Medion Akoya Centrino $949 @bestbuy ?

New hardware vendor?
"sleek german engineered .."
$150 "total savings"
cd-rw 60gb 512 mb wireless lan
widescreen, bright screen
Pentium M 730 1.6 ghz 4.4 lbs, 12.1" screen $940

Same, w/ Pentium 753, 1.7, 80 gb, 5.5 lbs: $1049

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7134941&type=product&cmp=++&id=1110263501821

 

Looks like the Averatec case to me. Hope it is better quality though. The Averatecs have a reputation for cracking - probably need more care in handling than the norm.

 

In short: An ex-Medion-tech-support guy says, "very, very few hardware problems" - but it's been 18 months since he handled them.

They seem to be sold here via consumer chains, e.g. Costco, J&R, and ALDI Foods, a US subsidiary of German parent (which owns Medion?)

http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/read.cgi?id=20050130&tid=1516960
In long:

Medion is really big in Europe. They've only been in the US for a few years. The equipment is really rather good, considering the low prices. They generally build small quantities for a specific retailer, so they aren't building more than what that retailer wants. I'll agree with your concerns about the site, though. They generally don't put anything up until the product has been out for awhile.

In case you're wondering how I know all this, I used to do support for them once upon a mid-day dreary. Very few hardware problems in comparison to other brands. When I was supporting them, they had just put out thier first notebook in the US. Most of the calls on it were from people that shouldn't own computers. Rarely was a call on a hardware problem, either on the one notebook I supported or on the multiple desktops. We had to replace a couple of desktop harddrives and one or two notebook harddrives, but that was about it. Fairly solid machines, overall, and I have no problem recommending them (as a company) unlike most of the companies/products I've supported over the years.

The caveat I'll give is that I can no longer speak to the quality of support, as I haven't supported it in about a year and a half.

 

Take a look at this:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=522914506&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=154304

It is a little heavier and no glossy screen. The HP dv1000 would another good choice:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto/computer_customize_components.do

I'd recommend the larger battery and the 5400RPM hard drive. Good Luck.






I was robbed by a sweet little old lady on a motorized cart and I didn't even see it coming.

-Lloyd Christmas


Thinkpad T42:
* 1.8Ghz Pentium M * 1.5GB Memory * 60GB Hitachi 7200RPM * 15" SXGA+ Flexview * CDRW/DVD Combo *

 

I just saw two models at our local Best Buy. They look nice, and the screens seemed pretty reasonable. The keyboard had some flex, but other than that they seem like a pretty good value.

Brian

www.BargainPDA.com | www.DigitalCameraReview.com | www.NotebookReview.com | www.SpotStop.com | www.TabletPCReviewSpot.com

 

Just picked up a Medion Akoya EX yesterday from Best Buy. Not a bad notebook!

1.7 ghz Pentium M (735)
512k mb (2 DIMM) upgradeable to 1 gb
80 gb harddrive
dvd burner/cd burner
built in wireless lan
wxga TFT glossy screen (1280 x 768)
only weighs 5 lbs
14.1 in screen
DVi out
400 mhz system bus
2mb cache on die lev. 2
PCMCIA (5 type card reader)


$1050

I'm going to do a review on it, so stay tuned....

Medion Akoya Ex

 

Those models are the EX and LS, one is a 12 inch notebook, the other is a 14 inch notebook. Both looks pretty well built to me and a good buy.

 

I bought one from Bestbuy today. Be careful with replacement parts. The one battery replacement I saw cost $500 to replace. With the low price however, a 3 year service plan is not too much extra. I bought one of the $250, the first in nearly a dozen computer purchases.

 

I'm posting from a new Akoya EX that I picked up for my wife's birthday. I run a wireless ISP and have worked in technology for 20 years. I love this little baby!!

The white case is very attractive (and feminine), it runs cool (no burned thighs), quiet (the fan is barely audible during basic usage), and very lightweight. The keyboard has an excellent feel and the display is crisp and bright.

Only issue I had (which has been mentioned in a couple posts and threads here) was how to get the wireless to be activated when Windows starts. Repeating here...but it is just a BIOS setting. F2 during reboot, go to WLAN settings and select to use the last setting rather than the default "Disabled".

I also had that issue with the Norton AV error message...is says to delete it and reinstall. I deleted it and actually installed the McAfee VirusScan that I bought along with Paintshop Pro 8 and some game disc for the kids for a whopping $49. That is a standard deal that BestBuy offers...most titles are available in the stores...some only online.

Also, before I had read the solution to the wireless question here...I had emailed tech support...and they responded quickly with the solution. I actually hadn't even read the flyer in the packaging that highlights the 365 24/7 Fast Friendly Free Customer Care. I opted for the 3-year extended warranty from Best Buy on the tip from the sales dude that it covers a replacement battery...a likely need within 3 years.

