Reviews Written by wakachicka
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August 14, 2009
Dells XPS 1530
Pros: More powerful than standard run of the mill laptop
Cons: Overheats a lot due to faulty Nvidia chips, Clunky Touchpad, Poor Keyboard Construction, Wireless speeds, Too many unnecessary multimedia features. DVD Rom Drive
I bought this laptop last December after suffering through a faulty HP's DV6000 for 14 months. It is primarily designed as a gaming laptop but I only access to the Internet and the ability to watch DVDs. This laptop can't seem to handle DVDs as well as the HP model because everytime I try and play a DVD-R burned disc it skips badly. There are no scratches on the disc it does this all the time, so it is practically useless when it comes to playing DVD-Rs. It is very clunky and somewhat heavy laptop. The keyboard construction feels cheap and flimsy. Two or three letters on the keyboard would get stuck every so often and I would have to slam the keypad causing unnecessary stress on the laptop and wearing it out faster. The Dell Multimedia direct features are useless and don't really add anything. The volume response on the dashboard of the laptop doesn't really respond all that well and often times I have to use multiple tries to adjust it. Touchpad often slows down in terms of response randomly selecting text or locking up the cursor. I am not sure why this laptop does this but it is really frustrating. I've also heard that the Nvidia graphic cards on these models overheat. Which is the same problem I had with my HP dv6000. The Nvidia card overheated and the laptop crashed badly. So basically I'm sitting on a ticking timebomb but Dell reassures its customers that a patch was released to "address the issue." 7 months in and so far no system crashing but the HP lasted only 14 months. If the Dell goes out faster, it will be the last time I even bother with a product from this company much less any "gaming" laptops that have Nvidia graphics cards. The wireless signal also fluctuates randomly and often times I get a very weak signal or none at all. The integrated wireless modem is also the same faulty one included with the HP DV6000 model, so I expect major problems in the near future. ...
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Good when it actually works
Pros: Java, Youtube capability on Internet Explorer, Video Camera
Cons: Buttons and scroll wheel wear out very fast, battery life, Slow Windows Mobile Operating System
I got this phone as a replacement for a standard LG clamshell phone I had used for 3 years. I wanted to have a way to browse the internet faster without having to deal with text menus and a regular keypad without a touch menu as included on the Iphone. The Blackjack seemed like a great and sound investment in comparison to the Iphone 3G or the Blackberry Curve. After 9 months of heavy use the device refused to power up correctly and the scroll wheel stopped responding .I sent it back to AT&T for a replacement which was covered under warranty. I get back the new device but with in a month the power button breaks. Now I am on my third device in a year! These cellphones are lucky to last 9 months much less 4 weeks. I am regretting ever getting this device somewhat since if it breaks constantly I have to always reload all my bookmarks and programs which is a complete pain. The phone is extremely delicate but more sturdy than an Iphone. The flimsy construction is one of its major weaknesses. Windows Mobile also slows down if you have 3-4 applications running. Even the Contacts list or Recent calls counts as programs running in the background and weigh it down considerably. This cellphone is not a multimedia powerhouse. Plus exiting out of Internet Explorer's browser is annoying because you have to use the Task Manager which can be accessed by pressing the power button. However, as a I mentioned before regular use of this feature wears it out faster and could even break it leaving the user without a way to power up the device and having no choice but to send it in for replacement. This creates more lost time and data that can unfortunately can't be recovered. I would not recommend this phone to anyone looking for cellphone that is made of strong material and can withstand extreme stress. Drop this device once or twice and you will have to deal with slow down in applications and inferior quality. Samsung continues to roll out these devices in the Blackjack family, but quite honestly I can't bring myself to even bother with them in the near future. ...