Packard Bell

Does anyone know of this brand, its a massive company in Western Europe. They are in partnership with NEC computers

 

I know it, it's massive here in Chile (Southamerica) too.

 

my mate is getting the new 17" widescreen Easynote W-series

 

There is a topic about PB already:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=35378

 

Yeah, I had one of their desktops, seemed to be a very hated company in the U.S, associated with cruddy quality, dropped out of the U.S a few years back.

 

I used to fix computers in the local university shop in the US and let me tell you that Packard-Bells were by far the shoddiest pieces of junk you could call a computer. I believe that is why they dropped out of the US market. Now as to their laptops and desktops today I have no idea, but based on my past experience with them I wouldn't touch one with a 10' pole.

 

In the UK, Packard Bell is one of the more upmarket brands, and can be comparable to Sony, Toshiba and HP. Their recent prouducts to date have been excellent quality machines.

 

I doubt that, as I have seen some of PB laptops sold in German supermarkets. Looks really cheap made, so that I have no desire to try them closer. The market is full of this kind of cheaper plastic laptops made by barebone assemblers. PB may be able to compete with them, but not with the major brands.

 

Sorry i have to disagree with the statement you have made, Packard Bell notebooks in the UK are recognised as a very high quality brand in the UK, they are the third biggest computer brand in the UK just behind Sony and Toshiba, Sony and Toshiba being #1 and #2 respectively. Flagship Packard Bell models are as expensive as flagship Sonys and Toshibas of the same specification. In saying that the Packard Bell in question was of lower quality than can be compared to its rivals, is your opinion only and you are entitled to it. The United Stated may not rate Packard Bell very highly, but in the UK, they are a very popular, sought after and reliable brand with a respectable history.

 

Yes, when I first encountered this brand I read (on its website) it is one of the leaders on the market. I was puzzled, as I never heard of it.
Perhaps they sell their notebooks to the industries... that is why. In this way they may avoid real copmpetition.

The model I have seen live was 13". I liked the specs and the form factor but I was rather suspicious about the cheap looking construction and the price which was somewhat higher than that of other producers for similar low end models.

Please tell us more about the good side of PB laptops. Do you mean some specific laptop which is distinguished in its class or just the reputation of the brand?

 

As i have said before, the reason you have not heard of Packard Bell is because they do not sell in the States in a large scale. There are a few of their products dotted around the States in a few stores but thats all. Packard Bell's biggest market is Western Europe as i keep saying. There are Packard Bell items available to purchase in nearly every computer store in the UK.

The model you are refering to is the 13.3" DiamondView widescreen Easynote A-series.







The A-series is a notebook that is aimed as a slightly cheaper alternative to the Sony S and SZ series notebooks of the same form factor. Other rivals include the Toshiba M50, Toshiba M300, Sony FJ series and the HP DV1000. The price of the A-series is at the higher price scale of these notebooks. I have to disagree with you when you say that the A-series is made of cheap materials, It is made of durable plastic, which is common place for the majority of laptops now-a-days. The only notebook here with a metal exterior is the Sony SZ series, and the rest of the notebooks aforementioned are plastic just like the Packard Bell. There have been reviews in numerous notebook magazines stating that the A-series had indeed a superior quality screen to the Toshiba M50 and the HP DV1000.

There really is nothing really more to say about Packard Bell, In western Europe they are a very reputable, highly recommended and a very well liked company.

 

That's quite the blanket statement. Let's call a spade a spade and admit that you have some relationship with them.

Frankly nothing on the notebook you posted screams anything other than "budget". Do you have any other examples or visual references of higher end models?

 

The colorings attractive, but reminds me a bit of an Emachine. Who is the ODM for that machine?

Packard Bell got run out of the states because there products were terrible. I admit I was suprised to learn they're still alive elsewhere. I can't say I'd trust there products even if I could buy one.

 

Dont blame you mate. I have a Packard Bell laptop now and its the ****iest thing ive ever seen. Back in the day when i was a computer noob, I got the F5280 laptop for Uni. Its so so so slow and the materials just seem rubbish. The quality of the plastic is cheap, the keyboard feels cheap, the touchpad feels cheap - its just a really cheap laptop. Also it gets really really hot and the fans is so noisy I can hear it in the hallway when Im at the opposite end of the house (barely, but still thats a good few meters!).

