning itself to the right side of the screen; when this happens, nothing you do on the mousepad will unstick it, and you just have to fuss with it and, ultimately, wait for it to decide to start working again. Experimenting with the mouse pad controls (sensitivity and speed, in Control Panel) helps a little, but not a lot. Fundamentally, it is just a bad mouse pad, something that should have been addressed by Dell and put to rest a long, long time ago. The cursor-jumpiness around the screen is just unacceptable on a modern laptop. The keyboard itself is mediocre; it has nice chicklet-style keys that are easy to type on, but they occasionally miss a letter when they shouldn't. I spilled just a couple of drops of Diet Coke on one key, and now that key and six surrounding keys have permanent pop-and-crackle noises when I touch them. Many (in fact, "most" or "all") other laptop keyboards are more mishap-tolerant than the one in the 17R. I want to love this laptop, but I have to say that laptops from other brands such as Toshiba have much better keyboards and mouse pads.

The battery life is poor. It is the shortest battery life I have ever experienced on a laptop. You can get about 90 minutes if you are doing light browsing. Any sort of heavy usage, like movie-watching, will put you down in the 60 to 75 minute range. I really don't get that. I've had other 17" monitor laptops that ran for 2.5 to 3.5 hours between charges. It doesn't bother me much, because I use it at home, where it's plugged in. If I was in more of a road-warrior mode, I would've already returned it. This laptop basically needs to be plugged in when you're using it. It is also very heavy substantially heavier than my last couple of 17" laptops. It really is not designed for road use, either in battery usage or weight; it's truly an old-school desktop replacement laptop.

In summary: for the price, you get a lot of laptop with Dell. The Inspiron 17R has a beautiful screen, a very fast processor, and ample storage and RAM for normal business or personal use. I don't think for the $600 to $700 (depending on configuration) you can get much more laptop elsewhere. However, the mouse, and specifically the jumpiness of the mouse, truly sucks. The keyboard is very low-end -so low-end it's hard to believe Dell thought this was an acceptable component to put on a modern, $600 machine. All in all, I give this laptop 3 stars. I would like to see Dell really drill down on why their mousepads and keyboards are not up to the competition, and replace them with better parts. I have a feeling this one will last about a year or two, and then I will probably replace it with a different brand.

Overall, I love this product, though considering the last computer I had was a 12.5"

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HP Pavilion DV6-1375DX Entertainment 15.6-Inch Widescreen Laptop (Black)

HP is the best computer thaer is from my owne exsprince and I have tried other computers befor but I never had one last as long as the hp duse and I had other computers befor the only reason I am giving it such A lowe review is because I just got it and have not had it long enugh to work it and review it and the windows program has gliches that I alone can't fix so till I am able to see A teach to fix it this is all I give it for now

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Toshiba Satellite L875D-S7332 17-Inch Notebook Laptop

I actually purchased this laptop a week ag from Staples for about $100 less than the Amazon price. I love it! I agree, Windows 8 takes some getting used to, but the more I use it the more comfortable I am with it. I simply use the Windows 7 desktop that I can easily access from the "Metro" desktop that comes up when I first log on. Also, the Metro desktop shows all the files and program shortcuts that I have on my Windows 7 desktop. They are located over on the extreme right side of the display, and so its only takes a second to get to the programs I use...without even having to go to the Windows 7 desktop.

I love the nice, crisp display. The keyboard is like silk and it's size makes it, at least for me, very easy to use. The Fn keys are useful, and having a separate number pad is terrific. This laptop also has both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 outlets, which is a real plus. The only thing that is a very slight disappointment is that the battery only last 4 hours, but considering that the battery on the 7 year old Toshiba I had been struggling with (as a second computer just for email and writing)only lasted 15 minutes, 4 hours is a breath of fresh air.

I would buy this computer over and over again. It seems to be a fantastic machine.

Additional comments two weeks later:

I still really like this machine, with just one complaint...the display has a blue cast that is impossible to get rid of, no matter how many color corrections I try. I've been able to reduce the blue cast significantly, but if I go try to reduce it further in the color cast setting or in the processor settings, the cast starts turning green or red. Since I use this computer to do some photo editing, I'll just have to make the color cast corrections (which are usually only white balance changes) with my desktop that has a 22" ViewSonic LED and is connected directly to the printer. I have tried three HP G7 laptops, two with AMD processors and one with the Intel i3 processor, and they all have the same cast, so it's the display and not the processor. If anybody has any success correcting this, let me know.

Incidentally, I LOVE Windows 8. Nearly all the low ratings for this computer are because of Windows 8 and not the computer itself. I've been through XP, Windows 7, and now Windows 8, and I think 8 is far better than the other two. Here's what I like so far:

The charms provide easy and quick access to all those files, folders, programs, and system tools that were so darn hard to find, particularly if they're in the control panel. Just type in the name of what you are looking for and the links to the item show up instantly. Very cool.

I can switch back and forth between the media window and the traditional Windows 7 desktop with a simple push of the windows button on the lower left side of the keyboard. And get this every program I install has a shortcut on the traditional desktop AND the media desktop. Since they open at least three times faster when I access them on the media desktop, I always start there. And...with some patience, I've been able to move all the programs I use to the left side of the media desktop so they are front and center on my display at startup; a piece of cake.

One aggravation is that I have not figured out how to make a shortcut to the system tools I use "create a restore point" and "computer management" to put on the desktop. If anybody knows how, please let me know because I use these tools a lot.

first time with windows 8 and ie 10. a wee bit confusing in the beginning. after the first couple days, it is great. Toshiba has a great product fast, reliable and cost efficient.

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This Toshiba is a great laptop for the price and it has a decent amount of memory and disk space, although you can find it cheaper elsewhere. The display is slightly larger and movies look good on it. I personally dislike Windows 8, but that's a minor problem once you get used to it. I also purchased a Toshiba 3TB external hard drive for all my movies and both work excellently.

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THIS WAS OUR FIRST LAPTOP AND WE WERE INFORMED THAT TOSHIBA WAS ONE OF THE BETTER QUALITY LAPTOPS THAT DOES NOT HAVE ALOT OF EXTRA STUFF ON IT THAT IS NOT NEEDED. WE ARE VERY PLEASE WITH THIS EVEN THOUGH WINDOWS 8 IS A LITTLE TOUGH TO GET USED TO. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT FOR ANYONE AND THE PRICE IS FANTASTIC.

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my first laptop which i bought in 2001 was toshiba. When my daughter was very young she smeared the keyboard with her food yet the laptop worked. This old one with XP still works. I bought a new Toshiba because I am big fan of Windows 8 and it couldn't go better with a sturdy hardware. My Toshiba 17" does what I need it to do efficiently. It is quiet, fast to boot and has plenty of disk space. If anyone wanted me to recommend a hardware platform for choice in laptops, I'd say get Toshiba!

