Sony VAIO VPCEH15FX/W 15.5" White Laptop
Dell Inspiron i14RN-1593BK 14-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black)
Now that I have used if for a few weeks, I am stil impressed. Satisfies the intneded need perfectly, and I have also loaded up some software development and simulation software which the machine handles just fine.
I highly recommend this is an excellent choice for a general purpose laptop.i have been using my new computer for one week now and i love it! love that it's compact and not oversized. it's pretty fast and i love the keyboard! the only thing i wish was different is the screen, not a big fan of the glossy screen, but not a deal breaker. i also wish it was just a little ligher, but other than those two items, i am very happy! i recommend this computer to everyone!
Buy Dell Inspiron i14RN-1593BK 14-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black) Now
Recently went out of town for 2 months to sell my parents home, needed a good laptop that I could count on. It has been great and a nice size.Read Best Reviews of Dell Inspiron i14RN-1593BK 14-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black) Here
Have been a Dell buyer for life, I hate 15" or larger computers, this one was perfect for me (I hate the number pad on a large computer), gets dusty easily because of the material but easy to clean. Love the way things look on the screen, and super easy to restore when you want a fresh start!Want Dell Inspiron i14RN-1593BK 14-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black) Discount?
It was a gift for my wife. It is great, I am happy with the purchase and my wife is happy with her new laptop.VIZIO CT15-A4 15-Inch Thin + Light Ultrabook
Bottom line. This is a terrific slim laptop IF you can deal with the terrible battery life. Ultrabook specs call for 5+ hours of battery life so I don't think it can be classified that way.
--
I received this ultrabook on Nov 28th and thought I'd give some quick thoughts then expand later. I'm a writer and I need a laptop with a good keyboard. I took a risk on this laptop but have been pleasantly surprised by the way the keys behave. They don't have the same travel as your typical keyboard it's a bit shallow but I am a heavy typer and I appreciate the over sized keys. The text is black on silver and a bit hard to read without a back light. Wish they had backlit keys.
The box and packaging was good in fact the box is white, colorful, and very sturdy. Amazon shipped the laptop in a small box with only some small padding on the side so I was a bit concerned but the laptop is fine. The docs are minuscule but who reads those anyway?
The screen is gorgeous. I mean GORGEOUS. It' bright and it is such a relief to view a true HD screen after spending several weeks looking at crappy 1366 resolution. Even the Samsung 15" Series 7 with a matte display looked washed out at 1600 x 900 and was the main reason I avoided the Series 9. The Vizio screen is amazing and the high point of the laptop.
It's fast, boots rather quickly. Seems to have overall snappiness with all apps I have tested including office 2013.
Now the downside. The battery life stinks. I'm at 60% and it says I have 2 hours left. I suspect the life is a bit under 4 hours. I was really hoping that this model, with the i5, would have better battery life.
More later.
Edited to correct some typos ...
Now that I have a day on the laptop I continue to be amazed at it. I do think it is necessary to mention that the dreaded touchpad problems persist. I did not try the first generation just read the horror stories. At times this touchpad is great but at others it's maddening. Something like scrolling a page appears to be laggy until I lift my fingers. Swiping from the left to switch windows works about 25% of the time (this is a windows 8 gesture). Tapping and two-finger tapping work very well.
I wrote about 1,500 words today in a new project and found the keyboard to be quite nice. As I mentioned I really like the large keys. I've used macs for the last few years and find the keyboards to be amazing but I fat finger a lot on the small keys.
I've run the batter down to 10% today and I think I got about 3 1/2 hours out of it. That is simply unacceptable in an ultrabook but I can't find another computer with a true HD 15" screen with these kind of specs. As much as I want a 15" Macbook Pro Retina, I refuse to pay over $2,000 for a laptop. My next choice was the Zenbook Prime but I don't think my eyes can handle the tiny screen.
The power brick with the Vizio is really nice. It's compact and the plug features a light that indicates when the laptop is charged.
I noticed that Amazon added the CT-15 A5 to the $200 free gift card deal kind of irritating since I purchased this PC the day before. I would have paid the extra $250 since it now comes with the gift card. I thought about sending this one back and exchanging but with my luck the deal would run out the minute they issued my credit.
I appreciate the clean look off the PC as well as the free space on the hard drive. Because this is a Microsoft signature ultrabook it is not loaded with bloatware. I was really impressed that I didn't have to spend hours uninstalling Norton and Mcaffe crap. Also there were no stickers all over the case. Nothing says cheap quite like opening a new laptop only to find logos all over the palm areas and stickers hanging off the screen that show the PC stats. I KNOW what I just bought, you don't have to remind me that my computer has X amount of hard drive and RAM installed.
I'm really leaning toward bumping this review to a 4 star. It's a strong 3 1/2 right now. I hope that some new drivers will make the touch pad experience better.
