Gateway CX200X

Okay, I promised you a review of my new Gateway laptop/tablet PC, so here it is. If you happen to be buying a new laptop in the near future, this might just help you out.

The Gateway CX200 series laptop is advertised as a "Convertible Notebook." This means it can be used as both a standard laptop (L-shape, with active keyboard) and tablet (single-slab, hiding keyboard, touch-pen interface). This is very handy for people who like to take notes at the office, but wants to be able to type up a document of sorts. But, more on that later.

The model I purchased, the CX200X, is basically a beefed-up version of the regular CX200. The "X" model comes installed with a newer generation of the Pentium M processor, a DVD burner, and a slightly more spacious hard drive. I tweaked my configuration to include a faster processor (1.86GHz), more memory (1gb), and a bigger battery (12-cell).

Out of the box, the computer is a total resource hog, thanks to the ten tons of "bloatware" that Gateway installs on the system. Because I really need America Online, McAfee Anti-Virus: Trial Edition, Microsoft Works, and thirty other programs stealing precious processor cycles. Normally, I'd just reinstall the operating system from the included CD, but this is where I hit another snag. You see, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition doesn't come with a standard operating system disc. Instead, Gateway forces a "Recovery CD" on the consumer and there is no way to deny installation of the included bloatware.

At this point, I was pretty miffed, so I gave Gateway a call and complained for a half hour. The bottom line that they gave me was (and I'm paraphrasing): "Too bad."

I ended up running the recovery CD, reinstalled the operating system, and spent over an hour sorting through piles of unnecessary software on my system. I uninstalled and deleted somewhere in the neighborhood of 15-20 applications. Thankfully, the laptop runs much faster now.

The laptop performance is pretty darn good for my needs. I'm not the kind of person that runs a suite of benchmarking utilities, nor do I spend an afternoon testing battery life. But, a computer better stand up to my daily rigors (especially my home desktop, but that's another story). Smooth multitasking, effortless wireless connectivity, a quiet keyboard, error-free DVD encoding, quick CD/DVD burning, and stutterless DVD viewing are all an absolute must. I'm happy to say that my configuration of the Gateway CX200X meets those criteria easily.

I'm particularly surprised with the speed of the CD/DVD burner. The burning speeds nearly match the quickness of my desktop computer. In fact, my main problem is finding dual-layer DVD's that can handle the burning speeds this drive can reach. The battery life is also a big plus, as the 12-cell battery nets me nearly 5 hours of constant run time.

Let's not forget about the "convertible" functions. With the single alloy swivel hinge, it's a piece of cake to change from laptop-mode to tablet-mode. With a push of a button, I can rotate my screen orientation to match that of a standard pad of letter sized paper. The tablet pen was a little jittery at first and I think it needed a period of acclimation. Now it's quite smooth and writing on the screen is a piece of cake. It only takes me a matter of seconds to swivel my screen, change perspectives, whip the pen out, and start writing.

Why, you may ask, did I choose to go the tablet route? Why not just stick with a standard laptop? Seeing as how I do quite a bit of writing, it seemed convenient to be able to carry both a word processor and notepad together in one unit. Now I can go to the public library and jot down quick notes as I flip through a book. Once my notes have been taken, I can save/print them, and use them as a reference while I type up an article/story on Microsoft Word. Be advised, however, that writing on a laptop screen does take some getting used to. At first I was relatively worried about putting smudges on my screen, or pressing too hard with the pen. But, the screen cleans easily and is protected by a piece of hard plastic, so it's nearly impossible to damage with the pen. I'd be more worried about dropping the laptop on the floor.

Overall, the Gateway CX200 series laptop is a good bargain. You get quality components for a reasonable price. My only grief is the colossal amount of crap they load onto the computer against the buyers wishes. Gateway, for the love of everything that is holy, please include a primary operating system CD! I don't need no stinkin' recovery CD.


Final Roundup:

Build: 10 (of 10)
Price: 8 (of 10)
Software: 4 (of 10)
Performance: 9 (of 10)
User-Friendliness: 9 (of 10)

Total Rating: 40 / 50 (80%)