FAIR and HONEST REVIEW: MALIBAL Lotus P150HM and Customer Service

MALIBAL Lotus P150HM

Hardware Specs:
15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED AUO B156HW01 V.4 95% NTSC Matte Display
Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.2-3.1GHz
(16GB) 16384MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 4 SO-DIMM
AMD® Radeon HD 6990M 2GB GDDR5

Software Specs:
None installed



As some of you might have already read, here is a quick summary:

• Bought Laptop with Rush build time
• Received Laptop
• Laptop DOA
• Returned Laptop (shipping paid by MALIBAL)
• Received BRAND NEW laptop (Overnighted by MALIBAL)
• New laptop only had 8GB RAM, I ordered 16GB
• 8GB additional RAM received (Overnighted by MALIBAL)
• $50 Rush build refunded by MALIBAL
• Happy customer!

Here is the orig thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/620495-received-new-malibal-lotus-screen-dead.html


Detailed Review
I ordered the Lotus from MALIBAL, with the specs I listed above. I ordered RUSH build ($50) because I need a laptop for work. The loaner laptop from my employer is barely operable with AutoCAD and Visual Studio. The first laptop arrived on time, very quickly, but I had to pick it up from UPS because the UPS driver did not even care to knock nor ring my bell. Me, my wife, and son were HOME that entire day.

I turned the laptop on and the screen would not turn on, no display, nothing at all. I connected the laptop to my HDTV via HDMI.. no display. Connected to desktop monitor via DVI, no display. Contacted MALIBAL beyond their operating hours and I got a reply in a matter of minutes! MALIBAL walked me over some troubleshooting steps and they decided that I should just return the laptop, which I did. They paid shipping for the RMA.

I contacted MALIBAL and told them that I do not want them to simply fix the broken laptop and ship it back to me. I demanded that I receive a BRAND new laptop, and MALIBAL agreed. This is the time when my trust in MALIBAL went through the roof. You will RARELY see this kind of customer service. They even OVERNIGHTED the replacement laptop to me and they took all the cost.

I received the BRAND NEW replacement laptop that MALIBAL OVERNIGHTED to me. I turned it on and everything was perfect, except when I checked the amount of RAM installed. I ordered 16 GB RAM and I only received 8GB. MALIBAL told me that the salesperson inputted 2x4GB instead of 4x4GB RAM.

I do not know how all these imperfections happened. I can only go by what MALIBAL told me. The reason for the screen on the first laptop did not work is that the RAM was not seated properly. MALIBAL told me that it could have happened in shipping because they FULLY test all their laptops before they go out. Again, I would not know this. As a customer, all I want is a PERFECT laptop on my hand, considering I paid close to $2000 for it.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND MALIBAL for anyone looking to purchase their next high-end machine. Every PM or email I sent, they always reply in a matter of minutes. This is superb customer service, something that is RARE. MALIBAL even offered me to just return my laptop for a full refund but I declined. I love my laptop, I love their customer service, and even though all this happened, I am planning to purchase another machine from them SOON.

Review on PACKAGING
The first laptop that I received is WELL packed. The laptop itself is contained between two thick styrofoams. The battery, ac adapters, etc are inside a styrofoam cutout, and placed inside the free carying case.

On the other hand, the replacement laptop was not packed too well. The laptop was simply inside the carrying bag, and placed in a box. No styrfoams protected the laptop. Weird though, the AC charger is placed securely on styrofoams, the laptop itself wasn't.

Reasons to buy from MALIBAL

• Fast shipping
• RARE Superb Customer Service
• Honest People
• Quality Builds
• Will WORK with Customers
• On TOP of things
• Rating: A

P150HM Review
The laptop is GREAT. I wish I had extra money for SSD but it's OK. I can always upgrade later on. I installed Win7 Ultimate, checked WEI and I was amazed on the ratings. I have never had anything close to this laptop, performance-wise.

The screen is great. I tried viewing it from all reasonable and possible angles and I COULD NOT find any bad spots. Everything is clear, sharp and crisp, even when just on battery and the brightness is low. Even in daylight, the screen is still SUPER AWESOME

Clevo chassis is great. The layout of the keyboard is comfortable. I'd rearrange it though if I were to design it. I want the del button on top of the backspace, or at the very top right corner. I'd have the home and end button on top too.

The touchpad isn't that great. Frankly, even my old DELL is better. The rubberized texture sucks. It makes your finger to hop. The multitouch isnt great too. You have to play with the setting MANY times to at least compensate a little bit.

