Gateway 11.6" 2-in-1 Convertible Notebook, HD, Snapdragon™ 7c Compute Platform, LTE Compatible, Shockproof, Water Resistant, 4GB/64GB, 2MP Camera, Windows 10 S, Microsoft 365 Personal 1-Year Included

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This is an honest review by a tech savvy person who actually paid for it, not given it for free. 

To start off with, this is a niche product. It is a rugged mobile focused laptop designed to take a beating and draw relatively little power. If you are just looking for "a decent laptop" this is a bad choice - overpriced and low specs. 

Cons:

- It is a USB C charger, BUT, it cannot charge on "low power" - or a cellphone charger. Most other USB C laptops can do this. It is a big downside for what is designed to be a highly portable/rugged machine. 

- The screen is terrible. It reminds me of 2004 - HUGE bezel, low resolution, max brightness is low (also a downside for a rugged / outdoor oriented device). Only upside here is a sense of nostalgia for when I was in college... that will likely wear off quickly. 

- The HDD, RAM, and processor are barely workable for a modern Windows machine

- It is HEAVY for it's size - this is because of the rugged aspect presumably 

- Battery is ok, ~4hrs of use new. With the low power processer I was expecting up to 2x that, similar to a Chromebook  

- The trackpad is bad, minimally responsive, you will want to use a mouse which is not really something I wanted in a laptop built to chuck in a duffel bag


Pros

- It does run on USB C, but again, only "high power" charging 

- The pen is actually a Surface pen, the specs do not highlight that. It is interoperable with other Surface devices / pens, and has a nice slot to hold it

- It seems tough and durable, one of the two primary reasons I bought it

- It has a SIM card slot, combined with the above, why I bought it, and it works with my AT&T based SIM

- It upgrades to Windows 11 when you buy it, and you can remove S Mode

- The camera, though low quality, swivels to allow video calls in tablet/tent mode

- The keyboard is good and nice to type on, a couple of odd key placements

- Connectivity is good, it has a full ethernet port (industrial field use this makes sense) as well as USB (one), HDMI, USB C (one), MicroSD, and headphone jack


Summary:

Do not buy this as an "ok laptop" - it is overpriced for that. The specs are very low-end, and there are much better laptops for cheaper (including from Gateway / Walmart, or devices like the Surface Go which is far better in terms of specs). This fills a very specific need: a travel laptop that can take a beating and stay connected through the SIM card. If you want that, and you fully expect the laptop to get scratched up and occasionally even wet, this is a decent solution to a very niche problem. I like it for what it is, but I also own multiple other laptops and a gaming desktop - this is an odd little laptop that I am frankly surprised Gateway/Walmart built, but is interesting for a specific use case. 

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