Netbook Packard bell Dot S: specifications, review, photos and reviews

For a long time, the line of mobile computers has eroded the line between netbooks and laptops, because every manufacturer, trying to please customers, creates a product with the least weight and maximum portability. Without experts in the field of IT in the segment of portable devices can not do, only they are able to determine the purpose of the mobile gadget and give an opinion on the feasibility of buying.

The focus of the article is the Packard bell Dot S laptop. Features, review, photos and owner feedback will help the reader to get more information about the device that belongs to the netbook family. And the recommendations of experts will allow potential buyers to understand, they need such a gadget in everyday life, or not.

Product positioning

The manufacturer in pursuit of profit decided to offer a netbook Packard bell Dot S in several segments at once. For an inexpensive notebook, the cost of 15,000 rubles is simply impossible. But the fact remains. So the device was in the following niches:

• Portable office device;
• Compact laptop for the student;
• An elegant helper for the female.

Naturally, many IT experts wondered if one device could cope with any tasks posed and satisfy all customers from these segments. The fact is that all niches unite only the cost of the product, but the functional, convenience and productivity go apart. The reader will be able to verify this independently by studying the characteristics of the device in this article.

First meeting

A colorfully designed cardboard box, made in the form of a small diplomat, naturally attracts the attention of all potential buyers. Inside the package, the buyer will find a netbook, battery, charger, instruction, travel bag and a cloth for wiping the Packard bell Dot S screen. Drivers (Windows XP and Windows 7) are bundled only when the netbook is sold with the operating system installed. In other cases, the manufacturer recommends downloading the software from the official site.

In their feedback, users positively describe the configuration of the device. All owners without exception, regardless of gender, liked the fabric briefcase to transport the netbook. It is not only convenient, but also able to protect the device from impact when it falls.

Appearance and build quality

Questions start with customers when studying the laptop Packard bell Dot S. If the average user can still be bribed by the appearance, then the expert is generally unrealistic. In fact, in front of the Acer Aspire One buyer - this is evident not only in terms of technical characteristics, but also in appearance, including the location of the ports, as well as the identity of many components. A serious difference only in price - the culprit review is almost a half times cheaper.

As for the build quality, there are no questions to the manufacturer. All plastic components are perfectly matched to each other, there are no backlashes or problems with centering. Confuses only the glossy coating of the device cover - it can be easily scratched, and the fingerprints of plastic collects superbly. The bottom of the device has a matte coating and is equipped with four rubberized legs, which ensure the stability of the netbook on smooth surfaces.

System Performance

For the portable device Packard bell Dot S specifications are not basic parameters, but many potential buyers are still interested in the performance of a small laptop. Strangely enough, the netbook has the potential:

• Processor Intel Atom N550, operating at a frequency of 1500 MHz;
• The DDR3 memory is limited to 2 GB;
• Integrated graphics Intel GMA 3150;
• A magnetic hard disk 320 GB with a spindle rotation speed of 5400 rpm.

Generally in the market the user can meet many modifications of the portable device. All of them differ in the installed components. So, the most powerful configuration on the market is based on a model with two cores - Atom N2600, or the user is offered to buy the cheapest netbook in a budget class with 1 GB of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive.

Screen Features

You can forget about watching quality video in FullHD format to all the owners of the Packard bell Dot S. Note the characteristics of the LCD screen leave much to be desired. Ten-inch display with a resolution of 1024x600 dpi is only suitable for working with documentation and surfing the Internet. Yes, multimedia is subject to a netbook, but color rendering is unlikely to appeal to users.

But the display of information in sunny weather will please any owner. The manufacturer has equipped its mobile product with a decent LED-backlight, which is able to demonstrate the image even in bright lighting. With this netbook it is convenient to work not only in the office or cafe, but also in nature.