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HP Pavilion dv2000t 14.1" Notebook Laptop PC (Intel Core Duo T2050 1.60 GHz, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD,DVDR

This computer is HORRIBLE! Do not buy it; or any other HP for that matter. Motherboard failure after 2 years, among other issues. I am always having to send it in to get it repaired. HP Customer Service is horrible also; they wanted my credit card number just for an over-the-phone "diagnosis!" I will never buy an HP product again!

I had the computer and it worked like a champ until the mobo died on me. I ended up replacing it for $35 dollars and the computer works fine again. If you get a refurbished you may be okay.

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Too bad I couldn't give it zero star. If I could, I'd do it.

Bought this kind of top from Costco. One month after 2 year warranty expired, the motherboard was broken. No coverage from HP or Costco. Now it's 100% of piece of junk.

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My experience with this laptop is similar to the ones in the other reviews. I had far too many issues with this laptop. TONS actually. From the motherboard going out, over heating, screen not turning on, wireless stopped working. I would have it fixed. Then 2 weeks later, SAME ISSUES. HP finally sent me a "refurbished" one, which worked for about 1 month, than the SAME EXACT THING....

I now actually have the DV6000 and I have not had one single issue. It's bigger, larger ram, and I'll have it until the wheels fall off, so to speak....

So, not out of hate or dislike for HP, but do NOT purchase this product, especially with no warranty, because I feel confident enough to say you will have similar issues and wish you went with your gut feeling...

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ok so it will die on you that's for sure...lol...but with good ol' amazon you can have it up and running for under 40 bucks so why is everone on here made? buyer beware right? If I'm going to buy anything over $200 I looking it up, to be sure I know everthing there is befor I get it...you should all do the same

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

I 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.

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Toshiba Satellite S855-S5170 15.6-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue Brushed Aluminum)

I've had this for about a month and so far, I don't have many complaints. I've owned 17" laptops the past few years and while the larger screen is nice, they're just a little too bulky to be taking it everywhere. The 15.6" size is perfect for my needs and is considerably lighter.

The Intel i7-3630QM processor is incredibly fast. Everything loads instantly (Photoshop, databases, ect). The screen looks great but it seems a little muted compared to my Dell laptop. The touchpad tracks much better than others I've used but nothing compares to a regular mouse.

Windows 8 is not as bad as I thought. I didn't have an issue installing/running software from my Windows 7 laptop but the big issue is the new "Start Menu" which appears to be designed for touch screen devices. Installing Classic Shell gave me back the familiar Start Menu that I've grown accustomed to since Windows 95.

The S855-S5170 comes with a dedicated graphics card. If the dedicated graphics card is not a must, save $50 by going with the nearly identical S855-S5168 which uses the integrated Intel HD Graphics Card.

CONS:

-Speakers compared to my Dell laptop, they're terrible. I'm not an audiophile by any means but I like to understand what I'm listening to. The Logitech Z305 Laptop speaker solved this issue.

-Bulky battery charger. Almost twice the size & weight of my Dell charger.

-Side charging port.

I owned a Toshiba and an HP laptop in recent years (my son adopted my HP). The performance of this Toshiba is good, the style is fine, the touchpad is smooth although I use an extra monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse, and the price was great. I also added Office 2013 and a 3 year Toshiba service/accidental damage contract. I use it for both home and work tasks.

What I really find odd is Windows 8. I learned how to navigate pretty quickly using the icon-based navigation (if you have a smart phone, you'll pick it up). Switching back and forth between the Windows 8 app screen to the traditional desktop is odd. The app screen replaced the Ribbon from Windows 7. It make more sense if you get a touch-screen laptop, but I've grown accustomed to it. I didn't buy a touchscreen laptop because I couldn't find one with the processor speed, RAM, and hard drive space I needed at a reasonable price.

It's also weird because if I use the Netflix App, I can't "exit" out of it it just stays there in the background. Some other apps do the same. I just ignore them and move on. There are plenty of video tutorials to walk you through Windows 8.

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I am very pleased with with the computer. I like the size, weight, etc. I don't care for the glare the screen produces, but there are a number of fixes for that. It's too bad that I did not order it with Windows 7. I have used Windows for years and find Windows 8 to be very disappointing.

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The Toshiba Satellite S855-S5170 boasts an impressive feature set for a laptop under $1000 quad-core i7 @ 2.4 Ghz (automatically overclocks itself to as much as 3.4 Ghz on demand), 8GB RAM, 2 GB Radeon video (outstanding gaming performance!!), 1 TB HDD (plenty of storage, but the drive is a bit slow), bigger 15.6" screen, full size keyboard with separate num-pad, and the list goes on. It runs Windows 8 very solidly (first thing I did was install a Windows 7 style start-menu shell however), and includes the typical pre-installed bloat ware, all of which I uninstalled in order to use free-ware of similar functionality.

On the downside, I was disappointed to find the Ice Blue Brushed Aluminum areas only included the palm rest and lid-cover. The rest is covered in black plastic or an Ice Blue plastic speaker grill. A full aluminum enclosure (ala a MacBook Pro) would have been much nicer, but I'm sure that would have blown the price point by quite a bit. Unfortunately, the black plastic backing plate feels a bit "squishy", as does the entire keyboard surface (which is not back lit boohoo). The black plastic bezel around the screen glass also feels like it could come off if snagged on something by accident. Two other small gripes the power button doesn't illuminate to show whether the system is on, asleep, or off (there is an LED on the front for that), and the button to open the DVD drive is recessed quite a bit and hard to press. Also, on occasion when waking from sleep mode with the lid closed, the video screen will either flicker, or be off-set, or both, as if the cable going from the GPU to the LCD unit was a bit loose. Closing and re-opening the lid seems to fix this, but I'm surprised to find this type of problem in a brand new laptop.

I give it 4/5 stars because the system is powerful and fast enough for gaming and video editing (my two priorities), has oodles of storage space, plenty of RAM to get going (I'll max it to 16GB next Christmas probably), battery life is about 4.5 hours before drained, the screen is bright and large and the separate num-pad is great. Fit and finish is a bit chintzy, so I'm taking 1 star off for that. For the price, it's a very strong Windows Laptop, and I would buy again.

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Good gaming pc with the new windows 8 with nice blue paint overall awsomes so I am glad I purchased this computer it is an affordable gaming computer and worth it

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Lenovo G560 Series 0679AJU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I got this computer to replace a similar computer that crashed. It works even better than the previous one, and I am thrilled that I got such a great deal on a computer. It was on sale for significantly less than the retail price, which made it one of the least expensive computers on Amazon at the time, and close to half the price of my previous computer. Perfect for me! Just keep in mind that it only has microsoft word and excel for free the entire office suite does not come with this computer.

