The Gateway LT2104 Netbook has a wonderful 10.1 inch wide screen display perfect for on the go computing. With a crystal clear LED back-lit screen, this netbook is unmistakably one of the best ones on the market. This review will cover the make and software of the Gateway LT2104 Netbook Computer.

User Experience

The Gateway Netbook has a very attractive design with an ergonomic keyboard, and screen, measuring less than an inch thick and less than 3 pounds in weight. The keyboard for this netbook is perfect for the netbook’s size. The netbook itself is very small compared to the average laptop, yet the designers at Gateway made sure that the keys on the keyboard would be big enough to allow easy, and fast typing. Some people have had complaints about the flat keyboard not being ideal for typing without looking, but I have not experienced this problem yet myself while using this netbook. I myself enjoy typing on this flat ergonomic keyboard more than on the standard keyboard, just because it is easier on my hands in general. The keyboard on this Gateway Netbook seems to relieve the stress on my hands that other keyboards cause.

The Gateway LT series netbook comes standard with either a 160GB or a 250GB SATA HDD, more than enough memory to upgrade your operating system and download the full version of Microsoft Office with plenty of space to spare for other programs and files. With more programs on the netbook, the LT2104 still performs very well because of its new Intel N450 processor and optional 2GB RAM (max.) which impressed even me when I had multiple programs running such as Skype, Internet Explorer 8, and Office Outlook, and the netbook still ran as smoothly as it did with one window or program open. Also, with the new Intel N450 processor, the Gateway LT2104 Netbook also has an extended battery life of up to 8 hours compared to other netbooks such as the MSI’s which only have 3 hours of battery life for the same $299.00-$325.00. So far I am pretty impressed with the battery life. Having used it sporadically one day, and letting it sit in sleep mode overnight, the battery was still at 80% the following day. This exceeded my expectations.

The Gateway LT2104 has a pretty decent audio system. Watching videos on the crystal clear LED screen, there is also very good, bright sound. With the volume on this netbook exceeding some other laptops, this netbook I would say has an awesome volume system. Compare the volume and clarity of sound on this netbook to that of an Acer netbook, and this Gateway Netbook defeats the Acer. Also talking about audio, this netbook also has one microphone on the left side of the 0.3MP webcam. These microphones are fairly decent, yet the clarity to some, including me may be lacking. The speakers are great, but the microphones aren’t the best. They are OK for general use, but if you plan to use your netbook for conference calls and meetings on the go, than you are better off looking for a netbook with a better microphone and or webcam. The microphones on this laptop are purely for general uses such as Skype and MSN video chatting.

The Gateway LT2104 netbook has a 0.3MP webcam, great for those people who are on the go. On this netbook, there is a very easy access to the webcam (see below). You just hover your mouse to the top of the screen and you get the option to start up the built in webcam, or change the settings. This creates an ease of access for easy video chatting and or video recording. I personally really like this feature because on my HP Tablet I was unable to find out how quickly to activate my webcam, which really started to irritate me after a while.

One of the only drawbacks of the Gateway LT2104 Netbook for me is that it is extremely difficult to slide in a memory stick or mouse receiver. You have to literally pry the memory stick into the socket, which takes surprisingly on this netbook quite a lot of effort. Besides that minor drawback, the build of the Gateway Netbook is surprisingly good, and it even surpassed my expectations as an on-the-go netbook computer.

Software

The Gateway LT2104 comes standard with Windows 7 Starter edition. I would recommend that you upgrade the operating system to Home or Ultimate as soon as you can because Windows 7 starter is the most basic you can get for an operating system. You can’t even customize your background, which was even standard on XP Home Edition. Other than that, Windows 7 is the perfect fit for this netbook because its simplicity as an operating system is ideal for quick, on the go work.

The new Intel atom 450 processor is extremely powerful in the sense of multitasking and online media (YouTube, Hulu, etc.) When I had multiple windows of Safari 5, IE8 and even Outlook, the Gateway netbook performed without a glitch, and it responded even faster than my HP Tablet PC (TX2Z).

Overall, I think the combination of Windows 7 and the Intel Atom 450 processor is the perfect “software pair” for on the go work, or media viewing on the internet.

Specifications

Conclusion

For me there are no real drawbacks to the Gateway LT2104 Netbook except for the fact that the standard operating system on it is Windows 7 Starter which has many limitations, even the basics such as changing your background. The Gateway is a very powerful on-the-go machine ideal for school, work, or entertainment. I do not know what I would do without it. The netbook is an ideal machine to carry to school with me. It makes my backpack much lighter compared to my Tablet PC.

The Gateway LT2104 is available for around $329.99 on the Gateway online store.