Funny. A few hours ago Woot was mentioned in an article about how HP only sold 10% of the tablets they sent to Best Buy for sale (25,000 out of 250,000) and only 612 sold on Woot, despite selling them for $50-$100 off at Best Buy and $120 off on Woot.
IMHO HP should go back to making printers. They make a decent printer on par with Epson, and that goes for their scanners and all-in-ones as well, but they suck at doing anything else.
Nothing too spectacular about this but it’s a good value.
PROS
Great 17" screen. I’ve never seen a 17" screen on a sub $400 notebook
LED back lit for reliability and longer battery life
It comes with 4gb. many sub $400 noteboosk come with 4gb
It has a webcam
It has a keypad, which not only helps with data entry but it can help in gaming, and is necessary for typing certain Alt-chars, i.e. Alt-0153 is ™
It has HDMI output which many budget laptops don’t
CONS
SLow 2.0ghz CPU
CPU is old technology. Current notebooks use Intel i-processors, with budget models using i3. They improve energy efficiency and performance
17" is great for a desktop replacement but the weak CPU is not powerful enough to serve such a function
17" makes it harder to find accessories for, i.e. cases cost more
17" makes it less portable, i.e. may not be good for students to lug around
Overall, I’d recommend it for someone on a budget or who doesn’t need too much power, i.e. your grandparents, who may also benefit from the larger screen because of poor eyesight.
I had some time to play with this computer a week ago as I was ‘fixing’ it for a client. Reformatted with the most optimized settings, and this thing is still a hunk of junk.
There is no way I would recommend buying this for any reason or any person. It’s a sluggish computer, it’s HUGE for a laptop, and it’s weird plastic casing feels so cheap. There are so many better computers out there. At this price, you may as well get a high end netbook.
I guess this is a good way to end it. I’ve had this same laptop for two years"refurb" no problems at all except replacing the battery every year. All-in-All its been very good to me.
If I bought this computer I would use its full-sized keyboard to write about how much I once loved Woot! and how, at this moment, after seeing my last post disappear, I am very much over it all. G’nite, Woot. Feelin’ done.
I’ve had an HP Pavilion for a few years now. Love it. I don’t know if all Pavilions are the same, but… Speed and performance has lasted better than Dell or Toshiba or Acer I’ve had in the past. The Pavilion is the model I want when I’m ready to buy again. I tote mine to meetings.
It’s not good for a basic laptop. Everything about it feels cheap, the keyboard, the case, etc. It’s also pretty slow. I’d recommend looking for deals, buying used or buying a high end netbook. At 17", this is a desktop replacement. You can get better desktops + screen for less.
I got this same laptop this past Black Friday, and am in love with it!!! I did lots of research beforehand and this was the best deal out there. Surprisingly, I find that it has a sick graphics card in it (running Fallout 3 New Vegas with no lag). It’s a great buy in my opinion.
We have a 17" now. All we need it for is to surf/shop internet, download family pictures and do a few office docs here and there. Skype grandma once a month or so. Nothing major. We don’t even need the battery-life. We keep it plugged in 99% of the time. Is it still not worth it? Not sure what to do now.
It’s fine for someone who has low processing needs, doesn’t need portability but has no room (or need) for a desktop. This also saves energy, and offer enough portability to easy go from room to room. I think many parents and grandparents fit this category. They can email, videochat with the family, websurf, check out some videos, word process, etc. And yes, it’s powerful enough to watch DVDs too. For $379, why not recommend it?