- Well Priced
- Sturdy Case Design With Nice Metal Accents
- Decent Overall Performance for Price
- Heavy for 13.3-inch Laptop
- Less Than Average Battery Life
- Uses Slower DDR2 Memory
- Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 Dual Core Mobile Processor
- 3GB PC2-5300 DDR2 Memory
- 250GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
- 8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layber Burner
- 13.3" WXGA (1280x800) Wide LCD Display With 1.3 Megapixel Webcam
- Intel GMA 4500MHD Integrated Graphics
- Fast Ethernet, 802.11a/g/n Wireless
- Three USB 2.0, HDMI, ExpressCard/34, 4-in-1 Card Reader
- 12.6" x 9.4" x 1.5" @ 5.3 lbs.
- Vista Home Premium, Works, PowerDVD, Norton 360
Mar 24 2009 - Portability is the number one trait that people consider when looking at ultraportable laptops. While the dimensions are slightly larger than the average 13.3-inch laptop, the Gateway UC7807u is decidedly on the heavy side. Tipping the scales over five pounds, the system is certainly one of the heaviest.
At least the bulk also gives it a very sturdy feel. Gateway has accented the plastic case with aluminum for the interior keyboard platform and trackpad. The keyboard has a solid feel that doesn't bend or flex during typing. The trackpad uses a circular design and with a single bar that acts as two buttons depending upon which side is pressed. This is functional but may take some practice to use comfortably.
For the $800 price tag, the Gateway UC7807u has some good performance particularly in the ultraportable market segment thanks to the Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 processor. Overall performance is hampered somewhat by the use of slower PC2-5300 DDR2 memory instead of traditional PC2-6400 memory. Still, this is one of the sacrifices for the lower price tag.
The 13.3-inch display on the UC7807u is bright and has good overall color. The viewing angles are a bit tight making viewing from either side a bit distracting. With the integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics, the system is certainly not going to be able to handle 3D gaming even at a casual level but at least it can handle high definition video feeds without an issue.
With its hefty weight, one would expect that much of the weight probably comes from the battery. The Gateway UC7807u has a relatively small battery pack though that gives it a shortly than expect running time. In a DVD playback test, it only managed to run for 2 hours 9 minutes before going into hibernate mode.