My brother bought PB desktop years ago and it kept on breaking down before eventually failing to start completely. This was in the first month of using it, needles to say it was promptly returened.

Im never going to buy a PB compter again. They ooze cheapness and their updates never work. I just posted about a BIOS update not working. Its supposed to fix a problem with the battery not charging. Can you believe that...a laptop whose battery doesnt charge!!! Only Packard Bell can think of such a good idea and then not be able to fix it. Also the VGA driver from their website made my laptop crash on start up and fall into an endless restart loop. Had to do a format the HD to cure the problem. I then decided to do my own driver hunting since PB couldnt even put the right drivers on their website.

As you can see Ive had nothing but bad experiences with this company and can only urge people to avioid their computers like the plague. They were **** in the past and they are definately uber **** now. Comparing thier PCs to decent makes like Sony and Toshiba is lunacy!

Cant wait to get my replacement for this piece of junk - the Sony VAIO FE11H!! Once I get that, Im drop kicking this thing out the window!

 

guys you are thrashing this brand based on experiences from years and years ago. None of you here have had recent experience of this brand so you are not obliged to comment, your comments carry no weight. All your products from this brand are ancient and don't have new Packard Bell technology inside them. Packard Bell have got a lot better over the past couple of years and are using quality materials such as magnesium alloy metals and quality plastics. The screens are second to none with superior high resolution screens, most notably on the A series and W series notebooks. And in answer to your questions, no i am not afficiated with Packard Bell in any way. I live in the UK and Packard Bell sales are in Holland, me and my mate are only buyers of notebooks from Packard Bell and i am speaking of my experiences of the notebook so far.

 

Sorry, should have mentioned my laptop is less than a year and a half old. If thats not fairly recent, then what is? I dont think they would have radically changed into a decent company in that time.

My laptop looks like its made from the same material as the one you posted and its cheap! If you dont believe me, my laptop was reviewed by PC Plus, take a look:

http://www.pcplus.co.uk/reviews/mobile_computing/packard_bell_easynote_f5_280

Nuff said.

 

Everyone knows that notebooks have come a long way since a year and a half ago, I had a Samsung V20 a year and a half ago and it was complete rubbish, dont forget, widescreen notebooks were non existent a year and a half ago. I was using an old P4 desktop processor in the samsung and if you notice now most new notebooks have mobile processors with battery saving technology. This is how far they have come, in little over a year, all manufactures are using components and materials which are 80% better than they where a couple of years ago, notebooks will never be as good as desktop machines but at least they try.

 

hmmm no replys

 

Actually, I must agree with Irish friend about recent Packard Bell notebooks quality. The diamond screen of PB should be compared with Sony and Fujitsu,it is amazingly good. The new W7 and V dual core series are really good machines around. We (in Turkey) see many Packard Bell notebooks with other notebook brands, and we have got good comments on them. Especially latest PB nbooks are awesome with their design, screen quality and overall specs.

I very much suprised not to see them in USA.

 

i agree with AZZA and Clearday in saying that PB has good quality machines. i live in Australia and about 1 1/2 years ago i bought a desktop computer from Harvey Norman, which is a good store not a budget one. i got the PB which was the most expensive, had the best specs, and had been talked about alot and only good things were said. This pc today is still running like it was new, the quality is definetly the best, and i have no complaints at all. they also have very good designs aswell

 

What is according to you the main reason to favour Packard Bell when one decides about the new notebook purchase? Are all current PB models just rebranded NEC?

 

My main reasons to buy a PB notebook:

-Diamond View type screen
-Style

when other specs are not under average. Arent they enough to buy a PB?