I also had never heard of Medion before. But I read what I could online and checked out their website. Based on the feel of the build quality I am very optimistic about this notebook. The global site is: http://www.medion.com/ and the US site is http://www.medionusa.com/

 

I'd consider buying one if I didn't have to buy it from BB. Can you get them anywhere else?

What's the word on battery life?

[ our words to still their voice | our hands to break their worthles necks ]

 

RE: where to purchase...

as noted, the Medion website lists these other retailers:
Aldi
Best Buy
Costco.com
FutureShop.ca
Office Depot
Office Max

I don't know if any of them will be carrying these 2 models...or if they were only for BestBuy.

 

what's the battery life on the 12.1"

 

The 12" is the LS model.

Battery life is pretty good - they claim 3 hrs, I get over 2 hours (but I dont run DVDs - that probably shortens it.)

One thing to note - the battery sticks out about an inch from the back; This leads me to believe they changed an otherwise slim battery for this larger one because its a silly design. Also, the new battery obstructs the laptop lock port, making it inaccessible when the battery is installed.

I suppose you could take the battery out when you lock the unit down, but that's a pretty weak design, IMHO

Their customer support is weak - no FAQ; No Knowledge Base for this product (yet.)

 

i have the akoya ls since 4 weeks and there is just one big issue! the keybord is the worst i have ever seen. i love the notebook and i hope they can fix the problem. i dont wanna hve the akoya ex, because its bigger and got the old centrino with just 400mhz bus.

the screen is very good, but compair to my sony notebook i have, the sony is more colourful. but the xbrite is realy awesome. the notebook boots realy fast and there is no anoing software installed just the norton but its realy easy to remove. it looks nice, is reliable, and the batterie last about 3 hours. the next little problem i got is that the dvd software is ok, but the sound is so quiet that i cant even hear the voices of the actors when im in an airplane and want to watch a movie. i do not have this problem when i listen to some mp3s on i tunes or with winamp. just with cyberlink.

but beside that.. if the keybord would work like a regular keybord the notebook is realy worth the money! just test the notebook before you buy it. maybe its just mine, but i heard already from more people about the same problem...

actualy medion is a german company. i know this company already since a long time, because i am from austria. they import all the electronic from china and sell it really cheap in europe. most time realy good quality though...

 

hey all..
ok so im considering buying the same akoya...i just wanted to know how everyone would rate the battery life, sound, and screen??...im starting college ina few weeks and I need a nice, light laptop...im just scared to try the "no-name" brands...anything would help! thanks[:I]

 

I just bought a Medion Akoya EX on May 31, 05 from Best Buy. Have been liking it so far. If offers more features for less price compared to other brands. With 1.7 GHz Centrino Mobile processor, 80 GB HD, it weighs only 5.1 lbs.

I went through the process of installing software I need on this notebook.
Had a few scary moments, but figured out the reasons.
First, my wireless linksys printer server driver refused to install
on this computer. But after rebooting, it installed fine--I don't know why. Then I could not use ftp. Found that firewall was turned on by default. After turning off firewall, I could use my ftp.

Does anyone know how to use ftp with firewall turned on?

Also, when I downloaded and installed the latest copy of my ATT Global Network Client, it didn't work with the modem, but with an older version, it worked fine with my modem. Probably, the newer version was buggy. It was just released in May 2005.

I also found that it distill word document into acrobat pdf document quit a bit faster than my previous notebook, which is a 2003, 2.4 GHz Toshiba Satellite S2455-305.

 

Hey all. so i just came from bestbuy where i returned a year old Averatec. it was an okay computer, a few problems but with the 'power trio' laptop fix it was really pretty sweet...until the power supply burned out. though it seemed like an easy fix to me, when i brought it into bestbuy to have them fix it under thier 3year plan they said they would just replace it. kind of sweet, new laptop. kind of not, had to buy a new $250 plan. anyway, i opted for the medion with the better processor and the brighter screen. it seems like a pretty solid notebook except for a few things.
1. that same norton message that FLAMEDOG got at startup about having to uninstall and reinstall.
2. I cant connect to the internet at my home. I poach wireless from the neighbors (not so honest i know) so i cant be too upset, but my girlfriend'd brand new dell inspiron 6000 works beautifully from every spot in the house. whats the deal? though i have tested the unit and the wireless works in other wireless locations.
3. the cd drive makes a little more noise than desired (but i can live with that)
4. though the fan is silent, it is almost constantly running and the unit does get to be relatively warm. has anyone ever heard of the 'power trio' (crystal cpuid, speeswitch, and some other one i cant remmeber the name)? i had these three programs running on my averatec and they cut down on fan usage and heat i'd say by a rough 90 percent. but can they be used with any computer/processor?
if i could just get the internet to work at my house....all would be fantastic.

 

Medion makes a high quality product, but I think im going to wait to see what other people think first. They recieved a red dot award for one of their LCD screens, but that doesnt convince me yet. I would think it will take a couple years for them to fix the kinks in the design, and create a quality, popular notebook.