Kogan Atlas X14FHD $359 14" 4GB/500GB HDD w/ FHD Screen

tonyjzx on 24/04/2015 - 15:33
Last edited 24/04/2015 - 15:33

https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/kogan-atlas-x14fhd-laptop/

You guys may be aware of the last Kogan foray into cheap laptops… that was a 15" HD job that is pretty unremarkable except for the strange variety of issues afterwards

anyway they have a similar unit but 14" 2.0kg but with a 1,920 x 1,080 screen.

Its obviously a clevo and there's a like unit on the clevo site but no mention of an FHD option. Kogan probably did a custom order so I guess when they sold their 1,000 units or whatever it is, this is gone forever.

You know what to expect, a Pentium N3540 quad and the usual barebones clone quality.

Of note is the cheap extended warranty, $75 for 5yrs (whether Kogan will actually care that long down the track is another thing). Thing is I reckon if something happens that they truly cant fix, ie dead screen or dead motherboard, I would probably expect them to refund your money. Chances of them getting a like unit even 3yrs down the track is slim.

For me I would toss the HDD, install an SSD and Windows 10. This is a cheap way to get into FHD. The Pentium N3540 at 2.16ghz is a decent performer. Also on paper it has up to 9hrs (I'm very skeptical of this but if it does 5hrs I'd probably be ok with it)

Please note this is a presale.

I truly have no love for Kogan, his reputation is clear here but I havent seen a cheaper FHD unit.

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Comments

  • scrimshaw on 24/04/2015 - 15:55

    Looks mighty tempting. What's people's experiences with cheap Clevo laptops and their build quality — especially the trackpad and keyboard? I assume they would have stuck the cheapest and nastiest input devices on these to save on cost.

    • tonyjzx on 24/04/2015 - 15:57

      if you're used to lenovos or dell latitudes then its a step down

      clevos are the same as metabox and the departed LBOs and such

      they are the same sort of build as sub $500 dreck from acer or asus etc, it is what it is but it has a TP and two buttons, i'm good

      • mrmarkau67 on 01/06/2015 - 10:49

        I thought Clevo had some low end models (like Inspirons) and some higher end models (like Latitude or XPS). Are they all low rent and plasticky?

  • samlor on 28/04/2015 - 11:13

    Anyone please know which Clevo model is it exactly? I'm curious to know how many RAM slots, ease/difficulty replacing HDD with SDD which should shave off some weight. Shame the keyboard does not appear to be backlit otherwise I'd buy it (might still :-)

  • mrmarkau67 on 01/06/2015 - 10:41
    +1

    Looks very similar to the upcoming Aldi laptop. http://aldi.medion.com/md99570/au/?refPage=medion

    • samlor on 01/06/2015 - 11:22

      Good find. Very similar indeed but with easier return if not happy with it.

      Aldi vs. Kogan
      $399 vs. $359 or $369(4GB RAM)
      Pickup vs. Free shipping (today only) or $19 to postcode 2035
      1.7kg vs. 2.1kg
      WiFi AC vs. N
      1000 vs. 10/100 LAN

      Now, I have a decision to make :-/

      • mrmarkau67 on 01/06/2015 - 11:32

        If those are the only specs that are different, its a no brainer. 2 to 4GB is a cheap upgrade (assuming its not soldered on!).

        • samlor on 01/06/2015 - 12:22

          Actually, I entered in haste some specs the wrong way around so here is a better/more presented/correct comparison list.

          Feature Aldi Kogan
          Price $399 $359 or $369(4GB RAM)
          Collection Pickup only Free shipping (today only) or $19 to postcode 2035
          Weight 1.7kg 2.1kg
          Wi-Fi N AC
          LAN 10/100/1000 10/100

          The Kogan is known to have 2 non-soldered in RAM slots according to the manufacturer's model specs.

        • tonyjzx on 01/06/2015 - 12:46
          +1

          @samlor:

          samlor, i know you're interested but it seems the people on WP say the battery is only 3-4hrs

          this is a big issue as they advertised 8 - 9hrs?

        • samlor on 01/06/2015 - 13:48

          @tonyjzx: Whoa, agreed. Thanks. For our reference here is a pointer to the Whirlpool thread: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2406074. The Aldi Medion branded notebook specs don't claim running time and just list "3-cell Li-Ion battery". I wonder which will be better. The Aldi one I'm guessing.

        • tonyjzx on 01/06/2015 - 13:53

          @samlor:

          there's no magic involved

          if the aldi uses similar spec and has a '3 cell' well then i dont expect much more out of it

          4hrs at best?

        • samlor on 01/06/2015 - 14:14

          @tonyjzx: Yeah, the question is whether the manufacturer somehow skimped on the Kogan notebook's battery capacity or maybe that reported unit is somehow (unlikely) faulty? I guess we'll find out soon and/or come Wednesday when the Aldi one goes on sale. Too late to take advantage of Kogan's free shipping today, although I am reminded that Kogan offers a 14 Day Money Back Guarantee at https://www.kogan.com/au/returns-policy/ and I imagine/expect less than 1/2 the claimed battery running time would qualify.