 

Not all new PB notebooks are rebadged NECs. Yes most definately the PB DiamondView screen is far superior to many of the other notebook vendors in the UK such as Dell, HP/Compaq and others alike.
It has been proven in the UK that it is on par with sony's X-Black LCDs

My reasons to buy Packard bell are:

• DiamondView LCD Technology
• Realtech HD Audio Soundcard
• Billionton 802.11b/g Mini-PCI Wireless LAN adapter with excellent WiFi range
• Synaptics superior touchpad control Technology
• Notebook chassis Style
• Overall rebustness and excellent quality of their products

 

Such as, I very much think to buy a new brand PB notebook in Turkey, and just seen a well machine in shopping centers...

Packard Bell Easynote "V" series
-Diamond View LCD Tech
-ATIMobility Radeon X1600 with up 512MB HyperMemory
-Pata HDD
-Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
-Intel® Core™ processor Duo
-Integrated Hybrid TV Tuner
-Integrated remote control
-PowerCinema Software
-DVD burner DVD+R9
-Bluetooth technology



regards,
CDTRF

 

You guys sound as if PB is the best brand on the market.
Here in Germany it is just one of the cpeap brands, and it
does not even offer the best price per performance ratio.

I am not surprised that PB is looking for its lack in the markets like Turkey where
the people are possibly not so well informed about the market qualities of other products and where the corrupt political connections secure the market success.

Here there is the next week offer of a PB laptop in a German discount store
http://www.plus.de/is-bin/INTERSHOP...t?ProductSKU=96172200&RefID=z791597C707781701
Why I need to buy a Sempron laptop for 799 Euro , if there are Centrino models from other brands already available for 599 Euro?

I agree, the touchpad of PackardBell (that of NEC, right?) looks good, though I haven't tried yet how smoothly it works.

 

PB is one of the best brands on the market (maybe not the German market but certainly most of the other countries in Europe) Packard Bell notebooks certainly are not cheap as you have proven (thanks for backing up my theory).

OK I'll try to explain this in best i can, Think of BMW and Wolkswagen saloon, both the same size of cars. BMWs are much more expensive but can come with small engines if required. A BMW with a small engine will cost more than a Volkswagen car of the same size with a big powerful engine. The BMW is the better car with all the latest optional extra equipment, however its not as fast or powerful as the volkswagen, but the volkswagen has none of the extra cool equipment that the BMW has.

The PB is the BMW (smaller not as good processor = sempron) and the other notebook vendor (for the benefit of the explanation i shall refer to it as "Notebook X") is the Volkswagen (large better processor = centrino). However Notebook X has none of the superior features of the PB such as DiamondWiew LCD, Synaptics touchpad and visual appeal. The PB is not as powerful but is better quality components etc. Notebook X uses rubbish components, but happens to have a barebones centrino processor.The obvious action to take is to buy the PB that has better materials overall and will last you longer than Notebook X.

Incorrect mate. Turkey is just as knowledgeable with notebooks than in most other large countries and for the benefit of your post, so is UK & Ireland, no notebook vendor will get away with producing mediocre notebooks the UK. As i have said the UK favours PB very well and this proves that PB are no flop. I don't think PB is going to loose any sleep if a couple of notebook nerds on a forum don't like their products, as with everything there must be a reason why some PB notebooks with lesser features are more expensive than other well known notebook vendors with better specs.

Yes finally something we can agree on, the Synaptics touchpad sensor on PB notebooks is top of the line. It is 100% synaptics technology inside, and if you look on their website they explain all their excellent technologies that they have used ( http://www.synaptics.com/products/touchpad.cfm)

I think you should give up mate,you're obviously fighting a loosing battle here

 

AZZA, if you praise PB notebooks, why you don't just praise the original NEC notebooks on which PB has glued its label? On the German site of PB it also represents itself as a "leading brand". However, I don't see where and how
it is leading and how these notebooks are different from the rest of similar ones.
The qualities of PB notebooks are just suitable for the budget sector of the market like Uniwill, Twinhead, Clevo etc. Your posts sound like PB is trying to employ the marketing strategy of Alienware which also has been using cheaper barebones and trying to seel them with pomp for double a price one could get those elsewhere.

