The Cutting Edge: COMPUTING / TECHNOLOGY / INNOVATION : Notable Notebooks That Go With You
Using a notebook computer can be a very liberating experience. Your “office” can be a corner table at a nearby coffee shop, the coach seat of that flight from Los Angeles to New York or even a picnic table in your back yard or nearby park. I do a lot of work away from home and often take my portable computer with me on bike rides and lunch breaks as well as business trips and family vacations.
It’s especially important to shop carefully when buying a portable computer because you’re pretty much stuck with what you get. You can’t just swap out the keyboard or display screen as you can with a desktop machine. Even adding memory or upgrading to a larger disk drive can be difficult because parts aren’t as interchangeable as they are on desktop machines. If you want sound or the ability to plug in a CD-ROM drive, you’ll have to ask for it up front unless you’re willing to buy an expensive and somewhat clumsy aftermarket device that plugs into the machine’s printer port.
Notebook machines tend to be more expensive than similarly equipped desktop models. The same features that will cost you about $1,800 on a desktop system could wind up costing about $4,000 or more on a notebook machine. And, while notebook machines are getting increasingly powerful, there’s always some discrepancy between top of the line notebook and desktop PCs.
Toshiba and several other notebook makers, for example, have announced machines with an 90 megahertz Intel Pentium processor. Most high-end notebooks come with 75 megahertz CPUs or even 486 CPUs, while top of the line desktop systems now sport 120 megahertz Pentiums. Frankly, any Pentium or a fast 486 is plenty for today’s typical home and office applications.
There are a number of trade-offs to consider when choosing a notebook PC. Aside from price, these include weight, size, expandability, hard drive capacity, keyboard, type and size of screen and such features as sound and the ability to run multimedia CD-ROMs.
Notebook PCs, these days, are divided into regular notebooks and sub-notebooks, with the latter being smaller and lighter (usually less than 4 1/2 pounds). Sub-notebooks have some important liabilities: They generally don’t have a built-in floppy drive, for example. And the keyboards are often undersized, typically between 5% and 10% smaller than a normal keyboard. On a regular notebook machine, by contrast, the keys are generally smaller than on a desktop, but the keys themselves and the distance between each key is usually about the same.
Hewlett-Packard’s OmniBook 600C sub-notebook, which weighs only 3.8 pounds, is an exception. The keyboard is about the same as a desktop system, though its feel isn’t quite as responsive as a regular keyboard. IBM now offers the so-called “butterfly” keyboard on its ThinkPad 701 machines. As you lift the cover, the keyboard automatically slides out to expand an inch over each side of the case, making possible an 11 1/2-inch keyboard in a 9 1/2-inch case. It’s a creative solution to a long-standing problem. Trouble is, the machine, which comes with a 486 CPU, has a starting price of about $3,800.
I prefer sub-notebook machines because I like to carry a machine in my briefcase at a trade show or just moving about town. I find it empowering to pop out my PC to take notes, look up phone numbers or work on articles whenever I have a few minutes to spare. Try that with a standard notebook computer and you’ll wind up with a back or shoulder ache.
Check out the screen before you settle on any portable machine. High-end notebooks and some sub-notebooks have an optional thin film transistor (TFT) active matrix color display. These screens display brilliant color--arguably better than standard computer monitors--but they’re pricey, adding between $400 and $700 to the price of a machine. A more economical option, from most vendors, is a dual scan passive matrix screen. You get reasonably good color and longer battery life.
If you plan to use the machine mainly for word processing or numbers crunching, then consider saving even more money and battery power with a monochrome display, though some vendors have dropped the monochrome option. Whatever display you get, don’t expect to use the computer at the beach this summer, unless you’re under an umbrella. Bright sunlight washes out the screen illumination, making it almost impossible to use.
You can plug a mouse into any notebook PC, but you don’t really want to carry one. Most portable machines have a built-in trackball, but be sure it’s in a comfortable place. Some companies, including Apple, put them in the middle--a nice consideration for us lefties. Many are on the right side. The trackball on some Compaq models is in the upper right side of the screen--which I find terribly inconvenient. My favorite pointing device, found on IBM and Toshiba models, looks like the tip of a pencil eraser that sticks up between the G, H and B keys. You don’t have to take your hands off the keyboard to position the cursor.
Almost all portable PCs now have at least one PCMCIA slot for plugging in a credit-card-sized modem, network adapter, extra hard disk and other devices. Some machines have two or even three slots, which can be handy if you want to use multiple devices.
Expandability may not be important if you’re just looking for a second machine to carry on trips. However, a lot of people are now using their portable machines at home and at the office. If so, be sure you have a place to connect a VGA monitor as well as an external keyboard and mouse. A VGA connector is essential if you plan to use your machine for a presentation. The major players all have optional docking stations that let you quickly connect a monitor, keyboard, mouse and other devices by snapping your machine into a chassis. Some also let you plug in standard expansion cards.
Finally, don’t forget service and support. Most notebook PCs are pretty rugged but they do break from time to time. Buy from a company that gives you a two- or three-year warranty, toll free help and quick turnaround time. If you have trouble with a Compaq or IBM machine, for example, you can call an 800 number and, if the machine needs a repair, they send a box for you to send it back. The repaired machine is returned within 48 hours.
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Computer File welcomes your comments. Write to Lawrence J. Magid, Computer File, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, or message magid@latimes.com on the Internet or KPVN58A on Prodigy.
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Some Interesting Notebook PCs
Compaq Contura Aero: Inexpensive (starting at less than $800) and lightweight (3.5 pounds) sub-notebook. Good for writing and basic communications. Optional 250 MB hard disk. (800) 345-1518.
Hewlett-Packard OmniBook 600C: Lightweight (3.8 pounds) and thin (1.57 inches) notebook PC. Has full-size keyboard and “a Popsicle stick”-shaped pointing device that sticks out of the right side. Has two PCMCIA slots. From about $2,400. (800) 752-0900.
Toshiba Satellite Pro T2150CD: A high-end (starting at $3,199) full-size notebook (about 7 pounds) with built-in CD-ROM, stereo audio and integrated power supply. 500 megabyte hard disk. (800) 334-3445.
IBM 701c: Features the unique “butterfly” keyboard that folds out to provide an 11 1/2-inch keyboard in a 9 1/2-inch case. Optional passive or active (10.4-inch) color display. Includes audio with built-in microphone. From about $3,800. (800) 426-3333.
Apple Macintosh PowerBooks: A line of Macintosh notebook and sub-notebook computers starting at about $1,000. The PowerBook Duo 280c ($3,700) is a 4.8-pound color sub-notebook with an optional docking station. All Macs have built-in sound as well as a SCSI port to connect external hardware such as scanners, CD-ROM drives and extra hard drives.
