Gateway EC14D07u: Average System in a Portable Package

Want the go-anywhere spirit of a netbook along with the complete keyboard (and features) of a standard laptop? The Gateway EC14D07u ($630 as of March 22, 2010) attempts to merge the two, and in some methods it succeeds: The laptop computer feels light and nevertheless manages to pack a DVD burner and an 11.6-inch display screen. But in other ways--such as with its mediocre audio and video performance--it stumbles. Eventually, it ranks as an regular ultraportable laptop computer, albeit one which is fast adequate for the majority of programs and tiny adequate to tote anyplace.

On our WorldBench 6 check suite, the EC14D07u earned a score of 64, sturdy enough to deal with office function, Web browsing, media playback, and most other basic projects you could possibly need to throw at it. The system's 4GB of RAM assist it run numerous apps smoothly. (The similarly configured, similarly priced HP Pavilion dv2 eaned a WorldBench six score of just 45.) But games and also other 3D applications drag from the absence of a dedicate graphics processor. Even 3D titles from some many years back again, such as Half-Life 2: Episode one, are unplayable.

The one.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 seems much better tuned toward electrical power conservation. In our testing, the battery lasted a solid but unspectacular 6 hours, 20 minutes, and you'll extend that time in the event you dim the screen.

The keyboard and trackpad are regular, as well. Full-size matte keys sense very good for the touch, as well as the responsive trackpad normally keeps up. You can even use a few gesture commands to navigate, for example swiping two fingers to scroll. Oddly, nonetheless, in the event you tap almost any keyboard important, the mouse freezes in midmovement.

The laptop computer weighs about 3.five lbs and has a highest thickness of roughly 1.25 inches, so it really is easy to sling anywhere. Somehow, Gateway slipped a dual-layer DVD burner into that svelte body, too. The laptop's shiny exterior is really a fingerprint magnet; but except for that two mouse buttons, practically every one of the laptop's interior surfaces are matte

In Computer World's most current survey of laptop computer vendor reliability and provider, Gateway ranked in the top third, suggesting which the organization is responsive customers' preliminary or late-developing hardware difficulties.

Colours on the EC14D07u's vibrant LCD search a little muted in comparison with these on competing screens, and also the glare around the glossy display could be distracting. But you get excellent resolution (1366 by 768 pixels)to get a display of this dimensions. The thin but adequate audio is standard for a laptop computer, with weak audio separation from your speakers. At the very least there's no distortion in the machine's loudest volume, since you could usually hold the controls set to that degree.

The EC14D07u includes a few USB two.0 ports, audio in and out, VGA and HDMI out, a flash-card reader, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and gigabit ethernet. An regular Webcam documents photos that will appear posterized, but images remain pretty defined in moderate lights.

Being average is not a poor issue. The thin-and-light Gateway EC14D07u travels nearly anywhere; its processor and a 320GB tough generate are enough for enterprise and school work; and its LCDpacks in pixels. Nonetheless, nothing at all about this machine leads to it to stick out through the pack.