I don't know about Turkey, but I know that the people in Eastern European
market are in general much less informed about the modern notebooks standards and prices than the people in the Western Europe, and this is exploited by the firms which are specialized on selling low end notebooks.
Though, I don' know specifically about PB activity in Eastern Europe. Tell PB they might try it there!

If you don't mind, I just have fun. On the other hand any firm may have chance to improve, if it chose to.
The current NEC based models deserve more attention than the previous ones and I hope that PB will progress
in the price per performance issue. I would suggest to learn a lesson from the MSI great performance on the notebook market.

 

Turkey's notebook experiments are far more than Ivar thinking. All world updated and newest notebooks can be sold here. And Turkish users are very capable to say what is best or what is bad...

Turkey has also the only "notebook producer" in the middle east and eastern europe region with its "Vestel". Vestel also sells many notebook materials all over the world, such as Samsung, Philips, Sony...
Vestel website= http://www.vestel.com/dev_en


And all famous notebook brands have own Turkish sites like below;

Acer
http://www.acer.com.tr (tr= Turkey)
Asus
http://www.asus.com.tr
Packard Bell
http://www.packardbell.com/tr/
MSI
http://www.msi.com.tr
IBM(Lenova)
http://www.ibm.com/tr
Sony
www.sony.com.tr
LG
http://www.lge.com.tr
...many...

 

clearday,
thanks for you information. It is always useful to extend ones horizon.

I remember that I found that the same barebone based Uniwill model
I write this post from was also "produced" in Azerbaydjan (a samll country
near to Turkey and Caspian see). So, you are not quite alone in the region.

Actually, I am rather sorry for those who have to spend their money
for PB notebooks.

The PB "diamond screen" praised by you is rather usual these days.
My notebook also has a glossy great looking bright screen which is on par with sony's S-series (in fact, I like mine even more). When I was chosing the laptop one year ago, PB alternative lost because of its depressive design, uncomfortable keyboard, higher weight, and many complains on forums and in a couple of reviews I read, being also 20 or more percent more expensive at the same time. Now, when I know more about different subnotebooks, I
am happy that I haven't bought Packard Bell.

Btw, what is PB policy regarding the display dead pixels? This is one of the complains I remember.

 

You know. There really isn't much Packard Bell representation on NBR. You should represent and review your notebooks.

The last time I saw a PB product was a moniter I played basketball with in highschool.

 

Dear Ivar,

As you know Azerbayjan is an another Turkish state in the region. All Azerbayjan activities,economies,population ties to Turkey. You can call Turkey as a brother. So Azerbayjan's own capability is very limited if Turkey will not help this brother state. You know Azerbayjan consists of "Azeri Turks".

Vestel’s production exceeded 15 million in 2005 with an export turnover of over €2.2 billion, only R&D center of middle east and eastern europe. Vestel sells its products in 103 countries including Europe, The CIS, Asia, and The Middle East, Africa, America, and Australia.

On the other hand, I respect your views about PB. Everybody has own thoughts...

 

mate lets keep this packard bell related
cheers

 

That has to be one of the laziest generalisations I have ever heard.

If "Notebook X" was any other brand it would have better features than Packard Bell in every way.

Imagine you are comparing a Sony and PB, the Sony X-black screen would win any day. Also, Sony laptops are well renowned for their style and are significantly more aesthetically appealing than a PB. So much for PB's alleged "visual appeal" and superior "Diamondview LCD" in this case.

Image you are comparing an Asus and PB, no guesses for who has the better build quality. Asus laptops are known to last.

Imagine you are comparing an Acer laptop to PB, Acer are very competitively priced and have a decent build quality. You get far more for your money with an Acer then with the PB which probably has the same cheap components. Need I remind you of the PC Plus article in which they said "Packard Bell has collected together every budget component it could lay its hands on. The result is a laptop that’s average in many regards, and decidedly poor in others."

URL: http://www.pcplus.co.uk/reviews/mobile_computing/packard_bell_easynote_f5_280

By saying notebook X will be better without knowing what it is, is extremely ignorant. If you are going to make your case then at least know all the facts before making your argument. The reason why PB pulled out of the American market was because their quality was not at an acceptable standard. If it was, then PB would be selling in America right now. If their laptops are so good then why aren’t they?