BTW I'm a writer but I am also a gear-head with 20+ years of working PC experience. It's the day job ...I've been using this laptop for 2 weeks now and I've been extremely pleased with my purchase. This is the best value for an "ultrabook-style" laptop. I was pretty close to buying a 13" mac book air until I saw this computer. It has similar build, it's just as thin, it has the same components but with a larger 15" 1080 screen and it's almost half the price. I was a little concerned when i purchased it because there were quite a few reviews of the older model complaining about the track pad and the keyboard. I guess they've changed the track pad because it's one of the best I've used however the keyboard is still mediocre, not a deal breaker though.
Pros:
Basically a knock off mac book air that runs windows
price!
very fast. boot time is amazing
can do light gaming
excellent screen
battery lasts all day under normal web browsing/e-mail use
thin and lightweight
Cons:
keyboard is just okay
Other thoughts:
the keyboard doesn't have home or end keys. most people probably wouldn't even notice but it really bothers me.
15 inches is the perfect laptop size in my opinion.
SSD is a must for any new computer purchase. 128 GB is ample
Windows 8 is a little strange at first.
There is no bloat ware included. That was a refreshing change.
Buy VIZIO CT15-A4 15-Inch Thin + Light Ultrabook Now
I am an IT professional looking for a laptop for working at home. To remotely access computers at work and see them in full screen, I need a large (15 in) screen with at least 1920x1080 resolution. There are only a few ultrabook choices on the market. Most of them cost $2000, except this one at < $1000. So I thought it was a good deal.After a few days of usage, I found this laptop satisfies most of my needs. The screen is definitely the brightest spot of this machine. Bright, clear, big, and with high resolution. The CPU performance is also quite good, running Linux in VM without any problem. Suspending and resuming are fast. The touch pad works fine. Some minor cons such as the webcam at only 0.9MP, and the battery life at only 4 hours don't matter much to me. What really kills the deal is the inaccurate keyboard. Somehow they failed to implement the basic technique of debouncing. One single key stroke often generates duplicated characters on the screen. This really bothers me, because I cannot do my work smoothly. I have to keep pressing the backspace key to correct the typos.
I contacted Vizio through their online chat program and phone calls. Multiple people in their support team suggested changing the Windows OS' control panel keyboard property "Repeat rate", which really adjusts the behavior when the key is pressed and held. This means they don't really understand the problem and the "Repeat rate" parameter in the OS. Of course, it didn't work for me. The laptop then went through a 8-day round trip to Vizio (4 business days at their site) to get repaired. To my surprise, the problem still exists even after it came back.
Given that many reviews on Amazon rated this product highly, I thought maybe this problem does not occur to every unit. I then requested a replacement, which was done prompted thanks to Amazon's very good service. However, the second unit still shows the same problem.
It's very disappointing to see that Vizio got all important features done well, but missed one basic but necessary component -keyboard, which is supposed to be an easy part, because no one else has missed.
Read Best Reviews of VIZIO CT15-A4 15-Inch Thin + Light Ultrabook Here
Bought this for the wife for home and remote work.Overall the design is very good. Light weight is definite plus and it doesn't get hot sitting on your lap. There is a small fan for cooling but it doesn't run constantly.
Display is bright and full 1080. This is a replacement unit though as the first one suffered a display failure in the first 30 days. Amazon sent out a new one with return shipping free in a day. 5 stars for Amazon service.
Boots up in 15 seconds with the SSD. Performance is very good. Video doesn't lag and HDMI output to flat panel works great. Wireless works very good anywhere in the house but then I put 7db gain antennas on my wifi router.
Lack of SD reader is minor but I have an SD/USB adapter to remedy that.
The biggest drawback is the keyboard. All the keys are flat hard plastic with very short keystrokes. I find myself having to retype for missed keystrokes and her nails are a problem for her. Definitely not a keyboard for heavy typing. I bought a Logitech BT keyboard and Dell BT mouse so she can use it at her desk when she has a lot of work to do.
They must have fixed the drivers on the mouse pad as haven't experienced any issues with it.
Windows 8? What a joke. Don't use any of the worthless new features. Run it in traditional desktop mode.
Just bought her a Nexus 10 so the daily use is going down for this laptop and will probably unload it before long.
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I wanted to write and just say that I love my Vizio. I've had Toshiba, Dell, Mac...and by FAR...ESPECIALLY for the money, this is the BEST value. The absolutely ONLY drawback is the keyboard shortcuts. They are just like the Mac...I think they must have modeled this after the Mac Air. I am not a fan of the Mac keyboards, but once you're used to it...it is what it is and the functions are all there...just differently than the conventional PC laptop world.My laptop is lightweight, powerful, beautiful (yes, I've gotten lots of comments from people... Them, "What kind of laptop is that?" Me, "It's a Vizio." Them, "Are you sure?" Me, "No, I paid for it but I'm not sure what I bought.... Yes, it's a Vizio...the company that makes TVs (well, LG makes Vizio TVs so I'm not really sure who makes their laptops)."
Each and every person I have showed this to is enamored by it...it really is a great product. Who cares who made it...they used great components.
To all thinking about buying it...stop thinking...and just DO IT:)
Acer 13.3" Laptop 4GB 500GB + 20GB SSD | S3-391-6448
Now on to the laptop itself. I wasn't expecting much except for an ultrathin laptop. I was actually quite impressed when I first booted it up. Before this laptop I had any extremely bulk HP Probook 4436s with extended battery that was a pain to take around college. It had 8 GB of ram but suddenly, after booting one day, only recognized 4. That laptop died for reason I don't know why, but anyways back to this review.
