 MacBook Killer?!? |
| Review Date: November 8, 2009 |
| Reviewer: K. Kalb, Santa Barbaa, CA |
This is a beautiful machine. Check it out -- 4.2 lbs, 1" thick, Magnesium case, 7200 rpm HDD, spectacular HD display, 4 GB memory, 320 GB Hard Drive, Iconic keyboard Windows 7, 4 USB ports, HDMI port, great WiFi,etc. etc. All for under $600! It's astonishing. One begins to wonder what truck they steal these off of. Yes, my title is correct, "Macbook Killer." Look at the two machines side by side -- they are pretty much the same thing. Yes, the Macbook Pro has a backlit keyboard, ok. But the DM3 has an HDMI port, which means I can attach it to my HDTV and play Neflix or Itunes movies, or youtube, etc. in High Definition. Sure, it has no optical drive, but folks, cd's and dvd's are becoming old technology, and being replaced by thumb/jump drives. Even software will be coming on these. Actually, the DM3 weighs almsot a pound less than a Macbook by eliminating the optical drive, and the advantages of using an external drive are many. Keyboards are almost identical, case is a toss up, display's are similar, windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard has its plusses and minuses going both ways. Yes, the Macbook is more powerful for high intensity graphics, but if you are using your computer as most people do, you will not notice the difference. But the knockout comes at checkout: It is less than 1/2 the price of a similarly configured 13" Macbook Pro!
It is so far superior to any netbook that there is no comparison there. Yes, it's not perfect. It does re-charge slowly, and the trackpad takes some getting used to. But it has so many fantastic features, when you factor in the price, it is the best value out there in ultraportable computing.
I have been using portable computers since the mid-eighties when they were 25 pounds with tiny monochrome screens floppy drives and cost $3000. Now for under $600, they are 1/6th the weight, yet 100 times as fast with 3000 times the storage and much more functionality. Think about how amazing this is! You will love this little machine. |
More usable than a Netbook, more affordable than a Laptop
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| Review Date: November 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Webster Clickworthy, |
This laptop is a winner! I'd rather have a fully functioning laptop than a Netbook that can't keep up. I've had it for a week and don't regret buying it.
Pros:
HDMI works well for watching Hulu on my HDTV.
Brushed metal case means fingerprints aren't a problem.
Quiet fan and hard-drive.
Wi-Fi is easy to set up (Windows 7 is rock solid).
Light-weight and easy to carry or stick into a travel bag.
13.3 screen size is a happy medium between a Netbook and a Laptop.
Keyboard is easy to use.
4 Gig of RAM is snappy.
13.3 screen size is a happy medium between a Netbook and a Laptop.
Cons:
Battery slowly drains if not plugged in.
Mouse pad wants to start Sticky Keys at times. Fixed by disabling Sticky Keys. Occasionally the mouse pad is briefly unresponsive.
Notes:
Although the battery lost 10% of its charge in 30 minutes while surfing the Web in normal mode, it recharged to 100% very quickly.
A CD drive would sap energy, which is why it's not included (you can buy an external one if you need it).
Overall, this is a great buy for the price. I really enjoy using it. |
Sleek, feature rich and a great netbook alternative
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| Review Date: December 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: M. Erb, Syracuse, NY |
I was looking for a laptop with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and had no real clear idea of what I might end up with. What I did know is that I didn't want to spend more than $500. I spent quite a few days looking at laptops... HP, Compaq, Toshiba, Acer, Asus, Lenovo and I settled on the HP dm3-1030US. It was love at first sight really. The price was right at my upper limit... 499 at Staples after rebate.
In my research I read quite a few "professional" reviews... like on Wired, cnet, ZDnet and a few others. I was a little hesitant to buy this because quite a few of the reviews characterized the laptop as not being a good value, having a lousy touchpad, not having a good video card and a bunch of other hooey. I can tell you that had I listened to those other reviews, I wouldn't be enjoying what has turned out to be one of the nicest laptops I've ever owned.
I really like the heft and quality of the case in this laptop. It's not a "heavy" heft, but the kind of heft that makes you realize you've got a well-built computer in your hands. If you've ever picked up a cheap, under $400 laptop you should know what I mean. Those cheap computers are creaky when you pick them up by one corner. You actually don't pick them up by one corner for fear that the thing will crack in half. This has an aluminum/magnesium case that is just about one of the most attractive laptops I've seen. Sort of a brushed aluminum look on the top of the case that totally resists fingerprints and smudges... well except for the touchapd which is smooth and shiny and can be used as a mirror in a pinch. I'll spend more time on the touchpad a bit later on.
I've never had a laptop with a chiclet style keyboard but I've quickly grown to like how it feels and works. One minor quibble is with the function keys. The actual writing of the "F1, F2, F3, etc" is very faint and difficult to see in dim light. So if you don't know exactly where each funciton key is, you'll be groping a little bit.
