At a time when netbooks are stepping up their performance and rapidly gaining market share (and consumers are less willing to spend much in general), notebook manufacturers have been forced to lower their prices and offer even greater values. Exhibit A: the Gateway TC7804u, a $699, 14-inch notebook that offers plenty of style, speed, and performance for the money.
Design
With the TC Series, Gateway continues to assert itself as a more stylish version of its former self. The black lid has a thin metal stripe running lengthwise down the middle; the brushed metal detail, in particular, makes it look sophisticated. Although our review unit came with a burgundy lid, the TC7804u will be sold only in black.
At 5.4 pounds, the TC7804u feels a bit heavy, particularly because it has a wide, 13.4-inch footprint and is 1.5 inches thick at its widest. But compared with the UC Series, which has a smaller, 13-inch screen and still weighs 5.3 pounds, the TC’s weight seems more reasonable.
Once you open the lid, the TC7804u looks a little rougher around the edges. The chunky, textured keyboard is partly to blame, as are the orange LED lights and touch-sensitive multimedia controls, which line the right side of the keyboard.
Regardless of whether orange controls are your cup of tea, we found them unresponsive. We had to hold our finger down and wait a few seconds for the volume icon to appear on-screen. The Gateway UC Series, another budget thin-and-light, has much more responsive volume controls, whose pulsating lights indicate volume level.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Compared with trendy Chiclet-style keyboards, the TC7804u’s isn’t much to look at. Whatever elegance the glossy lid connotes is offset by the keys, which are two-tiered with a textured finish. In short, the stacked keys look chunky—reminiscent of tortoise shells.
On the plus side, they’re comfortable to type on. Our fingers settled comfortably on the large keys, and the matte finish was a refreshing departure from the glossy keys we’ve seen lately, which look good but can make the typing experience feel sweaty and slippery after awhile. As large as they are, the keys are shallower than they look, and created a good deal of noise.
The trackpad’s dimensions echo the display’s 16:9 aspect ratio. At 3 x 1.5 inches, it’s wide but much too small vertically; our finger often bumped up against the upper edge of the trackpad. On the plus side, it had just the right amount of friction. The buttons underneath, while small and noisy, are easy to press. The scrolling strip on the right side responds to one finger and works like a charm.
Ports and Webcam
The TC7804u has three USB 2.0 ports (one of which doubles as an eSATA connection), as well as a VGA port, Ethernet and modem jacks, a Kensington lock slot, and headphone and mic ports. There’s also a 5-in-1 memory card reader and an ExpressCard/54 slot.
All ports are on the sides of the notebook (as opposed to the back), which is convenient. They’re evenly spaced so that one USB port and the USB/eSATA port are on the left side with the VGA port, modem jack, and headphone and mic ports, while the right side houses the third USB port, along with the Ethernet jack, lock slot, and tray-loading 8X DVD±RW DL drive.
The 2-megapixel webcam didn’t offer great detail, but our photos and videos had accurate colors and pleasant lighting, and our clips looked smooth. The Video Web Camera software is minimalist to a fault. The dashboard doesn’t allow for easy access to photos and videos you’ve recently taken; instead, it saves them by default to the My Pictures folder. You can change this location in the settings and also program the TC7804u to open a picture in Windows Photo Gallery right after you’ve taken it.
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