Winbook W340 or other new W Series???

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone owned any of the new Winbook W series notebooks, the W340 in particular? If so, would you be willing to give a review and/or share your opinions of the machine? The pros and cons? Any issues with it yet? If so, how has Winbook service been? The usually stuff for reviews. I am looking at this notebook (W340) as a possible choice and just wanted others opinions.

If you are a owner of a different Winbook, I would like to hear from you too (especially if purchased within the past year or two). I would like to hear your experiences with your Winbook.



Thanks in advance.

 

I have a question about the 340 myself. It's a tech spec discrepency.

On WinBook's site, it says that the 340 has a Mobility Radeon 9600 with 64 MB.
On Microcenter's site AND in their stores, it says that the 340 has a Mobility Radeon 9200 with 64 MB. The laptop was running one of those demo's so I couldn't boot up DXDIAG to confirm any of this. Does anyone know the official specs of the 340?

--------------------
Compaq Presario 2800T
Pentium 4-M 1.6 GHz - 15" UXGA
512 MB RAM - 40 GB (5400 rpm)
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 64 MB
Pretty good for 2002 isn't it?

 

Hi Eliwood,

Yes, I can answer that because I questioned Winbook sales via email (meaning I have it in writing). This was confirmed by their sales staff. It is the ATI 9600 at 64MB. I also confirmed that the HD was 5400rpm, the memory was PC2700 (vs. PC2100 in the W320) and the speeds of the DVD burner. Here are the official specs:

WINBOOK W340 ($1799)
Win XP Pro
Centrino 1.6GHz
512MB (PC2700) DDR SDRAM
60GB 5400rpm ATA/100
4 x 2.4 x 8 DVD+R/RW; 16 x 10 x 24 CDR-RW
1 Type I or Type II PC Card slot
3 USB 2.0
1 VGA
1 Firewire IEEE1394
1 Line Out - Headphone
1 Line in - Microphone
1 S-Video (for video camera)
1 Modem (RJ-11)
1 Lan network (RJ-45)
No Docking Connector
4-in-1 Card Reader (SD, MMC, SM, MS) (No InfraRed)
15.4 WXGA TFT active matrix (1280x800)
ATI Radeon Mobility 9600
64MB DDR (dedicated)
Full size
Touch Pad
Integrated sound & stereo speakers
Lithium Ion:4400 mAH 6 cells (4.5 hours)
Integrated V.92 56K
Integrated Intel 10/100 Ethernet
(Integrated) Intel Pro 802.11b/g WiFi
1 yr Bronze plan (5-10 day repair time)
No Software

Hope this helps. This is why I wanted a review on it. I was hoping someone had it and can tell me their experience with it. It sounds like a nice notebook. It has all I want including the faster HD. However, I have read a lot about Winbook hinges breaking (older models) and want to know more about their latest Winbooks (is hinge problem fixed...more sturdy). I would also like to know about Winbook's quality and service in general.

Thanks in advance.

 

I purchased my Winbook W340 in June. It's a good notebook. It has a burned out pixel but other than that, it's been great. It has a bright 15.4 inch screen and is great to watch DVDs. Battery life is good. DVD/CD-R is noisy but it works.

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by NeedToKnow2

 

Holy crap! A real live Winbook owner. cmefferd, you have no idea how happy you're going to make NeedToKnow2! He's been on a quest for Winbook owners for months now and you're the first one to appear. Thank you.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

I just purchased a W320 from MicroCenter ($1299 - $130 because it was a return - $100 for opening a cc account = $1069.) Straight out of the box it looks good. Solid build, nothing rattles (I read Averatec owners posts who couldn't say that about their new systems!)
Unfortunately, with 2 hours of experience (I was here looking for the same info you are... Did I just buy a piece of crap or the best thing since sliced bread for the price?) I can't comment on much. The DVD player is loud. The keyboard seems nice although a little soft (not much click.)

Given the system config, the only thing I'm really concerned about are the DVD player and playback. PC Mag almost flunked the system due to the DVD playback. Can it really be that bad? I'll know tonight!