I also was strongly attracted to this laptop because of its features and abundance of ports...4-USB ports, monitor port, HDMI port, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone and microphone jacks. The display is gorgeous... bright from edge to edge and sharp. I like that it uses LED backlighting as this helps with battery life and doesn't tend to dim in older age as florescent bulbs tend to do. The HDMI port is amazing because I can now watch Netflix streaming movies on my flat-screen TV and I can also use the TV as a gigantic desktop if I want to... and I do want to...it's amazing.
The battery life is not as good as advertised. I get no more than 4 hours with WIFI on and screen at 3-steps below full-brightness. Although that is at least 2 hours more than I used to get with my old Acer laptop, it's not nearly as good as the "up to 5.5 hours" that is advertised for this laptop. Maybe you'll get 5.5 hours if your hooked up via ethernet and aren't actually doing anything, But don't buy this thinking you are going to get 5.5 hours, you won't. But I'm not complaining... 4 hours is good for me. Another minor quibble has to do with the power adaptor plug. Apple has the best power adaptor, hands down. The power adaptor on this computer sticks out and could easily be snapped off if you weren't careful. If used on a desk, this becomes less of a problem, but if you're always plugging in at coffee shops or wherever, you'll need to be sure your power cord isn't in a position of getting side-swipped by a passing humanoid.
The speakers sound a little better than OK but aren't very loud. I've heard much louder on laptops. That's not a huge deal for me because I'm either wearing headphones, earbuds or am hooked up to an external speaker system. Their sufficient I guess but not stellar. It doesn't help that they are sort of on the underside of the computer. But it's not a deal-breaker.
The touchpad is probably the weakest link on this computer. I hate the touchpad. But I hate most touchpads. The best touchpad I've used was on a Toshiba Satellite... it had a subtle textures lines on it and it was really responsive and had good buttons at the bottom. The HP touchpad is shiny and looks quite smooth but yet my fingers sort of drag on it and the buttons are mushy and too narrow for my tastes. I usually use a trackball anyway so this isn't really deal-breaker for me either, but if you mainly use the touchpad, be sure to check it out in a store before purchase lest you regret your decision because of the touchpad.
The webcam works well and so does the built-in mic. No complaints about either. 4GB of RAM is pretty generous and 320GB hard drive is also plenty for a laptop that is not my primary computer. I'm not a gamer, so the lack of a high end graphics card doesn't phase me in the least. I've not had any problems watching movies, youtube videos, or anything else. It works for me. And the 13.3" screen is beautiful with a high resolution of 1366 x 768 that is razor sharp and so bright you won't believe it. I've never had a screen with such brightness. In my daily use I have the brightness set 2 or 3 "clicks" below maximum brightness.
It's quite a package for just under 500 bucks. Would it be a good value at 650? You'll have to decide that for yourself. Since I was almost ready to spend almost 400 on a netbook, I'm so happy that I spent a bit more and got so much more computer than what a netbook could have provided.
I did notice that a BIOS update is available on the HP website for this laptop and I have upgraded as a result. Other than that, everything has been smooth sailing. A few people have been complaining about the touchpad not waking up properly from sleep and I too have experienced this. What I've discovered is that the problem can be mitigated using either one of these three methods...
1. Before you put your laptop to sleep, depress the little button between the space bar and the touchpad to disengage the touchpad. Then put your laptop to sleep. When you wake the laptop, just push the button again so that it turns from amber to white and you should be good to go.
2. You can go to the Start menu, click on "Devices and printers" and right click on the laptop icon and choose Mouse Settings then select the "Multitouch gestures" tab and deselect the three checkboxes.
3. Just let the computer wake up for about 10-15 seconds before you touch the touchpad. That might be all you need to do.
I love my new dm3-1030US and can't bring myself to dock it a point for the touchpad or battery life. Overall I think it is a solid, feature rich, good performing and very attractive laptop. Add in a Samsung DVD writer for 50 bucks Samsung USB 2.0 8x DVD Writer External Optical Drive for Mac and PC SE-S084C/RSBN (Gloss Black) and you've got pretty much all your bases covered.
UPDATE: JANUARY 30, 2010
The touchpad issue has been resolved by a new BIOS update available on the HP website. So the touchpad "issue" is no longer an issue at all. |
HP Pavilion DM3
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| Review Date: November 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Corey Broeder, |
| This is a great lap top. Overall I like it more than any other lap top I have ever owned and I have had IBM, Gateway, HP, and Dell. The AMD dual core processor and 4GB of ram make it a very fast computer that can handle my multitasking. I love having the hdmi out to hook up to my hdtv and the 7200 rpm hard drive is also wonderful. The battery life is great. I only have a few minor complaints. First off, the usb ports are very very tight so you have to be overly careful in plugging in any usb cords. Also, it does not have a cd/dvd drive but I guess that is the price you pay to have such a thin, light, and portable lap top. And finally, the speakers produce decent sound but they do not reach a high enough volume. In the end though, I recommend this lap top wholeheartedly because of its speedy performance and build quality. |
Excelent product!
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| Review Date: December 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Jose Luis, Ooltewah, TN |
| I have been working with this computer for over 3 weeks and I haven't had any problem. I recomend it. |
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