This was a total want. We were replacing a very old laptop and just wanted a replacement. I love the fact that it has Office Starter installed. I can quickly edit spreadsheets and create word documents without having to use the desktop. I am so happy with what I got for the price.

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I was not familiar with the name Lenovo, but seeing all that I required of a computer and the price, I ordered it and am very pleased with how it operates. I made a simple transfer of my old computer data very smoothly. It performs all functions perfectly and has an eco monitor.

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I am very pleased with this purchase. Comparable to the much more expensive laptop that it was replacing. Could not be happier.

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Purchased this laptop as a Christmas gift for my 12 year old Grand Son. Worked right out of the box, no problems and meets all expectations for school and kids game applications.

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Acer Aspire V5-571P-6473 15.6-Inch Touch Screen Laptop (Silky Silver)

It seems that laptop manufacturers think that a touchscreen is only useful in 13" and smaller machines. I do actual work on my laptop and need at least a 15" display. The Acer V5-571P was the only 15" touchscreen laptop I could find that is available today (Nov '12) and reasonably priced. I picked up the Core i5 model from the Microsoft store for $699 and upgraded the memory to 8GB RAM and replaced the slow 500GB HD with a 256GB Samsung SSD. The motherboard supports 6Gbs SATA, so I'm able to get the full read/write speeds from my SSD (400MBs write / 500MBs read). Replacing the RAM was simple because there's a panel held on by 2 screws. Replacing the hard drive is something that will give many people pause. Basically the entire laptop needs to be disassembled to get access to the HDD. It takes about 30 minutes of careful disassembly; luckily there is an Acer repair manual PDF available to show you how. Windows 8 boots pretty quickly from a normal HDD, but after installing the SSD, it now goes from completely powered off to the log in screen in 8 seconds. The touchscreen works as advertised and I have no complaints about it. The keyboard and trackpad are not so great. The trackpad is placed a little too far left so that my palm is constantly brushing it and causing unintended behavior. The backlit keys are a nice addition. The battery it ships with is a low capacity (14.8V 2350mAH). This is too small for a Core i5 laptop; With normal use I'm able to get 3.5 hours out of it. I think the battery life will be less with the original hard drive since the Samsung SSD is super low power. I have not been able to find a high capacity battery for this model. I would gladly carry some extra bulk to increase the battery life. If anyone finds a compatible battery of at least 4400mAH, please let me know.

Pros:

1) Touchscreen is fast and accurate; works as you would like

2) Price is fair for a 15" Core i5 dual core touchscreen laptop

3) Has enough ports to do what you need

4) Slim and relatively light for the power it packs

5) Includes a USB 3.0 port

6) Supports 6GBs SATA

7) Easy to upgrade the RAM

8) Supports dual monitor output (as most modern laptops do)

9) Power adapter is small and light

Cons:

1) Keyboard is a bit cheap some keys temporarily stick as you're typing

2) Touchpad works fine, but is a bit large so at times is accidentally touched

3) Battery life is not great (3.5 hours) and Acer doesn't offer a high capacity battery (yet?)

4) Build quality feels cheap and plasticky

5) The Ethernet+VGA dongle is less than ideal

6) If you're brave, it's worth replacing the HDD with an SSD.

7) The SD card slot is too shallow. You can't leave a card in the slot when you travel or it will be broken/lost because it sticks out too much.

8) Speaker sound quality is poor

9) Doesn't wake from sleep when you open the lid (can be either a Win8 bug or hardware issue)

Hardware wise, it's excellent and you're getting a lot of bang for your buck. Unfortunately, this laptop was plagued with wifi problems for the whole time I owned it. It would not maintain a wifi connection for more than 20 minutes before completely crapping out and giving me the "limited access" message.

Doing a google search for Acer Aspire A5 wifi showed me a TON of users who were having the same issues and there wasn't a fix available.

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get this Acer Aspire V5-571P for my kid(in university). the windows 8 is fun to play with touchscreen. the same cost you may select between i5 CPU with touchscreen or i7 CPU with old standard screen. I think you can not feel much of the speed different between i5 and i7. but you and your friend will know the different right away when you play on the touchscreen. By the way, the win8 pre-loaded a VPN, you cannot use school download win7 VPN, but you can config the WIN8 pre-load VPN for your school or company network. My kid said WIN8 (with touchscreen) work for ALL the university APPS as well as MS office 2010.

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I have to echo a previous review which starts by saying: "Hardware wise, it's excellent and you're getting a lot of bang for your buck. Unfortunately, this laptop was plagued with wifi problems for the whole time I owned it. It would not maintain a wifi connection for more than 20 minutes before completely crapping out and giving me the "limited access" message." ...

Unfortunately, fresh out of the box I am having the same WIFI problem. A forum mentioned a new driver coming out to fix this, but when I tried to update the driver, it said you already have the latest version. So I would say stay away from this product unless you can live with using a hard wire Ethernet connection.

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I've been searching for a laptop for 8 months. This is the best value money can buy. I've been in the IT industry for 15 years and I know value/quality. No need to look further for an incredible laptop at a great price. I have no interest in this brand name, I just know value/quality when I see it.

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Acer AS5733Z-4445 15.6-Inch Laptop (Mesh Black)

For the price you cannot beat it. Full keyboard and numberpad. Very impressive looking screen. Very solid build and the mesh black looks very nice. The laptop is also pretty lightweight and thinner than most laptops I have seen. The processor was really fast especially for the price of the laptop.

CONS: As with all laptops it comes pre-installed with a bunch of stuff you do not want and do not need.

I got the Acer two weeks ago. It is a good computer but two of the USB ports did not work. I would recommend this computer, but beware you might have to return the computer due to this problem.

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I haven't had a regular laptop in a long time, the last one was a convertable tablet from HP, add to that a first generation fruity tablet that just isn't a PC.

Lid wobble, nope. None of that. And I do mean none.

Lid Latch, nope. Nice design needs no latch. Much easier to open.

Display, super. My desktop has a 22" screen and this 15.6" doesn't leave me missing a thing, though it's a bit short, I have to scroll to play Zynga Poker. The border is a gloss finish. Not preferred.

Power Adapter, has an angle to it so there is less chance to knock the receptor off the board. Adds to durability.

Wrist rest, nice, big, has a texture that will pick up grime.

Keyboard, a couple things to get used to, the 4 on numeric keypad is close to the enter key. Home, End and Del, I guess they're in good positions. I don't know what an Alt Gr key is.

Weight? not really great. I kind of have to snug a finger around a bottom foot just to be sure not to drop it when handling it one handed.

