Acer 11.6" AO725-0687 Laptop Review

List Price: $379.99
Price: $299.95

Product Features
AMD Dual-Core C-70 accelerated processor,2GB DDR3 SDRAM, 320GB SATA hard drive
10/100Base-T Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN, 11.6" HD CineCrystal LED-backlit display, ATI Radeon HD 6290 Graphics with up to 256MB of dedicated system memory
Built-in webcam,5-in-1 memory card reader, ?1 x USB 3.0 port, 2 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x headphone/speaker/line-out jack, 1 x microphone-in jack, 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port, 1 x VGA port, 1 x HDMI port
Windows 8 64-bit,CineCrystal LED-backlit Display (1366 x 768)

Other Opinion

By Choice

With respect to design, form factor, weight, and the number of ports, this computer is excellent. Very easy to carry and has enough ports for everyday use. But when it comes to performance, the computer stutters and exhibits very irritating lag. It is slow and very weak in its ability to multitask. As much as I like aesthetics, it's hard for me to rate this computer high when it fumbles on the most important reason for buying a computer. There is really not much to right home about when it comes to performance. And of course I am not referring to any heavy duty task - just basic task of browsing, checking e-mails, using Facebook, etc. Performance must come first before beauty.

ASUS A54C-AB91 15.6-Inch Laptop Review

List Price: $449.00
Price: $399.99

Product Features
Intel Pentium B980 2.4 GHz Processor
4 GB DDR3
320 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
15.6-Inch Screen, Intel HD 3000 Graphics
Windows 8

Other Opinion

By Eric Jacobs (Adams, MA United States)

We purchased an Asus laptop (ModelX54C-BBK24) three months ago from Best Buy for a business project, along with a Geek Squad service contract, and are seriously dissatisfied with the results. About two months after the purchase, the computer stopped working. We took it into Best Buy for diagnosis and repair. The Geek Squad determined that the problem was a defective hard drive and its replacement was covered under Asus's warranty. We were informed, however, that we needed to provide "recovery discs" that would allow the hard drive to accept an operating system so that the computer would be operational; without these discs the computer, even with a new hard drive, would not work. Although Best Buy is an authorized service provider for Asus products, we were told that they had no access to Asus recovery discs, and it was our responsibility to provide them.

Inasmuch as we had not created these discs, an oversight on our part that does not void any explicit or implicit warranties (it is reasonable expectation on our part that a newly purchased computer will work longer than two months), or give excuse to Asus for manufacturing a shoddy product, it was necessary to contact Asus. We did so, and Asus was willing to sell us these necessary recovery discs for fifty dollars. So, to rectify their inability to manufacture a serviceable product, we were expected to pay approximately twenty percent of our purchase price to remedy Asus's manufacturing incompetence. In our view, this was an outrageous demand, an effort by Asus to turn their shoddy quality control into a profit center at our expense.

We contacted Asus Customer Support and for three days worth of telephone calls received apologies and excuses from representatives and supervisors; all were terribly sorry about the inconvenience, etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum, but showed no real effort on Asus's part to make good on their defective product, save for an offer to subtract $12.50 from the purchase price of the recovery discs. A mean spirited offer that we refused. In effect, unless we pay Asus a fee to rebuild our newly purchased computer, their corporate policies will effectively prevent us from using our property. Not a nice alternative and a terrible corporate policy that looks to avoid responsibility for the poor quality of their product, and demeans their customers by forcing them to subsidize Asus's corporate ineptitude, manufacturing incompetence and indifference to customer satisfaction.

We will never again buy an Asus computer and would advise other consumers to consider striking Asus products from any purchasing consideration. For our part, we will be filing a complaint against Asus with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office.

Entry Level Dell Inspiron i14RN-1227BK 14-Inch Laptop

Price: $584.00

Product Features
Intel Core i3-2350M Processor 2.3GHz
6GB DIMM RAM
500GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
14-Inch Screen, Intel HD Graphics 3000
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Other Opinion

By zdeuyo

Ok lets break this laptop down and help you find out if you should buy this laptop.

Product Features

Intel Core i3-2350M Processor 2.3GHz
6GB DIMM RAM
500GB 5400RPM Hard Drive

Note: I3 processor at this price is not a good deal even with 6gb of RAM (4gb is what avg users use). The 5400rpm hard drive doesn't justify the price either.

14-Inch Screen, Intel HD Graphics 3000
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Note: 14 inches is a sweet spot between portability and screen size, but you will see that this laptop comes in at about 6.57lbs. Pretty heavy for a 14inch.

USB 2.0 Ports: 1
USB 3.0 Ports: 2

Note: this is good but an extra one would be better.

Battery Type: Nonstandard Battery (6-cell battery)
Wireless Type: 802.11bgn

Note: Wireless is standard. The battery...you can expect about 3-4 hours with normal usage.

Other:

Chiclet-style keyboard
Touchpad with integrated scrolling and gestures
VGA Output (Connect to another monitor or TV, non HD)

This is entry level to getting your feet wet with a laptop. For a first time laptop user that does not go with a Netbook, this is ok, but for about 50 to 100 dollars more you would get a much better laptop for your money.Ok lets break this laptop down and help you find out if you should buy this laptop.

HP Pavilion g6-2210us 15.6-Inch Laptop Review

List Price: $509.99
Price: $449.99

Product Features
AMD A-Series Dual-Core A4-4300M 2.5 GHz (1 MB Cache)
4 GB DDR3
640 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
15.6-Inch Screen, AMD Radeon HD 7420G
Windows 8

Other Opinion

By Keith Appleby

It is tough to say whether the problem is with the new Windows 8 or with the laptop, or how they interact. But. I have never ever had a laptop that was this broken right out of the bag. Constant system crashes, apps don't work, the mouse locks up, applications like firefox lock up for extended periods. Keep in mind, this is brand new, so the problem isn't a virus or system bloat. The laptop and OS arrive broken and incredibly slow.

