I have been shopping for a pentium notebook for 2 months, the conclusion
is that all the components are there, but the manufacturers are yet to
come up with the right combination.

Here is my proposal of the spec for a dream notebook on 2003:

1. 1.6Hz Pentium M (Centrino). It runs as fast as 3.2 Hz Pentium 4,
yet it has low heat, low noise, long battery life -- all these
are critical to notebook. Alternative: 1.3 Hz Pentium costs less.
I don't think AMD or Apple have similar mobile products on the
market; speed, yes, but not the heat, noise, and battery life.
2. 15" MVA from Fujitsu or 15" CASV (Clear Advanced Super View) from
Toshiba. 160 degree watching angle, super sharp. Alternative: none.
3. 512MB RAM is better for XP Pro unless you like to wait for paging.
Alternative: 256MB for XP Home.
4. 60GB 5400 RPM hard drive. The faster RPM means faster response.
Alternative: 40GB with 5400 RPM. 4200 RPM is for low end notebook.
5. XP Pro. It can installs software easier than XP Home. Alternative: XP
Pro Home.
6. DVD/CDRW combo. It is pretty much standard these days. DVD writer is
still expensive. Alternative: any combination that is equivalent.
7. 802.11g WiFi ALAN wireless card. The 802.11g is the upcoming new
standard of wireless. Alternative: 802.11b, which is still widely
used.
8. 32MB ATI Mobility Radeon 7200-9600. This video card is widely used
for the performance/price ratio. Alternative: a few.
9. 8 Cell Lithium ion Battery.

The closest product is Fujitsu N3010 ($1599 at Frys) or Toshiba-5205-S705
($2500). If Fujitsu replaces the Pentium 4 with a Pentium M, then we get a
dream machine that costs only about $1800.

They are mighty close, but no cigar so far.

-- Rick Leeland

I revised the spec based on Arthur and George's input. I did more
research on the comparison between Pentium-4 and Pentium-M and found
that the ratio of equivalent clock speed between them is about 1.75
(1.6 GHz P-M is about the same speed as 2.8 GHz P-4) instead of 2 as
some claimed.

The spec for dream notebook 2003, version 2:

I. CRITICAL PARTS:
1. 1.6 GHz Intel Pentium M (Centrino). It runs as fast as 2.8 GHz
Pentium 4, yet it has low heat, low noise, long battery life -- all
these are critical to notebook. Alternative: 1.3-1.5 GHz Pentium M
costs less. I don't think AMD or Apple have similar mobile products on
the market; speed, yes, but not the heat, noise, and battery life.
2. 15" MVA from Fujitsu or 15" CASV (Clear Advanced Super View)
from Toshiba. 160 degree watching angle, super sharp. Fujitsu and
Toshiba lead the race at this moment, but beware that it is available
on selected model only. Alternative: none. Sony has one display that
came close.

II. MAJOR PARTS:
3. 512MB RAM is better for XP Pro unless you like to wait for
paging. Alternative: 256MB for XP Home.
4. 60GB 5400 RPM hard drive. The faster RPM means faster response.
Alternative: 40GB with 5400 RPM. 4200 RPM is for low end notebook.
7200 RPM is available now for top performance.
5. XP Pro. It can install software easier than XP Home.
Alternative: XP Pro Home.
6. DVD/CDRW combo. It is pretty much standard these days. DVD
writer is still expensive. Alternative: any combination that is
equivalent.
7. 802.11g WiFi ALAN wireless card. The 802.11g is the upcoming new
standard of wireless. Alternative: 802.11b, which is still widely
used.
8. 32/64MB ATI Mobility Radeon 7200-9600. This video card is widely
used for the performance/price ratio. Alternative: a few.

III. MINOR PARTS:
9. Lithium ion Battery.
10. Manufacturer provides detailed service/maintenance instructions
and replacement parts. IBM is the leader here.
11. Usable keyboard. IBM, Toshiba lead this department. Fujitsu is
among the worst.

-- Rick Leeland

art.shapiro@unisys.com (Arthur Shapiro) wrote in message news:<bi0rjm$1qkf$1@si05.rsvl.unisys.com>...

For me 10. is in home/office repair within 24/48 hrs. That one has save my
butt a few times.

"Arthur Shapiro" <art.shapiro@unisys.com> wrote in message
news:bi0rjm$1qkf$1@si05.rsvl.unisys.com...



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