Foo - Should I be wary of Gateway laptops?

I've decided that the kids need an upgrade on their laptop (old Acer finally gave up the ghost). I will give them my current laptop (also Acer), which means I'm on the prowl for another one for myself. Unfortunately, I have an aversion to buying on-line, which limits my choices greatly. Basically, I'm limited to what the local Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Staples, or Office Depot stocks.

I've been looking at the Best Buy site, and came across the Gateways. Other than they are on the heavy side (my current Acer is heavier), they look like they have the features I would like and have some of the best battery life. Here (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=cat13504&type=page&pageIdentity=searchDriven&useProductString=true&productString=1218044029373*1218041998788*1218044029503&unProductString=1218079752923*1218036213752*1218049412025*1218044028330*1218040476935*1218040477075* 1218043606966*1218040478391*1218036213682*1218047260964&catId=abcat0502003) is a comparison between two of the Gateway models and one HP.

So basically is the Gateway worth the risk? They once were decent, then they fell from grace. Are they on the way back up? Or should I put off acquiring more bike schwag and just get a Sony?

eh......it's not the greatest.....but it'll do the job.

I suggest buying from an office supply store rather than BestBuy. I find they tend to be nicer. :)

Laptops are a commodity. They pretty much all use the same HDD technology, the same RAM and CPU.

I'd say you're as likely to get a machine that will last you for years as a dud from any manufacturer.

I didn't mean the product was nicer, I meant the staff. And the price/value.

I've had a Gateway laptop that I bought my last year of college, and it's been working fine for me for the last 2.5 years. May not be the worlds best machine but mine's been reliable.

I didn't mean the product was nicer, I meant the staff. And the price/value.

Oh yes, I wasn't arguing your point, rather reinforcing it.

Well, the wife decided that Gateway is not to be considered at all. Something about hearing good/bad about all manufacturers, but only bad about Gateway.

So now I'm leaning towards the budget HP or go to the upper end of the budget for the Core 2 Duo powered Toshiba or Sony, seen here (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=cat13504&type=page&pageIdentity=searchDriven&useProductString=true&productString=1218038553190*1218041998788*1218040478391&unProductString=1218044029604*1218040477834*1218038121606*1218038118225*1218038118994*1218016540249* 1218013135598*1218041998162*1218041998632*1218041150023*1218041148373*1218041150857*1218041149529*12 18041149246&catId=abcat0502003).

If I had the cash, I would get one of those Mac Air's. I've floated air biscuits that weighed more than that thing.

My laptop is also a Gateway. It wasn't my first choice, but I got it on sale and threw some extra RAM in it. June will be two years of reliable use and I've lived in three different states since buying it. They are generally as reliable as any other mainstream laptop.

I can't believe Gateway is still in business. I could have sworn they finished off their death spiral years ago.

Oh yes, I wasn't arguing your point, rather reinforcing it.

Word.

Biker.

:p

check out outlet.dell.com I don't know what other mfr's have a similar site.

I was recently warned by a friend to AVOID gateway. His died on him after like ayear and the customer service apparently blows chunks. I want to get a new laptop this year but will probably stick to Dell.

I was recently warned by a friend to AVOID _______. His died on him after like a year and the customer service apparently blows chunks. I want to get a new laptop this year but will probably stick to ______.Insert any brand names in there you'd like...I've heard them all.

If some specific issue were quoted, I'd lend those sort of opinions more credence, but unless there's a known specific issue with a certain model's configuration...it's just hearsay.

I got a computer for free not long ago because it "just died". After checking it over, all that was wrong was the power supply cord had been damaged and the HDD was dead. The reason: It had been dropped repeatedly. I don't know of any brand (other than perhaps hardened laptops like the Toughbook or models with SSD's) that can handle repeated drops and survive. $20 for a power supply and a spare HDD got it working like new.

If the previous owner had contacted the manufacturer (Toshiba in this case) and been denied any sort of warranty due to abusing the laptop, or required to ship it back to the manufacturer for a repair estimate (about the only way to determine what the issue was), would they be justified in claiming that Toshiba had bad customer service? I don't think so, but plenty of irrational people would disagree with me.

A friend bought a Gateway laptop when he started college on 2002. It still works.

Have u tried passwird.com (http://www.passwird.com/index.shtml)?

Well, the wife decided that Gateway is not to be considered at all. Something about hearing good/bad about all manufacturers, but only bad about Gateway.
Well, here is some good you can tell her:

My wife has had Gateway laptops and I think they are wonderful and when I buy a laptop for myself in the near future, I plan to start with Gateway's line-up and it will take a lot of convincing to get me to consider something else.

I did not know Gateway was still in business.

Gateway used to have Gateway Country retail stores, the best computer service reputation anywhere, the ability to purchase computers customized to a user's needs and wants, and me as a customer. No more.

About five years ago the CEO of eMachines took over the helm at Gateway. He closed all the retail stores, started using cheaper components across the board and generally was personally responsible for the destruction of one of the best company reputations in the business, all in about a year, which is how long he lasted. Now, Gateway is strictly focused on the retail market, only building off-the-shelf computers. Sad.

I've gone to Dell.

Pretty sure gateway was bought by Acer a couple years back...so only the name remains

mac

/thread

mac

/thread


My Mac showed me the error of my ways sticking with MS crappage for so long,
but Ive had issues with my MAcBook starting at 6 months. MAc customer service(?) is
above Dells, but not up to HP standard. Im going with a Linux Sytem76 or ASUS next.
Id rather pay less for cheepo than more :)

Laptops are a commodity. They pretty much all use the same HDD technology, the same RAM and CPU.