Battery, 5 hours, yeah right. Try 2.2 hours. Maybe I can turn down the brightness.

Speakers, it's a laptop. They're bad.

All in all, this is a super laptop. Powerfull? Uh, I will try to do video editing on it but I am sure it won't do well. But everything else is great. I recommend this laptop.

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This laptop was purchased for vacationing. It arrived in good condition, on time and was easy to start and personalize. It's not a high powered machine but more than adequate for most purposes.

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The laptop is sleek on the outside and durable inside. Graphics are above average, and sound is impressive. The availability of three USB ports as well as a microphone and headphone jack is a plus. Processor is very fast and handles multitasking (i.e. document reading, pandora radio, powerpoint) very well. However, I was confused as to why Acer says the AS5733Z series has a 320 GB hard drive when it only had 280 GB when I booted it up. I don't believe this is Amazon's fault but more likely Acer's. The company must get their specs right or re-adjust the MSRP price of the product. I feel a little cheated even though it's just 40 GB, but I'm an unemployed full-time student, and I want to get the most out of my money. Anyone who works for Acer, or knows someone who does, reads this, please look into this problem.

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Lenovo ThinkPad W500 Mobile Workstation - Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 2.53GHz - 15.4" WSXGA - 4GB DDR3 S

Well it is an entry level workstation, but has a professional graphic card not the gaming one. Basically the different are the drivers. I think 15" widescreen is the good balance between portability and getting some work done on a good size screen. The version I ordered from Lenovo is almost max out with the newer technology. I use N draft at home with 5 GHz frequency. When I go to a coffee shop I have no problem connecting to G and B routers. There is also a wimax which is the next big thing that I don't use or have service. There is a little keyboard light which is cool, but I don't use either; gaming laptop have glowing keyboard.

Features:

I can't live without the rubber head mouse; I went one generation last time with a Sony Vaio SZ and had to go back. Mainly Lenovo ThinkPad and Dell Latitude laptops still carry this feature. I got to say I like the design of this laptop better than any of the new curvy edge shiny one you can find at electronic stores. Maybe the new Latitudes look very cool and modern too. Displayport (can use hdmi converter) is a great plus while the PC input is still there. I go the turbo memory and I didn't think its made a differences to the boot up speed or software performance. There aren't really any bloat-ware, but some Lenovo system softwares are hogging too much resources. Loading was a fast as my old Sony Vaio SZ, which is much slower than regular computer, which I wanted the turbo memory would fix, but didn't. I use my finger print scanner to save passwords and that is a feature I have grown to like more and more everyday. I connected my bluetooth keyboard to this once.

Built quality is good,

The speakers went out after a week, but I sent it in and Lenovo fixed it. Also on the way back the hard drive got damage and they sent me a new hard drive and disc so I install the OS. Overall it is solidly built; layout is very good, only flimsy part is the area over the PC express card. No dead pixels or weird screen things.

Performance:

I have Photoshop CS2, sometime do Sketchup and Google earth. There is only a very small difference between my laptop and PC with this software; only on bigger files. I hardly ever lose any connections with my D-link N draft router and this laptop. N draft is better than G, I did lose connection when I had an old g router. I stream Netflix and Hulu and it is almost as good as the hardwire connection of my PC. Beside the boot-up is a little slow, I can say this is powerful enough to replace my PC on most tasks. I thought battery these days will last longer, but they really don't, even if the wifi off. I did a movie test on full charge. Sadly this laptop battery didn't last as long as my 2002 Dell Inspirion 8200 for the movie "Star War" but not by much. I did turn the wifi off. The Vaio performed about the same as this Thinkpad.

Service

I got to say Lenovo is a lot better than Dell. I never had to use Sony. They got my laptop fixed after I sent it in and tracking and call them was very easy. They want to please me, where Dell thought I was stupid (back in 2002). They had diagnostic they told me to do and immediately knew what the problem was hardware or software. They sent me 3 different installation discs. I guess I didn't make myself clear; I got Vista Professional 64bit. They assume things are 32 bit and Vista home if you don't tell them, which I guess I didn't.

I will buy from Lenovo again, and told my brother the same. Quality and service is top notch. Only the speakers went out for some reason.

Don't waist your time. I go to a technology heavy university filled with nerds. Out of over a thousand students with the same school issued laptop not one student has anything good to say about lenevo thinkpads. My class got the w500 and it sucks. The fan has had to be replaced twice now, and the computer still over heats. If you like running creative programs then don't even bother. They randomly turn off, freeze and blue screen like crazy. My school has named them "crap pads" for a reason. I would give it a zero but sadly one star is as low as they go.

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Apple MacBook Air Core i7 1.8GHz 11"-4GB RAM-128GB SSD-Lion-(2011)

Small

Fits in a small neoprene carry case made for the iPad I picked up and that fits into my mini-backpack/carry case, goes through the security X-ray at the airport with only a slight tug and a flip into the plastic bin.

Lightweight:

I needed to lighten the load this thing is about the same weight as my iPad 2.

Fast:

The ability to work in graphics programs like Illustrator and photoshop is a must, this thing has no problems with either program and with a small scratch drive it runs photoshop like a champ. Both photoshop and Illustrator pop open in less than six seconds and all the controls move at speeds better than my aging Mac Pro.

Excellent screen and expandable:

While quite small the screen is excellent and the colors are great, I also like the ability to connect HDMI to a big screen and uses photoshop in its greater glory in the hotel using the LED TV screens common.

What did I ever do with my MacBook pro at twice the weight... (I handed that down to the wife and she is quite happy).

I wish the battery life was longer but at that size it is what it is (about 4.5 hours now) on the next long trip I may get a small external battery.

I was worried that I would miss a CD/DVD drive but I have only had the chance to use an external for installing the new CS6 and other goodies.

Thunderbolt is fast it works great as a replacement to my older FW800 stuff.

All in all a great addition to the traveling team.

Do not buy from Techno Intelligence. Their listed price is a scam.

The laptops are good, I own one myself. But they are not worth as much as what they are asking.

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Gateway LT2016U (KAV60) Black INTEL ATOM N270@1.60GHz 1GB RAM 160GB HDD 10.1" LED Windows XP HOME

Received today and love it. It looks like new. Felt good opening it up and getting to work. Feels very sturdy.

UPDATE my high school granddaughter was looking for a laptop for school and I was more then happy to give her this laptop. She loves it. Kufgator was the seller and the laptop was like new. I don't see his name for this product anymore. Can't vouch for any other seller.

