What can you expect for $500.

I'm a presentation technology specialist and I use laptops everyday for presentations and normally I would never buy a computer that costs less than $1200. Anything less than that and you're asking for performance problems on all fronts; processor RAM graphics and hard drive.



First things first this computer only cost $549 dollars or less.



This computer is not a workhorse by any means and is ugly as only a mother could love.

That being said this is what can you expect.



Flimsy plastic body construction? Check.

The plastic looks and feels as cheap as what you paid for. Think of a low end DVD player that you can pick up at Walmart for $30 dollars. This computer does flex on the bottom but as long as you don't handle it like the "American Tourister Gorilla" you'll be fine. It does have a raised texture pattern on the surface to help you grip it better. The screen does not have a latch to secure it but that is not detrimental to me. One reviewer commented that the DVD drive popped open a couple of times because of the flexing of the case and I would refute that claim and suggest that it happens when a thumb or finger presses the eject button inadvertently as has happened to me.



Intel shared video performance? Check. Poor lcd viewing angles? Check.

The Intel chipset can use as much as a Gb of RAM to help with graphics. Mine is currently using 57Mb. This screen is great for direct viewing only. As for off viewing angles I often laugh when people complain about this. How often do you view your work on a laptop from any position other than directly in front of the screen. I have been using it to watch DVD and Streaming movies on Netflix with no performance problems. I also use Corel Draw 13 and Corel Painter 10 and it runs those programs equally fine. It also runs TrialDirector a special presentation software surprisingly well for non-dedicated video graphics. I won't be running Maya or Max or any highend 3-D apps or games on it so there is no expectation to be crushed on that point.



Windows XP Professional loaded? Check. Windows 7 Professional 32 bit on disk? Check.

Netbooks primarily ship with Windows 7 Starter and that version is severely diminished in functionality. I highly recommend setting this computer to dual boot keeping both operating systems intact. You can always reformat later.



Large 15.6 inch screen? Check. Fullsize keyboard with numeric pad? Check.

I bought this as opposed to a netbook because of the screen. My eyesight is pretty bad and I prefer having a larger screen.

The keyboard is fullsize and typing in numbers on the numeric key pad is a plus for me. The only flaw I find on the keyboard is the placement of the Function key. It is located on the outside of the left hand side Control key which is counter-intuitive to the better quality laptops I'm using.



This Lenovo is considered their "value line" series so don't buy this and expect alot and you will most likely be pleased with the performance.More detail ...

A fantastic mid-range laptop. Great for college students.

Not too long ago I needed to buy a new laptop computer since my old Dell computer nearly died. (There was some sort of hard drive problem that would only allow me to start up in 'safe mode.') After scouring Amazon for several days I decided upon this Toshiba Satellite computer. It seemed like the best value for the money I was willing to spend.



Pros:

Big screen -- This is great for watching movies in true 16:9 ratio. The screen is also really bright so you won't miss any details.

It has a number pad -- I really like being able to use 10-key typing to enter numbers in documents and web sites. Having a number pad is surprisingly necessary.

Fast start-up / Fast wake-up -- This computer has enough resources to start up quickly from an off state. The start-up feels like it could be a little bit faster but again it is still significantly faster than my old Dell. I usually don't put my computers in hibernation mode when I walk away for any extended period of time so I can't critique that feature of this computer.

Stylish -- This computer looks sleek and sophisticated. It is a real joy to look at.

Generous system resources -- This computer has 4GB of RAM and 500GB of hard disk capacity. It also has those new Intel processors that feature "hyper-threading" technology. Since Windows 7 is a system hog a new laptop should at least have 6GB of RAM but 4GB seems to be just fine for this machine. I can switch quickly between programs start programs quickly and end them quickly too. A 500GB hard disk is just an astoundingly huge amount of storage space. There is more than enough space for photos and movies.

The mouse-pad -- I don't know how Toshiba did it but the mouse-pad is the coolest feature of the laptop. The mouse-pad looks like it was spray-painted on top of the plastic shell. It also works really well AND it offers multi-touch functionality. If you need to increase the size of the font on a web page all you do is spread two fingers on the mouse-pad. It is actually pretty damn cool.



Cons:

Atrocious speakers -- OK the worst feature in this computer are the absolutely horrible speakers. The sound that comes from them is tinny and without depth. I find it interesting to say the least that Toshiba would have a mid-range computer with decent hardware specs but include insufficient speakers. Whoduthunk?

Not enough ports / Bad port locations -- Again for the amount of hardware specs this computer has Toshiba only included 2 USB ports. The laptop shell is spacious enough to include 4 USB ports without any problems. My old Dell laptop had 4 USB ports. Also the USB ports and power DC-in locations are really inconvenient: They are located on the right side of the machine. Most people are right-handed BUT protruding cords interferes with desk space which in turn limits the space that most people might have because of the locations of the ports. The USB ports and DC-in power port should be re-located to the back of the machine.



Other details:

The computer is finished with a matte black plastic shell. Just so you know matte (any color) shows off every single speck of dust and finger print! After I type this review I'm going to wipe down the whole machine with a clean cotton cloth. Also the keys are matte black too so they really show off finger prints! Don't laptop manufacturers know that laptops are dirty machines?! This laptop also weighs 6lbs. For me it isn't heavy but for others it might be too heavy.