PB is the worst make of laptop I have come across and will never buy from them again. Poor customer service and their website has drivers that make your laptop give you the jolly old blue screen.

Cheers dude. It’s the biggest waste of money ever.

Trust me dude, speaking from my laptop it sucks. It’s really jumpy most of the time and the buttons make loud cheap sounding clicks.

I have a reason for you, its called profit. All PB want to do is sell cheap laptops with lacking features that are overpriced and that PC Plus article says the same thing, “but we’ve seen similarly priced rivals with 802.11g Wi-Fi and Ati graphics cards. We therefore find it difficult to recommend this machine to anyone.”

I can understand you arguing your case for PB, that’s fine. I’d defend my laptop manufacturer had I bought a decent laptop. But PB aren’t regarded as cheap in the industry for no reason.

 

My first computer (mid 1990s) was by Packard Bell!

 

awww mate, you put your whole heart and sole into that last post, but im sorry mate, your post carries no grounds.

It is obvious that you are using an old PB notebook, with old NEC technology throughout the whole notebook. Last year PB hit it off with brand new line of notebooks with brand new technology in their A,B,L and W series notebooks.

I was merely saying that 'Notebook X' would be a notebook with a small unknown name on it. I am not in any way saying that a PB notebook is better than a sony notebook, if you must hear it, Sony is slightly better, but i am saying it has been proven that DiamondView is on par with the X-Black

I cannot speak of ASUS notebooks as they are not well known in the UK and only sell their notebooks through small businesses, not large operators such as PC World/Currys/Dixons. But it is very ignorant for you to compare a new ASUS notebook with an old discontinued PB product, as i have said it carries no grounds at all.

Acer is much the same with ASUS as they operate on a small scale in the United Kingdom, and you cannot compare your ageing PB notebook with a new Acer.

That review is of your ageing F5 280 notebook, and quite frankly i agree with everything they have said, it really is rubbish! PB moved out of the Amercian market because they just simply did not want to sell there anymore, they felt that their biggest market is Western Europe, not for the obscene reason you suggested.

By this previous post, you have made yourself appear very ignorant, arrogant and extremely childish in saying Packard Bell is the worst make ever without testing their latest products.

As for your cheap jumpy touchpad and loud clicky buttons, that goes back to my previous point of your cheap quality discontinued notebook.

Packard Bell are not out there just to get a profit, they are of similar prices of other notebooks with the same specs. Also the quotes from the article are once more of your rubbish discontinued notebook

Sorry if i sounded repetative in this post but it is exactly what you have been like in your last post

 

Generally it doesn't matter much if you introduce a brandnew line of products. That doesn't mean the brand will be automatically held in any higher regaurd. Particularly if this change was only a year ago. If you've built cheap stuff in the past, people tend to remember that and will base future decisions on past experiences regaurdless. They'll avoid the brand at all cost. Earlier in the thread you posted pictures of a 13.3 inch model that was really a rebranded NEC which you praised for its high quality. Do you mean to say that model was one of the discontinued models?

 

I understand that but people should give PB a chance they are a changed company. They still have ties with NEC which is no bad thing, the PB A series notebook is one of their current models.

 

Is that part of their mission statement or something? Does it include to provide sub-stanbdard notebooks at unreasonable prices as well? Can you please send me a link as to where you found this?

I dont understand how on the one hand you have nothing but praise for a company then trash their products because they are old.

People who bought IBM notebooks years ago speak favourably of them because they are quality products. It doesnt matter if they are old, a quality laptop is a quality laptop. This I find is lacking in packard bell - be it in materials used, components or customer service.

Also, I never said I was comparing my laptop with new models from Acer, Sony or Asus. You were comparing the latest PB notebook with a mysterious "notebook X". All i was saying is that you cant say PB is better without knowing what it is you are comparing with.

I totally agree, I hate my "rubish old notebook", its a piece of PB ****. I cant wait to replace it.

Finally, this is a forum. People come here to learn not to be called names. I said what you did was ignorant - i did not call you ignorant. Please refrain from calling me, or any other forum member, names in future.