Acer didn't cut any corners with this sleek laptop. It has a nice sleek brushed aluminum look and very minimal plastic. This ultrabook is so sleek that I can carry in my backback and barley notice it as my textbooks sometimes weigh even more then this. The performance of the core i3 1.5GHz is good for the needs of me, a college student. I can do web surfing with multiple browser windows/tabs open at a time and still have minimal lag. The 4GB on memory is soldered onto the board so it is NOT upgradeable if that is what you are looking for. It is speedy enough to do work on Libre office. Boot times are fast, but the sleep wake time is a little longer then what they state. It is more around 2 seconds but still not bad as my old laptop would take 15+.
The keyboard is extremely nice to type on. It is very quite and when I press a key I don't have problems with it not registering. I am a touch typer so I am more gentle then others when typing. My old HP would have problems with registering a key click and it would bug the crap out of me as I had to constantly go back and fix "lok" and "shool" from my writing. This is not a problem present in this Acer.
There is very minimal heat when this computer is doing basic tasks like word processing and surfing. It does get a little hot, I would say around 90-100 F but I don't know exactly. The fan is quite and even when it does turn on it is blaring loud like other laptops can sometimes get. If doing an intensive task it will get louder but nothing that isn't bearable.
The screen is altogether great for the price. It is not full HD like other screens but then again you aren't paying an extra $100 either. Viewing angles from looking from the top are bad. If viewing from the side or bottom it mostly gets dim and glare is more noticeable. As there isn't a anit-glare coating that I can see of. Colors are vivid on medium to high brightness.
The charger that is lightweight and doesn't feel like you are lugging around a giant brick. Also, it is somewhat small and fits nicely into a bag. Can't really say much more about that since I am not a electrician.
Had it for about two weeks and am so far impressed with this slim, speedy little beast. Might write another review after I get some more real world data.very nice and good looking laptop...... but the only thing that is annoying me is having no cd rom drive on it.
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Lenovo IdeaPad U410 437629U 14-Inch Ultrabook (Graphite Gray)
Original review:
I've had the Lenovo U410 for 2 and half weeks now. The first two weeks were rocky. Finally had the time to call Lenovo support much better since then don't return the laptop without calling themgreat support. I came from a 12"inch 3.3 lb, 8 hr battery, no optic drive Asus. My criteria when shopping for a new laptop was: 1. bigger screen size 2. performance/speed 3. portability 4. price (under $500 to $850) 5. battery
Pros:
1. awesome 24/7 tech support (included) & dirt cheap accidental damage plan purchased directly thru Lenovo for $59 a yr.
2. lightweight, somehow the added weight (about 9 ounces more than my Asus) doesn't bother me because of the slimness of the unit, it is comfortable to carry.
3. Price for the specs
4. battery life better than expected getting about 5 hours on Word with intermittent use of wifi.
5. looks nice
6. Speed good, not as quick as the Asus was.
7. lots of USB slots
8. speakers clarity/sound level are awesome, way better than the Asus.
Cons
1. touchpad had major problems at first was using an external mouse. Called tech support they removed and reinstalled the driver. It's working now, but still not as great as the old school touchpad on my Asus. This touchpad is glass (or so I read) and its very slippery. haven't adjusted to it yet and depending on projects, I continue to hook up an external mouse. That said, I didn't get another Asus because the reviews and my testing of their touchpads were awful.
2. Screen I've read some reviews elsewhere that the screen is not as sharp as it could be. I agree. But I'm not doing graphics/gaming on it. So it doesn't bother me.
3. Sound people I skyped with were getting major feedback. The speakers seem to be at the hinge of the screen/base and the microphone would pick up the sound. I would push back the screen and that would help reduce the feedback, but if you're doing a video call it's a problem. Tech support removed and reinstalled the driver. So far no problems.
4. Startup speed not as quick as the Asus 8 second startup and 2 second refresh once it was on. (I'm not a techie so don't ask me to explain). I know that the processor in this baby is faster than the Asus had. And the startup /come out of sleep speed is acceptable for someone like me who has no patience.
Neutral -
No optic drive I looked for this to cut down on weight. I had reservations when I got my Asus 2.5 yrs ago without an optics drive, but it turned out I never really needed it.
My usage:
This is not my primary computer. I use it outside the office but will work on it for 3-4 hours at a time straight. Also hook it up to my TV for Hulu, Netflix and so far no issues. HDMI only, not VGA.
