On the road again? These portables weigh in at about 6 pounds and offer near-desktop-level performance, great displays, large hard drives, and loads of useful features.
Anthony J. Lennon and John McDonough
They say the universe is expanding, but hardened road warriors know better: Time and space seem to converge when you're working in cramped quarters while in transit. With this in mind, we tested 11 ultraportables that provide near-desktop performance while you're in the back seat of a cab or flying above the clouds. These ultraportables may be petite machines, but they don't suffer from the features-deprivation complex that afflicted their subnotebook predecessors. Some of the systems we tested are resplendent with color active-matrix display
s, zippy Pentium CPUs, and hard drives with over 500 MB.
Ultraportables have their drawbacks (e.g., most require external floppy drives), but they are catching up to heavier notebooks in terms of functionality. Battery life is getting longer (3 1/2 hours on average; Hewlett-Packard's OmniBook 600CT lasted an incredible 5 hours and 46 minutes in the Thumper II tests), as many vendors migrate from nicad batteries to nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) and lithium-ion batteries.
The majority of these ultraportables house Intel's SL-enhanced 486DX4 processor (either 75 or 100 MHz), and four of them have active-matrix displays. As a rule of thumb, expect to spend at least $700 more for a system that has an active-matrix display than one with a dual-scan display. Active-matrix displays usually give you a wider viewing angle and fill the screen with brighter colors.
Constrained by such a small form factor, vendors have come up with some unique designs. The keyboard of IBM's ThinkPad 701C literally jumps out
at you, the mouse on HP's OmniBook pops out the side, and several systems have infrared ports that let you transfer files with your desktop system, sans serial cables.
These innovations don't come cheap, however. The average price of an active-matrix ultraportable in this report is $4273. The Compaq Contura Aero 4/33C Model 250 and the Sceptre Technologies TS37 Subnotebook dip below $2000, but they don't have as many features as the higher-end systems.
Because vendors had difficulty squeezing their systems through our tight testing criteria, we reviewed fewer machines than normal. To be included, an ultraportable had to weigh 5 pounds or less without accessories or about 6 pounds with accessories (e.g., an AC adapter, a floppy drive, a battery, and so on). It had to have at least a 25-MHz 486SX CPU, 8 MB of RAM, a 200-MB hard drive, a color display, a 3-1/2-inch floppy drive, and an integrated pointing device.
We divided the systems into two categories: high-end ultraportables priced above $
3000 and the lower-cost alternatives. Our performance tests use Windows and DOS applications, such as Word, Excel, WordPerfect, and FoxPro, that measure how fast these featherweights are in real-world situations. The low-level InterMark suite tests stress system components, such as graphics and storage subsystem components under Windows.
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
We selected the best ultraportables by evaluating their price, speed, screen quality, battery life, features, and ease of use.
Price as Tested:
See the Roll Call on pages 164-165 for features included in the price. (Not available on-line.)
Overall Score:
A combination of the weighted scores for performance, screen quality, features, battery life, and usability.
Ease of Use:
A subjective assessment of the keyboard layout and feel, pointing device, status lights, and other considerations.
Screen Quali
ty:
This rates the display's crispness, intensity and color range, and range of viewing angles.
Battery Life:
Based on BYTE's Thumper II battery run-down test.
Lightweights with a Punch
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EXTERNAL FLOPPY DRIVE
A necessary evil with most ultraportables. The Internet and networks, however, are decreasing our dependency on floppy drives to transfer files among systems.
REMOVABLE HARD DRIVE
Some ultraportables have a modular design that makes it easy to swap hard drives and upgrade when necessary.
LCD
The days of monochrome di
splays are gone -- color rules, and active-matrix LCDs produce the most striking tints and hues. Systems with passive-matrix and dual-scan displays are much cheaper, but you lose some pizzazz.
PC CARD SLOTS
All but four of these ultraportables support one Type III card, giving you the option of inserting two Type II cards instead.
ADJUSTABLE FEET
Many ultraportables have adjustable feet that let you angle the keyboard to a comfortable typing position.
POINTING DEVICE
Everybody has an opinion on which pointing device is best. Trackballs centered below the keyboard are generally the norm. However, we're starting to see more eraserhead pointing devices (e.g., IBM's TrackPoint III) on ultraportables and notebooks.
BATTERY
Ultraportables with lithium-ion batteries generally outlast those with nicad and nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) batteries, but the latter are less expensive.
11 Ultraportables Go The Distance
