Sharp Actius PC-AV18 Laptop (AMD Athlon-XP 1800+, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, CD-RW/DVD Drive)

Other products by Sharp

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13.7 x 8.1 x 13 inches ; 10.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 11 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000CFSRP
• Item model number: PC-AV18
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,912 in Computers & PC Hardware (See Bestsellers in Computers & PC Hardware)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 1, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description
Though not a power user's dream rig, the petite Sharp Actius PC-AV18 Notebook PC is instead designed for those who need a conveniently portable light-duty mobile solution that won't break the bank. Exceedingly compact at a mere 11.1 by 9.4 by 1.04 inches and 3.89 lbs. (4.33 lbs with optical drive), the Actius PC-AV18 fits comfortably in a briefcase and even some handbags, and is ready for virtually any situation and environment.

Driven by a low voltage mobile AMD Athlon XP-M processor 1800+ running at 1.533 GHz and 256 MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM memory (expandable to 768 MB), the Actius PC-MV14 will easily handle most standard 2D tasks such as word processing, spreadsheets, Internet surfing, contact management, and basic graphic design. However, it is not recommended for sophisticated business apps, high-end 2D graphics or complex multitasking. The system's integrated S3 Graphics ProSavage 8 video accelerator features just 32 MB of shared (not dedicated) memory, and is therefore adequate for older 3D games and midlevel 3D graphics and animation, but not for more advanced 3D tasks.

The unit's 40 GB hard disk sports lots of space for basic files and programs, but not quite enough for true multimedia mavens. Sharp has also included an adept optical drive that supports both CD playing and burning and DVD playing, thus allowing you to listen to audio discs, backup your data to digital media, and watch your favorite movies on the fold-open 12.1-inch active matrix display. DVD writing is not supported.

For such a small and affordable unit, the Actius PC-AV18 is very well connected. Communication options include a 100Base-TX/10Base-T LAN port for fast network interaction and a 56K modem for dial-up environments. Other amenities include a pair of fast USB 2.0 ports for data streaming with external devices such as scanners and digital cameras, an IEEE 1394 FireWire port (commonly used for downloading from digital camcorders), a touch-sensitive control pad with Intelli-wheel feature, an SPDIF audio out jack for high-quality digital sound, and a single mono speaker.

Estimated battery life is average at 2.9 hours with the included standard battery. With an optional second battery, that figure jumps to a commendable 5.8 hours.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice, Light Machine at a Great Price, November 15, 2003

By A Customer

My Sharp PC-AV18 is a nice little machine. Good performance, reliable (so far), decent features, and light as all get out. Overall, it seems well built, although one could justly accuse the keyboard of being a bit on the flimsy side. What sold me, however, was the price. Sony charges about twice as much for a comparable unit! If you are looking for a light laptop that won't deplete your bank account, you should check this one out.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Smallest with a CDRW/DVD and inexpensive but..., June 18, 2004

By	Chris S. (California, USA) - See all my reviews

I purchased this laptop in April of 2004. My goal was to find the smallest and lightest laptop with a CDRW/DVD for the best price. My search led me to the Sharp AV18 and it met my needs well. I was able to forgive the slow speed since I knew ahead of time that the processor was slightly dated. The screen is great and I can live with the keyboard's slightly smaller size.

What makes me slightly sour is the fact that Sharp's support is completely nonexistent. First off, good luck in finding the web support area for this laptop. When you think you've found it, you haven't. Although the main sharp website lulls you into to thinking you are at the main support area for their laptops, a quick google tells me otherwise. I found the real support site by accident (It's listed only as an IP address and not a name). This is dumb. But what makes matters worse is that the support area only has a few FAQ's that are VERY basic and a few files that are already found on the 3rd CD that comes with the laptop. What? No updates? No new bios's? No new drivers? NOPE, just the same exact versions that came with the CD. This laptop is over a year old yet Sharp has done zero to correct some of the bugs in the Bios as well as provide the latest and greatest drivers. On top of that, my experience with calling in to support has been less than stellar. Yes, they answered the phone right away but all of my questions were "beyond what they could provide". Dare to ask about the Mini-PCI slot on the back or the card that is in there (It's the win-modem by the way. Information courtesy of the FCC's site) and you'll get rebuffed quickly. In fact, they don't want you to know anything about the laptop. Just use it the way we tell you to and don't ask questions.

To be fair, I have been satisfied with the laptop and I love the size and weight. I just wish it was a Toshiba or IBM as I have learned to appreciate a good support website and a willingness to help me with my questions.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A piece of junk, October 14, 2004

By	Jennifer - See all my reviews

I purchased a Sharp AV-18 in August of 2003 thinking that I got a really good notebook at a good price. I trusted the Sharp brand. That was dumb of me. Not only did the whole thing crash in November, causing me to have to reformat my hard drive 3 times, I ended up having to send it back entirely and getting a whole new computer. It is now October of 2004 and the CD/DVD drive doesn't work. Can their technical support staff provide any other suggestions than "use the recovery disc"? No. ( I can't use it because my computer doesn't recognize any disc, period.) So yet again I have to send in my computer for service. The previous reviewer's comment about non-existent support is right on the money---it just simply does not exist in any sufficient form.

Spend the money and get a different brand--it will save you money in the long run. I'm a very unhappy owner.