Averatec 3150P Notebook Computer (Averatec-SL3150P01)
| PC WorldBench 4: Performance word scores reflect comparisons of PCs in the same category (power or value) running the same operating system. See Guide to the Top-Rated Products for more details. | Average: 94 (Windows XP Professional) |
| Base configuration | Limited |
| CPU | 1.4-GHz Mobile Athlon XP-M 1600+ |
| Screen size | 12.1 inches |
| System memory | 256MB of DDR266 SDRAM |
| Hard drive | 30GB |
| Graphics | S3 ProSavageDDR |
| Pointing device | Touchpad |
| Expandability | No multipurpose bays, one PC Card slot |
| Extra features | Good |
| Bundled removable-media drives | 8X DVD-ROM and 16X/10X/24X CD-RW combination drive |
| Communications | V.90 modem, network interface, 802.11b wireless |
| Extra ports | Headphone jack |
| Business suite | None |
| Overall design | Fair |
| Battery life (hours:minutes) | Fair: 2:50 |
| Weight (typical/minimum, in pounds): Typical weight includes the computer, AC adapter, optical drive, and floppy drive (if offered). | Very light: 5.3/4.5 |
| Vendor's reliability/service | Insufficient data |
| Support policy | One-year parts and labor warranty; free unlimited 24-hour daily toll-free support |

Bottom Line
Lightweight, easy to type on (albeit with practice necessary for pressing the backspace key), and sufficiently swift, the Averatec 3150P is a good, inexpensive option for frugal travelers.
Averatec 3150P
3150P Notebook Computer (Averatec-SL3150P01) Review, by Carla Thornton July 28, 2003

WHAT'S HOT: The $1025, silver-tone Averatec 3150P is small and lightweight, yet surprisingly easy to type on. It weighs 4.5 pounds (not including the power adapter), but its squarish case is relatively deep at 9.7 inches (only about an inch less than the width), so it has room for a keyboard that's more comfortable than what ultraportables usually have. The long and skinny keys look a little odd, but the extra length makes them easier to press than the Chiclet-size keys on other small notebooks. The keyboard feels shallow--typical for the class--but it's solid and boasts a fine layout, except for an extrasmall backspace key.
The oval mouse and scrolling buttons work well in conjunction with the large touchpad. The 3150P has built-in 802.11b Wi-Fi wireless networking, with a handy on/off switch on the left side above the PC Card slot. A DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive is fixed on the right side.
WHAT'S NOT: The 30GB hard drive is not meant to be user accessible. To reach it you must remove multiple screws and the entire base of notebook--and doing so will void your warranty, according to the company. (Averatec doesn't provide an upgrade service.) System memory, on the other hand, is easy to access. A base 128MB of RAM is part of the motherboard, and a single expansion slot sits on the bottom of the motherboard under a panel held by two screws. With only one slot, however, you may have to discard older RAM in order to upgrade.
WHAT ELSE: Peripheral connections are basic, with three USB 2.0 ports on the right side of the slim case and an external monitor port on the left. The modem connection is an XJack-style pop-out, which offers the advantage of a built-in cover but the disadvantage of being easy to snag on something and break.
The bar-shaped battery, which forms the back of the unit, pops off easily. But Averatec doesn't offer a high-capacity replacement--usually an option for this type of notebook. Fortunately, the 3150P ran a near-average 2.8 hours in our battery test, a fairly impressive score for an ultraportable notebook. The 3150P, equipped with a 1.4-GHz Athlon XP-M 1600+, also did well in our performance tests, earning a PC WorldBench 4 score of 94; it has more than enough power for the e-mail, Web surfing, and document work that veterans of the road typically do.
We liked the bright 12.1-inch screen (with a native resolution of 1024 by 768) and the convenient volume-control thumbwheel on the front of the notebook. However, the speakers mounted on the wrist rest sounded faint.
Documentation is merely sufficient for getting by. The only print material included is the one-sheet Quick Start Guide. The installed Acrobat (Portable Document Format) manual is more detailed, but the table of contents has neither page numbers nor hyperlinks, so looking for information requires a lot of tedious scrolling.
UPSHOT: Lightweight, easy to type on (albeit with practice necessary for pressing the backspace key), and sufficiently swift, the Averatec 3150P is a good, inexpensive option for frugal travelers.
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Reviewed by: sum1akaJ
Strengths: Cheap. Cheap material, that is. You can practically flip the laptop over and fry an egg on the bottom of it too. It's that hot.