As a simple laptop to carry around to work and not worry about breaking it due to its low cost this one isn't bad to have. I'd rather break this every time over any of my other more expensive laptops. With that said it does have built in wifi which can be helpful. As the other reviewer said it has a rather low processor. It doesn't offer much storage but then again there is a reason why they are cheap. This laptop is what i would consider for a work laptop that just needs simple internet connectivity and maybe a word program. This also wouldn't be a bad choice as a starter laptop for some kids, since it is cheap and kids usually destroy things.

Overall it is OK it has many cons and a few pros. It will work as a beater laptop for work or kids. However as a personal laptop it is less than desirable. As work laptop for someone who does extensive work on computers you'll be frustrated with the simplicity and overall quality of this laptop. However as a work laptop for those whom need only a simple internet connection and word document this one will get the job done...just barely though.

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i should have looked at the processor specs, but hey i was desperate and living out of my car. at least the dude who i traded an xbox 360 and prince of persia for this computer bought me a gyro i was flippin starving

it has built in wifi which is a reason to give it some praise

its processor is just extremely low graded. im writing this review as im trying to watch harry potter from an amazon instant video purchase and its just having load time and lag issues

id look for a laptop with a better processor if i were you. we are in an age of quad core

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In one line, this review can be summarized by stating,This laptop works good, but its not great.

It has some nice features for a "budget laptop"

I picked mine up "like new" used condition for around $100.00

for this review.

Quick List of positives and negatives:

PROS:

good size hard drive, at 160gb this is common for netbooks,but nice size.

The laptop has decent battery life, lasts about 4-5 hours.

Webcam is convenient for those users who will use this feature.

Wifi internet is standard but worth mentioning. Good wifi range.

size makes the laptop very easy to transport

CONS:

Intel Atom CPU is not a Positive or a negative,

its smooth and steady, fair for the price, but not FAST by any means.

keyboard could have been layed out a little better. feels cramped.

Afterall what do you expect for a budget laptop with 1GB of ram

and a single core intel atom cpu @ 1.6ghz?????????

Overall, i give this laptop 3 stars or a 7.5 out of 10.

Its upto Par with other laptops in this class.

Its Not the Worst, but its not the greatest

I would recommend the laptop to a friend who was looking

for a laptop on a budget of under $160.00

Thanks for reading hope this was helpful. Good-day.

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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.

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Acer eMachines E520-2496 15.4" Notebook (Celeron 575 1GB 120GB Linux OS)

Very pleased with this purchase. Great display (actually MUCH better than a much more expensive Toshiba I have). Barely over 6 pounds and runs for 4+ hours on a charge. Nice feel to keyboard. Can find nothing to complain about.

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HP Envy 15-3040NR 15.6 Inch Laptop (Black/Silver)

I really wanted to like this laptop, because on paper, there are very very few (if any) laptops that offer a similar package at this price point (up to 30% off MSRP after various HP coupons on the web for i7-2620qm, powerful graphics via 7690m, but most of all, 1080p IPS display). However, after 2 months of patience, I can no longer ignore the glaring issues HP has chosen to overlook. First, there have been numerous reports first appearing in forums about users' complaints about the Envy 15 1080p's inability to produce red colors. Since the initial reports in January, numerous tech blogs like the Verge, notebookcheck, and Engadget (among others) have confirmed this issue. While I had tried to overlook the issue myself, the non-reds eventually became far too big of a distraction, especially considering that this was a $150.00 upgrade option. If HP charged $250.00 for a screen upgrade that had a decent color gamut (come on! I'm not asking for Dreamcolor quality or even 95% Adobe coverage like Lenovo offers, just a screen that can reproduce the THREE PRIMARY COLORS!), I would have gladly and without hesitation ponied up the extra cost. I regret that HP chose to cut corners like this, when they were so close to a phenomenal laptop/display. -1 Star for display.

The second issue I take is the keyboard. To be fair, when I first received this unit, I had no skipped/missed keys, and I decided I could live with the slight flex on the left side of the keyboard. But ever since a BIOS update (F.05, for those of you keeping track), which by the way was ON HP's OWN SITE, the keyboard will miss literally about 15% of my keystrokes whenever I'm running on AC adapter (but strangely, I have no problems when running on battery!). The keystroke issue is actually distracting enough to disrupt my day-to-day web browsing (missed spaces and mistyped web addresses are nothing but common); in fact, the only way you are reading this review without typos in every 3rd word is by my proofreading. Again, to be fair, I am understanding of the fact that software/updates can be buggy at times; it's another matter when the manufacturer does not fix these bugs, not to mention refuse to acknowledge the numerous complaints from customers (google for forums in notebookreview.com and HP customer support forum for "Envy 15 BIOS keyboard" and skim through results). -2 Star, 1 each for keyboard/HP customer service handling complaints.

Others have complained about banged up USB ports, scratches, paint peeling, etc., but my unit arrived cosmetically flawless so I will not dock any stars for that.

It is my own fault for waiting 2 months to try to like this laptop and end up discovering all of this, instead of returning the unit within the initial 21-day period. I hope others will benefit from my less-than-pleasant experience with the Envy 15. I will update this review should HP offer any solutions to these and other complaints not even mentioned in this mini-review, but I am not holding my breath.

EDIT 2/21/12: BIOS F.06 also does nothing to address the keyboard problem.

EDIT 3/20/12: I'm adding one star back to my review. F.07 was released a couple of days ago, and I'm happy to report that all of the keyboard woes are gone! Here's to hoping that those problems don't return... I would like to add on a half-star if I could, for the fact that HP's coming around to responding and ACKNOWLEDGING the problems surrounding the Envy. HP recently made a formal (though somewhat vague) announcement about HP's proposal to fix the screen issue. This gives me some hope that the company's at least taking steps to do what it can to remedy the issues at hand. I will update again after seeing what HP ultimately does w/ the LCD problem.

EDIT 5/10/12: HP released a software that allows some control over colors for the display, but as I had suspected, the software doesn't do anything to fix the red/violet issues (I wasn't hoping for too much out of the software option anyway since my research had confirmed the colors are a limitation of the LG panel itself).