At first I was looking at the ThinkPad line, not the IdeaPads. But I couldn't wait for Amazon or Lenovo, I needed a same day replacement. I shopped for Lenovos, Sonys and Asus I found this one at Fry's Electronicsbut caution, their online price was $200 less than there instore price. I pointed that out, it took 1 hour to get approval for a lower price, but it was worth it.Hi everyone, I have had the i5 version and here is my review for the U410 in general-
I had the beautiful laptop for a week now. It is a quality built laptop (made of aluminum alloy) and is often compared to the mac due to its quality build. I love the 3.0 USBs. You do not know how important having those is, especially when I am transferring data constantly for homework and projects for engineering. Extremely lightweight and portable which is important for me since I am moving between classes and carrying this on my backpack all dayneed something light. No "optical" drive, or CD ROM drive for playing movies/cd's/etcknow that when you are buying this since it is for making it lighter weight; one can work around this by burning the CD on another laptop and transferring via USB OR by buying an external CD ROM. I might need to purchase an external CD ROM since I desire to download photoshop... and there are 8 CD's. Good to know and be informed as you are deciding..
But, there is a design flaw in terms of the wi-fi. I was aware of an extremely common wi-fi issue coming from Lenova U series (includes this U410 and U310). People would complain that they have either 1) a disconnecting wi-fi internet problem 2) low signals until very close to wi-fi access.
My theory is that since the casing of the laptop is almost 100% thin aluminum, the metal casing is reducing the wi-fi strength. In other words, the wi-fi adaptor is like your cell phone trying to text inside a metal elevator casingreducing the signal or losing it frequently. Also like when you go through a tunnel. Maybe the design flaw is because they are almost mimicking the mac's metal chassis and they failed mimicking on one key part... like allowing an opening for the wi-fi antenna....
RegardlessMy love for this laptop will outweigh returning the laptopfor nowas I am currently purchasing an external wi-fi antenna USB. An antenna will test my hypothesis of whether it is the whole casing, which is the design flaw, or if the brand new network adaptor sucks (unlikely but possible).
Edit: 12/6/2012
Design flaw averted by simply adding on cheap external wifi adapter. Acts like an antenna to get better signals than many laptops. Yay!
I bought a CISCO Lynksis external wi-fi adapter for $49.99even though on best buy I saw it for half off. I needed internet ASAP, so I went for it (I can always order the cheaper version, then return with receipt for the current to save 25$ once it arrives)it works! I can even access my n network now. My download speed went from 0MB to 8.6MB; Upload speed from 0MB to 3.6MB on
I tentatively recommend getting this laptop and investing in a $10-50 external wifi.
Buy Lenovo IdeaPad U410 437629U 14-Inch Ultrabook (Graphite Gray) Now
Super fast shipping! When I first got this laptop there was a problem after a few weeks so I asked for an exchange. They sent me a brand new one the next day! Great service. As for the laptop, I love it! Especially it's light weight. I don't like iMACs but I do like their laptop design and THIS Lenovo laptop has almost the same design PLUS a home and end key which MACs don't have. The only down side to this laptop is that there's no DISC drive and it's slightly flimsy on the bottom and the center of the keyboard.Read Best Reviews of Lenovo IdeaPad U410 437629U 14-Inch Ultrabook (Graphite Gray) Here
What a pleasant surprise. Right of the box the U410 sets up in minutes and is ready to use. Amazingly fast boot up from start....30 seconds or so. Keyboard is a pleasure to work with. Pressure on keys is a little firm and a plus in my estimate. I have had this laptop for a couple of weeks now and have not had a single problem of any kind. So far, reliable and stable unit. I would highly recommend the U410.Want Lenovo IdeaPad U410 437629U 14-Inch Ultrabook (Graphite Gray) Discount?
I have had this computer for exactly one week. The main irksome thing about this machine is its keyboard and mouse pad. The keyboard space has shrunk about 3cm from my old Compaq. Not only that, each key has a smaller face, because the "gutters" between keys are taking up space too. When you type, your fingers (and arms) are cramped together more than with an average keyboard. A bigger problem comes from the small face of keys like "Shift," "Alt," "Ctrl," and particularly the four arrows keys. It is hard not to mis-press things without breaking your eye contact with the screen and looking at the keyboard. The biggest trouble is how "home," "page up" "page down" and "end" are positioned. For the short week I had this machine, I have made numerous mistakes hitting the "page down" button, when all I wanted was move the cursor to the end of a line.There has also been quite a few cases where cursor suddenly jumped from where I was typing to somewhere else, thus messing up what I typed earlier. It seems that the problem occurs when the palm accidentally touches the mouse pad, inevitably so because the pad is so big.
On the mouse pad, you can use two fingers to move the screen page up and down, which is handy. Earlier I encountered a big problem with the mouse pointer, which is only slightly improved by a change of setting. Say I am keying in words in a MS Word document, the mouse pointer would disappear--this despite the setting "Hide pointer while typing" unchecked under "Pointing device properties." When you pause typing, and need to move the cursor using the mouse pad, the pointer re-appears on the screen with irritating lengths of delay. So make sure you uncheck "hide pointer," otherwise it takes even longer to find and maneuver the cursor.
The machine has a pleasantly light weight, and works fast so far. It takes under 30 seconds from turning on the computer to when the web browser opens its homepage (i.e. if skipping the time logging in with password). It doesn't heat up like my old laptop, so I have had no need using my cooling fan. I am grateful that it comes pre-loaded with McAfee product for safeguarding the machine.
