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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
YGWYPF: Never been more apt, October 9, 2009
First off, I think everyone is being a little critical of this machine. I recently picked it up at a local retailer in Dallas for less than two benjamins, so maybe if some of those people had gotten it at THAT price point, they might have a different tune. But I digress. First the weak points.
Cons:
1. Yes, the keyboard is awful. 1/3 size right shift key is certainly a deal-breaker for some: I know personally it's how I capitalize and it's nearly impossible on this unit without training yourself not to hit the 'end' key instead. It's also flimsy and overall cheap feeling, they certainly didn't put much thought into it, but it works for short data entry. Wouldn't want to type something this long on it though.
2. There's no blank dummy card for the media reader. Better keep your dust and spills to a minimum, it's certainly exposed.
3. There is no LCD latch. Say goodbye to securely closed lid, and hope to god the hinges never start to get loose.
4. It ships /w Open Office. I don't consider this bloatware, and I love open source, but this suite will NEVER replace good ol Office. EVER. It should have just been an option to install from CD or whatever.
5. The battery life isn't what is claimed. In my tests, I could get to 4 hours and some change of straight use, but that's with wifi OFF, no ethernet, no multimedia, minimal multitasking, and letting it go into standby if I had to go to the bathroom or got distracted by something else. You will NOT EVER get 6 hours out of these batteries. They should have just come clean on this. Maybe I really need to fully charge/discharge it a few more times, but I get the feeling what other people say about this is true. Also, charging three hours just to get three hours (or so)? That's pretty lame.
6. Velocity. Why is it a con? Because who knows them? No one. Will they honor the warranty? Who knows. Will the battery erupt in hell flames? Could happen. Will the thing crack and break in half in less than a month? A possibility. I simply don't know what to expect in the future of this device.
7. As expected, BIOS options are practically non-existent. That's to be expected, but still disappointing. If you like being able to change your date and time, you'll be in heaven. Anything else... well.....nope.
8. Included documentation is kind of a joke. Beyond teaching the basics of what a touchpad IS, they also tell you such helpful things as what the Fn keys does, and how to turn your laptop on and off. That's about it.
9. Speakers. At max volume it's tinny and shallow. I didn't expect them to be fantastic, but they are no more than glorified earbuds embedded in the side of the case.
Pros:
1. It ships with -ZERO- bloatware! Thank god, no spending an hour or two removing crappy trials of software you never wanted.
2. It's quick as all get out. With no bloatware to slow it down, and 'adjusting for best performance' /w visual effects (keeping the theme of course) this little machine is extra snappy, even with spreadsheets, webpages, hamachi, VPN, outlook, virus protection, and other stuff running. I'm still thrilled such modest specs can produce such surprising speed.
3. Stable wireless. Alot of netbooks are plagued by somewhat flaky WLAN, this unit has been solid, picking up access points further away than my other computers can, and having more bars in more places (where did that come from?)
4. It's not NEARLY as thick and bulky as it looks in the marketing photos. When I went out ot look at this, I was really expecting a sub-notebook, kind of clunky and bigger than most netbooks. It's not. For whatever reason most of the photos of it make it look about 30-40% larger than it is. It's very light and very small.
5. VGA PORT! Some netbooks are leaving this out now. Give me a break. You have to have this, and this does.
6. I think this is clever but some people might find it annoying. In a bid to save battery life, the laptop, upon reboot, always shuts the WIFI OFF. That way, unless you need it, it's not on, sucking juice. It did, of course, confuse me the first time I rebooted and my wireless wasn't working anymore.
7. The included case. Some might think it's cheesy, but I think it's a good admission on their part. They know this is a fragile product, and you should not treat it like a toy. Keeping the overall price point low by including a case, however cheap, is a good marketing strategy if you ask me. Now if they had included a little mouse too, I would really been impressed. And it may be cheap, but it still looks nice and will offer decent protection from scratches and scuffs.
In-betweens:
1. Webcam. It's been a looonnnggg time since I've actually used one. I think my first was a logitech quickcam, you know the one. This one has a MUCH better one, at least in terms of still images. There is still alot of ghosting during motion.
Overall, in terms of value, this netbook is incredible. It's got some quirks, but I can overlook them, and maybe you can too. Hope this helps.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It takes some time to get used to it, June 4, 2009
This review is from: Velocity Micro Notemagix M10 Gx 10.2-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Burgundy (Personal Computers)
I bought this to have something on the go that can last a long time and it does that. I did have problems trying to get online, but function F1 fixed that right up for me. Besides that getting used to the smaller keyboard takes all of an hour or so. As for the speed, its quick enough. Just wondering if upgrading the speed will be worth it on this little guy. Long story short, it looks good, the case is nice and it came quick. Thanks.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some issues, but overall very usable so far., January 14, 2010
This review is from: Velocity Micro Notemagix M10 Gx 10.2-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Burgundy (Personal Computers)
I bought one of these from a local retailer, open box. The previous owner only had it for a single day before returning it, so I was expecting some kind of trouble. It didn't take long to realize why they returned it, but the problems were easily fixable on my own end. The item had been pre-installed with Windows XP32, but not all of the drivers were properly installed.
The biggest problem was that neither the WLAN nor the Ethernet drivers were installed. The included driver DVD also did not have any drivers for Ethernet or WLAN that worked on XP, so I was forced to look around for hours to find the correct drivers on my other computer while not knowing the specifics of the components (not not listed anywhere). Fortunately, the USB drivers were installed so once found, I could put it on my flash drive. For anyone searching for "Velocity Micro Notemagix M10 Wireless Drivers," the needed driver is for the VIA VT6656 WLAN, which is available in a rather out-of-the-way spot in Velocity's support page, or through VIA.
Once that was done, the video and SMBus drivers were simple through Intel's little tools on their support page. The chipset is a 945GME Express, if you're looking for those drivers. The audio and Ethernet drivers will be picked up through "Reinstall Drivers" from Device Manager once you have the WLAN working.
Many people have complained about the battery life, but they need to keep in mind that "6 hours" is the absolute maximum you will get, with volume muted, wireless turned off, no extra peripherals, etc. I managed to get 4 hours unplugged with a USB mouse, volume at 70%, wireless on, watching videos, so it is by no means abysmal. If you plan to be out for a while, pack the cord in your purse/backpack/briefcase. There's no way you would walk around for too long with the netbook alone, even with the cute carrying case as it lacks a handle/strap, so tossing the cord in too is reasonable.
Now, I assume that my experience was a rather uncommon case, and once I resolved the issues through my impressive computer savvy-ness I was quite impressed with the little bugger. It starts up quickly, runs well enough, and keeps the large left shift that I usually use for typing caps. It's very small and light with an acceptable screen size. Like most laptops, it does tend to get rather hot if you're using it on your lap. However, it's the HDD and RAM that heat up and not the battery, so the likelihood of a battery failure due to temperature seems low enough. The battery is also simple to eject, so if you absolutely have to be out and about without any chance to plug in for an extended period, it is simple enough to carry an extra battery.
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