Jeff

 

Thank You...Thank You...Thank You!!! Finally, some Winbook owners. I want to thank you both (cmefferd and Small Biz Owner) for sharing. I have been looking for feedback for over 4 months now. You are the first two recent owners that responded.

Even though I have purchased an HP, I am still interested in your reviews/comments of your systems. I was interested in the W320 at first then I learned more about integrated vs dedicated graphics. For my long term plans, dedicated graphics would be better. So then, I decided that the W340 was the way to go. For a long time, it stayed in the thick of it with my other choices. But I could not get any feedback from Winbook owners. This made me very leary. So, I backed off. I could get no one to talk to me about Winbook. I was even asking for those that owned any Winbook (W series or others). I talked a lot to Winbook sales reps via email. They were very fast to answer questions about their systems. I hope their support proves just as fast for you two.

Just in case you did not know, there is a Winbook forum. However, I warn you, the owners there do not talk much either unless it is to post a problem. I could not get any responses there either. Here is the link: http://www.james-taylor.com/winbook/forum/

I wish you both well on your purchases and hope to hear more about your systems in the future. Let me know what I passed up. [ ]

Brian, BTW I'm a she [ ] and thanks.

 

Oops [:I]

I suppose I'm sexist as I tend to assume male unless specified. Thanks for setting me straight.

BTW - If there's ever more than three of you interested in Winbook, I'll set up a dedicated forum for you.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Hi Need2Know2:

Sorry I didn't find your post sooner but I want you to know that I have been a proud winbook owner for several years. I can't remember what made me purchase my first winbook but it was the XL model. It had the AMD 300 processor, 2 gig hard drive and 64 megs of ram. I bought it as a refurb unit because of the free 3 year warranty . It was clean as a pin and worked well. After about 20 months the cd drive went out and I winbook picked it up Tuesday and had it back to me on Thursday, "WOW!". A few months later something happend to the machine again and this time when they picked it up they replaced it with the AMD 400, 3 gig, 128 ram XL michine. Good for me. I help a lot of my sphere small business owners with tech support and I have lead them in purchases that they have enjoyed. One had a Si-2 that after 2 years came down with a DVD drive problem and Winbook replaced that machine with a J1, 1.1 celeron, 128 ram, 20 Gig, with XP Home. I set the machine up for them and had to purchase a J1 for myself the next week (28 months ago). My J1 is the PIII, 1.1 ghtz, XP Pro, 256 Ram, 20 gig hd, I'm using it now. I have purchase a couple of other J4's and in a couple of days I'm going to order 3 or 4 of the W seriers (3-W320's and 1-W340 or W360).

[ ] I like their tech support the best. Not much on the weekend but when I call during the week they answer the phone 8 out of 10 calls within 2 rings.

I just switched to one of my J4's as my primary machine because I started running out of space on my hard drive (over 15 gigs used out of 20) and often have 8 to 11 windows (apts) open at one time. I went to re-format the drive and my wife encouraged me to swap with her. The J4 has the P4 2.4, 500 ram, 40 gig. As stated before, I usually get the refurbs because of the free 3 year warranty and they are spotless.

Anyway, I know I'm boring you by now but maybe other's will read of my excitement for the Winbook computers. They are good. Great value and I like them becuase they come with NO JUNK SOFTWARE THAT I DON'T WANT AND WILL NOT USE.

RSpi

 

Welcome Rspi and thanks.

I would love to hear your review on the W320 or W340 when you get it. I am still curious to the quality of the Winbook W series (especially the W340). I want to thank you in advance for reviewing it. The W340 was going to be the notebook, even with the higher price because it had the faster memory, better GPU and faster hard drive in one package w/o me having to order the RAM or HDD separately. It was a little more expensive than others, but worth it if you could catch it on sell for $1599. I did not want the DVD burner, just a CD burner, but Winbook would not swap it out. However, I could not get any owners, except Brian (owner from 10yrs ago) to come forth.

