HP - Pavilion Laptop with Intel® Centrino® 2 Processor Technology - Bronze/Chrome

Bought this one after 2 disappointed/overheated/malfunctioning Dell studio xps 13 (both returned, froze from heat and broken hard drive). Night and day difference. Granted, this one is 2.0 ghz, DDR 2 ram. 5400rpm HD, on paper its slower thal studio xps 13, but unless you want that 5% gain, day to day operation have no difference. This one runs very very quiet, I'm extremely irritable about noise, I can leave this one on beside me and fall asleep. Heat is virtually non-existent thanks to intel cpu. LED is vibrant and should save 25 to 30% electricity on average compare with LCD counterpart. Best of all, go to you tube and type in NVIDIA9300M GS it will show you this 512mb video card can play TF2, call of duty 4, call of duty 5 and all kind of games at 1024 x 768 with smooth frame rate. Most of all, this laptop comes with 2 years warranty, and if you have American Express, use it and you will get an additional 1 year warranty at no extra charge for you, that's 3 years! (A E tag on 1 year warranty to any electronic that has 1 or more years factory warranty. i.e. if pc has 1, AE give you 1 = 2. If a pc has 2 years warranty, A E give you 1 more to make it 3 total)

I bought this laptop three months ago, and I must say I am impressed. I'll try to keep the review short. The 13-inch screen, although glossy (and therefore troublesome outside), is amazingly sharp and easy on the eyes. The 1280x800 resolution is more than enough for common tasks, and the colours are always crisp and natural. By me, the size is just enough - neither too tiny nor too big. The wireless/media controls are touch-operated, which means there are no buttons you can switch on or off. They take some getting used to (and especially to the annoying ticking sound of the volume control, which sometimes goes on some time after you've stopped using the volume 'button'), but they work ok. The keyboard is amazing, although a little slippery if your fingers sweat easily; it is totally responsive, not slushy, and I can achieve reasonable typing speed with it without my fingers straining too much. I'm not a great fan of the arrow keys, since they are above the DVD drive and wobble a little (also, at times the surrounding plastic creaks because it has no hard surface underneath). By pressing fn+spacebar, the keyboard lights up like a Christmas tree - great for typing at night. The glossy touchpad is a tough thing to get used to; after I did, however, I must say it is much better than the one I was used to (the 'standard' touchpad of a Toshiba Satellite). There's even a tiny button that switches it off, but the touchpad is so well placed that I seldom need the switch. The sound card is decent, there are two headphone outputs, and it usually doesn't trouble me (because the IDT High Definition Audio drivers are kind of tacky, sometimes crashing). The fingerprint reader is amazing - not only can you log on to your account with it, but you can also log on to gmail, skype and basically every website that requires a password. For example, you only need to swipe your finger, select 'skype' from the shortcut list, and it automatically launches skype and logs on! Neat. There's even a remote control which fits in the media card slot, so you can't lose it. It is basic but useful, though you must use the integrated media software which is not so useful. And of course there are all the bells and whistles you would expect (and one you wouldn't) from a new machine: an eSATA port (which doubles as an USB 2.0 port), 3 USB ports (including the shared one), an outdated dial-up modem port (why, HP, why?) and a HDMI that you can connect to a megalomaniacal screen and impress your family, friends and onlookers alike. There is no firewire, though. Finally, the 6-cell battery. If you're careful with the wireless and the screen brightness, you can get a little over 4 hours out of it. However, on average I can't eke out more than 3.5 hours (but on the other hand, the laptop is not so heavy so you can easily take your power cord along). On the flip side, the battery wobbles a little. You should not use the laptop on a soft surface (like a pillow or a blanket) anyway, so it's not really a big issue. The roomy 320 GB hard drive allowed me to install Ubuntu (using wubu) and both operating systems work in perfect harmony! Overall, I am very happy with the purchase.

