Star LabTop 13.3-inch Ultrabook Laptop (English UK Keyboard, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS)

Star LabTop 13.3-inch Ultrabook Laptop (480GB OP SSD Storage, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS), referred to as the Star Labtop Mk.III, is one of the few that comes with Ubuntu pre-installed. My wife prefers Ubuntu and was in the market for a new laptop, and chose this one, and it turned out to be an excellent choice in all respects. Some reviewers consider it over-priced at $997.00; I do not. I find it good value for money.This was the first computer we ever bought ready-to-run. My first computer was a Heathkit H8 in 1977, followed by two more advanced Heathkits, and when we returned to Seattle in 1986 we bought several more from ACI Micro, who made them to our specs. Sadly, they're gone, so it was off-the shelf for this one.The computer is physically striking, attractive, robust and magazine-thin, with good battery life (4.5-7 hrs, depending) and easy to handle. The keyboard is British-style which may surprise you at first but takes no time to get used to. The keys are illuminated and have a good feel which my wife appreciates, and the screen is sharp and bright.Star Labs says the computer was designed specifically for Linux, and its overall performance seems to bear this out. File transfers were extremely fast, and wireless printer and Internet access is fast and trouble-free.So far so good. The only real speed-bump is that for documentation there is only one 3-fold card showing where to plug everything in and what some (but not all) the keys do. That was it. This led me to assume I could start charging the battery and power up. Nothing. It gave an excellent impression of being DOA. However, my wife was quicker on the uptake and went to StarLabs on the Internet (https://support.starlabs.systems/hc/en-gb) and found everything we needed except a hardware guide. I suppose it's not really essential, but after 42 years in the game I like to have one. Reviews don't abound on the Internet yet, and no one's mentioned the setup issues, so it's possible ours was an exception, but it was an exciting hour until we found the information.Should you run into the same start-up issue, the trick is to repeatedly press the F7 function key when the Star logo appears. This will take you to the set-up menu you want. As with any initial set-up keys, timing is everything; it took me two tries. After that, everything was fine. Incidentally, Amazon Help gave me essentially the same guidance, which I found impressive.Highly recommended, with the caveat about documentation.

The fan comes on very frequently, but only for a few seconds before going off again. I have not had this laptop for very long, so take this opinion with a grain of salt. It had some errors and updates that needed to be resolved when I first turned it on, which is to be expected. Haven't had any issues with software or anything so far but the laptop did freeze once on startup. Hopefully it was a one-time issue. I got the Ubuntu version. The audio is VERY LOUD when you first turn it on, so I guess the speakers are good.Update: Massive air bubbles started appearing under the trackpad. They appeared after the first week of use. A bit disappointing and annoying but does not harm usability.

First off if you're in America, the keyboard is going to be a tad different, and you'll have to adjust. no big deal.setup was a breeze, no problem. I did not pay the extra cash for the special setup, and i see no reason anyone should.the laptop itself is very light, quiet, and is as expected, pretty speedy. The keys feel pretty nice, no surprises there. I did however find a big flaw in that if the laptop is on an uneven surface (a leg for example) the touch pad once clicked, will stay stick down until pressure is evenly applied across the bottom. I have to say the sound system is dismal....its really bad. the speakers are on the literal bottom of the laptop. which means if its on your lap, your legs are getting more audio than your ears. As if built on the assumption that it will be placed on a desk or table.overall for my usage (learning linux, and casual internet browsing) it does as is expected. However for the touch pad, and speaker placement, i am dropping it to a 4/5.

Startup was easy, which is great as I am a first time Ubuntu user. The folks at Star Labs are very responsive and helpful.

So far this is the biggest POS I have ever bought. Took it out out the box and tried to boot after charging for 2 hours. I cannot believe I was dumb enough to expect a good computer with a 2 day delivery.

Just received it and it works smoothly, quickly, it is sleek and of good quality.