Input Devices

It is not difficult to guess that a small notebook can not be equipped with a full keyboard. The manufacturer tried to provide the user with all the necessary buttons, but this decision seriously affected the convenience of using the laptop Packard bell Dot S. Reviews of owners in the media on the keyboard are negative. In addition to the multifunction keys, the manufacturer allowed himself to provide the device with buttons with a short stroke and with no recoil in the finger. Working with the text on such a device is inconvenient.

As for the touch pad, then everything is on the contrary - the touchpad is large, convenient, it supports the multitouch function and there are no questions to it from laptop owners at all. It should be noted that the touch pad does not have a shutdown button, however, during operation, it is not necessary to deactivate the touchpad. The point is that the sensitive pad does not react to occasional touches and "ghostly" pressures.

Working with interfaces

User-friendly operation with the netbook Packard bell Dot S ensures complete absence of interfaces and ports on the front and back of the mobile device. Naturally, comfort will have to be paid for by functionality. So, on the right side of the device the owner will find: an input and an output for acoustics connection, one USB port, a Kensington lock, a LAN port and a device for reading memory cards.

In the left panel are located: the interface to connect the charger, two USB ports and video output D-Sub. Oddly enough, the manufacturer did not provide the netbook with a demanded HDMI interface, because there are plenty of places to install it.

In addition to wired interfaces, the portable device is equipped with wireless WiFi and Bluetooth modules. There are many questions to the operation of these interfaces. The manufacturer claims that WiFi works in 802.11 g / n networks, but in practice everything turns out to be somewhat different. You can not make a laptop work in both networks - you need to choose one standard.

Multimedia in a portable device

Communicate with friends and relatives on video communication using the Netbook Packard bell Dot S, but only in case of emergency. The thing is that the manufacturer did not pay enough attention to the media, responsible for the transmission of voice and video messages. The built-in microphone located on the top of the display has no sound noise reduction. It is extremely inconvenient to work with such a device. Correct the situation can only an external microphone, for which there is an audio input.

As for the video camera, its quality is not enough even for creating a normal photo, not to mention the transfer of video in real time. What the manufacturer thought was unknown, but obviously not about the multimedia work in this device.

Upgrade Options

It's not so simple with the increase in mobile device performance. The manufacturer did not leave any loopholes for its fans wishing to upgrade the Packard bell Dot S laptop. The memory is limited on the hardware level by two gigabytes (the motherboard does not see the modules of larger volume), and the IDE hard disk can not be replaced with a modern SSD drive. As an option, you can install a flash memory as a hard drive, and expand RAM with memory cards, but this solution will cost the user too much.

As for the overclocking potential, it can also be forgotten - the budget representative, in view of its compactness, has a weak cooling system that can not cope with processor overheating or an integrated chip responsible for video output.

Problem solving

The netbook is no different from other portable technology in terms of operability, so any breakdowns that may occur during operation are solved in a similar way. The most common problem that a user may encounter is the inoperability of a network driver (wired and wireless) in the Windows operating system. The issue is solved by installing third-party drivers, released for notebooks Acer Aspire One.

If the Packard bell Dot S does not turn on, do not hurry to bring it to the service center. It is recommended to disconnect the removable battery for 10 seconds, reconnect and try to start the mobile device. In general, problems with nutrition are harassed by this gadget. For example, it is better not to leave the Hipro charger unattended connected to the network, as it can not only overheat, but also burn.

Finally

In their responses, many owners have dubbed the Packard bell Dot S a kind of symbiosis of a calculator with a notebook. And there is something in this. The netbook obviously needs improvement - whatever it touches, everything looks like something working, but not 100 percent:

• A cheap screen with a low resolution, but with LED backlighting;
• Low-performance components that can not be improved;
• Wireless interfaces for which the original drivers do not match;
• The presence of multimedia, which does not work as many would like.

The choice, of course, for a potential buyer, who decides what is more important for him - affordable price, functionality or performance. As practice shows, it is impossible to satisfy all needs with one device.