I got this laptop 5 days ago and have completely fallen in love. I am a college student and use it primarily for school and leisure. What I love: The screen resolution is wonderful. Everything is very clear and detailed. Backlit keyboard is nice and useful especially when I study at night or not in a well-lit area. Fingerprint reader is not really necessary, but I've found it to be useful. Battery life is great with around 3.5 hours. Compared to my Dell that only lasted 2 hours, it’s a big change. Charges fast too. Size and weight. I don't know how it compares to other 13 inches, but compared to my old 17 inch dell, the weight is wonderful! 13 inch is perfect and I had a hard time deciding between the 13 inch and another 14 inch HP (which was also cheaper), but the lighter weight was a big deal to me since I have to carry it to school a lot. Speed. Its fast and was very easy to set up. If you don't like the preinstalled programs, it was easy to uninstall them. What I don't love as much: Keyboard and letters don't have that big a contrast, so sometimes in class when the lights are very bright, it causes a glare and it gets a little difficult to see the keys (but that’s when I go to a darker corner and use the backlit keyboard). What I dislike the most: THE KEYPAD. I read in other reviews that it’s not that great, and I must agree after using it for a few days. I didn't notice it at the store when I was playing around with it, but after a few days of constant use, it almost feels slightly sticky. Even when my fingers are really dry, they drag. I've always used the keypad because I've never thought a mouse was necessary, but now, I think I'm going to purchase a mouse in a few days; It’s THAT annoying. With that said, the mouse is an easy fix, and I still love the computer. Overall: Great buy, and the 2 year manufacturer’s warranty that's included makes me a lot less nervous about it breaking or malfunctioning. I don’t regret my decision at all :)

Just picked up the only one my store had. Meets all expectations to this point. I could not believe all the components included at this price. I configured the exact model on HP's website and it was $253.00 more! Plus, the Best Buy model comes with a 2-year manufacturers limited hardware warranty. You have to pay extra for that from HP. Best Buy employees probably won't know about the warranty extension, but it's stated in the paperwork that comes in the box. This is my second HP laptop. First is a 2 year old DV8000 that still runs strong, just is too big for what I need now. My only fear is video card problems. I'm taking a chance that Nvidia has fixed the issues they had with the 8400/8600 mobile series. Ask just about any Dell XPS owner... The 9300 series is also used in Sony's new Z model and I've heard of no issues with it. It's not listed in the specs but the included battery is the 6-cell model (not 4).

I've been waiting to upgrade my laptop for months - deciding whether to make a jump to an Apple, or stick with a PC - but I wasn't impressed with Apple's new line, and I can tweak a PC comfortably... I never thought a pre-built notebook from "Big Box" would suffice, but the Blue Label advertisement (Engadget) enticed me - everything I've been waiting for (specs, design, size, battery life, etc.). Oddly, I went to four different stores to buy this and no one had it on display or in stock during the same week it was advertised in the store flyer - I tried the following week, and one store had it, and the price had dropped $100 (!!!). I guess I expected a bold and prominent Blue Label display in the stores - and most of the employees knew nothing about them being available... I run a lot of music apps, and will use this primarily for post-production gigging (DJ and live) and internet use... I'm going to give Vista 64 a fair chance - possibly downgrading to Vista 32, which hasn't given me any problems on my other PC's. The amount of pre-installed "crapware" on it is, thankfully, minimal - and I chose to delete Norton for AVG. At $1099, this is a bargain - the included 2-year warranty gives me additional piece of mind. This HP Blue Label really is a "best buy" - I highly recommend it.

