Initial impressions: Midnight mystique...

First and foremost, I must say I'm glad I've been on this forum leading up to receiving my laptop, because considering the graininess/wobbly battery/cheap build quality/customer service nightmares/bloatware/inherent suckiness of Vista concerns, it far exceeded my expectations.

Right out of the package I was looking for flaws, and I'm pleased to say I couldn't find any. It is in no way as bulky and heavy as I was expecting; in fact, I had to turn it around a few times to make sure I actually got the 9-cell battery and that it was plugged in. The 1420 is marginally heavier than my HP dv1000t (which admittedly gave me backaches, despite being touted as the lightest-of-the-light HP had to offer at the time).

I couldn't be more glad that I got the matte screen. It's vibrant without being overly reflective (or grainy!), and it's worlds easier on my eyes than my HP; I've been playing on it for hours with no headaches to speak of. Which reminds me: it was delivered around 4:30 this afternoon, which means I've been fooling around on this thing for over 4 hours on the initial charge. With the screen at full brightness. With 25% charge left. Which, in my book, is impressive.

I must say that while I was at first concerned about the quality of the touchpad, the webcam, and a few other features, fixing the settings in the installed applications quickly alleviated all doubt. I haven't felt compelled to do a clean install, as there's very little bloatware (which may be a bonus of having ordered Vista Business). I actually like most of the included software--for now--and I don't feel any qualms about installing additional programs and potentially bogging down my system. While it dragged a little at first, removing MS Works (grr...) and all the Googleware seemed to be sufficient.

At present I haven't tried very much other than what was described; I'm still trying to work out the kinks in my wireless network. Once I do, though, I'll be sure to provide updates. For now...I love my 1420! (Even though the battery is wobbly.)

EDIT: 1. I can't get over how in love I am with the screen (CMO, by the way).
2. I forgot to mention the keyboard yesterday; it has a tactile feel that I was somewhat unaccustomed to, but I've since decided that I kinda like it.
3. It runs so cool! I had it on my lap while it was charging and felt no heat whatsoever. The palmrests are totally comfortable to work on, a distinct change from the dv1000t (which, at times, got too hot to even touch).
4. There is a flaw in the paint, right in the crevice at the top of the lid. I'm not entirely sure how to describe it--I think I exacerbated it by sticking my fingernail into it--but I'm going to see if I can remedy it with a Q-tip and...something. It's not a scratch, exactly. More like a dark spot that dried unevenly.

 

Glad you do! Can't wait for mine.

 

So I took a few pictures to try to capture the paint imperfection on the lid. It's not a huge deal to me, especially since I don't want to wait another month for my laptop to be replaced. It's something I can see myself living with at this point in time, and the pros appear to outweigh the cons.

But.

While I was looking through the pictures I took, I noticed a white (stuck?) pixel in the upper right quadrant of the screen. Which pretty much killed my high. I'm seriously debating whether I should hurry up and try to get this replaced before my 21 days are up or try to live with it and, if need be, fall back on the warranty. *Sigh.

Anyway, you guys check it out and tell me how bad you think the lid looks:



Up close.


Some screen/keyboard shots, just for fun:

Black background. The flash distorts it some in this photo, but there is little to no backlight bleed that I can see.

This is the same black background, if you can believe it.

White background. The spot is the cursor.

Keyboard shots.

Size and screen comparisons with my dv1000t.

Matte vs glossy.


Thoughts?

 

first, thank you for posting images ...really good quality pics
second, i think it looks beautiful .. i wanted the 1420 for its cute and snuggly design lol
but i decided to get 1520 (for 8600gt) to stay with the flow for a few more months.


the only thing im WORRIED about is the paint under my palms..i just hope it doesnt get ruined too quickly..

 

thanx for the pics.in my opinion, i dont think you should return it, becayse you can barely see it.maybe call them and ask them how long it will take to give it back to you.if its long , dont do it.bu thats my opinion, you could do whatever you want.

 

It is cute...not quite as sleek as the HP, but good-looking in its own right...

Upon further investigation--namely, the realization that I couldn't see the "stuck" pixel on a black background--I figured that the problem was my camera, not my laptop, lol...so I'll be keeping it for now...

 

Awesome