EDIT 7/10/12: I honestly didn't think I'd be updating this review again, but here I am. First I have to say that HP's engineers offered better customer concern/service than any dedicated customer service departments, period (Thanks again, Jonathan!). Second, HP contacted me a few weeks ago to ask whether I had the orange-red issues with my panel, to which I provided details about the problem. Long story short, I was offered a free exchange (HP paid shipping both ways), and quite frankly, I wasn't expecting any difference despite the different panel part number of the new panel. Well I was wrong--wrong about my customer service comments above, and wrong about the panel. The new panel isn't perfect or even great by any standard, but it is definitely a noticeable improvement on the original Envy 15 panels' reds. In light of these two points, I'm adding one more star back mostly due to the way that HP decided to handle the crappy-display issue because the screen, as improved as it is, is still only average. Here's a quote from a post I wrote on another forum, describing the difference:

"While the reds on the new panels are still definitely not a natural, deep red, it's a noticeable improvement from the older panels. The red is at least almost on par with my Galaxy S phone, and noticeably but not hugely worse than my Dell U2311h. Reds are noticeably more orange than on my Dell U2410, but I'm not expecting much there because that is, after all, a 118% gamut display. My Envy 14's red is definitely redder, but I didn't expect the E15 to be as good anyway since the E14's panel is 84% gamut, and the E15's is supposedly 60%. The reds are indistinguishable from the reds on my wife's Late 2011 Macbook 15 (1680x1050 panel), and in some cases (netflix website, fullscreen red in Paint), the E15 actually appears redder--and no, there is nothing "wrong" with the Macbook's panel.

It's very hard for me not to expect more though b/c I've been far too long spoiled by the likes of HP's dreamcolor display, Dell's no longer existent RGBLED XPS 16 display, and excellent desktop monitors... yet, in spite of that, I can confidently say that at least the color aspect of the new panels are no better or worse than the colors of a typical TN panel on the average laptop. That said, I always thought that given equal color reproduction, there is little/no reason not to opt for IPS or TN (at least on a laptop), so I think I can lay aside my gripes about the orange-y reds. I can always wish/complain about wanting a higher gamut, but I know that's not what I paid for, nor did HP advertise high-gamut displays on the E15 as they did with the E14."

I bought this from Amazon but I ordered it through my wife's account (she has a prime student) and that's why Amazon is not showing as verified purchase. This laptop is gorgeous, very much a clone of a Macbook pro. I use a Early 2010 Macbook pro 17" for my work, and I can assure you it excels my Macbook pro in the following functional aspects:

1. It has a full keyboard. The Macbook's so called "Full" keyboard is really not that full. Macbook misses all the home, end, page up and page down button. And trust me, even after two years of regular usage, I find it irritating. True, you can use Command + Up/Down etc. combination. But it's really a productivity issue.

2. The Envy's 4 speakers and the woofer combination is really awesome. In fact, this is the first laptop that I saw that outperforms my 17" Macbook pro speaker (both sound quality and volume). Previously I compared Asus N53, hp DV5, Lenovo (forgot the model number) and hp DV6 and all of them had much inferior sound quality than my Macbook pro

3. The USB ports are distributed on two sides, which is really nice

From aesthetics and ergonomics part, it excels my Macbook pro in the following aspects:

1. The corners of the rectangular chassis is not sharp like my Macbook pro, which is really nice. The Macbook's sharp edges cut into my palm everytime I lift it. Even while typing, it feels like a knife against my arm.

2. I liked the back lighting of the hp keyboard better

Now some cons in comparison to my Macbook pro 17 (early 2010):

1. My hp envy 15 power button's painting is already peeling off!! My Macbook pro still looks like brand new (not just the power button). To be fair, the Envy 15 doesn't seem to have any other weak part to peel off, and I am planning to keep the laptop as that minor cosmetic blemish is not a big deal for me.

2. The screen on my Macbook pro still would outperform the radiance display (to be fair, this is the best display of all the non Macbook pro that I have seen (refer to the earlier mentioned laptop models that I played with)). That being said, the Macbook pro 15" display really SUCKS. Refer to my updated comparison with Macbook pro 15" at the end of this review.

3. My 2 years old Macbook pro's 640x480 resolution webcam (yes that's only 0.3 mega pixel) still outperforms this Envy HD webcam (True vision or whatever they call it). That being said, again, to be fair, this is one of the best webcam that I have seen in non-Macbook pro laptops. Particularly, my last attempt with Asus N53SV webcam was horrible! It was sooo laggy and soo horrible quality that it was a deal breaker for me. (UPDATE: I changed my opinion, and kindly refer to my updated part of this review for my current subjective opinion).

4. The touchpad on my macbook pro has NO competitor. It's really awesome, and the hp touchpad can only dream to be of that quality.

Now some common complaint and their solution:

1. The touchpad is horrible, doesn't do smooth scrolling, doesn't register click etc. The solution is to install the latest driver. The notebook review forum has a Envy driver page which is up to date with the latest drivers (including drivers that are still not officially available from HP) and I downloaded a Synaptic driver from that link. It's a direct download from HP server, so nothing to be worried about. HP is probably going to release that soon. The driver was built at the end of January and after installing that, this touchpad is REALLY awesome. Almost as good as my Macbook pro (but as I said, it's still has a long way to go)

2. The two finger tapping has no right click configuration: If you come from Mac world, you are probably accustomed to tapping with two fingers and that acts like a right click. You can install an open source program named TwoFingerScroll (hosted on google codes) to achieve that. After that, IMHO, the touchpad is feature complete (you can configure many options in original Synaptic control panel + TwoFingerScroll)

3. Battery issue, and smooth switching between built in and ATI graphics card: Right now I have fixed mode driver enabled and I am only using built in Intel Graphics, which is more than adequate for me as I don't play games. You just need to go to BIOS settings and set Fixed mode in video switching setting (instead of Dynamic (the default)), and then right click on the desktop and go to Configure Switchable Graphics and set the power saving GPU as the graphics card. That seems to give me around 5 hours of typical usage, where I can edit the documents or browse typical web. Please refer to the updated review at the end of this review for some battery comparison with Macbook pro 17" and 15".

4. People complain that the red looks orange. But that's a common problem of the recent IPS panels (I heard Sony has same problem). And to me it doesn't look bad at all. The notebook review forum has some color calibration suggestion to improve the red accuracy. But I don't think it would be fixed with such a simple solution. So, if you really need a very accurate color output, look elsewhere.

Some features that I really like:

1. The analog volume control: Oh my gosh, that is sooo handy and sooo cute. You really need to feel it to understand how great that feature is. I always got lost between various top row volume control button. Now I never miss volume up and volume down. And they also have a cute mute button next to the analog volume control.

2. Buttonless touchpad: While they copied it from Apple, I think that's really great. Particularly, now you have the whole area as a touchpad and for multi-touch gesture.

Some issues that I hate:

1. The fan sound. It's definitely louder than my Macbook pro (Which is almost silent), and it's even louder than my Asus N53!

2. The left side of the keyboard (a, s, d etc. keys) feels loose (probably people call it flexing??) It doesn't feel solid.

3. I hated the crappy painting that is peeling off from the power button

All being said, this is the best non-Apple laptop that I have ever seen in my life. I am really happy with the build quality and the look (which they definitely copied from Apple), and the laptop is really very snappy (as you would expect from such a high end laptop). Unless the IPS Red accuracy is an issue for you, and you can live with some hit and miss on the build quality, it should be fine. Give it a try, and of course Amazon's excellent customer service would help you get a refund if you are not happy.

