NEO Computers Basic Review

Price

A NEO Basic Laptop starts at less than 300 dollars, making it one of the cheapest laptops in the market today. This is probably the single most important driving force of its retail sales. Generally, a Neo Laptop is about 50 percent cheaper than its Acer counterpart even if both have the same features. For many people who are on an excruciatingly tight budget, this may be the right one for them.

Technical Support

Well, given its price, we can't really expect something similar to Apple's or Compaq's tech support. Instead, NEO's online support service consists of a rather informal yahoo messenger account. While it does not look as professional as it should be, I cannot deny the fact that the support representatives are not very finicky about verification procedures, which saved me a lot of time.

Durability

The first not-so-good thing that I've noticed about the NEO basic laptops is the casing. It is so thin that you will feel like you're going to split it in half if you carry it around. Another thing that shocked me is the strength of the solders that bind its internal copper wirings. After only a month, I saw a slight flicker on the screen and it appears that it was caused by a weakened connection with the VGA signal from the chassis.

Design

Well, what could you expect? It's really not the most graceful of laptops today. The Basic I bought is encased in silver with a chicken wire design, which makes it literally look like a World War II army tank. Moreover, the plastic that's used for the company logo is of very low quality that it even fell off on the second month of use.

Connectivity

This is another thing that I had an issue with. The USB ports are spaced so near to each other that it makes it so hard to use multiple USB devices simultaneously, simply because they won't fit in. With only three outlets instead of the industry-standard four, the number of devices that you can attach goes down even more. The best way to counter this problem is by bringing a USB hub with you.

Overall

The NEO laptop series is best for those who need something cheap and ready to use. However, those who are not very new to computers should settle for something better.