I'd say you're as likely to get a machine that will last you for years as a dud from any manufacturer.

That's not quite true. They're all going to be similar, but they'll use different brands or models of their internal parts. Some of these brands make high quality stuff, others shave costs where they can to compete at the lower end, typically in quality assurance and mechanical workmanship. And each is going to have a slightly different case design, so concerns about thermal issues or noise aren't going to be at all obvious based on brand.

My general approach is to figure out what I want, find a couple models that fit my needs and price range, then try to find a few reviews on each and watch for consistent negatives. If I don't see any deal breakers, then I decide based on price, minor feature differences, past experience with the brand, or gut-feeling.

I can't believe Gateway is still in business. I could have sworn they finished off their death spiral years ago.

probably got a bailout from comrade sam. :innocent:

I haven't had one of their notebooks, but my Gateway tower was near their mid-range, and a floor demo and I have had it for about 2 years, and it is still working flawlessly.

In general, it is my impression that almost any system will work well for years, or fail catastrophically based on the individual unit, more than the company. I bought 2 eMachine systems for my sons back when the company was only a couple of years old, and the systems ran flawlessly for years, even with everyone I knew griping about how terrible the company and their products were. The systems lived well past the point of being obsolete without any problems.

I suspect that the bottom line is that if someone pays big bucks and a system fails they assume that their failure is an exception to the norm... if they buy cheap and it fails, they assume it is the norm. In the former case they keep quiet, and in the latter they shout it from the roof tops.

My Gateway is over 4 years old and still going strong. I just re-formatted yesterday. I got mine from Future Shock. The display died in the first year and was fixed under warranty, nothing has needed to be fixed since.

With a Celeron it is slower than molasses but still as quick as the first day I used it.

The only laptops that have lasted me 10 years+ are Sony, Mac and Dell. My oldest laptop is a 12-year old Dell Latitude CPiA, 333mhz Pentium-II machine. Still running strong after all these years. I'm using it just as a terminal with WinXP using RDP/VNC to remote into my main machines.

Sure, there are failures with all brands, but when you look at sampling sizes in the millions, it's the failure rates that determine your chances of getting duds. A rate of 10000 per million is a lot higher than 1000. I've also tried numerous Acers, HPs, eMachines, Gateways, Asus and none of those have lasted as long as the ones I have left. Nowadays, I will only buy laptops with all-metal or carbon-fibre cases; they've held up to 5-ft falls ALOT better than the plastic ones. Go ahead, drop your plastic laptop from 5-ft and see what I mean.

Had to smack this one around some. Gateway's are out (per wife's decree), I've narrowed it down to these (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=cat13504&type=page&pageIdentity=searchDriven&useProductString=true&productString=1218041998788*1218040476935&unProductString=1218079752923*1218036213752*1218049412025*1218044029373*1218044028330*1218040477075* 1218044029503*1218043606966*1218040478391*1218036213682&catId=). Remove the brand names, which is a better set up for web surfing, movie watching, music, and homework?

Flip a coin. Better yet, go to the store, feel the keyboards and touchpads, and look at the monitors.

They're darn near identical. If you're planning on plugging it into a TV to use as a monitor when at home, or for watching movies off the hard drive, then the HP's HDMI port will be nice. If you have any old PCMCIA hardware you want to use, then you'll want the Toshiba.

I personally, assuming the ergonomics are similar, might lean a little more towards the HP than the Toshiba based on the 25% better battery life.

I have not-so-fond memories of fixing lots and lots of Toshibas back when I was I was a computer tech for my university, but the problems were almost entirely due to software and/or users rather than hardware, and Best Buy was really promoting the Toshiba's for college students, so there was a disproportionate number of them to get borked.

Flip a coin. Better yet, go to the store, feel the keyboards and touchpads, and look at the monitors.

They're darn near identical. If you're planning on plugging it into a TV to use as a monitor when at home, or for watching movies off the hard drive, then the HP's HDMI port will be nice. If you have any old PCMCIA hardware you want to use, then you'll want the Toshiba.

I personally, assuming the ergonomics are similar, might lean a little more towards the HP than the Toshiba based on the 25% better battery life.

I have not-so-fond memories of fixing lots and lots of Toshibas back when I was I was a computer tech for my university, but the problems were almost entirely due to software and/or users rather than hardware, and Best Buy was really promoting the Toshiba's for college students, so there was a disproportionate number of them to get borked.

I did go to the store today to look at those laptops. After playing with them, I decided I like my current laptop (Acer 6930) better. I've decided I like the idea of getting a desktop for the kid(s) better.

They are fine.

I strongly suggest purchasing a laptop online because I bought a Dell desktop for a bargain, and I'm sure it will apply to a laptop as well. More so specifically directed to the Dell brand, although, I own an HP laptop as well and I'm very satisfied with both brands. Here's a site to browse around for some fine bang for your buck desktops/laptops.

http://www.techbargains.com/

I have found some good laptop deals from brick and mortar stores like Costco. Costco has a flyer that at some time in the next several months, they will put some type of machine on sale for a price usually worth waiting.

After that, I have netted decent deals at stores like Best Buy and Fry's, but you need to know what to look for. The advantage of buying from a brick and mortar store is that if you receive a DOA machine, you can return it immediately, assuming the return policy (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2347643,00.asp) supports it.