X-bit labs

14" Widescreen: Most Optimal Solution? 10 Contemporary Notebooks Roundup (page 7)

Category: Mobile

by Vasily Melnik

[ 06/07/2006 | 10:56 PM ]

The only difference is the position of the indicators, Power-On and instant-launch buttons. The keyboard status indicators are in the same place, on the notebook’s left panel:

The block of buttons that turn the notebook on and launch certain applications is now in the top right corner:

The block itself is the same as the one on the 3222WXMi model. The touchpad is identical, too:

I didn’t like the display of the more expensive TravelMate, but this display is even worse! I just couldn’t find anything good about it. However, this shouldn’t repel you from purchasing this notebook since the display is quite sufficient for processing text and surfing the Web and you are very unlikely to find anything much better in this price category. But you won’t enjoy watching movies or viewing photos on this display, which may be crucial if this inexpensive notebook is going to be the only PC at your home.

The bottom panel has a somewhat neater appearance than the 3222WXMi’s.

It’s not very uneven and has fewer covers for accessing the innards of the case.

The battery looks exactly the same…

…but its parameters differ:

The capacity is a little lower than that of the battery of the more expensive 3222WXMi. This is not a complaint because they just had to save on something after all. The power adapter is the same as is included with the above-described 3222WXMi.

All in all, the opportunity to get a notebook of this form-factor and weight for only $800 is very tempting despite all its drawbacks. Our tests are yet to show how it compares with more advanced models in performance, but I am sure notebooks like this one will be a success because there are ever more people who’d want to buy a notebook but aren’t willing to pay for their first more than $1000. I hope such users will not be disappointed and will switch eventually to better models.