HP (Hewlett-Packard) Pavilion dv4040us Notebook

A great product from Hp

Strengths: 1GB RAM, 100GB hard drive, Brightview screen,Quick play feature,Remote control.

Weaknesses: Integrated video card, 4200 RPM hard drive, Average battery life.

Summary: This is my first Hp notebook (always been a Dell user) and I am extremely pleased with the switch so far.I was a bit skeptical about buying a Hp laptop because of reliability issues my friends had in the past,but so far so good. This machine is extremely well designed and feels solid (except for the keyboard).It comes with a huge amount of memory(1 GB) and Hard drive (100GB).However, the downside here is that the the hard drive is 4200 RPM and boot up takes some time.The screen on this notebook is awesome, good for DVDs and other multimedia stuff.The other downside to this notebook is the integrated video card.Because of the integrated video card this notebook just stops short of being an ultimate multimedia notebook.The video card uses 128MB of the system memory, but with 1 gig of RAM this is not an huge issue in terms of performance.It also features a DL DVD burner (NEC burner, one of the best in the market, an integrated SD card slot, firewire port and 4 USB ports.The remote is well designed and it just fits itself into the PCMCIA slot on the notebook.It also features Quickplay where you can play your DVDs and music without booting Windows.On the whole this notebook is one of the best desktop replacements in the market and should give the Dell inspiron 6000 a run for its money.

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Good All-Arounder

Strengths: 1gig ram - gotta like that 100gig hd - plenty of storage dvd/rw and wifi - back up data and get it wirelessly

Weaknesses: Resolution could be a bit higher, although 1280x800 is fine for most end users. Would like the batter life to be about 1 hour longer. Non-Dedicated Graphics Processor

Summary: This HP is a great all-around laptop. It runs majority of my applications just fine. I would have like to have seen a dedicated graphics processor in this machine, but the integrated intel does fine. The resolution could have been higher, but as I mentioned in weaknesses, the standard WXGA resolution is more than adequete for the average user. This laptop is not for any gaming purposes, and that is what I said I would like to have the dedicated GPU. The full gig of ram is a nice standard feature, and having multiple programs running at 1 time had no problems. The 100gig hard drive was plenty enough storage to backup full movies that I owned, and was plenty of space to put my entire music collection on it. A portable media entertainment machine is what this laptop could pass as. The hard drive being that it is 4200 rpm, is a little slower then I would have wanted, but it makes up for it in the amount of storage. I would recommend this laptop to any non-gamer out there and to any business professionals who need something with plenty of storage.

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Incredible laptop out of the box!

Strengths: Loaded, fast, looks good, DL DVD burner, widescreen, QuickPlay

Weaknesses: Battery life, no CF reader, a bit on heavy side.

Summary: 2005-12-18 11:35:25 When I saw the clearance price on this laptop, I was in awe. When I looked at it's configuration, my jaw hit the floor! I was waiting around for a good enough deal on another brand laptop, and I'm glad I waited because...

This laptop has everything I was looking for, and then some. It has a simple-yet-sleek design (nice blue leds on black and silver), and the 1.73GHz Pentium M and 1GB RAM makes the performance as impressive as the looks. 100GB of hard drive space on a laptop is good enough for me, and more than you get with most other laptops. The shiny and sharp BrightView widescreen is a big plus, but you do have to watch out for glare.

All the connections you could want are there...VGA, S-video, USB, FireWire, modem, NIC, headphone, microphone...it even has a media reader, though it does not support Compact Flash. I think it was a good call by HP to put all the connections on the sides instead of the back, and that was further enhanced by the labeling of each port on the plastic area around the keyboard accordingly. All that equals to you not having to flip your laptop on it's side or lean over the LCD to find the right connection.

Although I don't use it to watch DVDs much, the QuickPlay feature comes in handy when you want to relax with a movie or some music without having to hassle with loading Windows.

