I needed a new laptop as I have not bought a decent one since 2000. One teeny tiny screened netbook and one borrowed laptop that doesn't hold a charge in between really made me feel the lack. There are loads of bad reviews saying there isn't enough memory to do anything with this particular model. I only really wanted it for some tax work and light internet browsing, and it has been great so far. It's nice a light (those models from the early 2000s looked fabulous to us since we were all used to desktops but wow were they heavy!) I haven't used the laptop long enough to drain the battery in one go, so I'm not sure exactly how long the charge lasts, but it's at least a few hours. I enjoy the portability of this unit, the keyboard feels nice and the screen size is perfect for casual usage. Clearly this isn't the fancies unit out there, but if all you need is some light internet and Microsoft usage, this is a great unit and reasonably priced. Here's hoping it will hold up for years to come.