Gateway LT 2104U netbook

I bought an LT2104u a couple of days ago. It wasn't on display and Bestbuy sold it by mistake to me!

The specs are as follows:

OS - Windows 7 x32
Processor - N450
Graphics - Intel GMA 3150
Hard Drive - 250gb 5400rpm (Toshiba MK2555GSX)
WLAN - 802.11b/g/n (Atheros AR5B93)

The battery life is excellent because of the N450, achieving at least 8 hours - and it's also extremely fast for a netbook. Build quality is very good, the screen looks excellent - my online concern is the keyboard has a slight flex to it however it doesn't bother me too much any more. Best buy should start selling these soon - I think I bought it for $319 which makes it an excellent buy.

 

I am not seeing this model on Gateway's website... the only models with the N450 Atom, Windows 7, 250GB hdd and b/g/n wifi are the LT2118u, 2119u & 2120u, which are the red, black and white colors, respectively.

And Gateway's MSRP is $350... how did you buy it for $219???

Last question: is the screen glossy or matte?

 

I found some information about the laptop that you are talking about.

http://www.slashgear.com/gateway-lt21-series-netbook-latest-to-get-atom-n450-0667788/

I am going to buy one at the end of the week. They are really really nice. Its a Best Buy exclusive I think. some of the BB stores have them on display and to sell in the store but will not be on the site until this weekend. They are amazing in person though.

 

You "THINK" you bought it for $219??? I think you may have paid $299 which is what it currently is going for as its brand new and thats the retail price. Otherwise- proof.

 

Actually Best Buy has then for 329.00 right now. They are not listed on the website but if you go into the store you may find them on display. From what they told me, not all the stores have then on display yet either. This weekend...Im gonna get me one

 

$329 is not $219. Yes, I'm sure I could go to BB and buy one for $329 or $299 for that matter, as stated on Gateways website.
All I'm sayin is, don't get us all riled up about some fantastic deal that isn't a fantastic deal.

 

Im not riled about the deal...i took that with a grain of salt (this is the internet after all ) but I am riled up about the Netbook though. Its feels great and the keyboard is very nice, its slim and small. I am "riled" because it is a very nice netbook.

 

By the way I wasnt the one that said that I had bought the netbook for $219.00 but I can take it.

 

Was the battery flush to the body of the Netbook and can you easily upgrade the memory. These were two questions they werent sure about at Best Buy.

 

I happened to be by a Best buy at lunch today and inquired about the LT2104u and they have 9 of them in stock for ...........$329 a piece. Same specs as mentioned in first post, just not at the price as mentioned. FWIW.

 

I work for BBY and those laptops are the new models that we are placing out this week (and next) for 2010 and yes, we are receiving a bunch of BBY exclusive models.

 

But it is the same price that I saw though.

 

I am trying to find out if the 6 cell battery on the LT 2104u is flush to the netbook and no one that I talked to there knew for sure. I was also wondering if you can add memory without having to crack the case and take the motherboard out.

 

I will take a good look at it tomorrow (granted I am not busy) and check for you .

 

Everything you wanted to know about the Gateway LT21 series right here:
http://support.gateway.com/s/notebook/2009/gateway/lt/lt21/LT21nv.shtml

There are other views under product views but I think this view is a winner.
http://support.gateway.com/s/notebook/2009/gateway/lt/lt21/LT21rv.shtml

This view shows how to access the memory area on page 11 of 11 of pdf.
http://support.gateway.com/s/Manuals/gateway/GW_LT21_QuickGuide.pdf

Granted this doesn't show a specific LT2104u with the N450 and yadda, yadda, but it does show the basics of the chassis which is not different within the LT21 series model.

 

LOL I have been dethroned. Well he got it for you. But I just wanna see the laptop in person so I am still gonna look.

 

I bought it this morning. Battery is not quite flush but its doesnt stick out the back or very far out the bottom either. I got an extra mem stick because the sales rep assured me that i would be able to put it in easily. I will see tonight for sure. It is very nice though.

 

I just purchased one, I will be taking high res photos soon and post them for everyone, I will respond here with a link to the thread.

 

Sorry! Posted $219 by mistake, meant to post $319! - changed it in an edit though.

 

Any word on how the netbook is? My wife is looking to buy one instead of an e-reader and I am looking for a netbook because of the small size (7805u is too big to take on trips).

 

Hey guys, would really appreciate any impressions on fan noise and if possible, battery life.

Gateway specs say "up to 8 hours of battery life" but the 5600mah capacity is pretty much the same as the Asus eee 1005pe, which reviews say get 10.5 hours doing basic web-browsing (though Asus specs claim 14 hours LOL). I wonder if Gateway is being more realistic and maybe even understating battery life, or perhaps the 1005pe hardware is just that much more efficient.

 

The fan noise is almost non existent, because of the lower power consumption of the new chip, it creates very little heat, and so there doesn't need to be much cooling.