I am sure glad that more Winbook owners are coming forth. Even though it is a little late for me. There may be others in the same boat...looking at winbooks but hard pressed to find any user reviews of them. Please keep in touch. [ ]

 

Another newbie here doing the searching thing...I just got back from Micro Center and saw the Winbook V series. Looked good in the store to me, but it was the first time I ever really had my hands on one. I've never seen anything on them but found quite a bit of negative on another forum previously mentioned. Ouch. Glad to see some positive here. I did have the salesman play a movie while we did about 4 other apps at the same time and never saw a problem but that was with the P4 HT.

I noticed on their site an "Octoberfest Special" on the W series http://www.winbook.com/ad_dest/email/email.html
The 340 is down to $1499 with a bunch of free things on the side. Since there's 6 more days to the special, i'll be looking around about it a bit more, but would also like to keep hearing if anyone else finds one.

Thanks

 

Well, I know it's been a while but time does fly. Yes I have purchased several WinBook computers over the past 18 months and it's been pretty fun. Right after I ordered a few W300 series I sold my J4 (2.4 GHz / 512 / 40 Gig) and man I wish I had not done that. The reason being, I don't really like the 15.4 wide screen, I like a taller view. Often times while on the net I'll press the F11 key to see even more. I also like to use a two layer Quick Start / Task Bar which really cuts into your view on the wide screen. The secreen is only 768 high, seems about an inch shorter. It is actually 13" X 8-1/2", while the normal screen is 12" X 9". That 3/4" means a lot to me. So, I jumped on eBay and purchased another J4 (Green 730, older model) and used it for about a year. The Green 730 model has a higher res. display that is 1400 X 1050 standard setting. I really liked that! I often had applications opened side by side. I boosted the ram up to 1024, had a 2.2 GHz processor in it and was a happy camper.

Sorry about getting side tracked, I'm suppose to be writing about the W300 series. Well, I gave those machines to staff and they have not had any problems at all with them, other than the wireless network connection breaks sometimes. Both the W320 and the W340 are light, smooth machines that have a really nice keyboard. The drives are a little noisy but the sound is a little louder/better than the J4 G730 & G731. The card reader is nice and the display is sharp as ever, most WinBooks are. I also like the modem, usb, & network plug being on the side. The only thing I DO NOT like is that the modem DOES NOT SUPPORT VOICE. That is a drag because I have a great Fax/Voice software that kicks butt. In Nov. '05 I finally got a W362 for myself. I sold my J4 to help off-set cost. I have the 2.0 Centrino processor, 1 gig of ram, 80 gig hard drive and yes that short screen. After 24 hours I started to ship it back but my wife stopped me. The J4 was a work horse and I just couldn't see a preformance difference initially. I got the machine for a few reasons; 1. I do not like the J4 keyboard, 2. My J4 had USB 1 ports instead of USB 2, 3. My J4 did not have a DVD burner, I had to use an external, 4. I'm starting to loose my sight (now over 40) and the 1400 X 1050 is starting to be a challenge, 5. I liked the tought of having the card reader. So now I have it, the W362. The preformance is a little better. I think it has to do mainly with the ram speed. I believe it's PC2700 instead of the PC133 in the J4. I like being able to burn DVD's for data and movies. The ATI graphic card helps with DVD processing and some graphic editing. Also with DVD play on the battery. The J4 was sometimes choppy when playing DVD's on the battery. As usual, I got a re-ferb unit with the 3 year warranty so I'm not sure if the battery life would be better (used battery). I only get about 1-1/2 hours on the current battery as I pound away.

Now for the Pro's & Con's: Pro's: 1. Very fast machine, 2. Light weight for size, 3. Very clear bright screen, 4. Ports, 5. Great keyboard, 6. Great look. Con;s: 1. Short screen (the nature of the beast), 2. No quick launch buttons like on the J4 (buttons like the power button that launch brower, e-mail, or control the cd/dvd player), 3. DVD player is thin and does not like to play warpped cd's, 4. Wireless range & stregnth (not as good as the MIMO Linksys card I used in my J4).

WinBook doesn't have any new W300 series anymore, only the W200 series (low supply left). You can get them off the referb list. Over all I'll do it again.