Final thoughts:

Overall I really like this laptop. It has plenty of resources for a multitude of applications. I can play some graphically intense games without too many problems. It has plenty of processing speed RAM and hard disk space for just about anything you can throw at it. This is a great all-around mid-range laptop. The only reason I didn't give this laptop a 5-star rating is because there simply are not enough USB ports and the locations of the ports should be on the back of the machine instead of the right side. The speakers are also sub-par for what could have been included.More detail ...

Excellent Computer for an Excellent Price

I've owned my computer for almost a week now and I'm absolutely loving it. For the money I almost bought an Hp with a T6600 processor and 320GB hard drive etc etc. I bought this for the same price as the other hp and got MORE memory and a better processor. Why wouldn't you want an upgrade of 180 GB hard drive for free? If your a student and like to have lots of music videos and play light gaming and still have tons of room for your homework and projects this is a great computer.



I also love how its 14" monitor so I can take it anywhere and fit it into any bag. It has a very sleek and glossy exterior. A little bit of work to keep clean but that's no reason not to buy a computer. The speakers are great for a laptop. I was actually surprised how clear sounds and music was. As with most HP laptops you get the lightscribe burner which is great but it also comes with a disc replacement thing so if you don't care to use a disc drive you can remove it and save some weight. But really it doesn't weigh that much.



The only downfall I have with this computer is the slightly low battery life. I think a little bit of that might be my fault cause I just plugged in and played rather than letting the battery charge fully first before I started playing with it.



Great laptop for the price.More detail ...

Relieved and Extremely Pleased

I bought this HP for my wife to replace her 3 year old Toshiba. It's 100% her computer but she places everything technical in our lives on me and then holds me accountable for its performance. My wife is brutal on electronics and her laptop is no exception. The Toshiba had a VERY hard life and ticked along perfectly until the past few months. After wasting $200 on a failed repair (hard drive) I decided it was cheaper to replace it than to nurse it along. I initially went shopping for another Toshiba and frankly I feel like I would be writing a 5 star review for a Toshiba if it hadn't come down to a $150 price difference. I was able to use the competing Toshiba at a retailer but when I went to Amazon I found this HP. Nearly identical in performance and appearance; aside from a couple of keyboard control features they were the same.



I bought the HP Amazon shipped it FedEX and it arrived to Fairbanks Alaska in less than 48 hours (used standard shipping nothing special). She loves it charged it up and it performs flawlessly and much better than my 8 month old Dell XPS (Argh never again...long story). I have not attempted to load Office 2007 yet but suspect from my research on 64 bit systems it will work fine. Neither one of us cares for the bubble scheme and thinks it detracts from the professional look of the rest of the finish (petty I know).



The mouse pad works perfectly and I particularly like the keyboard layout and feel of the keys. I REALLY like the number pad without having to buy a 17+ inch system which is of course standard now.



4 USB ports 1 HDMI output a great LCD screen and Graphics card...zero to complain about. Oh and Windows 7 works very well.



I'll report back if it doesn't hold up to the flagrant neglect my wife typically inflicts on her electronics but as of for now she is rightfully treating like a shiny new sports car!

More detail ...

Great Workhorse (But Outclassed)

Dell's XPI CD is my favorite laptop of all times. However it's not as nimble as it would like to be any more. So unfortunately there's only reason to keep this baby around: if you want the easiest typing experience available in a laptop.



== The Good ==

The trackball in this machine is by far the best pointing device I've ever used. You can drag/click and drag/right-click across the whole screen without contorting your hands or wrists into carpal tunnel syndrome candidates.



The keyboard is good very good - good action on the keys tactile feedback and relatively easy to clean.



It's wonderfully solid. I dropped mine any number of times without suffering screen keyboard or other problems.



== The Bad ==

At 166 MHz and 64 MB max RAM it's not suitable for anything past Win98 (I recommend the most recent Win95 if you have disks).



The optical drive is read only (no burning) and is painfully slow compared ot more recent versions.



2.1 GB of storage doesn't leave room for much (this will not be your MP3 storage device).



For modern internet you'll also need some type of PC Card ($40-100) and there's no USB built-in.



== The Ugly ==

As much as I love this machine it's not worth more than $50 in my opinion. You can get a 30 gig iPod for $250 which will allow you to store more pictures music and even software files. If you're willing to part with $400 you can get a Vista-ready laptop that's lighter speedier and more versatile.



== Conclusion ==

There is one overwhelming reason to buy the XPI: for the trackball. If you can't deal with trackpads this is the machine for you. If you only need the machine to write the great American novel while you're at the beach... and you don't need to logon to the net you'll be fine with the anemic features. (Make sure you have a home computer that you can synch up with often to keep this machine from being too cluttered.)



== [A note about Dell] ==

I have bought about 8 Dell machines over the years (for myself or as gifts). I've never experienced significant problems except for the first machine which was a nightmare (the Texas-based tech support misdiagnosed the problem on the first call and it took a half-dozen calls and about 30 hours of my time to get it right). However the company recognized they had sold me a lemon and eventually replaced the machine with a faster version with more memory upgraded the hard- and optical-drives.More detail ...