The screen is wide, but not tall enough. I moved the taskbar from the bottom to the left side of the screen to help with the problem. The screen isn't too sharp.
Maybe if I get more comfortable with the awkward keyboard and mouse pointer, I will like this laptop more. Right now, I wouldn't heartily recommend it to other people.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have had this machine for six weeks. I should clarify that the preloaded McAfee anti-virus software expired a month after I received the computer, even though there was no warning of the time limit in the beginning. My problem with the position of keys Home, End, PageUp, PageDown, arrows, etc. remains, and the touch pad still messes up the position of the cursor every once in a while.
The machine is fairly reliable and fast (for someone who mainly uses Office products and the Web browser). Initially the wireless connection was a bit weird. The connection would get broken after waking up from the sleep status. Somehow the problem has not occurred again.
Sony VAIO VGN-CS215J/R 14.1-Inch Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 250 GB
Now the review. It came down to (after months of research on Core 2 Duo's) the Sony Vaio (which the GF wanted for the fact that it came in white), and my pick again after research the Toshiba Satellite special edition which when compared to the Vaio only differs with the graphics card and bluetooth.
I opted for the Sony Vaio (which by the way is cheaper at your local...Fill in the blank major electronic store). I will say its partly due to the GF's white preference, but don't stop reading here and think its all due to that i did want good, no great specs and not want to buy another computer for at least another 5yrs.
I read many mixed reviews, and i personally got nervous. I wanted a great computer and always have been an XP person. So vista and only having a Dell made this a big purchase. Well i couldn't be happier. The computer is fast as hell, especially through Ethernet (haven't had the time yet to go get a N wireless router which i am excited about) and Vista is surprisingly fun to use. Searching for files etc. is really the only difference I have encountered. I love the 3D window scroll, and I love the new Windows Media experience with MSN live everything (TV, Music, Movies).
People have spoke about bloatware, I don't think there was alot on here to be honest. I am currently using Vaio care, and windows live one (for virus protection). I am also using the preview version of office 2007. Other than that i don't see much on here that's a problem or runs the computer slower. I have disabled the updates after i did all of them so that helps too. The battery isn't bad. On the Vaio power scheme i have it set to balanced and it lasts around 2hrs and 11mins. You can however set the power to max batter which helps it extend to 3hrs, or you can set it to max performance which speeds the computer itself up to max tasks, and windows being opened. I've had at least 10 windows up before and no lag what so ever using balanced power.
The webcam is really cool and makes me laugh at the Mac users who paid $12+ for basically the same computer. The software included can do all kinds of fun things with your image as well as let you record videos.
The keyboard is slick and very easy to type. Easier than my Dell which i find was alot more clacky than this. The touch pad is generic and the touch media controls well i haven't had much use for them but as i have played around with them although cool and different can be sensitive especially the volume (i use the icon to change the volume). The speakers are good, sometimes programs made for dolby make them sound incredible while other at times sound low (it might have to do with the program and dolby compatibility.)
Overall I am very please, everything that i need to do (internet, work with office docs, and pics & music) it does very well. There are some features i have yet to explore but this is a very solid computer and worth the money. Don't waste your time with those watered down netbooks or low priced asus computers with no specs to them. Get a laptop that has what you need in it and more, it will save you the trouble later on.
I gave this a 4 instead of a 5 because of the lower end graphics card (which hasn't been a problem just wish for future things it had the better card) and lack of HDMI (has vga instead). Other than that its a solid notebook that makes a great replacement to my old Dell.I spent MONTHS researching HP, Dell, Macs, etc. trying to find the perfect laptop. I am heading to college in the fall and really need something easy to use, but also advanced enough that it has all the features I will be needing. I heard negative comments for each of those brands, ranging from horrifically loud fan to a glare that prevents outdoor use to way to pricey for the product, respectively. Consequently, I had NO idea what to do. Then someone suggested looking into Sony and THANK GOD I DID!!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS LAPTOP!! It's a perfect size, red is the perfect color (I had my doubts about it being too red, but it really is gorgeous), it works fantastically, the keyboard flows so well, it's fast, it's efficient, it was relatively cheap compared to others...it's perfect!!! Overall I would suggest this product to anyone!!!Made purchase back in February 2009 and very much liking this little Sony, so far. This has fast processing with the 64 Bit T6400 Duo Core 2, 4 GB RAM, and better than average graphics for on board Intel graphics. I'm not a gamer, so can't say in that regard, but for news clips, movies, music video, and MLB live/real-time feed, the graphics provide a good TV quality images on cable ISP. The included useful Sony software makes the purchase all the more attractive. I installed MS Office Small Business 2007 with no problems. A nice machine that has proven to be all I wanted for a travel computer. Would definitely recommend.this one's a great laptop and was bought after much deliberation and research. let me put this in one word "Great". i have had this laptop for a month now and its been performing awesome.