As stated above, I don't use this laptop to watch movies much, mainly because of my one major complaint against it...short battery life. I get an average of 2.5 hours on this laptop when surfing the web using wireless. To chime in with another reviewer, the battery will probably be drained after watching one DVD. I can forgive this fault, since I normally don't use this laptop on the go, but more at different locations where I can plug it in. The weight also may bother some people, but again, it's not a big issue for me b/c I don't carry this laptop for long periods of time or over long distances. Plus, you can't really expect a laptop this decked out, with a 15.4" widescreen LCD, to be lightweight, too. As for the lack of Compact Flash support, no biggie because I have an external USB 12-in-1 media reader.

Overall, I'm REALLY impressed with this laptop. I can take it anywhere and use it and not miss my desktop b/c it's just as fast. Everyone asks me about it, and they are usually impressed with the specs and the nice, big screen. I can heartily recommend this laptop. If, like me, battery life is not top priority for you, then you will be duly impressed. However, if you will be using your laptop mostly on battery, then perhaps you should look for a smaller laptop, or one with an extended battery. Good luck!

Oh, and did I mention it comes with a dual-layer DVD burner?

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Nice lappy

Strengths: Lots of features, cool remote

Weaknesses: little heavy, stock battery could be better

Summary: This is definitely a multimedia geared laptop, the remote that fits in the side of the laptop is awesome. The Quickplay feature is really nice, takes under 20 seconds to fire up a DVD without having to boot into Windows. The laptop is quick and responsive with plenty of memory and a nice dual layer multi-format DVD writer.

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HP pavilion DV4040US notebook

Strengths: solid body, attactive , loaded features. big screen, double layer DVDRV

Weaknesses: lots of crap from HP loaded in it

Summary: I bought this lappy from officedepot a couple of weeks back and love it since then. The screen is really good and the contrast is great on it. The laptop is fully loaded with big ram and HD. The processor is fast.

The only thing i didn't like abt it was that it takes time to boot up. had to clear up the crappy softwares preinstalled in it.

The media version is added feature in this lappy. Goes great with my HP IPAQ.

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Nice

Strengths: Excellent performance w/o needing any upgrades from its basic configuration--comes with everything I need.

Weaknesses: As with a lot of laptops, battery life could be a bit longer. No dedicated video card.

Summary: Exceeded my expectations. I was a bit skeptical about purchasing an HP laptop (I had a roommate in college who had an HP desktop that was plagued with problems), but I found a deal on this laptop I couldn't pass up. At this point, I couldn't be happier with my purchase. Laptop quality seems excellent, it's packed with features, and I'm looking forward to a few great years of productivity.

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Poor Quality and Service

Strengths: cheap

Weaknesses: poor quality and HP service

Summary: I have owned an HP Pavilion 4000 series notebook for about two years and have sent in for repair four times already. The issues varied from a defective battery, to a defective power supply, to defective system fans and overheating, to locking up unexpectedly. The only consistent factor was the poor customer service I received from HP and the incompetence of the customer support and service outfits for HP.

One of the times, the notebook was returned to me with the HP technician's testing drive installed in it. Another time, the notebook was returned missing all the covers from the bottom (hard drive cover, memory cover, etc.)

This time, the whole computer is missing and the customer support reps do not know the status nor where it is. I have not received assurances from HP that the issue will be resolved anytime soon and all I can get from them is that it is "scheduled" to be shipped to me a week ago.

Extremely poor quality and lack of service make me recommend against purchasing this or any HP notebook.

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Good Workstation Laptop

Strengths: Large HD space, Pentium M, 1GB, Remote if used, Bluetooth, basically this laptop is almost fully loaded

Weaknesses: Build is only decent, some small random problems, graphics card

Summary: This is a nice workstation laptop and also a nice one for media, but this definately is not for gaming. The graphics card is an integrate intel chip which is definately not for gaming. It could play games before the Quake 3 era, so don't expect it to play any new graphic intensive games.

Linux also works well with this laptop. There were some wifi incompatibilities in the beginning but it is now fixed in Linux. I rarely use this laptop for Windows but running the Arch Linux distribution works well.

I also had some problem with turning off the backlight but playing around for a little while it was fixed randomly.