Sony VAIO E14 Series SVE14122CXW 14-Inch Laptop Review

List Price: $579.99
Price: $539.99

Product Features
Intel Core i3-3110M 2.5 GHz
4 GB DDR3
500 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
14-Inch Screen
Windows 8

Other Opinion

By emily schaefer

I loved this computer. After doing lots of research looking for a computer to suit my needs I settled for the Sony Vaio E series. The keyboard is phenomenal - Beautiful backlighting (a novelty to me), no keyboard flex (great because I type frequently and quickly), and the keys themselves were awesome. The screen was very bright - An all around very attractive computer. Startup time was also great... UNTIL:
Within 24 hours of having this computer I started noticing glitches within the mousepad. Very frustrating. Also, after stalling Windows 8 "updates" my computer completely crashed. I spent 2 hours on the phone with tech support while my brand new PC had to completely reset. Needless to say it was a nightmare. It just froze on the start screen and wouldn't work even after restarting!

Finally, though I realize this is not Sony's fault -- My initial excitement was detracted by the fact that I soon noticed there was a small, but undoubtedly worsening crack in the plastic material surrounding the black trim of the computer. There were actually some wires exposed. Also, upon arrival the keyboard was popped out of place - While this is insignificant because ultimately the keyboard was fine, it is extremely frustrating that Amazon ships their products in these states.

Ultimately, I wish Sony should have kept their Windows 7 E series around a little longer.. Definitely avoid..

Toshiba Satellite U945-S4390 14.0-Inch Ultrabook Review

List Price: $799.99
Price: $648.00
You Save: $151.99 (19%)

Product Features
Intel Core i5 3317U 2.6 GHz
6 GB DDR3
500 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive, 32 GB Solid-State Drive
14.0-Inch Screen, Mobile Intel® HD graphics with shared graphics memory
Windows 8

Other Opinion

By Geebs

The good
-Performance: with 6GB of RAM and a Core i-5, this computer's performance is solid for an ultrabook. It operates very smoothly.
-Windows 8: It takes a only couple days to get used to. Once you have a grasp on it, it's a very user-friendly OS.
-Weight: good for having a 14 inch screen

The bad
-Build quality: it feels fragile and cheaply built. The screen is shaky and you can feel the plastic case bend when you lift the laptop up with one hand; I don't imagine it would survive well if dropped.
-Speakers: God-awful. Laptop speakers are not supposed to be good, but these made my old Asus sound mind-blowing.

While the speakers are a major detail, I ultimately returned it because of the perceived build quality. Perhaps if you're not going to be moving around with it much at all, this comp might work for you. But if you're on the move, I would look for something with a more solid build.

Samsung Series 3 NP300E5C-A08US 15.6-Inch Laptop Review

List Price: $599.99
Price: $499.99

Product Features
Style: Windows 8
Intel Core i5 3210M 2.50 GHz
4 GB DDR3
500 GB HDD
15.6-Inch Screen
Windows 8

Other Opinion

By Takashi Barreto (Miami, Florida)

If you want to play the latest games, then this is not the laptop for you. If you just play counter strike, league of legends or World of warcraft this one will do.

this laptop can handle games like:
League of Legends (Mid to high graphics)
WoW (Mid to high)
Aion (low to mid)
GTA IV (Low)
Need for Speed Most wanted 2 (Laggy even in low settings)

for everyday use this laptop is fast, and even has settings to make it even faster. It just have one hard disk bay, so if you are planning to install a SSD on this, buy a HDD enclosure. it has one 4 GB RAM stick and you can install another one because it has two RAM slots.

UPDATE 21/12/12

The screen looks bad compared to other screens with the same size and resolution, its kind of weird to say it but its true, the screen looks washed out or up-scaled from a lower resolution or something.

The black shiny part of the notebook gets scratches VERY easily. that was very annoying to me.
The samsung easy settings are very slow to open if you are not planning to buy an SSD, but that's the only slow thing in the laptop, so you can live with it.
It has lots of bloatware installed too.

THE SOUND is horrible. It has a sound quality comparable to cellphone speakers and no bass at all.

The battery is pretty decent. You can easily watch 5 or more hours of video in power saving mode.

Comfortable keyboard BUT when you type make sure to disable the mouse pad since you can easily touch it with your palm and the mouse can go everywhere and click on someting you don't want it to click on.

The mouse pad has gesture capabilities, but the gestures keep turning off. I had to go to mouse settings to disable and enable again the touch pad in order to turn it on again. I do this almost every day. Very annoying. I contacted samsung support center before i figured out how to fix it myself. they told me to completely reset the machine. I did it and the same story happens. I contacted them several other times for other concerns with no solutions. in other words the Samsung support center is USELESS.

It gets really hot while playing games while on my lap so i recommend using this laptop with a cooling pad and/or in a table.

The plastic body's silver paint get scratched very easily too.

Well. I'm kind of disappointed for all these things. if I were an average computer user I would have returned it long ago, but luckily I can fix my own problems with this laptop and I have no time or money to do that (I live overseas).

If you don't mind all these problems go ahead and buy it, but to be honest... all that headache doesn't worth 600 dollars (I bought it only because it was at 500 dollars before holidays). there are many other good alternatives to this one with the same specs and lower prices. you just have to search a little bit.