Looksit looks pretty (for people who love pink this is a god send)
Sleek and fast no wonder cuz it has a 4 GB RAM hence at 824 this is a bargain (when i bought it this was around 950 ).i have always worked on XP so the new Vista takes a little time getting used to. but its good and different. the laptop on its own is amazingly fast and the keyboard is fun to work with. it has increased my typing speed :)
will keep you guys posted on how well its functioning after another month or so of use.I bought this computer in August for college..initially, I loved it. The appearance is perfect; however, the quality is poor. Approximately two months after purchasing, my screen would randomly turn black and my computer wouldn't turn back on. After speaking with customer service several times, we finally fixed this problem. Recently, I took my laptop back to the Geek Squad at Best Buy to tell them about the terribly loud noises that it makes. They kept my laptop for a week, then said that they heard the "jet engine sound" it was making, but that it was normal. I'm sorry, but if my roommate can hear my computer roaring from across the room then it shouldn't be normal. The noises are incredibly annoying and I find it hard to concentrate on what I'm doing...also, I have to restart often. I definitely would not recommend this computer. I have had it for 7 months, and have had problems for the past 5.
Dell Latitude X1 Laptop 1.1GHz 1GB 60GB XP Pro Computer
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Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A01US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Ash Black)
Problems with the first laptop:
1) Screen had extreme back-light bleed through on the edges, especially the top right corner. Before asking for an exchange I went to a local store to see how the screen looked and it didn't exhibit the back-light bleed problem.
2) Laptop got very hot so I opened it up to see what was happening. The right fan vent was completely blocked by a plastic tab when the fan was installed so even though it was running, it wasn't bringing cold air into the machine.
3) While opening the laptop to inspect fan, I noticed that the battery was missing all of it's screws to hold it securely in place. It wasn't even assembled correctly.
Problem with second laptop:
1) Screen bleed problem was resolved, but not there it had a very obvious dead/stuck pixel on the screen. I expect the screen to not have bad pixels when paying for a $1300 laptop.
Problems with third laptop:
1) Screen is perfect, no back-light bleed or bad pixels.
2) Track pad is horrible, very loose and makes clicking noises when just swiping finger across it, not even pressing it for the left/right "click".
3) Right fan has a much more audible clicking noise than the previous 900x3c's I returned.
4) Question mark key on keyboard has paint missing/scratched so backlight shines through in a slit on the edge of it.
5) After a few days, computer would no longer boot, called Samsung and it turns out to be a hardware, not ssd problem so they recommended another replacement.
That was the last replacement Amazon would allow me to get, now I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I would really love this laptop if the quality control issues were resolved. I feel like I could assemble the good qualities of 3 laptops myself to get 1 good one that's up to par.
-----Update ------
I received my new 900x3c and it has none of the issues the previous three had. Maybe I was extremely unlucky with the previous ones or there was a bad batch? Now that I have one that is working to specs here's my review.
Design:
The laptop is extremely thin and looks very sharp. I've used it in a few public settings and get a lot of compliments and small talk about it from random people that want to hold and feel it. I believe the design is better than the macbook air and very solid with no creeks as I hold it or move the screen.
Screen:
The screen has great viewing angles from above and from the sides, has very rich color, and can be turned up very bright. I have no dead pixels and the screen backlight is very uniform and the resolution is great.
Keyboard and Trackpad:
The keys are slightly on the stiff side, with expected limited travel, but not a deal breaker and still great to type on. The backlight is a nice shade of blue/green and the brightness can be adjusted.
The trackpad is nice and large, supports multi-touch and is very nice no complaints.
Hard Drive:
The hard drive is on the small side, but upgradeable. I wish Samsung had included a 256 gig one instead of the 128 gig one. I have already upgraded the drive to the MyDigitalSSD 256GB SMART SATA III (6G) SandForce mSATA Solid State Drive which is extremely fast and I highly recommend it. It took about 10 minutes for me to removed the old SSD and install the new one.
RAM:
This is the only area that regret about the laptop. 4GB of RAM is ok, but not ideal, especially in a few years. I think I'll be able to get by and I haven't run short on memory yet, but really think Samsung should have included 8GB. The RAM is also not upgradeable in the 900x3c and is soldered to the motherboard.
Battery Life:
I seem to be getting between 5 and 6 hours of battery life on a full charge with light web usage. I would prefer a little more, but this seems acceptable. The battery is user upgradeable and is held in place by 4 screws visible once the bottom of the laptop is removed. This will come in handy in a couple years as the battery life starts to fade.
Wireless Signal Strength:
No issues with the wireless signal strength. It seems to perform well and has as much if not more signal strength than any other laptop I've used.
Heat/Noise:
The only time the bottom of the laptop got pretty warm was when playing Diablo III. The laptop has two fans and they are very quiet. Even at full speed, it's much quieter than a macbook air or pro. The fans don't come on at all during normal/light usage such as web surfing/emailing/word document editing and the laptop regulates temperature very well.
Speed/Performance:
The laptop is very quick for an ultra book. It can do a cold boot in about 10 seconds and wakes up from sleep in about 1 to 2 seconds. Graphic performance is very good too, for an ultrabook. No issues playing HD videos. I even loaded Diablo III and it runs very smooth with all high settings and a resolution of 1600 x 900. That's the only game I've tried so far.
