Laptops: In Search of Bearable Lightness
[2008-7-28]
Tag : Notebook Battery Pack
This year marks the tenth anniversary of my affair with 3-poundnotebooks. In 1998 I fell in love with Sony 's pioneering 1-inch-thick VAIO 505G, and I've kept the flameburning with a couple of its successors. But now the unit I've beencarrying everywhere for four years has a Webcam that's dead and akeyboard with shiny surfaces where various letters should be.Before the Wizards of Redmond could drive a stake completelythrough XP's heart, I went looking for a portable that wasn'trestricted to The Windows That Must Not Be Named. Making a choiceturned out to be a surprisingly tough call.
I briefly considered deserting Windows entirely. But Apple'sMacbook Air resembles the original VAIO lightweights, with donglesfor important connections and an optical drive that's both outboardand optional. That combination is state of the art--for 1998. Andsince a charged-up spare battery often saves my bacon, the Air'snonremovable cells make this ultraportable a classicform-kills-function Steve Jobs Vanity Machine.
Lenovo's ThinkPad X300 series has an excellent keyboard, a built-inDVD writer, plenty of connectors, and XP if desired, but the13.3-inch LED-backlit screen is rather dim. Worse, the unit shipswith a 64GB solid-state hard drive only. That helps the system bootin just 45 seconds--but hikes the cost to a luxury-liner minimum of$3200. And the package weighs about 3.4 pounds, a little porky foran "ultralight" model.
Toshiba's Portege R500 amazes by weighing a full pound less thanthe X300 while still stuffing in just about everything users needfor some $2100--and as of this writing, you can still buy one withWindows XP. But the bummer here is a shimmery, grainy, unevenly lit12.1-inch screen. It flexes, displays wan, odd colors, and has analmost nonexistent sweet spot for viewing--in short, it's the worstnotebook screen that I've seen in years.
HP's Mini-Note has a chunky, newish form that isn't thin; but at2.8 pounds it's light, and at $750 it's also cheap. Though itmanages to pack a surprisingly decent keyboard into a small space,the Mini-Note is basically a box of severe compromises: Theprocessor and graphics perform at a glacial pace; the bright, sharp8.9-inch screen is a tad too small for comfort; the laptop has nooptical drive; the touchpad buttons are in the wrong places; andthe standard battery lasts only about 2 hours. Here you'll findWindows Nameless at its most repulsive, with an infuriating3-minute boot time. But at least XP is available; Linux too.
Sony's VAIO TZ series--the great-grandchild of my old 505G--startsat around $1800. Its crisp, bright 11.3-inch screen is by far thebest of the bunch, and a DVD writer and lots of connectors comestandard. But this VAIO has some faults of its own: Its separatedkeys (none dedicated to the likes of and Page Down and End) aresmall, and its touchpad buttons are a bit too slick and stiff.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of my affair with 3-poundnotebooks. In 1998 I fell in love with Sony 's pioneering 1-inch-thick VAIO 505G, and I've kept the flameburning with a couple of its successors. But now the unit I've beencarrying everywhere for four years has a Webcam that's dead and akeyboard with shiny surfaces where various letters should be.Before the Wizards of Redmond could drive a stake completelythrough XP's heart, I went looking for a portable that wasn'trestricted to The Windows That Must Not Be Named. Making a choiceturned out to be a surprisingly tough call.
I briefly considered deserting Windows entirely. But Apple'sMacbook Air resembles the original VAIO lightweights, with donglesfor important connections and an optical drive that's both outboardand optional. That combination is state of the art--for 1998. Andsince a charged-up spare battery often saves my bacon, the Air'snonremovable cells make this ultraportable a classicform-kills-function Steve Jobs Vanity Machine.
Lenovo's ThinkPad X300 series has an excellent keyboard, a built-inDVD writer, plenty of connectors, and XP if desired, but the13.3-inch LED-backlit screen is rather dim. Worse, the unit shipswith a 64GB solid-state hard drive only. That helps the system bootin just 45 seconds--but hikes the cost to a luxury-liner minimum of$3200. And the package weighs about 3.4 pounds, a little porky foran "ultralight" model.
Toshiba's Portege R500 amazes by weighing a full pound less thanthe X300 while still stuffing in just about everything users needfor some $2100--and as of this writing, you can still buy one withWindows XP. But the bummer here is a shimmery, grainy, unevenly lit12.1-inch screen. It flexes, displays wan, odd colors, and has analmost nonexistent sweet spot for viewing--in short, it's the worstnotebook screen that I've seen in years.
HP's Mini-Note has a chunky, newish form that isn't thin; but at2.8 pounds it's light, and at $750 it's also cheap. Though itmanages to pack a surprisingly decent keyboard into a small space,the Mini-Note is basically a box of severe compromises: Theprocessor and graphics perform at a glacial pace; the bright, sharp8.9-inch screen is a tad too small for comfort; the laptop has nooptical drive; the touchpad buttons are in the wrong places; andthe standard battery lasts only about 2 hours. Here you'll findWindows Nameless at its most repulsive, with an infuriating3-minute boot time. But at least XP is available; Linux too.
Sony's VAIO TZ series--the great-grandchild of my old 505G--startsat around $1800. Its crisp, bright 11.3-inch screen is by far thebest of the bunch, and a DVD writer and lots of connectors comestandard. But this VAIO has some faults of its own: Its separatedkeys (none dedicated to the likes of and Page Down and End) aresmall, and its touchpad buttons are a bit too slick and stiff.
Related News »
In Focus »
Chemical Restricted
Engaging in concept of environmental protection for the Green Olympics, the chemical industry ..
- U.S. team to provide all Olympic ..
- Investors eye coal-to-oil conversion ..
- Chemical education in need of reform
B2B Keywords:
International market Chinese Importer Wholesale trade Wholesale products World trade Wholesale distributors International trade Foreign trade Wholesale distributor Importers Import export business Sell online Help u sell Global trade How to market a product Online supplier Wholesale product
International market Chinese Importer Wholesale trade Wholesale products World trade Wholesale distributors International trade Foreign trade Wholesale distributor Importers Import export business Sell online Help u sell Global trade How to market a product Online supplier Wholesale product
Feature Products»
Hot Products: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0-9
-
-
About Us -
Links -
Privacy Policy -
Terms of Use -
Site Map -
Contact Us -
Call Center: 0086-95105561 © 2007 Tootoo.com -
