A Product Review: HP Pavilion PC Notebook Dv5020us

Last year my old Gateway tabletop pc, with the huge tower, slowly ground to a halt and finally died, leaving me with no computer of my own until I was able to purchase my new toy. It is an HP Pavilion Notebook PC, Model dv 5020us, and for me it is such an improvement over the old desktop version.

For the tech info nuts, it comes with the following features: 80GB hard drive, 1024 MB system memory, DVD R/RW and CD RW combo drive with Double Layer support, AMD Turion 64 Mobile Processor ML-32 with Power Now! Technology (1.8 GHz, 5.12 KB L2 cache, up to 1800MHz system bus), 54g 802, 11b/g wireless LAN with 125HSM/ SpeedBooster support and HP QuickPlay launches music and movies at the press of a button.

The first thing I was pleased about was the fact that my new HP Pavilion Laptop took only a very short time to get up and running and on the internet. This was a vast improvement over my old Gateway, which took the better part of a day to get loaded and up and running. It also took three people to figure it all out. I know part of that is improved technology that has come into play, since new models outdate older ones in very short time periods and my old Gateway was 8 years behind the times.

It served it's purpose well though, until it died on me, and their support team always helped me, even though it sometimes took hours and hours to fix small problems. They never really explained what was wrong each time, which still kept me feeling like a dunderhead and helpless, but they did take the time to verbally walk me through each step, every time. I actually retained some of it, but for the basic user, like I am, what is hidden behind the scenes running a computer is very detailed and amazing. It is a constant learning experience.

It took awhile to get used to a laptop, as this was my first experience with one. The placement of the keyboard, set back from the mouse made my hands and forearms arms ache for awhile, until they got used to the different layout.

The mouse pad set up was another thing that took getting used to. I ended up buying a small plug in mouse to use, but I'm comfortable with the little mouse pad too now, if I have to use that instead.

One thing I love, is the self contained package of my HP Pavilion Laptop. Being able to sit pretty much where I want, and the ability to pick this up, put it in a case and take it with me is great. I don't think I will go back to a bigger desk top version. The simplicity of this, really appeals to me.

I was more than a little annoyed to find put that even with cords, my perfectly good old scanner and printer, which are both made by Hewlett Packard too, are not compatible with the new HP Pavilion Laptop. New ones are not in my budget at the moment, so I'm stuck without half of my functional office for the time being. I feel they should make their own products compatible with each other, but the computer industry is not known for small common sense, user friendly details like that. I also realize they want sales, so in essence they force the buying public to upgrade and update to have al the features available.

I know not long after I got my old Gateway, the DVD industry changed the format of their DVDs so my Gateway was basically useless for one of the functions I bought it for. I was able to play exactly ONE DVD on it before they changed everything. I think it was the first Harry Potter movie.

With my new HP pavilion though. I can watch DVDs , burn cds and so forth with great ease. In fact It astonishes me how easy those functions are to use. I had gotten so used to layers and layers of installations on everything I did, page after page of instructions, that I anticipated a real headache dealing with new functions, but that hasn't been the case at all with the HP Pavilion. I still hold my breath every time I add something new, wondering what is going to appear in front of me on the screen when I install it, like a webcam I got a few weeks ago, but that was easy too. The old way reminded me of tax forms, with references back to page so and so, line such and such, ad nauseum, but so far it has been reasonably seamless, with the HP Pavilion. Again I am aware how much technologies have advanced since I purchased my Gateway, but it is just nice to see some of the advances were for the common user and not just the tech wizards. It is kind of like the regular joe's use of a car. It just needs to run well. Most people don't feel a need to know every little detail of how it does. It is nice to learn as you go, but tech experts are there for reason.

The HP Pavilion has various ports to attach new features, cams , digital cameras, headphones, microphones, scanner, printer and so forth. The ones I have been able to use so far have worked just fine.

The screen is much brighter and more clear than my old one. The colours show up more brilliantly. The features are easy to see.

With the HP Pavilion Laptop, I am also able to close out anyone I don't want using it very easily, which is a great plus.

I haven't been able to see it in all it's glory online though, since I only have dial-up, but it does very well and works with more speed than my old desktop did.

I have one big beef though, a bone to pick with Hewlett Packard and their support team. Just a few months after I bought my laptop, the little rubber flex cone under the A cap disintegrated quite literally into specks of rubber and the key cap popped off. I was not able to get back to the country for many, many months , so I was typing with no A cap, and still am.

When I finally tried to get it fixed before my warranty ran out, they were absolutely NO help whatsoever in resolving the issue and now another cap has popped off, this time the number 1. I have to type with those two keys very carefully. They told me I could send it in and it would be a few weeks and they would send it back. I asked to please just send me a few rubber flex cones so I could do the very minor repair myself, but they refused and I spoke to a few people. They kept telling me send it in, but I can't do my work with no computer for weeks at a time and quite honestly I didn't trust them to even get it back to me, then have it lost somewhere in the mail system or on some workbench. I have had too many technicalities like that happen to me before to trust the system. Then they said try these stores, and maybe they will have the parts or can fix it for you and told me where to go. The stores were no help. If Hewlett Packard themselves can't help me get a tiny part like that that they use, it seems pretty moronic to me. Now I need two of them and have no idea how to get them.

A secondary keyboard issue, is that the paint has worn off of many of the keys. I am a visual typist and look at the keys to type much of the time, so now my typos have escalated. I tried buying a paint pen to paint in the letters again, but they don't last long and soon wear off again.

I definitely miss the ease of taking something in to the mortar and brick store that Gateway had. When I had keyboard problems with them. I took it in, they handed me another one, zip boom bah, it was done, a piece of cake.

I do love this HPPavilion Laptop but my experience with their so called help and support system really has me angry, and I'm left with two missing key caps and faded letters, which are making all my typing a difficulty. Hewlett Packard has always had such a stellar image, for quality, well at least until one unnamed CEO that I was NOT impressed with, took over, but she is gone now, along with a really nice pack of money. How nice for her. Maybe they could spare a few cents from a budget that could afford a settlement package like that, and send me a bunch of rubber flex key caps so I can fix this problem. The HP Pavilion dv5020us Notebook works like a dream, but these two small problems are giving me huge headaches, quite literally, but as I have no other options, I have to make do for now.