Review: Holy cow - Gateway's back

Gateway computers - whose packaging and branding sported a distinctive cattle spot themed design - is returning to NZ after an absence of more than seven years.

Acer, which acquired Gateway back in 2007, is re-launching the bovine-themed brand with a slew of designer notebooks aimed at style-conscious buyers looking something other than beige or black.

Gateway's new NV notebook line-up is set to hit the shelves of both JB Hi-Fi and Noel Leemings, sporting colour theme names such as Winter Snow, Summer Breeze and Spring Butterfly and Coffee Brown.

Look and feel

Curious model names aside, Gateway's NV notebooks certainly are lookers. The review model I was sent was a tasty coffee brown and white number with a patterned top (which does wonders for hiding finger prints) and soft rounded silver edges.

Unpacking and setting up the NV54 soon had me hunting for its power button which I finally discovered was discretely tucked away on its screen hinge (which in hindsight makes sense as it de-clutters things considerably and also looks pretty nifty too).

Staying with the minimalist side of things, where most laptops normally have a dozen or so extra buttons their keyboard, Gateway have opted for backlit touch sensitive controls which effectively disappear when not in use, making the NV54's keyboard feel spacious and uncluttered.

One interesting addition to the touch panel controls was a powersave key which, in concert with the NV54's six-cell battery, saw it delivering three hours and 45 minutes of computing off of a single charge.

Display & spec

Having finally powered up the NV54 I was immediately dazzled by it's 1366x768 LED-backlit LCD screen. The Gateway marketing propaganda extolling "Ultra-Bright", is not kidding. When plugged into the mains, the NV54's screen was so bright that it almost needed sunglasses - all whilst doing wonders for my tan. For instant messenger and Skype users, Gateway has also included a VGA resolution on the upper screen bezel.

Performance wise, the NV54 was well specced thanks to a zippy Intel duo core Pentium CPU and a generous helping of 4Gb of DDR2 RAM which saw it running the dozen plus apps I typically have open with no hiccups whatsoever.

About the only blot on an otherwise liberal set of specs was the graphics processor, an Intel 45000M. Whilst fine for most day to day tasks, is somewhat limited for gaming. Graphic grizzles aside, and taking the 8x multi-format DVD writer and largish 320Gb hard drive into account, about the only thing missing was a kitchen sink.

Connectivity

Connectivity-wise the NV54 also covered itself well. Thanks to the included 802.11n draft N wireless connectivity and gigabit ethernet, the NV54 ran like a cut cat with my Belkin router, streaming HD video effortlessly (which thanks to the addition of an HDMI port earned Gateway some serious brownie points, allowing me to plug it into HDMI-equipped TVs when travelling).

There's also a VGA port for connecting additional monitors or projectors as well 4 USB 2 ports also provide plenty of room on the NV54 for adding other USB widgets such as external drives, mice and keyboards etc.

Verdict

Gateway has managed to pull a proverbial rabbit out of the hat with the NV54. Priced at $1499, it delivers great bang-per-buck value thanks to its generous spec.

Others may be able to dish out a similar price/performance experience, but the NV54 also manages to add tasteful style and design into the mix, giving it great all round appeal (especially if cow-hide is your thing).

Gateway NV54
RRP: $1499

Specs
CPU: 2.0GHz Intel Dual Core T4200 processor
RAM: 4GB DDR2 Ram
HDD: 320GB Hard drive
Optical Drive: 8x multi-format CD/DVD writer
Display:15.6" WXGA Wide Screen