The notebook is even capable of running some games. I've tried Quake 3, which ran with no problem at all, although my PC image quality is better. Wireless networking works without a hitch. The button on the front of the laptop to toggle the wireless on/off is very nice for security risks. Battery seems to last a while. I recommend running the battery configuration program when you first get the laptop (do it at night cause it takes a while (about 8hrs)). Screen quality is great, very bright when plugged into AC power. At $1049, this thing seems to be a steal. I purchased the $250 extended warranty from Best Buy which covers you for 3 years. I think seeing that the first notebook had a bad pixel, the warranty is worth it. Will also cover you when your battery doesn't hold a charge anymore, which will inevitably(SP?) happen.
The ze4430us is listed as a value notebook, with not quite the speed of a Pentium 4, but with greater potential than the Celeron. After working with multiple 2.4ghz Pentium 4 processors, and after comparing the abilities of both, I will always consider an AMD for my chip needs. This laptop runs faster and multitasks office applications at a much faster rate than the 2.4ghz P4 this chip is aimed at (hence the 2400+ nomenclature). I was already impressed.
The RAM is on one chip for 512mb, instead of the industry standard of 2 256mb chips. While this might not seem too important, it means that to upgrade the RAM, you spend a lot less money, and you don't have to throw your valuable RAM away. Even with the 64mb that the ATI Radeon 4x AGP controller permanently allots to itself (this figure is adjustable), you have plenty to work with out of the box.
With a 15" display (only xvga), a touchpad that you can deactivate, integrated (if somewhat tinny) Altec Lansing speakers, and a dvd/cd-rw combo drive, this computer seems to have it all. Then we come to the integrated 54g wireless LAN card. Even the (overpriced) Centrino system only has b support (as of Feb 12, 2004). The increased speeds are extremely noticeable, expecially with a fast broadband connection.
For the money spend (an open box deal for under $1000), I could not ask for a better computer. Keep your Prescotts and Banions, Intel, I won't buy another laptop until AMD puts a 64 into a notebook.
