Lose Pounds but Not Performance
I found a sure-fire way to lose a few pounds without dieting. I just leave my regular notebook PC at home and carry an “ultralight” instead. It doesn’t do anything for my waistline, but it makes my arms and shoulders feel better.
Not everyone needs an ultralight PC. You can save money and get a larger screen and better keyboard with a full-size notebook PC. They weigh 6 to 8 pounds and cost as little as $1,000.
If you’re willing to pay more for less, you can cut your carrying weight to as little as 3 pounds. However, when you carry an ultralight, you can’t use a CD, DVD or floppy drive unless you’re connected to an expansion dock that adds 2 to 3 pounds--and, usually, $200 to $300.
Is it worth the trade-off? It is for me because I travel a lot. But most users don’t move their machines around enough to make those extra pounds matter much.
The leading lightweight contenders include IBM’s ThinkPad X Series, Compaq’s Presario 800, Toshiba’s Portege, Gateway’s Solo 3450 and Hewlett-Packard’s Omnibook 500.
I’ve been testing the 3-pound Gateway Solo 3450 and the 3.5- to 3.9-pound (depending on options) HP Omnibook 500. The Gateway starts at about $2,200 and the HP starts at $1,399 for a stripped-down model. Expect to pay at least $2,200 for a reasonably powerful machine all the way up to $3,049 for a system with a DVD, wireless local area network and 30-gigabyte hard drive. The machines come with Windows Me or Windows 2000, but I upgraded both to Windows XP because most people who buy a machine in the next few months will wind up with XP.
Battery life is respectable in both cases. PC Magazine’s benchmarks rated the Omnibook at 3 hours, 11 minutes and the Gateway at 2 hours, 47 minutes.
If Weight Watchers reviewed PCs, Gateway would get the prize. The weight difference between the two may not sound like much, but 8 ounces to 14 ounces makes a difference if you carry a machine around for hours. Gateway’s docking station, which is included in the price, weighs only 2.4 pounds. The HP’s expansion dock weighs 3.2 pounds.
Both machines are about an inch thick and just under 11 inches wide and 9 inches long. Both have a 12.1-inch screen, which is smaller than screens on full-size laptops. I like having a smaller screen when I’m crammed into coach because I don’t have to worry about getting it caught on the tray table latch if the person in front reclines the seat.
Gateway uses a touch pad pointing device; Hewlett-Packard has an eraser-shaped stick that peeks up from between the G, H and B keys. It’s a matter of preference. You’re stuck with what you get, so it’s important that you’re comfortable.
Both machines have a 95% keyboard, which means slightly less space between the keys. That can bother some touch typists and people with large hands. The HP has more “travel” (the keys depress farther), which gives it more of a big-keyboard feel.
An optional 802.11b wireless local area network adapter is available for both. Gateway’s plugs into the PC card slot and sticks out about an inch. HP offers an optional built-in adapter, which is a big advantage because you can’t lose it or leave it behind.
Both machines come with an Ethernet adapter, but the Gateway requires a nonstandard connector unless you’re linked to a docking station. Both have built-in modems.
One big plus for the Gateway is a built-in 1394 (FireWire) port for plugging in a digital camera or external hard drive. Adding 1394 to the HP requires plugging an adapter into the PC card slot.
I liked both machines, but I’m giving the nod to HP despite its extra weight. The built-in wireless modem and standard Ethernet connector along with an extra USB port, a slightly nicer keyboard and an optional combo DVD/CD-RW drive give it a slight edge in a very close race.
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Technology reports by Lawrence J. Magid can be heard between 2 and 3 p.m. weekdays on the KNX-AM (1070) Technology Hour.
