Gateway's LT3103u isn't available in stores anymore: the model has been updated since the Windows 7 Launch which gets rid of the Vista Albatross. (Personally, I liked Vista, but I can't argue with Windows 7's slightly better response times.)
The hardware is sound for it's purpose: it's a subnetbook technically from the specs... It has a 11.6 LED screen, 250 GB Hard Disk, 2 GB of memory and a 64-bit Athlon processor that's "off the roadmap" (It's a single core Sempron L110 more or less.) Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player run well in tandem, although on occasion there's a skip from the Hard Disk seek when it loads the next song if Internet Explorer is occupied with Flash or something. This can handle a good number of windows if you have simple multitasking demands.
If you want to encode video, transfer large bits of data, or play games actively (meaning DirectX titles, not 2d stuff like Solitare and the like) then you'd do better with another machine, but it's foolish to buy a subnote/netbook for those things in the first place. This is for Living Room browsing, taking to work for meal breaks, or recreational use and low demand gaming (my other netbooks play fairly well with Warcraft III, this joins the ranks well).
Two picadillos I do have:
1) Build quality is well made, but there's some "Soft" points in the chassis that creaks when pressure is applied. The keyboard is generously sized, nice for bigger hands like mine (being 6' tall and on a budget sucks when you need an affordable computer... Most netbooks have unusable keyboards as far as I'm concerned) but I would be remiss if I didn't admit that the certain keys like the space bar and the right side toggle keys I don't use have noisy spring mechanisms (we're not talking decibels here, but there is an audible squeak if I press it on the right side. It comes and goes.
2) The battery. Again, there's multiple points on this one... First of all, it's six cell, but weak. Battery life is approx over two hours unplugged on the Balanced power plan. The Power Saver plan is useless; your machine will be too crippled to even run Word. High Performance, you get about 90 minutes before the machine blacks out. For a netbook, this is unacceptable: most Atoms get about 4-5 hours at LEAST. Furthermore, good luck finding the battery. No one sells a spare one, I've tried. Gateway keeps escalating my inquiry into purchasing one, and not calling me back.
Then again their customer service sucks, I knew that going into the purchase... that's not really a "con". They charge $20 for the recovery DVD's that the machine can't use without an external burner anyway, and their EULA states that changing your OS voids your warranty. Most manufacturers offer limited support for netbooks anyway, there's so little margin on them that if you have a problem, the only recourse is a replacement machine (within 90 days), or just eat the cost and get another netbook, or pony up for a better laptop next time. Netbooks are the Honda Civics of computers.
But overall, I am very happy with this machine. :DGet more detail about Gateway LT3103u Netbook, AMD Athlon Single-Core Processor1.2GHz, 2048MB, 250GB, 11.6" HD WXGA, Web Camera, Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic, Factory Refurbished.
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