        • samlor on 01/06/2015 - 18:59

          Internet searches indicate that Pentium N35*0 based notebooks can provide anywhere between 4 to 7 hours running time with battery capacities ranging from 30 to 50 Wh. Although none were equipped with a Full HD display.

        • samlor on 01/06/2015 - 21:18

          As discuss on WP, the battery specs are listed as "Removable 4 cell Smart Lithium-Ion battery pack, 32WH" so the E4214's "3-cell Li-Ion battery" without listing capacity or claiming running time, could be even shorter then, I guess.

        • samlor on 03/06/2015 - 17:46

          I got an Aldi Medion Akoya E4214 to try out and as suspected the battery life is pretty abysmal at roughly 3 hours just web browsing. It has a measly non user-replaceble 24Wh battery, a single memory slot equipped with a standard 2GB DDR3L and a standard SATA HDD as well as an optical drive bay placeholder with a second SATA adaptor. Access to the components is by removing the screws from the bottom. It is straight forward though there are 15 screws and they are all covered by rub stoppers that must be pooped/squeezed out. Once unscrewed the base pops out and clips back in much like modern smartphone back cover.

          http://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/77509/30979/20150603_154238.jpg
          http://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/77509/30980/20150603_155602.jpg
          http://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/77509/30981/20150603_155718.jpg

          I suppose more RAM and an SSD will help performance because the system seems laggy and is likely bottlenecked by those small/slow components. However the battery life is a real concern. I don't know whether replacing the HDD with an SSD will save any significant power and extend the running time or even reduce weight by very much. The HDD weighs only 89 g while the whole laptop weighs 1760 g. The large high resolution screen likely takes a fair bit of power to run so maybe reducing screen brightness might help but I think without a bigger capacity battery all other measures may only provide meager increase in running time.

          I think the Kogan Atlas X14FHD sounds a bit better with its 32Wh battery but Aldi's return policy is superior and the closest store is convenient to me so I will likely do that unless I can find a way to make it better.

        • tonyjzx on 03/06/2015 - 19:26
          +1

          @samlor:

          you do a great service with your research and pictures

          the battery life is a problem

          3hrs is like 10 yrs ago

          aldis at least dont advertise it but kogan are being kogan by saying 8 hrs

          on the whole the kogan does seem better but both are of the same problem

          single dimm slot, yuck

          i'll pass on that one

        • scrimshaw on 03/06/2015 - 20:57
          +1

          @samlor:

          The battery packaging appears to be three 18650 batteries wired in series together. These types of batteries are very common and you can buy them online for only 14~20 dollars for a pack of two.

          Certainly with a bit of electronics knowledge you can actually replace the batteries yourself, and you may even buy 3000mah ones to replace the current 2200 mah cells. This would probably get you closer to 4~5 hours of usage.

        • samlor on 03/06/2015 - 21:41

          @scrimshaw: Aha, I wondered about that, thanks. It looks to me like 3 separate cells in series which makes sense as 3x3.6= 10.8V, and assembled/packaged in simple manner without advanced manufacturing.

          I wonder what the maximum capacity I could stuff in the space. And, would there be any danger involved? My electronics/electricity knowledge is rudimentary but I'm curious to gauge feasibility. Any further pointers would be much appreciated. There is also the optical drive bay that is empty apart from a place holder.

        • scrimshaw on 03/06/2015 - 22:17
          +1

          Unfortunately I don't know very much and can't really advise you on how to 'build' a laptop battery from scratch. I can say though it would be extremely dangerous if you don't know what you're doing — one does not simply play around with high energy density cells.

          Lithium ion cells can pose a fire hazard and can cause injury if they are shorted, overheated or overcharged. So if you wired them wrongly, put them in the wrong polarity or even something silly like attempting to solder wire to them and puncturing the cells in the process, you could potentially have an incendiary grenade go off right in your hands.

          I'd probably ask on Stack Exchange or some other electronics/techie forum
          http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/156928/replac…

        • samlor on 03/06/2015 - 22:23

          @scrimshaw: Yeah, thought there might be some hazard involved, thanks for the pointer.

        • tonyjzx on 03/06/2015 - 23:20
          +1

          @samlor:

          voiding the 2yr warranty is the main issue

          i mean its all academic, it clearly does not suit your needs so return it

          i do like the twin HDD bays, i mean thats tops, i wish more laptops had that

          also i'm a bit shocked by how poor the internal construction looks… granted the laptops i pull apart are Lenovo and HP business lines but its a culture shock to see how poor sub $500 units are

        • mrmarkau67 on 04/06/2015 - 08:54

          @tonyjzx:

          also i'm a bit shocked by how poor the internal construction looks

          That's why I recommend refurbished or used business laptops over new low end plasticky models. But wow full HD for less than 500 is tempting.

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