averatec

I've had it for about a week now and I'm very pleased. It's small and light and best of all, half the price of a Sony! I've seen both good and bad reviews for this item so I was hesitant to buy one. The construction seems good and it feels nice and solid. The keyboard layout is a little odd, but I'll get used to it. I wish they could remove those stupid "Windows" keys and make the space bar a bit wider. I plugged it into a desktop monitor and was surprised to see it supported up to 1600 x 1200 resolution... and that was just in 32MB video mode.

Pros:
- The price.
- Small and light, a notebook that is actually the size of a notebook!
- Performance, no complaints here! 512MB RAM, 40GB HD, 64MB video, and fast enough for anything I'm likely to do with it.
- DVD+CD-RW combo.

Cons:
- The USB ports could be in a better spot. It makes using a mouse difficult at times.
- The battery life isn't is good as I'd hoped.
- A little on the noise side.
- The speakers aren't very loud, especially with DVDs.

First and foremost, I too was hesitant about buying this laptop given it's mixed ratings. I'm pretty tech savy, so I do my research and I make sure I'm getting a good product before I buy ANY PC. So after reading reviews, I took the plunge, and I myself became a skeptic; the one I took home from a local store had a keyboard that was messed up, typing two characters for each key (talk about weird typing).

However, since buying mine about a month ago, I've been pleased with it's results. I've given serious thought to this review, and will try and point out all the good, and the bad. In a nutshell, you really need to think about WHAT you want to do with your labtop PC before you buy this computer. First let's look at the basics.

First, if you're looking for long battery life, this isn't the one for you. In fact, if battery life is very important to you, just spend the extra cash for one with Intel's Centrino Mobile Technology (you can't beat them for battery power). Averatec's PC will give you about 2.5 hours of battery life on this model (why they say 3 is beyond me). For most people doing typing, spreadsheet work, scanning, etc that's going to be enough. You could always buy a second battery too (they aren't THAT much.) It makes a good PC for Office, Library, Class, Home, etc work. If you're looking to run DVD's all the time, or constantly stay on the Wireless network, then you're not going to get good battery life. It's the ideal PC for a student in my opinion for class; especially given it's small size. The wireless network is also great, and it's easy to cut on and off (button right on the top)... so you can save battery life easily.

The next factor is Size. This labtop is one of the best money can buy for it's size and weight. That's one of the main reasons I looked at it, and purchased it. Sony's smaller labtops cost an arm and a leg, and just aren't worth it. If you need a small, compact PC, Averatec is for you. It's a powerful little PC with a lot built in... again, just consider how much battery life you need. I use mine mostly for work at the University and Documentation stuff. I also will use it for business when I travel for photo's, etc. So to me, this is ideal.

Next thing, like others have said, the keyboard may take some getting used to. But it's a trade for the small size, so I can't complain. It hasn't been a huge annoyance for me; nothing as bad as some make it sound anyway. My main complaint was the same as another reviewer; that the Control key (Ctrl) has been replaced with the Function key and is now situated to the right of this Function key. It can be annoying at times. Other than that, no problems honestly.

Another thing is how the PC can heat up. While I don't personally care how much it heats up, if you do, then you might want to avoid the PC. I've been surprised how heated it gets. Again, if you're using this thing on a desk, no problem. If it's sitting in your lab, just use a book; otherwise avoid the PC... it can get rather warm.

The last thing that I can think about is the Speakers and Sound. This is NOT a PC for good sound quality, it just sounds flat. Again, if you're using this for an Office/Classroom PC, that's not an issue.

One thing I love about Averatec's PC is the three USB ports on the front side on the right. While the location is a bit weird, it's great having them for flash cards, scanner, a mouse, etc.

The PC can also support great monitor resolution... another perk if you're using it in an Office setting with a larger monitor.

Another downside is the fact it lacks a normal Printer cable connection. Most printers use USB now anyway, but it still would be nice to have it at times.

I'll close out with one last thing. Performance wise I'm very impressed. I really pushed my labtop hard to see how much I could get it to run at the same time, and it did very well. I used heavy photo programs, Macromedia Flash, GIS software, etc all at once to test it; not bad if I may say so myself, and I'm very picky about speed. It was one of the reasons I was hesitant to buy it, but AMD has impressed me again here. I also loved the wireless network feature... it's great and I can go anywhere in my house now and surf the net, access files on my desktop PC's, etc. It's great! A lot of University's are building these wireless networks into their campuses now, which makes it even better for the student.

Finally, here's two tips I'd offer:

Calibrate the Battery. You can find the manual for this PC on Averatec's website, or in the "My Documents" folder of your labtop. It takes a loooong time to calibrate, but it's a good way to keep your battery alive longer.

Speaking of calibration, make sure you also calibrate the fan. It's easy to do, just follow the manual as before and it'll help keep the fan quite more.

Overall, I love this PC. I wouldn't trade it back for another one and have no regrets on buying it. It's not perfect by any means, but for the price, size, weight, and performance, you really cannot beat it. It had PC Mags Editor's Choice award for a reason. I too have found it impressive.

If you buy it locally, get the extended warranty. It's always smart to do this with a PC. I did, and I think it'll be worth it if something goes wrong.

I was tired of lugging heavy laptops around; to work, on trips. I didn't wnat to pay $2000+ for a 512 MB laptop. The IBM is light but expensive and you don't even get an optical drive. This laptop has a DVD/CD-burner built-in. This Averatec has been a value purchase. I took it with me to Macedonia on a Northwest Medical Team mission and was able to download digital pictures and recordings then select and burn mini-cds to give to our hosts.

The battery does not last 3 1/2 hours; more like a little over 2. It's a small negative when you literally save $1000.