Windows Experience Index:
Processor: 6.9
Memory (RAM): 5.9
Graphics: 6.4
Gaming graphics: 6.4
Primary Hard Disk: 7.4 for the original one... 7.9 when I upgraded to the MyDigitalSSD
Let me know if you have any questions and I'd be happy to answer.Pros
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1. Amazingly thin.
2. First rate build quality. Solid as a rock. No flexes anywhere.
3. Fast.
4. Beautiful matte screen with very high brightness.
Cons
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1. Touchpad ruins it. I have the latest elan driver and have tried all the trick in the world but this touchpad can't even handle single finger cursor movement correctly. It will either a) stop responding for fractions of a second b) jump all over the place c) activate the left click even when you are just moving the cursor with one finger d) make you want to puke all over the place knowing a $1000 laptop performs like this and how everything else is perfect. You literally cannot use the touchpad for anything meaningful unless you have a bottle of aspirin nearby.
2. Gets very warm at the palm area during charging phase.
Overview
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As much as I love everything else about this laptop the defective touchpad is making me want to return this item and I hereby highly discourage anyone from buying this computer until they either fix it or issue a recall. This is like buying a 300hp car with a defective steering wheel and it's unacceptable.
UPDATED 9/13/2012. After several days of testing the touchpad issue has been isolated in more detail. If you divide the touchpad into regions horizontally from left to right: 0 to 49% equals good area, 50 to 70% equals bad area, 71 to 100% equals good area. What I mean is that the area from the middle to slightly right of it has absolutely terrible touch responses resulting in false clicks and astray pointers.
UPDATED 10/9/2012. Rating has been lowered to 1 star from 2 after my Samsung RMA experience. First of all Samsung repairs are outsourced to Intelisol in Teaxas. Getting the RMA/repair ticket was painless enough once you get the proper link to it and Samsung does have a pretty decent online tracking service for this. However, after getting the machine back, I was beyond angry. The repair was supposed to fix the defective touchpad which many others have experienced. Well, they did fix the touchpad but they also broke quite a bit of stuff. 1) The repair person forced open the case, looks like they had zero training, and broken one of the latch that secures the battery to the chassis. The battery now no longer is securely bound to the case and if you shake the laptop you can hear it. 2) They used the WRONG/larger screw upon refitting the back cover and as result, stripping one of the back cover screw holes so now a proper screw won't fit that case hole. 3) When they put the case back, they mis-routed the WIFI antenna wires and instead of using the guide fittings specifically for the WIFI antenna, they just put it under the battery. Well, you might ask how I discovered all the repair snafus. I open the machine because part of some shrinkwrap was screwed into the backcase! All in all, Samsung's repair service is 100% garbage. The machine is now back to their outsourced Intelisol repair facility for a second time and let's how this turns out.
UPDATED 11/3/2012. Machine finally back from Intelisol for the second time and everything is properly fixed this time. Just to make sure, I opened the back to verify everything. The mSSD is secured with a mounting plate with two screws but there is only one screw there. Emailed Intelisol and their "official" explanation is that some mSSD configurations for this model only uses one screw out of two. So who do you believe? The engineers designed a mounting plate with two screws for nothing I guess. Look at the timing between my first RMA request on 9/13 and this final report and you can judge for yourself how badly Samsung needs to clean up the RMA process. Lastly, they told us not to open the back cover since it voids the warranty. If we didn't open up the machine after the first RMA, we would never have confirmed their shoddy repair service.
Buy Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A01US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Ash Black) Now
I feel like most people are extremely critical about any laptop on the market other than Apple. Had a Macbook Pro the last two years but wanted to return to PCs so it'd be easier to work on the road/home. Definitely also considered the air before buying this but honestly thought the air couldn't compare to this (though I admit I'm always gonna be a PC fan so not sure if it's a fair fight).Not sure about the quality control issues the other guys here are talking about sounds awful...but I received my samsung laptop and have been playing around with it for like a week now with no issues. Trackpad is really responsive, keyboard is better/easier to type on than other ultrabooks I've tried like Asus's zenbook and overall haven't had any issues with startup or processing (easy to use and fast). In terms of designplease go in store and see it yourself. Much improved from the previous series 9 (glad I waited) no wifi issues and design is sleaker/more expensive looking material. And so thin/light!
Read Best Reviews of Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A01US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Ash Black) Here
Bought the Samsung Series 9 13.3" from the Microsoft Store a couple days ago and felt compelled to write a positive review for it.Highlights:
The *matte* screen in high resolution rocks, and is long overdue in a laptop of this type (side by side this is significantly brighter and crisper than my 2012 Air).
Trackpad Samsung includes support for two finger swipe to go back, forward, and gravity scroll, three finger swipe to explorer view, four finger to view all windows, etc. Recommended that you disable tap to select, however, this is 2nd best trackpad in the business.
Cool "Silent Mode" feature, which disables fans for silent use
With Ivy Bridge and SSD, it is fast enough to develop and virtualize on (tested with 2GB RAM VM with Server 2008 + SharePoint 2010 + SQL + Visual Studio 2010).
Obvious pros:
For the size, the footprint of the laptop is the most compact I have seen, and feels great on a lap or desk.
