Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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69 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a Sweet System! Forget the Kids!, July 21, 2008
Truthfully, I bought this unit for the sheer gee whiz factor. It was also not that substantially more expensive than the Asus eee. The base eee costs around $300 but that includes a puny 2 GB HD and no webcam. For roughly $140 more I got a 60 GB hard drive and a webcam.
While the Asus comes with a flash drive generally limited to about 8 GB or less (some newer models come with a standard hard drive), the Classmate comes with a 60 GB hard drive (on the Series 2 model, 30 on the first series). The Amazon website lists the HD as 40, but its actually 60.
My unit was the bone grey model handle and covering with Windows XP Home edition and wireless capability. Straight out of the box this unit located my wireless signal and locked on.
This unit is slightly more bulky than the eee but this is mainly because of better protection. The eee was an accident waiting to happen while the Classmate has rubber bumpers and a protective covering to make sure the kids dont bash it in.
The Classmate is better built than the eee, though. My eee looked nice but creaked and groaned as the cheap plastic parts sometimes meshed. Using the mousepad on the eee was something of a chore, also, as it constantly clicked and flexed. The Classmate is definitely better in that respect. No flex, no play, just solid.
As I later found out from some reviewers, the eee also has a problem with falling apart in any drop more than a few inches high. Although I didnt try it, Im sure the Classmate would fare better, not that I plan to drop it anytime soon.
The only fault I could find is that the computer comes with no owners manual but you can get one for free at www.2gopc.com. Of note, the manual comes in German, English and French which may be why it isnt shipped with the unit (this would put it in violation of NAFTA which requires English, French and Spanish in the U.S.).
My eee booted in 15 seconds with Linux on it but it took a good 2 minutes with XP and 1 GB of RAM. The Classmate took about a minute but Im sure this is due to the rather miniscule 512 MB RAM included. Since the machine utilizes a DDR chip, Im sure I can upgrade to 1 or 2 MB later (one chip instead of two so youll to buy your preference since you cant double stack the chips). Since both units utilize the Celeron chip, the difference in boot times is somewhat confusing when using XP, especially since the eees 1 GB of RAM should make a difference (but it didnt). Making this more confusing is that the eee uses a solid state drive while the Classmate utilizes a 1.8 PATA hard drive spinning at about 4,500 RPM. A sold state hard drive should always boot quicker than a rotating one.
The eees keyboard was an absolute nightmare. It was way too small and difficult to use. The Classmates doesnt appear much larger, but it is easier to use, albeit not as easy as a standard keyboard. Again, its made for kids. Its much better marked than the eees and doesnt require a manual to figure out.
Both manufacturers include a recovery disk for the unit without realizing there is no CD drive in either. Duh! How about a small flash drive instead of a CD for the recovery system?
Both units accept external CD drives, burner or not.
Heat is a problem with these small units but the Classmate doesnt have the heat dissipation problems of the eee. While using the eee it quite often became too hot to leave on my lap. The Classmate never seems to get hot although it gets warm. Part of this may be due to the leather covering on the bottom (which is held on by Velcro and is easily removable to access the RAM and HD).
In the end analysis, Id choose the Classmate any day over the eee. I got rid of the eee after two months of frustration but Ill keep the Classmate!
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet NETBOOK!, June 4, 2008
I had just received my 2GOPC today and I'm very impressed so far. I had purchased this for the kids (8 and 5) since they've trashed a couple of full sized cheap laptops and I could tell this unit can take a beating - it's like a tiny TOUGHBOOK! Performance wise it's pretty speedy with WINDOWS XP and the screen is fantastic - very bright and deep color and the size is perfect. The keyboard is a little small for adults, but not unusable - it has great key travel. The wifi worked well and the little web cam is surprising sharp. Battery life is decent - 3 hours on full brightness primarily surfing the net. The built in handle is bonus too. Truthfully, I've been having so much fun playing with it, it might be a while before the kids actually get their hands on it...
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35 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
You are paying for the kid-friendly form factor, September 12, 2008
I originally purchased this for my 9 year old because the kids computer was losing keys and was sufficiently outdated that it would not run some of the games like the new versions of Zoo Tycoon. I liked the idea that this would have a more durable "kid-friendly" form factor. However, it is woefully underpowered and frankly, not significantly more durable than some of the comparably priced Acer or Asus systems. In addition, the CTL, Acer Aspire and Asus EEe do not have DVD/CD drives which is very inconvenient if you want to run children's games which require the original disk be in the drive in order to run.
I came across an Acer Extensa which is a dual AMD with 2 GB memory. I bought the Extensa at Best Buy for 399 which is less than the CTL or the Asus EEe and the Acer Aspire and it has better specs. It has a larger 14" screen and it is a comparable size to the CTL. While the Extensa comes with Vista and is an "ok" speed, if you wipe it and install Windows XP -- you have a system with performance that should last indefinitely for the kids -- particularly if you use Open Office (a great FREE alternative to MS Office).
So if you want an economical system for the kids that will allow them to play today's memory/CPU intensive games AND be able to do dual duty as a "real system" capable of running office and home productivity suites, check out the Acer Extensa or even the Aspire systems. In the long run, it will be cheaper since you won't be looking at having to upgrade in a year as the needs of the kids and your family changes.
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