Gateway LT3119u 11.6-Inch Netbook (NightSky Black)

Gateway LT3119u Netbook comes with these specs: AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor L310, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), 11.6-inch HD Widescreen Ultrabright LED-backlit Display, AMD RS690V Chipset, 2048 MB DDR2 Memory, ATI Radeon X1270 Graphics, 250 GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive, Built-In .3 MP Webcam, Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader, High-Definition Audio Support, 802.11b/g WiFi CERTIFIED, 3 - USB 2.0 Ports, Multi-gesture Touchpad, 6-cell Li-ion Battery (4400 mAh), up to 4 Hours of Battery Life, 3.04 lbs. | 1.38 kg (system unit only), AC Power Adapter, AC Power Cord, Wireless Setup Card, Registration/Limited Warranty Card, Norton Internet Security (60-day trial).

Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism
Pros: Good performance, nice size screen Cons: Large, heavy battery, battery life I got this netbook to have something small and light to do light stuff like surf the web and write the occasional letter. When I opened the box I was surprised by the size of the battery. It did not look like the one in the picture. When I inserted it, it stuck out of the back of the chassis for about an inch. You do not see this in the pictures. The battery shown in the pictures is inaccurate, and appears to be a three cell battery rather than the chunky six cell battery that this thing actually comes with. So beware, with the battery this thing is nine inches wide, not the 7.9 listed in the specs. It also adds at least a half pound of weight to the listed 3.02 pounds in the spec. And for all this, you still only get about four hours of regular use. If you are looking for a small, light netbook that will run on battery all day, this is not for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for performance that is equivalent to a low end laptop but much better than the average netbook, this is the one. It comes with 2GB of memory instead of the 1GB standard in most netbooks. It has a larger screen than most. It comes with the full version Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit instead of Windows 7 Starter 32 bit (read handicapped). This means that you get Windows 7 Aero and all the other normal Windows stuff that is missing from the starter version. I uninstalled Windows Office trial and MS Works. No need to buy much software these days. I then loaded OpenOffice (MS Office compatible office suite), VLC Media Player (plays any media you need), Google Chrome (the fastest browser out there), Picassa (for organizing and sharing photos), Photo Pos Pro (great full feature picture editor), and TrueCrypt (creates encrypted virtual partitions to store the stuff you don't want seen if the netbook is stolen), all free open source programs. I also uninstalled the Norton 60 day trial software and installed Vipre (not free, but currently the best protection). Then I tested watching videos, editing photos, working on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, etc. This little guy handled everything without a hitch, many times handling having several of these programs open at the same time. In conclusion, I really like this netbook and have started using it for more things than I originally envisioned. If you want a mini laptop, this is it. You just have to live with the clunky battery.