UPDATE 02/22/2012:

I now played with the laptop little more, and I also compared it with my brother's late 2011 Macbook pro 15" (The latest model). Here is my findings:

1. Envy's display might be inferior to my Macbook pro 17" which has a full HD (not 1080p) 1920x1200 display. But it blows away the latest 15" Macbook pro's display which only has 1440x900 and you cannot even upgrade that display. In fact, the Macbook pro 15's display looks super pixelated next to Envy's display.

2. I heavily tested the webcam, and compared it against both my Macbook pro 17 and my brother's Macbook pro 15. While the Macbook pro's webcam looks more brighter, it is actually inferior to HP's true vision webcam. The hp webcam gives high color accuracy and more contrast. In return, you get more noise. In a first look it does appear that Macbook's webcam is smoother. But my wife pointed to me that my green t-shirt during testing was looking almost whitish with the Macbook pro (both 17" and 15") webcam.

3. Moreover, on the Webcam part, the HP webcam is buttery smooth. I don't have a scientific comparison. But, I felt like they are capturing the frames at at least 20+ FPS. Macbook pro's Webcam is also quite good. But I felt like they have little bit of lag and not as smooth as HP.

4. Apple actually lost their battery edge! This is particularly surprise to me. My 17" Macbook pro still gives me 6+ hours of battery life. While the brand new Macbook pro 15" actually depletes within 3 hours of continuous video playback! On skype video calling, it was showing me a dismal 1.5 hours of estimated battery life! The MBP 15" battery life is therefore very similar to Envy's battery life. I believe this is because of the quad core processor. Another thing that irritated me is Apple's unwillingness to disable the dedicated graphics card. In my Early 2010 MBP, there was an option in System Preference, where I could disable my dedicated graphics card to save some power. As I never play game, I never use dedicated graphics card. But, looks like in OS X Lion and the late 2011 MBP, they only either allow you dynamic switching or a dedicated graphics card. Neither could accomplish the best possible battery life with just an exclusive non-negotiable built in graphics card (as I mentioned, both my MBP 17 and Envy is currently set to built in graphics only).

5. And finally, I really got disappointed at my brother's latest Macbook pro 15" after introspecting with what he got after paying 1.5 times the cost of Envy:

5.1. MBP 15 has 512 MB of graphics RAM, while Envy 15 has 1GB.

5.2. Envy 15 came with Radeon 7690M while MBP came with 6750M.

5.3. Envy 15 came with 750GB Hard disk, while MBP came with 500GB HDD. Also, Envy came with 7200 RPM faster Hard disk, while MBP 15 came with 5400 slower hard disk.

5.4. Envy 15 came with 8GB 1600MHz RAM, while MBP came with 4GB 1333MHz RAM

5.5. Not to mention the super CRAPPY display of 15" MBP. That itself would be a deal breaker for me.

That being said, would I stop buying a Macbook pro in the future, when such a perfect Macbook pro clone is around? NO. I am a Computer Science researcher and I love the power of Unix. I am writing this part for those parents who often times buy Windows machine for their college going sons/daughters with Computer Science major. I personally believe that for productivity of a Computer Science major, Mac OS X has NO competitor. While Linux could be a viable alternative, it doesn't have any polished software. E.g., when I first bought my Mac, I commented that just for Unix compatibility, Omnigraffle, Keynote and native PDF integration of Mac OS X, I would pay the Apple premium. Linux simply doesn't have the Apps ecosystem. And Windows will never be able to emulate a Unix system as it doesn't have the POSIX layer. That being said, Windows is an excellent Entertainment OS. E.g., you cannot easily stream your media to your TV through a MAC (it doesn't come with DLNA and UPnP support), while Windows 7 is bundled out of the box with all those nice features. I can keep going on. But, my point is, for productivity, buy a Mac. For leisure and entertainment buy a Windows machine. That's just my personal opinion of course.

Update 03/24/2012:

After updating the bios to F.06, my keyboard started missing lots of keystrokes. Fortunately, Amazon was happy to send me another one. The new one came with F.06 pre-installed, but it only missed keystrokes when the backlit is ON. Luckily, HP released their latest F.07 BIOS. And now, all my problems are gone! The keyboard is perfectly working, and thanks to Amazon, I have got a new laptop with no power button paint peeling. So, I am hereby updating my review to 5 star. I know I have gone through lots of ordeal to get to this point. But I don't wanna keep any hard feeling, particularly when the laptop is so fast and smooth, and cute looking.

Buy HP Envy 15-3040NR 15.6 Inch Laptop (Black/Silver) Now

So, I bought this computer after my last HP (which I loved) went bad. First of all, I own a MacBook (that I use for ProTools) and 4 other laptops that I actually use on a regular basis. This was bought to be my "personal" computer the one I actually use for me.

THIS REVIEW IS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE FIGHTING ABOUT BRAND AND NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO FUNCTIONALITY FOR THE PRICE

So, maybe earlier versions had a few problems, or for Apple users (more likely) had a different feel. I get that, but it's clear that whatever early bugs this had were fixed. It's pretty common for all makers to have buggy first batches of hardware. I don't give anybody a pass, and I include HP, Sony, Apple, and MS in this category. Mine had no errors of the original buyers, so I can't comment on that.

I buy computers based on:

1. What's inside them are they fast, can they be upgraded, will they do what I want?

2. Are they durable/high quality, in terms of design?

3. Is the price being asked fair compared to other company's models with similar specs?

The amount of complaining about how it looks like an MBP "but isn't," or basing your decision on "how close is it to another MacBook? to me tells me that you're completely looking at the wrong things. Here's what I think about this computer, and also how I made it as fast/faster than several $2500+ laptops (yes, MBPs included) for a whopping total of $1200. I bought an 83" DLP TV and built a movie theater with the money I didn't spend on having a specific brand like Samsung/Apple/Sony on my laptop case. I bought the best computer at the best price on the market; simple if you can set aside some bias.

PROS

FAST The i7, 8g RAM, Radeon, and 7200rpm HD make this thing incredibly smooth. Even before the SSD I put on (more in a second), it was a 5-10 second boot and had no lags/delays using any program or function.

STURDY The design on this is exceptional (in my opinion). While seemingly very simple, having an analog volume control on the side is a brilliant idea, and the computer is not cheap feeling. It's not heavy, and all and in the design/layout is great.

Easy Upgrade Potential (SSD!) For a whopping $200, I bought a new 240gb SSD, an external USB case for the existing drive, and the clone kit, and I literally was able to put in the SSD (including the clone) in about 40 minutes. This series has a back that simply slides off, lets you take out the 2.5" SATA HD case, put in the SSD, and close it up. With an SSD, this computer is insanely, insanely fast, and if I need it, I have my 7200rpm 750gb HD in a nice slimline case.

