Good laptop for the money
Written: Mar 21 '03 (Updated Mar 23 '03)
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Pros: nice size screen, stable system
Cons: Weird volume controls, VERY DELICATE
The Bottom Line: A delicate system that gives a lot of features for a relatively low price.
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| alfortenberry's Full Review: Gateway 400XL PC Notebook |
I purchased the Gateway 400L laptop to replace my ancient Toshiba satellite in August 2002. For the price, it offered everything I needed in a secondary, portable system. The system came standard with a 2.0Ghz Pentium 4 processor, making this the fastest Pentium 4 laptop available for under $1500 at the time I purchased it. A DVD-ROM was also included.
The number one thing to realize when purchasing this laptop is the LCD display is EXTREMELY delicate. It easily separates from the casing and can easily break. Took me only a short week to realize this when I booted up my laptop to a big crack running diagonally across the display. Ordinarily, this isn't something Gateway will replace under the factory warranty (the display replacement costs near $1000 by itself), but technical support and customer service came through for me big time. When you make this purchase, you are definitely getting a commitment to satisfaction from Gateway employees. I advise purchasing the accident coverage for a mere $100, which will cover LCD accidents.
Other than this problem, my experience has been great. While stability can be attributed more to the new and improved Windows XP operating system, this laptop has certainly out performed its competitors. Wary compute-o-philes, like my husband and his friends, were pleasantly surprised my this laptops features and performance. I have used this laptop for many presentations using a projector. I was pleasantly surprised that the system could display a DVD movie both on screen and through the projector. This is something that other laptops cannot do.
I attend school and use the laptop to take notes with. The machine runs quietly for long periods of time, so it does not disturb others in the classroom. I have been disturbed by other systems who have a really loud fan noise. Also, it's pretty lightweight, so it isn't hard to carry from one class to another. With an integrated network card installed, it also easy to simply "plug-in" to any university's existing networking. I am delighted that I don't have to wait for the computers in the library to clear to do my research!
This laptop also features a touch pad versus the joystick control of some other systems. The touch pad is especially sensitive and allows the user to simply tap the pad in place of the left button. This makes navigating the operating system and the Internet quick and easy.
Beside a USB port, this laptop also has an integrated Firewire port. I don't know much about this newer technology (other than MAC systems seem to use it), but at the time of my purchase this was the only PC Notebook with this type of port. This appealed to my sense of value at the time of my purchase.
I do have one design complaint -- the volume controls! Because the controls are integrated into the keyboard as a function control, expect some surprising start ups (especially if booting up in a very quiet classroom). Also, the volume doesn't really get as high as I wish either, which makes it hard to watch a DVD in the car.
Overall, this laptop is a great value for your money as long as you are extra vigilant with the care and storage of your new system. I don't feel that I purchased a cheap system, but a quality product at an excellent price.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1499
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14 inches
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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Epinions.com ID:
alfortenberry
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Member: Amanda Newfield
Location: Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Opinionated writer who likes trying new things, eating new food, and writing about the experience.
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