 

How much fair to compare Sony with PB? I dont find it logical. Xbrite screen is not far better than PB. And PB's screens are really really better than many notebook screens. No one discusses that PB is the number one nbook in the market here. I try to say it is not worst, not best. To keep all PB notebook series out of view is not a fair result like Sony comparison.And putting some very old http://www.pcplus.co.uk/reviews/mobi...asynote_f5_280 PB nbook series reviews here is again not fair and true.

The latest Easynote series like V (dual core with PATA hdd,15,4") and W (centrino,17") series are able to make anything what you want from a notebook. Of course they haVent got best builtup quality.But could anyone give me a fair and winner comparison among Sony's or any brand's builtup quality with Panasonic's excellent toughbook nbook series? Noone...
It means if you want to seek out a best,there are always bests like there are always worsts...and middles...PB is not the best,is not the worst.



regards,
CDTRF

 

I for one do admit that just a year ago, PB where average notebooks, there certainly were better notebooks out there. Unfortunately your notebook was not their best executive decision in the history of PB computers.

Yes i agree totally, but you now have to give PB a chance now, as they are up now with the best of vendors.

I disagree very much here, you were very clearly comparing your notebook with brand new notebooks of today. Like Clearday, i definately agree that it is an unwarranted comparison as notebooks are improving every month in this dog eat dog market. You clearly know nothing about notebooks, and it is evident in your extraneous statement.

Mate, In Ireland, saying ones actions is ignorant is like saying one is ignorant. I called you this because your assumption on these notebooks are incorrect and you really dont have a clue what you're talking about, if you did you would know better than to post a stupid post like what you did.

I suggest you check out PB's latest notebooks before you make uncanny reviews and opinions based on old knowledge, after you check them out come back and challenge me.

Yes i agree with you totally, DiamondView is certainly on par with X-Black screens and on a whole Packard Bell is indeed no better, or no worse than many of the other well known vendors out there.

 

ah, the wimps have run away!

 

and it is very normal result. If you havent got strong informations about certain issues, you can not discuss these things in well-informed people.

This market is a sharp, fast-growing, dog eating, quick changing...so indicating a 1 year old (even, 6 months ago)nbook review will not take so much care for me today. This rule is also acceptable in next years and actually next months...

I couldnt race with them, so many so many nbooks around release month by month...Who is best and who is worst races will not end until the world end...


regards,
CDTRF

 

Two things - let's keep on-topic, and make sure that the conversation stays notebook-related and non-personal. We'd appreciate that.

Thanks,
Chaz

 

http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/108 reviews (in German) Packard Bell EasyNote V7800 (15,4" Core Duo). I haven't read the 6pages + pics in the end) review (no interest). The resume points the positive features (e.g. good keyboard, HD recovery, ECO silent mode, integrated bass subwoofer, dvi slot, express card, bright display...) and negative ones (bad documentation, weak display backcover, too weak performance for X1600 graphic, no VGA, no recovery CD...).

Probably the brand is really trying to improve.

 

This is what we want to imply here. PB tries to play hard for other players.

 

precisely.

No-one can sit there and say that PB isnt trying hard. The Easynote V is no exception, although not available in the UK yet, i'd sure buy one.

 

I find strange how it cant be available in UK while ok in Turkey. I see updated Easynote V/W series in many PC malls,showrooms in Turkey.


Such as, a few TR sites for newest PB V series;
-http://www.hepsiburada.com/productdetails.aspx?categoryid=81876&productid=bd700549
-http://www.mavibilgisayar.com/katalog/urunler/listele.php?s=AoXoIsqNLLoGNqyO6XxgEJakeCy6rCOKfweV26J2Fk7ZM54aIB&no=88
-http://www.pcdepo.com/asp/listgroup.asp?Group_ID=NtPAC

many...It comes me strange not to see sales in UK yet.


regards,
Clearday

 

we cannot get the Easynote V or R in the UK.

However we can get the Easynote W (which i own), A, L, J, B, and S series notebooks

 

Do you really know why you dont find? any opinion?

 

ive no idea mate