As for the battery life, I reckon it can achieve up to 9 hours but usually it is around 8 doing basic web-browsing and word. I would definitely get one , even at $329 rather than the $219 I mistakenly wrote, lol. Being an owner of a 6860fx, as well, I can honestly say that I rarely use my 6860fx apart from gaming. I was surprised at how quick the netbook is, barely noticing the difference between the two when doing basic tasks.

 

Are the RAM and HDD easily accessible? I've read some reviews on the Asus EEE 1005PE, and they all get vague regarding user-accessibility of the hdd.

This Gateway is starting to get seriously tempting, and I have an 80gb Intel X-25M just layin' around...

 

http://www.cheap-laptop-batteries.com/laptop-battery/acer-um09h31.htm
Gateway LT 2104U netbook battery

 

Thanks for the additional information.

 

Hey everybody...newb here..newb to forums, and netbooks. Just started shopping around for the first time today. I know a bit about computers enough that when I went to best buy and saw this puppy, I knew this thing was good. Also got approved for a Best Buy credit card and so I'm not too far from buying it. Until I came on to the forums is when I found out this notebook like barely came out, from what I've read here. For those who already have it, do you recommend it? I was looking at first for the Asusu Eee 1005HA but this one looks even better. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Just picked one up from Best Buy tonight (329.00 minus 70.00 in reward certs) and this netbook is very slick looking! Few initial things I noticed:

-Screen and fonts are very sharp, colors vivid, function keys to adjust LED brightness
-Bottom warms up just a tad but nothing compared to a standard laptop
-Battery sticks out barely half an inch, but it sticks out on the bottom, not to the rear, so it seems to also function as a stand (has rubber feet on the battery bottom)... wish my p-7805u had a battery setup this way instead of protruding to the rear.
-Keys are spaced out and larger unlike the previous model, very easy to type.
-About an inch thick without battery
-Task manager showed 640mb of 1gb RAM used after initial setup and with one browser/tab opened.

Very sturdy keyboard - does not sink in when pressing. Laptop has a firm wrist pad and firm screen bezel - unlike some of the Toshibas which felt soft or would bend all over.

The performance wasnt too fast while the laptop was completing the initial setup process, but once it setup it was quick pulling up web pages and surfing or clicking thumbnails and blowing up pictures. Not bad for 1gb of ram... But will be purchasing a 2GB ram upgrade (its a single dim slot) from Frys this week. I've read that with 2gb of ram it's performance increases noticably. Its worth it to me for $29 - $39 bucks.

Enjoying it so far!!

 

An update on the Gateway LT 2104U. In August, 2010, a bunch of these were sold by Woot® : One Day, One Deal?, refurbished, for $200. I picked one up and am happy with it.
User MedicSteve09 reviewed it on this site, I agree with his findings.
Here's a note from a Woot user, Radio1...

I can verify that you can flash the BIOS on the LT2104u (Gateway - Black) with the Acer 532h BIOS.


Go here:
Acer Support - Download Drivers

Then click 'Netbook' and find '532h'. The latest BIOS 1.25 and the one present on the LT2104u (at least mine) is 1.05. You can flash either by DOS or Windows. And you must have the AC adapter plugged in to flash it.

FYI- if you use the Windows flash program provided-- it will confirm that the original (Gateway) BIOS series is the same series (N50) as the Acer, though an earlier version.

 

Hmmm... what are the benefits of flashing with that bios?

 

This reminds me to give all an update on mine that I purchased in March.

-Battery capacity is 46969mWh of original 47520mWh

-Screen has line down the right side starting at top and extending down to within an inch of bottom of screen about an inch in from right side. Some sort of dead pixel issue or something like that. At first I thought it was the gadget area displaying but that was in Vista and this is Win 7 and that demarcation line went away. Gonna wait a little longer to bring in to fix just in case something else crops up as it is under warranty.

Other than those issues, it has done what I asked it to do.

 

It's best to have the latest drivers. It'll run better!

 

It's best to have the latest drivers. It'll run better!

 

Well, I have learned that "latest" doesn't mean best and won't necessarily run better. Just check the ASUS forums for example over the G73 bios's. Just sayin...

 

hey i got a question about mine. I'm VERY bad with technology, so bear with me on this. Okay, so LT2104U has a little icons on the very bottom left, and one of them is a little lock symbol with an A in it. My netbook worked just fine, until one day the little blue light below the symbol came on. Now, after I turn on the netbook and it goes through the whole startup process, instead of it going to my login, the screen just goes blank. The mouse still works and I can see the little arrow move around, but i cant do anything other than move the mouse around. Does anybody know if there is a btton i can press that will "unlock" my netbook? And Does anyone know what caused this in the first place?

 

In the area where the power/hard drive indicator lights are, the pad lock symbol with the A in it is the "Caps lock" indicator.
See manual here: LINK
I suggest reading through this first. There might be a few more steps to do and you'll need to get familiar with what and where things are.