I've had my HP Compaq Presario laptop about 20 months now... AMAZING for any HP or Compaq product. Within the first three months I had it, the A/C power outlet in the back started acting up and my computer spontaneously developed critical system failures. It was returned th HP THREE TIMES and none of the problems were corrected despite several hours on the phone. I had to reformat my hard drive at least every few months to keep it running smooth. THe worst part now is the power plug... It overheats so much the plastic surrounding the port begins to melt. JUST for my computer to get a charge, I have to jiggle it just right and hold that acrobatic pose if I want to charge my battery or even check my mail. Buy one again? NEVER. Buy an Apple. Everyone I know that has one loves it.... Even two, sometimes three years later...

I brought the HP Compaq Presario 701FR for £1300 when it was (compared to the rest of the laptops on the market), quite a good spec. I found that soon after purchase I started having problems with almost everything. I was unable to play any of games I installed on it either through the inability to support the software or, as the sales assistant in 'PC World' Peterborough told me, "...What can I tell you, some games just don't work on laptops..."Ok, I'm not the most switched on when it comes to pc's etc, but this guy was in the wrong job! I wouldn't buy this laptop again if it was £13.00, let alone the whopping £1,300 I paid originally and I wouldn't encourage anyone to buy this machine, especially not now there are far better ones out.

I have had this HP Compaq Presario 701FR for about three years. It has always given me trouble. The first sign of downhill was when my CD/DVD drive was not working. Then it had no sound. Then parts of the screen were not visible. This laptop has been horrid. My advice to the owners of this laptop is to throw it in the trash after a year!

If you don't mind paying good money for a disposable laptop then by all means get the HP Compaq Presario 701FR, but if you want something that will last longer than 1 year stay far away from all Compaq laptops. One day it will just shut down with no warning. It may start up again but this is just the begining. After a few more frustrating power shut downs one day it will not start up again. Read the forums if you don't believe me. There are literally thousands of cases of this, and some talk of class action law suits. Save your money, don't buy Compaq!

After 18 months of carefully using my Compaq Presario 701FR laptop... it completely died. Even after the scams of $600+ repairs... I'm out a laptop that cost me $2,000 to purchase in the summer of 2002. Please do not buy Compaq, I wouldn't want you to go through what I did.

The computer is cheap...and the adage that you get what you pay for should be the motto of Compaq Presario's 700 series notebooks. They suck. Period. I've had mine for 2 years and already it has screwed me over. I need to replace the system board, which will cost me almost $500...which means I have to eat the $1300 that I paid for it (it costs much less now that it has been around for a while) and buy a new one.

The first thing that will hit you about the Presario 700 series laptops from Compaq is their stunning good looks. Someone at Compaq has definitely been thinking long and hard about how to give the laptop computer that vital "wow" factor. And they succeded. I was in a well-known electrical retailer just before Christmas and noted, with a wry smile, the cluster of people gathered round the Compaq laptops there.
They feel good too. Rounded corners to the lid, nice two-tone colouring and that all important feeling of solidity. Nothing flimsy here.
The delights continue upon opening the machine, the clasp itself is pleasantly recessed and operates very positively. Already thoughts of German engineering come to mind. Everything about this laptop has been thought of from an end-user perspective. I have never witnessed a mouse button which operate as cleanly and definitely as on this laptop, whilst at the same time their appearance seems to be completely design-led. The scroll hat underneath the mouse buttons works like a dream as well, enabling vertical and horizontal scrolling in most applications.
The 14.1" is bright and accurate and looks great at its allotted 1024x768 pixel resolution. The keyboard is as good as any I've tried and the sound from the built-in JBL speakers even suggests, from time to time, a hint of bass response. Hard to believe, I know. Windows XP seems to work OK, even on the slightly limited 128Mb RAM and the 20Gb drive is more than enough for most applications. Having a DVD player/CD-RW combo drive is pure luxury. I doubt I'll be using many more pay-per-view systems in hotels now. The write speed is just 4X, but as my writes on location are generally much less than a full disk this is not a problem. In order to find a problem with the 701FR we must look to its given description: Mobile Internet PC. This would seem to indicate that the laptop is geared up for mobile internet use. It certainly fooled me. Whilst there is an RJ45 10/100 network socket and a built-in modem (56K), there is no way of connecting the machine to your mobile phone. Unless, of course, your phone comes with a USB connecter - which I understand is very rare. If the lack of a serial port doesn't trouble you because you can use the infra-red port , think again. YOu only recourse is to locate and purchase a PCMCIA card to provide you with a serial port. This is the only downside to what is otherwise an excellent laptop computer. Andy Curtis (December 2001)