CNET Asia Review

The Compaq Presario V2000 series is pretty affordable with the V2010AP costing S$2,399 (US$1,703.71) and our review unit, the V2004AP going for S$2,699 (US$1,916.77). However for the price, a dedicated graphics card should have been included. The thin-and-light shines for its suave looks and useful features such as a 6-in-1 card reader. Performance and battery life are average, but we weren't expecting too much from a laptop in the S$2,500 (US$1,775.44) price range. Although not an instant eye-catcher like the iBook or Toshiba Portege A100, the Compaq has a pleasing design and could well win over some fans.

 June 25, 2005

	The silvery interior radiates elegance.

The eye-catching touchpad really stands out with two rubbery mouse buttons and a four directional scroller on the touchpad itself. There's even a button to deactivate the pad, too! The keyboard delivers excellent tactile feedback, providing comfort for the typist. Above the keys are buttons dedicated for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth with a soothing blue backlight, and volume controls along with the power button which glows with a reassuring orange backlight. The front edge is marked by a giant button with "Compaq" emblazoned on it. On the underside, the six-cell Lithium-ion is secured by a large slider button which confidently locks the battery in place.

	One of the best designed touchpads we've seen.

Features
The Presario V2004AP packs in the Dothan-based Pentium M Processor 725 (1.6GHz), an 80GB hard drive and 512MB RAM. Disappointingly, both RAM slots are taken up by two 256MB RAM modules, so if you want to upgrade you have to discard at least one of them. For 3D rendering, Intel Extreme Graphics pops up again so gamers can look elsewhere. A non-removable DVD/CD-RW combo drive lines the right edge. Unfortunately, the cover feels a bit flimsy, if better than the HP Pavilion dv1000 series where the lid could be completely removed by accident.

For connectivity, you get a whole array of ports like FireWire, three USBs, S-video and VGA-out stacked on the left and right edges. At least Compaq is one company that knows the importance of flash card readers as it has implemented a 6-in-1 card reader supporting Secure Digital (SD), Memory Stick (MS), MS Pro, MultiMediaCard (MMC), Smart Media (SM) and even the xD-Picture Card format. For networking, you get a choice of 802.11b/g wireless LAN, Ethernet, modem and Bluetooth.

The JBL Pro speakers are lined on either side of the front edge. Although these perform admirably with some resonance in the bass, we can still hear some sound distortion when the volume is cranked all the way up.

Performance And Battery Life
The notebook ran through the usual MobileMark 2002 tests and chalked up a score of 195. As there were no other thin-and-lights with the same processor, we chose to compare the Compaq alongside notebooks with processors which had a plus/minus range of 100MHz. The HP Pavilion dv1000 (1.5GHz) attained 159 while the Toshiba Portege M30 Special Edition reached 201.

The Presario managed to endure 201 minutes (almost 3.5 hours) substantially less than the other two systems. The HP lasted 246 minutes while the Toshiba hit 230 minutes

Click here to view full comparison

Service And Support
Compaq provides a one-year international limited warranty including parts and labor. Needless to say, three years would have been a lot better. The online support looks pretty comprehensive, ranging from FAQs to troubleshooting to software and drivers updates and allowance to download the manuals should you lose them. You can even connect with an online technician where you can chat in real time via instant messaging. Do note that we accessed the international site for the information. The local support site seems to have many faulty links.

Thrown in the package are Windows XP Home Edition, Norton AntiVirus 2004, InterVideo WinDVD 5 for DVD playback, Sonic RecordNow! 7 for CD burning, Apple iTunes and Microsoft Works.

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Compaq Presario V2000 series (Pentium M Processor 725 1.6GHz, 512MB RAM)

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User Reviews

mulock

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Presario V2670CA (V2000 Family)

Nov 24, 2006

Rating: 6 out of 10 (Good)
Pros: 14.1" screen, 2GB RAM, 120GB HDD
Cons: Heats up quickly, RAM failed within 2 months of purchase
Opinion:
I bought this notebook on recommendation from another heavy user of notebooks. The price was $875 USD (Sept. 2006). Came with 2GB RAM and 120 GB HDD. I was happy with it, except that HP Compaq Recovery partition is a waste of space (delete it), and then 2 months after purchasing it I started having problems. HP Canada was very reluctant to help and made repairs virtually impossible for me. HP Canada told me the "international 1 year warranty" does not apply outside Canada! While on business in Australia, I contacted HP Australia....they not only took full responsibly for the repairs, but lived up to the international warranty by replacing the faulty RAM (shipped in from Singapore). I give HP Canada a 100% thumbs down on service. HP Australia...you might be down under but you have the tops in service. Overall, a good notebook for a light user.

 

CNET not transparent

Oct 25, 2005

Rating: 4 out of 10 (Mediocre)
Pros: 
Cons: 
Opinion:
Well, it looks like CNET Asia wont let me put a 1 "ONE" rating on this laptop after I had a horrible customer service experience from HP. Any looking forward to this post making it? I am not pleased with HP/Compaq's service standard regarding replacing faulty equipment.

 

Spoke too soon

Oct 21, 2005

Rating: 1 out of 10 (Abysmal)
Pros: 
Cons: 
Opinion:
Well, I think I spoke too soon. This week, my LCD display went haywire. It was cloudy and fuzzy and I subsequently took it to the HP Singapore Customer Service Center. I was told that despite no visible external damage, the display was physically damaged. Hence, the LCD display repair was not going to be under warranty. This goes against the positive HP/Compaq reviews that I have read about regarding aftersales service. I have read of cases where HP/Compaq takes in units, and either repairs it or replaces it for the customer at no cost. Now, I have to shell out $500 for a display to make a business meeting. I am not a pleased HP/Compaq customer!!!

 

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