Small, Light Laptops With Bigger Screens Challenge Sony Series
By WALTER S. MOSSBERG
One of the toughest challenges in laptop computing is creating models that are small and light enough to be barely noticeable in carry-on bags, yet contain all the features many road warriors want -- especially an internal DVD drive.
The best such combination of size, weight and features I've reviewed in the past year or so was Sony's TR series of laptops, which cost $2,200 to $3,000, weigh just 3.11 pounds and have a 10.6-inch screen and an internal DVD drive that can also play and record CDs.
But I've been testing two other small contenders -- one heavier, one even lighter -- that have bigger screens. Both cost more than $2,000 in the configurations I tested.
One of these little laptops is a new model from Dell, the Inspiron 700m, that weighs in at 4.2 pounds and has a 12.1-inch widescreen-style display.
The other contender has been around awhile but isn't well known to the general public. It's the Panasonic W2, which weighs just 2.8 pounds and has a standard-shaped 12.1-inch screen.
Like the Sony, both machines come with internal DVD drives. Each has some very nice design features. But, of the two, I prefer the Panasonic, which offers an amazing combination of long battery life and light weight, even better than the Sony's.
Panasonic is a niche PC maker. It's best known for selling rugged laptops, called Toughbooks, that are aimed at customers like building contractors and often look more like military gear than computers.
But the W2 model I tested, despite its Toughbook moniker, looks and feels positively delicate. At first glance, I thought its ribbed case was cheap plastic instead of the magnesium alloy from which it's actually made. And I couldn't tell that the hard disk inside is actually "shock mounted," as in the bigger, heavier Toughbooks. This machine is only about 1.2 inches thick, and its footprint, on a desktop or airline tray table, is smaller than that of a sheet of paper.
Panasonic's W2
The most eye-catching feature of the W2 is a circular touchpad. It lifts up to reveal a DVD drive underneath that can also play and record CDs. This circular touchpad also has another cool trait: You can use it to scroll through documents onscreen by just running your fingertip around its edge.
Battery life on the Panasonic is outstanding. I put it through my harsh test, where I turn off all power-saving features, maximize screen brightness, turn on the Wi-Fi wireless networking and run the hard disk constantly by playing a loop of music. The W2 lasted an amazing three hours and 48 minutes. That suggests that, with power-saving on and more normal tasks under way, it would likely get around five hours of battery life -- enough to play two DVDs.
The Panasonic comes with a standard complement of ports, including a reader for the SD memory cards used in digital cameras and other portable devices. It has 256 megabytes of memory, built-in Wi-Fi, a 40-gigabyte hard disk and an Intel Pentium-M processor running at 900 MHz.
But the W2 has two key weaknesses. The keyboard is cramped and inferior, with a space bar and tab key that are way too small. And the screen seems a little washed out, with text that isn't crisp or bold enough.
The Dell Inspiron 700m is strong where the Panasonic is weak. Its rectangular screen is brilliant, with crisp, bold text and vivid graphics. And its keyboard feels much more solid and roomy than the Panasonic's.
The Dell is also better equipped, and can be had for less. For about $2,300, you can get a configuration with 512 megabytes of memory, a DVD drive that records both DVDs and CDs, a 40-gigabyte hard disk, built in Wi-Fi and a Pentium-M processor running at 1.6 Gigahertz. Less-equipped standard configurations, with a CD recorder, are $1,919 and $1,449, depending on memory and hard-disk capacity.
All models have a full complement of ports, including an SD card reader, and are about the same thickness as the Panasonic, but with a wider footprint.
But I ran into two serious problems with the Dell. First, it has awful battery life. In my tests, the Dell logged one of the worst results of any laptop I've ever tested -- just one hour and 25 minutes. That suggests a typical battery charge, in more normal usage, might last only two or 2.5 hours, less than half of the Panasonic's battery life.
Dell sells a larger battery that roughly doubles battery life, but it costs $116 extra, adds about half a pound and protrudes from the rear of the case.
Also, the Inspiron 700m I tested was curiously sluggish at downloading e-mail and Web pages. On both my home and office wireless networks, downloading identical material took two to four times longer using the Dell than the Panasonic, as well an IBM laptop I also tested. Dell says this was a fluke, and rushed me another 700m to prove it. Sure enough, this second 700m was much faster over wireless, matching the speed of the Panasonic and IBM. But I have no way of knowing how common the slow performance is.