I just bought my new HP Pavillion Laptop about 2 days ago as a Christmas present to myself! :) I am a college student and my Compaq laptop was just not working for me anymore. It was time for an upgrade so I looked around for what would be the best one for me. I was stuck between an HP & a Macbook. I decided on a HP laptop because you get more for your money! I searched around for the different HP's & I wanted one that was not so heavy & huge. I searched online & instantly fell in love with this one. What I Love.... - Fingerprint Reader, My fave! Really convient to just swipe a finger instead of entering passwords or having them saved on the computer. - The Webcam, Takes pictures & video & has easy upload to youtube! - Backlit Keyboard, Works great in lowlight places or for working in the dark! - Remote Control, Mini remote control your music/movie playback from afar. Stores easily into the card reader slot! - SIze & Weight, I love how light & small it is! Perfect for carrying around! - Battery, Lasts very long! (Compared to my old laptop!) About 3 1/2 hrs! What I Dont Like... - Glossy Keypad, sometimes the mouse goes whatever way it wants to...it clicks things you werent trying to click. Although annoying @ times its not much of a problem. - Collects Dust Easily, Everytime I open my Laptop there's lots of dust particles on the screen, It came with a cleaning cloth so it's fine....Just annoying to have to clean it everyday... - No Lightscribe, I've never used it but was one of the features I was looking forward to with my new HP. I didnt realize until after I had bought it that It doesnt have lightscribe. I just found it weird how most of the HP's @ Best Buy have lighscribe but one of the more expensive ones doesnt. - No closure, Another thing that feels weird to me is that there is no closure. Im used to my old Compaq where when you closed it it old snap in place & to open it you just push the button but with this you just close & open. Its just going to take some getting used to. Overall I do LOVE my new laptop & am extremely happy with my purchase!

Hello, and please bear with me, I have gone through 3 laptops in the past 30 days to find this Gem. I started with a dv-7 purchased from a competitor. After its chopy performance and what I thought was poor build quality, I returned it and purchased a Dell studio xps 13. I thought the HD pic quality on the xps was the best I have ever seen. But after 5 days, the computer did a windows update. After the update, the computer went to the "blue screen of death" and never returned. I took it back to BB and they offered me a new computer of equal or greater value with no questions asked. I picked up the Sony with the blue ray player, but I could never get it connected to the net and, or my exterior moniter. The xps picture quality realy spoiled me too. And the pick quality of the Sony, running 4500hd card, was no match in pic quality to the nvidia series cards. I returned the sony the next day, with again, no questions asked by BB. who have earned my business for some time to come. I picked up this hp, knowing that it looked like a "mini" dv-7, but after looking at it, "for a very long time in the store," I decided to try it, I had the techs hook it up to a moniter using the HDMI and the pic quality was a step below the xps, but leaps and bounds better than the sony. There is still a little grain in the DVD pic. But I can live with it. The reason why is the xps, and i know this will sound wierd, was too clear. The movies took on a look that reminded me of a soap ophara or a stage play. it was difficult to "get lost" in the movie. Everything else about the unit has been great. Easy to use and very comfortable, for me, anyway. Very quiet. Low heat signature. And I added the bluetooth mouse from HP and it hooked up flawlessly. $29.00 at bestbuy. $10 less than the microsoft unit and much quieter, you do not hear the mouse button, at all. And After messing with the video controls, I was able to clean the pic up even more. I think the build quality of this unit is much better than the dv-7. It feels stronger built to me, with better qualities. the keys feel soft to the touch and I am not having the same issues with the mouse pad on the unit that others have had. I can not comment on how it works in the long run, but if something happens, I will be sure to add to this review. The studio xps 13 was removed from the on-line list of available laptops from BB at the time i wrote this review, leeding me to believe I made the right choice by returning it, and getting this unit. Thanks for reading

I found other peoples' review's helpful in purchasing a computer, so I decided I'm going to tell you what I like about this computer. I did, of course, buy it. I like everything i wrote about in the pros, and cons (above) and would recomment this laptop specifically to people who want to purchase one because it is a fast machine that have a nice visual appeal, not just in the display. It's the perfect size to have in a backpack or whatever and to carry around. It lights up everywhere, hey, cool, huh? yeah, well, buy it if you want, i don't think you will be upset if you do, and if you do get upset for spending $1271.99 for it, just give it some time and realize Best Buy will fix, and/replace the laptop in the next 2 years if anything unfortunate should happen. I originally purchased the tx2525nr when it was on sale, and returned it the next day, for it gets very warm (dv3510nr doesn't) and although the touch screen is cool, its kind of "not exact" with exactly where you press the screen, it's almost like theres a wall of plastic covering the display, anyway, the tx2525nr always froze when i tried to play videos, even just mp3s, optical drive kept freezing too, anyway, bye! have a good day/night!