Weaknesses: WORST TECH SUPPORT AND RMA SERVICE EVER. PERIOD.
Overall: Already had THREE RMAs.The first time windows wouldn't boot up, "Disk Read Error, Please restart."sent it in for RMA.2 weeks later they sent it back.EXACT SAME PROBLEM. They didn't Fix a THING. No Documentation NOTHING.2nd RMA and they finally fixed it.Couple weeks later.On my third RMA, the screen developed bright vertical lines across it. Bending the flimsy screen develops other lines.Tech support tells me to reinstall drivers or do a system restore. They are UTTERLY USELESS. It's OBVIOUSLY a hardware problem due to the flimsy screen.Sent it in for RMA. They tell me they need to do a system restore. They send it back.I boot up.Windows error message: "Windows cannot start because the file comdlg32.dll cannot be found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem". AND ANOTHER ONE:"the system is not fully installed. Please run setup again."on top of that, the CD drive cannot be detected so I can't even boot from the CD.BUY THEIR LAPTOP ONLY IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE HELL.~~Additionally, their email support is horrendously disorganized. Firstly, a different person responds to your email each time. I've had tech support people tell me conflicting things. One demanded an inquisition of questions regarding my purchase before issuing an RMA #. After I strongly complained, the next guy finally issued me an RMA # without the inquisition. Ridiculous.
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Reviewed by: averatecsucks
Strengths: cheap
Weaknesses: dvd/cd does not work
Overall: We bought 4 of these for our office and the CD/DVD failed after 5 or less burns on ALL 4 of them. If you buy it, try buring 6 cds. I bet you can't do it. data-music-copies-whatever it will not work. These things just suck.They would have been a good deal but they just don't work
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Reviewed by: mdai
Strengths: no strength
Weaknesses: everything
Overall: The products from this company are garbage. They are manufactured in Taiwan with cheap stuff. Don't buy it if you want some thing working. The price looks cheap but, the laptop worth maybe 1/4 of it. the service is terrible. Our laptop is only 7 monthes old when it stopped working. Sent back, wait for 2 monthes, no response. then no reponse. called 58 times. each time, hold 25+ minutes. the person will tell you that they are just the regular customer helper and they will write down your concern... you need to call back in 48 hours. the same thing will happen when you call back.... We are sick of it. DON'T BUY IT. YOu may be happy at the beginning because of the "GOOD DEAL". THINK about the real assets !!!! I believer every one's money is hard-working money. I don't want you to lose it to such a non-responsible company. We are going to seek some help to stop them from taking people's money...---Judy
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Reviewed by: FRRCO
Strengths: SMALL AND LIGHT
Weaknesses: I BOUGHT 3 LAPTOPS FOR MY BUSINESS 2 HAVE HAD TO HAVE THE SCREEN REPLACE. THE THIRD HAS TO HAVE THE FAN MOTOR REPLACE !
Overall: WE BOUGHT 3 OF THESE LAPTOPS AS GIFTS. I FOUND THE BATTERIES HAD TO BE REPLACED AFTER SIX MONTHS.I GAVE THEM TO THE FAMILY. THE FIRST SCREEN CRACKED WHEN TRAVELING. THE COMPANY WOULD NOT REPLACE THEY WANTED $700.00. I FIXED IT MY SELF AT A BIG SAVINGS. THE SECOND UNIT SCREEN STARTED TO SHOW A BLUE VERTICAL LINE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCREEN I SENT IT BACK, STILL WAITING FOR THE RETURN.WOULDN'T BUY THEM AGAIN! LIVE AND LEARN. TO TOP EVERYTHING OFF THEY REFUSED TO SEND ANY REBATES TO ANY OF MY FAMILY!! AVERATEC IS NOT A VERY GOOD COMPANY.
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Reviewed by: closingservices
Strengths: Very compact. Looks nice.
Weaknesses: Didn't work. No customer service. No re-boot CD with machine.
Overall: I bought this for my business. It's compact and looks like a nice machine. I brought it home, plugged it in and followed the instructions to turn it on. It had an error message upon initial turn on. I had to call customer service. I was told "uh, I don't know what's wrong with it. Let, me send you the re-boot disk". I needed the computer immediately. I was told it would take 7-10 days to receive the CD. It was a brand new machine. It shouldn't have needed a re-boot CD upon initial use. I took it back to the store for a full credit and ended up purchasing a Toshiba - that had more memory and has been an excellent purchase. Sorry, I have to give this machine a thumbs down!
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