The New HP Pavilion Laptop Model DV9720us

Two months ago, my Acer Aspire laptop started to act funny (my screen was going out) therefore I quickly went on a search for a new and special laptop. I figured I would get something that could burn dvds (including the new lightscribe), glossy screen, more memory, bigger hard drive (I take lots of pictures) and might have some extra features that I wanted. I have to admit, when I first looked at the HP laptops that were on sale, from previous experience I told myself to run, run far away. But I kept coming back to the new HP Pavilion laptops and finally took the plunge.

Now let me tell you about the specifications of the laptop that I have as each one is different. My model number is dv9720us and has the following features:
1. Windows Vista
2. 2 gig of Ram
3. AMD Turion Dual Core processor 2.0 ghz
4. Built in Webcam, microphone
5. 160 gig hard drive
6. built in card reader, wireless, 4 USB ports
7. DVD burner with lightscribe
8. 17 inch screen (beautiful I might add)
9. IR remote for watching movies and tv

These are just the basic specs now let me get to the greatest of the laptop. There are two extra things you can buy with your laptop and one of those is the HP digital tv tuner card and the expansion dock (I have yet to try this, but I am going to). I also got the tv tuner card on Ebay that came with the card, extra remote, antenna and a few other accessories to hook up to a tv.

Now I know many of you are thinking...Vista? Well, I have come to like Vista. Yes, it has it's downfalls as each operating system before it did and you can always switch to a different one, but with the two gigabytes of ram, 2.0 ghz processor, this little machine can go! Running programs and getting on the internet are easier then ever. With the tuner card, you can watch tv on your laptop while at the park, on the road or heck, while someone else is watching tv on your other tv in your house. Additionally, the picture is digital and who doesn't love the digital! Imagine this on your 17 inch screen everything looks grand, you could not ask for anything better. What's even great, you can use the remote away from your laptop so you don't have to get up and change channels, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

As for the keyboard, it's full size meaning it includes the numpad. This is a great addition because a lot of people go and buy one that can hook up via usb and now you don't have to do that. There are power touch buttons in which you can press to lower or increase the volume, play a dvd, stop, fast forward, rewind and open up HP's program Quickplay (this program is better then the built in Windows Media Center on Vista).

Battery life on this laptop isn't too bad for everything that is on it and running. Wireless will always eat your battery whether on your laptop or cell phone, so it generally is running about two hours at full speed. You can get better batteries in which they hold more charge capacity, but there will most likely be an extra cost.

The Webcam takes up to 1 megapixal pictures and has built in microphone for video conferencing. Want to chat with a friend from another state?? No problem! Just click on the webcam button on your instant messenger and they'll be video conferencing with you in no time!

One new feature of this laptop that I had not seen before was the lightscribe technology. A friend of mine said the discs were expensive but I tested to see how much they were so I could see how this nifty little feature worked and was able to get a pack of 10 for six dollars at walmart. I decided to put just a few pictures to burn on the disc at first to see how it would work, in which you have a setting to have it make the image darker or lighter (the darker it is, the more time it takes). Lightscribe can take a bit of time, but it is worth it. With a load of graphics to put on the disc, it took about 20 minutes on the darkest setting, but the ending result is much more then I ever expected. You will be very pleased at what this can do! The drive can burn dual layer dvd's, cd-r's, play dvd and cds in the drive. They will also play these without you starting windows, so no need to wait for the laptop to start to listen to your favorite music!

The look of the laptop is also something special. They call it HP imprint Finish in which it has black and gray swirls to make a unique look on the top of the laptop. It is one of the better I have seen and you can also get skins to put on the top to protect your laptop from scratches.

How much did I pay for this little bad boy? 700 bucks at Circuit City. I price compared and shopped around for weeks but it was well worth it in the end. HP has renewed my faith in their company and they are right when they say, "The computer is personal again." Way to go HP.