I love the positioning of the ports, especially the one on the right side. The USB is placed really well for a mouse, and it does not hinder anything else.

Sound is average. I have owned less expensive laptops with better sound. The subwoofer is useless. You'll only notice it if you literally put your ear close to the laptop.

The AC Adapter is a MONSTER, but it's expected for a performance laptop.

Overall, I love the laptop. I love the customer service. I am a happy camper.

 

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

Welcome to the Clevo owners!

...and Cheers to Malibal for remaining awesome!

 

I'm glad everything ended up working out. Props to Malibal

 

I am actually looking into buying from Malibal as well so this gives me a lot of confidence. Thank you for taking the time to write the review.

 

UPDATE:

Found stuck pixel on my screen. Good thing I purchased the no dead/stuck pixel warranty. Laptop has been shipped back to MALIBAL for a replacement screen. MALIBAL covered all shipping. Will update back when I receive the laptop. I submitted the ticket yesterday, received the shipping yesterday as well. FAST customer service as usual !!!

 

Also found two stuck pixels on mine - however I did not get the dead/stuck pixel warranty. Instead, since it's still under the 30 day protection, they gave me a deal. They're going to do the repair and replacement of the screen for free, I just ship it and pay return shipping, which isn't too bad for just the laptop itself.

That, and I'm getting the warranty for this new screen in case it happens again. Overall, they have great service, and I can't wait to have the laptop back early next week hopefully.

 

UPDATE:

Received laptop yesterday. It took a while because of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Everything is PERFECT now.
Thanks to MALIBAL for fixing the laptop and paying shipping both ways.

 

Hi. Could you upload some pics? please.

 

Wow outstanding customer service by malibal. I am really considering them in buying my first sager/clevo laptop.

 

Pics of what ?

 

Pics of your laptop.

 

Thanks for all the info. a great review! Am looking forward to buying one of these!

few questions:

I'm a graphics artist, can anybody give more detailed info about the screen on these? It says FHD 90% NTSC... What does that mean in graphics terms? What percent of the SRGB and Adobe RGB gamut does the screen cover? Anyone know if the screen is RGB-LED backlit or even maybe an IPS panel?

Thanks!

 

NTSC is the TV standard which is the highest of all color gamuts. To cover 100% sRBG you only need 72% NTSC, and to cover aRGB its about 94% NTSC. This 90% NTSC will cover 100% of sRGB and close to all aRGB. For 17.3" screens 90% NTSC is the highest I've seen.

The screens are LED backlit but they are not IPS panels.

 

After reading yet another review with a dead pixel problem, I am kinda curious about the % of screens with dead pixels. I am willing to buy the $75 guarantee, however I wish I don't need to and most of all I want to enjoy my laptop from day one and not have to wait an additional 3 weeks for it to come back. Luckily for me *knock on wood, I have yet to come across a laptop with one(Canon something > Hp Pavillion something > Dell XPS 1210m > Macbook Pro > Lenovo Thinkpad T420 unfortunately I am no so lucky with TVs/Monitors). However I've been skimming through the reviews and I've notice that a lot of them encountered dead pixels with their laptops. Of course the customer service has been mostly positive, but I am kinda curious now on the % of dead pixels associated with Sagers

 

Gotta say that is a high mark for considering Malibal. After reading a couple other "new computer won't work" posts, this was the type of response that as you said, inspires confidence and trust in the seller.

A months long chain of jerk-around after shelling out a few thousand on a new machine is just about a garauntee that the person won't be back - and many more gone with them.

Props to Malibal.

 

Hmm now I understand why Malibal seems to have slightly higher prices than other resellers, and without a price match featuring. It would seem that their level of costumer service is nearly unparralled, and is well worth the few extra dollars for the quality control, honesty, upgrade options, and the desire to see their costumers happy. I will definitely check out Malibal if I chose to go with a Clevo for my next gaming laptop.

 

how do you check to find dead/stuck pixels?

 

With your eyes.

Fill up the screen with various colors and see if any pixels are wrong.

 

Stuck: Put up a background of various solid colors (black, green, red, blue). If you see different colored single pixels, those are stuck and can sometimes be fixed.

Dead: Put up a solid white background. If you see single black pixels, those are dead and cannot be fixed.

 

You would have to use your eyes to actually check over your display.

This tool or something like it should work Download Dead Pixel Buddy 1.1 Free - Test your LCD screen for dead pixels - Softpedia