Overall this is an pretty good laptop if you can find it for a good price.

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HP Laptop

Strengths: NA

Weaknesses: NA

Summary: Great laptop comes fully loaded with DVD writer, 100GB drive, 1GB memory and has a good 15.4" screen to boot. its one of the best configured laptops i have come across. its pretty well made and the screen is very bright. Works fast and i havent felt the need to upgrade or add a single thing.

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Robust Laptop

Strengths: Standalone DVD player, Very Fast

Weaknesses: None :)

Summary: This is an excellent laptop plus entertainment unit. The stand alone DVD player rocks. Bluetooth works great as well. The weigh is just 5.7 lbs which is amazing considering a 15.4 WXGA. Looks are very sleek and the HK speaers add to the thrill :) with music

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I love this laptop!

Strengths: price, screen, weight.

Weaknesses: battery life, battery life, battery life!

Summary: I really enjoy my laptop for movies and wireless access. It also looks pretty sleek. The shape of the laptop is different from other laptops. I saw a few at compusa. I definitely think it is a great laptop for the price! Obviously there are better laptops but for the money you definitely get your bang. The remote is cool as others have mentioned. The screen is good for watching movies but don't get too excited because you can't really see anything if you are not directly in front of the screen! I haven't dropped it so don't know how really durable it is. So far it's been great!

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Best Laptop for the money!

Strengths: Beautiful screen and sleek design.

Weaknesses: Battery life

Summary: 2005-10-03 15:39:05 The first thing i noticed was how sleek the design is. The laptop is built for watching mvoies. The speakers are in the front pointing right at the user. The screen is a beautiful wide screen. Unfortunately the battery does not last long enough to watch a movie. I'm not sure if others had better luck. My only complaint would be battery life. I've heard sony laptops have amazing batteries. Unfortunately i can't say the same for the HP.

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great product with solid build and cool features

Strengths: remote control, large hard drive, powerful, lots of features

Weaknesses: a little heavy, don't buy it if you want to carry it around, battery seems to drain away fast.

Summary: Overall, this is a great laptop which substitutes for a powerful desktop, saving you home space. It has a lot of features with good screen, large hard drive, dvd play as well as the remote control. The build is also not bad either.

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HP dv4040us Laptop Computer

Strengths: Can play DVD and CD without booting up Windows, remote control, big hard drive and lots of RAM, DVD burner, runs relatively quite and cool, weights 6.7 lbs., media reader, FireWire.

Weaknesses: Battery life marginal about 2:45 when web browsing, media reader can't read CompactFlash cards, display can't rotate to portrait mode, touchpad has limited functions compared to Dell, glare in LCD.

Summary: Overall a nice laptop if you didn't pay full price. Keyboard is OK, no flex if you pushed on it like some older models did. Screen will reflect any light from behind you, I prefer the matted finish. I can't find any setting to rotate my Dell 20" LCD to portrait mode even with updated drivers. The hard drive is 4200 RPM but benchmark speeds are about the same as a 40GB 5200 RPM drive (the big 100GB size causes that, no space here to explain it though). Remote control can power laptop on and off whether you're in Windows or in the Linux bootup DVD/CD playing mode. Wireless works fine, but no signal strength graph in taskbar area. Overall has more features in some ways than Dell 6000, but less refined in some ways. It's a matter of personal preference, try before you buy. I got mine dirt cheap on close-out, but will probably sell it and make a few bucks, looking for something smaller (12" screen) with ability to do portrait display mode.

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Good mutimedia laptop

Strengths: Because this laptop is fully loaded with features, it's heavier than my previous laptop. Doesn't bother me in the least, but for folks looking to achieve ultimate mobility, this could be a drawback.

Weaknesses: Because this laptop is fully loaded with features, it's heavier than my previous laptop. Doesn't bother me in the least, but for folks looking to achieve ultimate mobility, this could be a drawback.

Summary: Very pleased with my purchase. This laptop is packed with all the features I was hoping to find in a laptop, and the price was right! Very good computer for college students--good multimedia features, plenty of storage, fast processor, generous RAM.

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