Gateway problems also common in newer 14" notebooks?

After my earlier post ("Gateway Reliable?"), I still have some further questions.

Is the Gateway MX3410 ( http://futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10076252&catid=)
a reasonably good buy for $900CAN(includes taxes) or not? So far, it's the cheapest dual-core notebook that I have come across. I'm hoping that the price will go down to about $800+taxes in the upcoming months.
I just hope that the newer Gateway 14.1" notebooks are reasonably reliable and will last at least 4 years of usage at university.
I have actually seen and handled this particular notebook and, from my experience, the notebook looks pretty solid. The only thing that struck me as bad was the notebook's tiny speakers. Also, when I pressed the back of the LCD with medium force, ripples were very visabel on the screen.
I've heard that there have been many problems with Gateway's 15.4" notebooks;are these problems also present in their 14.1" notebooks? I've also read some complaints in this forum concerning the lack of sound on some Gateway notebooks. To my shock, the demo model displayed at Futureshop also had a malfunctioning sound system. I could not adjust the sound using either the Fn keys or tray icon; therefore I couldn't actually test the notebook's speakers (I had to go and try them out at the nearest Best Buy).

Here's a link to Gateay's support page for this notebook:
http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/...009049nv.shtml

Thanks for the help!

 

Sorry if the previous post seems like a duplicate of my previous post.

Well, since no one has replied to the post, I had to do a little research for myself.

I just came back from Best Buy and Futureshop and have looked over the Gateway MX3410 in great detail. These are the issues I will be addressing:

1)Gateway's reliability
2)screen hinge cracks
3)longevity
4)sound
5)LCD screen

First of all, Gateway's reliability, tech support, quality of build is somewhat questionable. Some people fully support Gateway and are very pleased with thier products. However, there are also many people in this forum who absolutley hate evrything about Gateway. Therefore, I have not been able to make up my mind fully about this aspect.
Secondly, after carefully looking over the Gateway MX3410, I have noticed that the screen hinges as well as the entire area surrounding them have been reinforced with a black material resembling magnesium alloy. It feels extremely durable and strong, and I am quite sure that this material will not crack like previous Gateway notebook hinges (from many of the photos of cracked/broken Gateway notebook hinges, it looks like most of them were made entirely of plastic and were not reinforced - hence the cracks). It also appears that Gateway has done this with almost thier entire new notebook lineup.
I estimate that this notebook will last soemwhere around 3 years of careful usage (only if you really take care of your notebook), but that's just my guess.
As for the sound, the speakers are still very weak, and can be rated as below average. I have not been able to find out if the loss of sound in Gateway notebooks is a common issue yet.
The LCD Screen actually isn't that bad compared to other similarly priced notebooks. Again, the entire front (the part the screen is on) is made of the same magnesium alloy material and looks very resilient. There wasn't mush light leakage noticable on the screen of the display model (but this will vary).

I think I'll take the plunge and give Gateway a try. It's nice to give smaller companies some suport and a chance to improve themselves. I mean, if Gateway improves and produces more quality products, it would be better for the notebook market and consumers right?
In my opinion, Gateway has some excellently priced notebooks (especially the MX3410) which include top-notch features.
I've read Hellmanns' posts in support of Gateway notebooks and, currently, I agree (I also have several friends who share the same opinion).

Let's go Gateway!