PRICE. Look at the specs, what you're getting, and then compare to Apple, Sony, or Samsung. At $1050, you're saving at least $1000 if you're considering an Apple (for close to equal stock specs), and probably $500 or so if you're looking at a Windows laptop. Given that I now have this with a top of the line 240gb SSD, and my TOTAL price was $1300.....it serious cannot be beat.

Windows 8 for $15 upon release this is what you maybe should use 1 of your 2 HDs for when it comes out? Have both OS's set up, and have a real copy for $15. I dig it.

HDMI Out, Full 1080p HD Screen no explanation needed...any computer that doesn't have an HDMI out now, to me, is a joke. The screen looks great, and I have no negative things to say about it vs my MacBook, MBP pro, or other high-end laptops..

CONS

Default TouchPad Settings The touchpad has (in my opinion) too many annoying double/triple tap and touch features. If you're in to those types of functions, they're all there, but it's annoying as hell at first to have the scroll and resize and whatnot on by default. I want just the touchpad to move the cursor and have the left/right buttons. I have the screen-res change ability on too, but that's it. Also, you should play with the scroll speed and sensitivity to have it set up "your way" right away.

All in all this is an amazing computer that costs about $2000-$2600 (if you factor in the SSD install) from Apple, or $1500+ from other makes. It has some neat design aspects, and is basically HP's "hip" computer for those people who don't care about whether their computer is a Dell, Asus, MacBook, or whatever.

The specs are great, and it has more features that I'll probably ever use. I've had no issues with it, and I'd recommend it both for its' specs and price, and for its 'fun" features like the audio/Blu Ray/etc.

Solid computer for a solid price, and if you put a Solid State in it, it becomes a speed demon. I'd buy again without blinking. The 15" is the perfect size for this type of computer, especially with the 1920x1080 resolution on the go.

Read Best Reviews of HP Envy 15-3040NR 15.6 Inch Laptop (Black/Silver) Here

My previous laptop was a Macbook pro 17" unibody. It was a beautifully built product. I'm quite surprised that I'm just as happy with the Envy as I was with the Macbook.

Pros:

Good build quality. Almost up there with the macbooks.

Based on the pictures, I thought the bottom and the lid were made of plastic. They're made on metal instead!

The drivers and base software bundle is very polished.

Re-install from recovery media is very streamlined and a pleasant experience.

Not a single crash so far.

The 1080p display quality is great. But there are some drawbacks. I use it in graphic design at work.

Quick boot time ad least with an ssd. The bios/post screen is a blink of an eye.

Battery life is good in normal tasks. I haven't tested anything heavier so far.

The gpu switching utility is simple and very useful. You specify which programs you want to fire up the more powerful gpu. That's something I missed on macs.

The usb port which lets you charge devices even when the computer is off is superb. Tablets and phones charged without problems. Now you can charge your phone when it's getting low on battery even while walking down town.

Nice stylish font on the keyboard.

Quite decent connectivity for such a device

Ability to function as a wlan access point and share the internet connection even while you're connected via wlan yourself.

Cons:

The bottom cover wobbles just slightly after a couple of opens. Normally no one needs the open it though. It is opened only if you replace the hdd, memory or battery

The volume levels tend to be to high with headphones and the volume knob. On the first level of volume it's too low and on the second level it's too loud. It kind of takes the usefulness out the knob. I haven't found a way to fix that so far. You really shouldn't need to search for a solution for volume settings.

The displays black levels seem to be quite high. The back light bleeds through quite a lot. On the other hand it's very uniform (led backlight), so it doesn't bother that much.

The power brick is huge and hideous. HP really needs to do something about these. It's a pain to carry them around. I bought a smaller one right away and use the original one only on my work desk.

Super reflective display finish.

Arrow keys are awful.

Recommendations:

I recommend to reinstall everything from the recovery dvd and select minimized install. That way all the non-essential software won't be installed.

Buy an ssd. It makes the world of difference.

Want HP Envy 15-3040NR 15.6 Inch Laptop (Black/Silver) Discount?

Spec wise and all. This laptop is pretty good.

The display is very crisp and clear.

It's fast.

It has a sleek design.

Cool button for changing volume.

Back lit keyboard.

Switchable graphics can save power.

HD

Beats Audio provides great sound through the speakers.

That being said, there are some issues I have with this laptop.

First, as I type this right now, it seems I have to hit my space bar key pretty hard when I use my right thumb since it seems to not respond when I hit it from the right side.

The red is not so red. I don't really care much about it, but it's an issue some of you might not really enjoy.

Switchable graphics not so switchable. Sometimes, it doesn't switch GPUs, but it's not that big a deal since you can simply, no, I advise you to change it to manual switching on the BIOS if you chose to get this laptop, so you can switch the GPUs yourself.

As I feel through the edges of the laptop, it feels uneven. It's not noticeable when you look at it, but you can feel it.

Looks like a Mac book. Originality please.

As for game performance and display, it performs great for the basic games, though it struggled a bit with GTA IV, but I was not on High Performance power mode, so I can't be certain.

Summary: If you are into Photoshop or you do stuff that involves colors, than I'll advise you to stay away from this laptop. If you are just a gamer(casual) looking for a portable gaming machine from this era, and you don't care much about color, then go ahead and get this.

Color-wise, I don't feel like returning it. Keys-wise, I just might.

EDIT(2/21/2012): According to some info I got from another forum, there was a BIOS update to attempt to fix the keyboard issue (BIOS F.06). I installed this update, but it didn't fix anything for me. On the other hand, some people claim that it fixed the issue for them. There was also another fix which would force the BIOS to recover, and some said that fixed it for them while others, like me, still remain with the keyboard issue. I guess right now, it's a game of chance for those with this laptop.

I have also decided to return the laptop since I couldn't bear the missing keystrokes any longer.

EDIT(3/8/2012): Long story short, I couldn't return the item yet, but I was able to ask for an exchange. I received another Envy and this one works way better than the one I got before even though it is still running the F.06 BIOS. The one thing you'll have to do to avoid skipping keystrokes is to dim the back light of the keyboard while on AC (You don't need it to be too high anyway). While on Battery, you should turn off the back light, and that should solve, or "improve", the missing keystrokes issue (It did/does for me) until HP decides to throw out a fix.

EDIT(3/28/2012): Hp released BIOS F.07 update to fix the keyboard issue. I have updated to that version and I am convinced, and can conclude, that the keyboard issue has been rectified. So if you aren't running F.07, get that.

Later.

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