Everex StepNote SA2053T

Everex StepNote SA2053T

StepNote SA2053T Review, by Carla Thornton June 20, 2007

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• Latest User Reviews 4 reviews
• Reviewed by: rokky

  Duration of ownership: 0 Month

  Strengths: n/a

  Weaknesses: Illegal to void warranty due to memory upgrade??

  Overall: FYI to Sayart: It should be just as illegal for Everex to void your warranty for a memory upgrade as it was for Asus to do that with the EEE PC. It is a violation of the Moss-Magnuson Act (US federal law - n/a if you are not in the US). After that was pointed out on many web fora, they acknowledged their mistake, and annnounced that it was no longer a warranty-voiding action. HTH

• Reviewed by: gyozadude

  Duration of ownership: 3 Months

  Strengths: Low price, small form factor, relative light weight, bright screen, dual core performance, DVD burner, two-batteries come with package

  Weaknesses: None so far

  Overall: Great price performance. Had no issues with this, and it installs Linux and Solaris Nevada for x86 platforms, which is what I do software development in most of the time. I haven't experienced the battery life problems or lack of software bundled. I tend to use free ware like Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice and GIMP - all available for Windows as well, but they run fine under Solaris for me. The wifi support for the Ralink RT73 (a USB device NOT PCIe!) is iffy with some distros, but support is coming or already there on latest Linux and soon on Solaris according to my sources. Compile and encoding performance and multi-tasking/multi-threading work great with UNIX flavours of OS. Hard to beat the price performance. I've had this for quite a few months now and I haven't had issues with it. Note: Specs are wrong about Max memory. Chipset is Intel ICH7-M which supports 4GB Max with 2GB per slot. This only has one slot pulled out on the mobo, but I had no issues replacing the stock dimm with a Patriot 2GB DDR2 5300 sodimm and getting bios, and all OSes to recognize and run it.

• Reviewed by: cindyc54

  Duration of ownership: 7 Days

  Strengths: Once started, the computer was very quick. Two batteries Cost Very light Nice Screen

  Weaknesses: The computer took a long time to start up. Would no longer turn on after one week.

  Overall: I purchased this model after completing extensive research into the company and computer. I read every review I was able to come across on the internet, and even went as far as to call the Better Business Bureau. When I called, there were 9 complaints in the last 36 months, and 8 in the last 12 months. I decided to purchase this model based on its affordability, it coming with two batteries, lightness, and DVD burning capabilities. I recieved the computer August 17, and on August 24, I encountered my first and only problem: it no longer turned on. With a problem like this, one encounters no more. I was on hold with the manufacturer for 30 minutes, and never got through, so I decided to try again on August 28, where I was put through immediately and we went through one test, that failed, and they told me my only option was to send it in (at my own expense) and they would repair it. Having purchased the two year-extended warranty from a well known store, I chose to take it in there. While in the store, there was of course nothing they could do, and they said they could send it in, but it would most likely be thrown away and a replacement sent, and they continued to recommend that I just take a refund instead. Having tried and tried with PC's, I decided to take the refund. Perhaps, I had the one lemon, but I believe lemons grow among other lemons... do you want to take that chance?

• Reviewed by: boradicus

  Duration of ownership: 2 Weeks

  Strengths: Extra battery 3.5 hours time Has external video so you can run an extra monitor 1066Mhz Frontside Bus with 1Gig of 533Mhz Dual channel RAM 100Gig hard drive Small - notebook size - light-weight (3-4 pounds) Easy to downgrade to XP SP2 Great price !

  Weaknesses: Comes loaded with Vista Vista required for support

  Overall: I give this a 9. It would be a ten if it had an option to have XP SP2 installed. It is easy to downgrade to XP SP2 - just download the drivers from Everex's website - although they don't officially support XP it works great and has a much smaller footprint! I installed free Anti-spyware, Anti-virus, Firewall, CD-Burner, and DVD Player after loading the drivers onto XP SP2. I filled it up with my other software while running spyware and antivirus scans simultaneously and the notebook didn't even blink - had about 500MB RAM free the entire time. I am currently typing this on the notebook screen while watching Heavy Metal on my 19" Flat Panel attached to the external video adapter - works great !

• Reviewed by: apizano

  Strengths: Inexpensive. Small Size. Lightweight. Intel Core Duo Processor. Good connectivity. Excellent Screen.

  Weaknesses: Poor battery Life (Compensated by additional included battery). Memory is not expandable. USB ports all located on the right side. Not Printed Manual just a Startguide.

  Overall: If you are looking for a small lightweight laptop this is probably your best option. At a price under US600 the Everex Stepnote 2053T is the best alternative in its class with only 3.8 pounds and a 12.1" crisp display with not dead pixels in my case.Probably Everex is not very well known but, FIC the company behind Everex has been in the market since 1980, is located in Taiwan and does OEM for some of the big brand names.This laptop has a nice form factor and comes well equipped with an acceptable Intel Core Duo 1.73GHz 1 MB Cache Processor. Memory is limited to 1 Gb and it is not expandable however some users have reported that a 2 GB module works fine (Please note that if you replace the memory you will loose the 1 year manufacturer warranty. The 100 GB Sata Hard Drive offers enough space for the average user, and the DVD writer is handy for backup files and Playing Movies.Regarding connectivity you are not limited at all, and it includes on the left side a Wirefire, on the back an Ethernet and Modem Ports, on the front a multi card reader and on the right side a VGA Port, an express card expansion slot an 3 USB ports.Heat dissipation is not an issue. The fan runs smoothly and is turned on only occasionally. Maybe you can feel a little warm the bottom under the mouse but it is not uncomfortable. I recommend that you access the Bios screen and do a Fan calibration during the setup process. Keyboard has a good tactile feed and feels sturdy my only complain is the very small right Shift key.Microsoft Windows Vista comes preinstalled and a 90 days Norton Antivirus license. The Vista Windows Aero interface comes activated, and you can improve performance a little bit if you deactivates it.In conclusion this is a very well built, small and nice ultra portable and a great deal at a price under US600.oo

• Reviewed by: sayart

  Strengths: Price for this size

  Weaknesses: Warranty voided if you upgrade the memory.

  Overall: So, I have to do battery calibration first and removed unnecessary applications especially those trialwares. Then set battery management for optimum performance. Of course if you have a laptop, please get a cooling pad. This one comes with extra battery module which is very good, considering the price. Stereo speaker, PCI express slot, fast DVD writer and bright display. Have to wait until the manufacturer warranty is over so that I could upgrade the memory.

• Reviewed by: sxhlzx

  Strengths: Price, Size

  Weaknesses: Battery, Noise, Software

  Overall: The price is very competitive for a 12.1", dual-core laptop. However, it does not come with many software. In fact, it only provides 1 recovery CD. Be prepared to buy additional software as you may need. The cooling fan is a little bit noisy, on and off frequently. A notebook cooler is highly recommended. It does have 2 batteries but won?t last long. The thicker one I installed has 49% capacity when I turned on the laptop. It dropped to 23% within 30 minutes. It could be a problem if you?re traveling. The vista is running ok, though not very fast on this system. Overall it?s affordable small size laptop with acceptable performance if you don?t have high expectation on it.