The frame is strong, scary thin, and light.
Windows 7, Office 2010, and iTunes flies on this thing as expected.
Wake from sleep in 1-2 seconds, resume from hibernate in 10 seconds, from cold boot in 20 seconds
Less obvious cons:
Non-upgradeable RAM even if not upgradeable, an 8GB would been an obvious choice here
Non-Samsung SSD although the laptop is fast, if you're going to be doing development work on it, you'll eventually want more.
Cooling fans are a little louder than I'd hoped for not wind turbine loud, but they do hum at an audible level for heavier tasks
As a take-away, this is a top tier UltraBook with substance, style and speed. As an owner of several competing ultra-portables, this one wins my vote for first place.
Want Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A01US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Ash Black) Discount?
With the new ivy bridge and intel HD4000 graphics, this is the best ultrabook on the market. Period.However, there's one thing buyers should knowthis NP900X3C is using Sandisk SSD. Not Samsung SSD like NP900X3B.
You won't feel the difference very much in everyday use but the benchmark numbers show the Samsung SSD is far superior than Sandisk.
HP - Pavilion g4-1016dx Laptop Notebook / AMD Turion II Processor / 14" LED HD Display / 4GB DDR3 M
I have ended up using it with VERY graphic intensive programs such as ArcGIS, Photoshop, SketchUp, and more. It has been wonderful. Of course there are computers that are suited to use those programs much better, however this computer has been able do everything I have thrown at it.
HP 2000-329WM BLACK LAPTOP
It works well enough. It is not a product of the same caliber as ThinkPad, but for the little $$ I paid, it works well.
I do have constant issues with WiFi reception. The proximity of the laptop to the hotspot is an issue with all WiFi devices, but this computer seems to have a finicky WiFi antenna in the chassis perimeter.
I have used the laptop and my kindle in three different settings. In one of those settings, I also used a tablet computer. My HP laptop is consistently problematic if not placed very close to the the WiFi hotspot. My kindle and the tablet typically show twice as many antenna bars when placed on the same desktop.
If it weren't for this issue, I would rate it 5 stars. It is a thin, rather flimsy notebook, but for the cost, It is a good value and I don't regret my purchase.
Lenovo IdeaPad Z580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Gray)
Note on Windows 8. I hated it so much I almost paid to put Windows 7 back on this computer. The biggest frustration was every time I touched the touchpad, the ridiculous "Charms Bar" would pop up along with a gigantic clock. It drove me insane. Lenovo support and their software support told me there was no way to get rid of it. Blogs said to mess with the registry files which scared me as I'm not a computer guy. I finally just disabled the installed touchpad in the control panel. It reverted to the basic touchpad functions without all the "intelligent" options. Now it works great and I no longer want to throw my computer across the room. I don't really use any of the Windows 8 features and I just use the old desktop format that I'm familiar with. Hope this helps.Works well, handle tasks thrown at it, nice design, good battery life. Would recommend this to anyone looking to use it as a student or for small business, who also wants a machine to handle multimedia without any lags.
Buy Lenovo IdeaPad Z580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Gray) Now
Only negative is lack of backlit keyboard. Touchpad seems too far left. Nice finish, Excellent value, considering my processing and speed needsRead Best Reviews of Lenovo IdeaPad Z580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Gray) Here
The computer is fairly fast, has a good sound system, solid keyboard & keys. Doesn't get hot fast. Nice screen appearance.Want Lenovo IdeaPad Z580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Gray) Discount?
The computer is okay. I do not like the way AOL comes up. AOL on windows 7 was much, much easier to use. It was easier on windows 7 to go back.The above is not necessarily the fault of Lenovo, but of microsoft.
Lenovo G550 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 3.8 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)
Apple 15.4" MacBook Pro (with Retina display) quad-core Intel Core i7 2.3GHz, 16GB RAM, 256GB flash
This is the best.
*. Power
*. Weight
*. Display
*. Low Heat
I edit HD Video-FCP X with it.I really like this so far. Easy migration from a PC, and so far I'm happy I made the migration to MacOS. I'm not going to review the OS or other ancillary products that are sold otherwise, but I do appreciate the memory upgrade to bring it to 16 GB, without necessarily paying for costly and (to me) unnecessary upgrades in CPU speed and solid-state storage. This certainly appears to be powerful enough to be my main computer for years to come.
I particularly enjoy integrating this with Apple TV to mirror the screen to my 61" HDTV, and use that as my "monitor" -which is particularly useful for content that is only enabled on computers (espn3.com, Hulu, youtube & other content not allowed to stream to PS3, Apple TV directly, iPads, etc.). I haven't used the HDMI to output to the TV yet; I suspect the quality would be higher, but the streaming with Apple TV has been sufficient so far. I'm even able to use bluetooth keyboard & trackpad to keep my MacBook in the other room and drive from my TV in my living room!Everything they said it would be. Looking forward to buying more items with this company again! Even during the holiday season they were able to stick to their word.Got here in 4 days! LOOKS FANTASTIC! Just bought a case to go with it! Screen is amazing and worth every penny!

