 So Far, So Good |
| Review Date: April 29, 2010 |
| Reviewer: G. Harris, olympic peninsula |
It seems that there is a mixed bag a user experiences with the HP-dv4. So, I will throw in my two cents, be it similar to others here. My wife and I had been using a Dell 8600 desktop for a few years. We packed it with the maximum speed possible and HDD space that was logical. I did not want to do too much though, knowing that Windows 7 was on the horizon. We have been satisfied with XP on the old Dell. Once W-7 hit the streets, we thought maybe it was time to dump the non-portibility and see if we could make the move over to a laptop. I read a bunch of reviews for this product and others in the $500 to $800 range and settled on the HP.
The Gateway looked intriging with more features than that of the HP dv4 (and a slightly lower price). And the Dell equivalent was also appealing ("tank-like" build quality). But, with Gateway there seems to be a slew of troubles. The overall "cheapness" (sorry Frank Z.; I just like the term for descripton here) of the Gateway just took it out of the running. And with the Dell (as sturdy as they are and reputation to boot), are on the high-end of the price-point for a medium level laptop (of which this dv4 is also). With the Dell, to get the features the dv4 had, you are on the high end of this price range and possibly getting outside of the range we were trying to stay in. I looked at Sony and IBM, but the Sony (though a really well built and an ergo-nice unit) was again priced high vs. the features of the dv4. And the IBM seemed to have lately just turned the corner on quality. I mean the corner that it turned was to the "dark side".
As you can tell, I am making most of my decision based on others and my 'gut-feel" with some touch time at the retail outlets, like Best Buy. This laptop just has that better feel to it. Construction is fairly solid, keyboard feels very good (not Mac-like, but much better feel that say the Gateway or IBM), layout around the keyboard is logical (I like the touch-sensor volume and wi-fi). Speakers are of great reputation (Altec Lansing), but average sonic quality. Oh well, what can you expect from a laptop. Others have mentioned the touch pad was a little quirky straight out of the box. But, I worked that out in the pointers features option. So, it works well now. The HP Media Center is not what I would chose, but this laptop is mostly for my wife to use and not me. She is happy with it as is. The DVD drive functions fine. There are enough IO connections that we would never run out. Another USB connection would have been nice, as others have mentioned. But, where would it go? No more room on either side of the unit.... And, the output through HDMI is great. Movies on the DVD player look great on our 47" Samsung LCD. Even the TV shows that we miss and watch on network web sites look good on the same output-to-TV.
So, being light users that we are (some of the reason of going down from desktop to laptop - no need for all the bulk and physical "anchoring") this unit is "so far, so good". We have had it since January of 2010 and I hope that some of the problems encountered by other owners does not befall us.
This review / opinion may not help you make your decison. But, as with others that I read before buying, those personal opinions did help point me to the HP dv4 to make sure I at least give them a try at taking my money.. Maybe this guys opinion might lead you to beleive in your own "gut feel". Go try it at a retailer and see how it feels to you.... |
Sleek, light-weight, fast
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| Review Date: April 26, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Amber N. Wilson, Indianapolis, IN |
I work from home, and I use this computer for everything. I wanted to find a computer that I could travel with, and to replace my old Gateway notebook. I was leaning towards Toshiba throughout my online research, but when I saw this in the store, I was intrigued. It is a beautiful design (resembling a Mac), the screen is the perfect size, and it is light-weight. I drive around a lot for my job, and carry this computer around with me comfortably. I was amazed at how fast it starts up, granted I removed some bloat-ware. I recommend removing the pre-installed anti-virus software from any new computer. I also use this computer for basic internet functions (Facebook, e-mails, browsing), but I also watch a lot of movies and TV shows, too. I bought a VGA cable to connect to the plasma TV, and the picture looks great (compared to my boyfriend's older laptop). The video card is just amazing. I think watching a movie through my computer on the TV actually looks better than watching a DVD.
The only complaint I have about this notebook, which is true for all newer HP notebooks, is the touchpad. It's not easy to scroll webpages sometimes, and the sensitivity varies. Sometimes it is hard to select by tapping, and other times, I accidentally click on something because it is too sensitive. I would recommend getting a wireless mouse, and disabling the touchpad. Overall, I am very impressed with HP's effort. I bought the computer for $600 at Best Buy, which I thought was a pretty good deal. It's super fast, has great picture quality, and serves all of my needs. I definitely recommend this computer.
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My laptop
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| Review Date: April 5, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Chan Sandy, Trinidad and Tobago |
Hey every1 i ordered this on the 10th of dec 09.
Am in the caribbean ,when i got it i was so happy casue i needed a laptop for school and work. I've had my destop for 8yrs n needed a change.
Its has been woorkin fine for the last 3mths UNTIL last thursday when my harddrive died.
I wouldnt advise anyone to buy this laptop. Befor i bought it i heard of everyone sayin how the drives are the 1st to go.Please keep ur money n if u can buy a Apple if u cant beacuse of the price but a sony or a dell.
I should have kept my money n bought something else. |
Horrible, HP laptops overheat and last a year at the most, bad invesment.
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| Review Date: March 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Jonathan Trier, |
ATTENTION:
HP laptops will give you nothing but problems in the end. Do not purchase HP laptops, they are over priced and will be of no benefit to you in the end. To those who enjoy spending thousands of dollars for a paper weight then go ahead. Once the problems happens dont expect HP support to help you either, I have read more compaints about HP support than I can count and I myself had the terrible experience of dealing with them. In adidition if HP continues to treat its customers with this lack om empathy they won't even be around long enough to help you with your fualty computer your about to purchase. Guys, honestly just don't do it. |
OK-after much work
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| Review Date: March 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: E. Gratis, |
This computer has a wonderful exterior design. The processor power that you get for your money is pretty decent for a laptop. Staples sold it 5 fifty on sale last year though, so it is sort of expensive here on amazon. I think I am hesitant to ever buy anything by HP again too, because for the first month or more it was randomly freezing in an infinite loop (the fan kicking on full blast, and the screen and all controlls freezing). It only froze at (seemingly) random times though. HP tech support remotely assisted, then troubleshot over the phone for at least a couple hours. Their solutions did not work. Eventually, we sent it in (at their expense), and they swapped out the HDD. Turns out it came corrupted. (We couldn't just burn the system restore disks since it was corrupted, and freezing) Now it works fine.
You also need to download and run the official Norton Removal Tool available free from Symantec's website to remove the free trial version of Norton. There is other bloatware too, so you can speed it up if you disable the support center from automatically running. (can't remember what all the bloat is called, but I never used it). Be aware that HP software can do strange and horrible things, like the printer "network devices" service that constantly accesses my HDD if I let it run.
All in all, after two consecutive problematic Pavilions, and one printer that broke mechanically and another with malfunctioning drivers, I am a little leary of HP. All in all though, I can't let the sum of all my HP experiences interfere in my review of this single notebook, but still, there are a lot of better options out there in my opinion, and at good prices too. I think this one is very good looking, but may not be the best choice. Check out all the cheap netbooks and tablets out there, if you can get by with less power/bulk. If not, this one may do the trick for you. As a home-laptop/desktop, this one may work well. It sacrifices portability for good screen size. Its rating really depends on your intended use, but for quality it is average. 3-stars. |
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February 4th, 2010
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