The Dell's poor combination of weight and battery life makes it inferior to the Panasonic, assuming you can deal with the latter's keyboard.
Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com
One of the toughest challenges in laptop computing is creating models that are small and light enough to be barely noticeable in carry-on bags, yet contain all the features many road warriors want -- especially an internal DVD drive.
The best such combination of size, weight and features I've reviewed in the past year or so was Sony's TR series of laptops, which cost $2,200 to $3,000, weigh just 3.11 pounds and have a 10.6-inch screen and an internal DVD drive that can also play and record CDs.
But I've been testing two other small contenders -- one heavier, one even lighter -- that have bigger screens. Both cost more than $2,000 in the configurations I tested.
One of these little laptops is a new model from Dell, the Inspiron 700m, that weighs in at 4.2 pounds and has a 12.1-inch widescreen-style display.
The other contender has been around awhile but isn't well known to the general public. It's the Panasonic W2, which weighs just 2.8 pounds and has a standard-shaped 12.1-inch screen.
Like the Sony, both machines come with internal DVD drives. Each has some very nice design features. But, of the two, I prefer the Panasonic, which offers an amazing combination of long battery life and light weight, even better than the Sony's.
Panasonic is a niche PC maker. It's best known for selling rugged laptops, called Toughbooks, that are aimed at customers like building contractors and often look more like military gear than computers.
But the W2 model I tested, despite its Toughbook moniker, looks and feels positively delicate. At first glance, I thought its ribbed case was cheap plastic instead of the magnesium alloy from which it's actually made. And I couldn't tell that the hard disk inside is actually "shock mounted," as in the bigger, heavier Toughbooks. This machine is only about 1.2 inches thick, and its footprint, on a desktop or airline tray table, is smaller than that of a sheet of paper.
Panasonic's W2
The most eye-catching feature of the W2 is a circular touchpad. It lifts up to reveal a DVD drive underneath that can also play and record CDs. This circular touchpad also has another cool trait: You can use it to scroll through documents onscreen by just running your fingertip around its edge.
Battery life on the Panasonic is outstanding. I put it through my harsh test, where I turn off all power-saving features, maximize screen brightness, turn on the Wi-Fi wireless networking and run the hard disk constantly by playing a loop of music. The W2 lasted an amazing three hours and 48 minutes. That suggests that, with power-saving on and more normal tasks under way, it would likely get around five hours of battery life -- enough to play two DVDs.
The Panasonic comes with a standard complement of ports, including a reader for the SD memory cards used in digital cameras and other portable devices. It has 256 megabytes of memory, built-in Wi-Fi, a 40-gigabyte hard disk and an Intel Pentium-M processor running at 900 MHz.
But the W2 has two key weaknesses. The keyboard is cramped and inferior, with a space bar and tab key that are way too small. And the screen seems a little washed out, with text that isn't crisp or bold enough.
The Dell Inspiron 700m is strong where the Panasonic is weak. Its rectangular screen is brilliant, with crisp, bold text and vivid graphics. And its keyboard feels much more solid and roomy than the Panasonic's.
The Dell is also better equipped, and can be had for less. For about $2,300, you can get a configuration with 512 megabytes of memory, a DVD drive that records both DVDs and CDs, a 40-gigabyte hard disk, built in Wi-Fi and a Pentium-M processor running at 1.6 Gigahertz. Less-equipped standard configurations, with a CD recorder, are $1,919 and $1,449, depending on memory and hard-disk capacity.
All models have a full complement of ports, including an SD card reader, and are about the same thickness as the Panasonic, but with a wider footprint.
But I ran into two serious problems with the Dell. First, it has awful battery life. In my tests, the Dell logged one of the worst results of any laptop I've ever tested -- just one hour and 25 minutes. That suggests a typical battery charge, in more normal usage, might last only two or 2.5 hours, less than half of the Panasonic's battery life.
Dell sells a larger battery that roughly doubles battery life, but it costs $116 extra, adds about half a pound and protrudes from the rear of the case.
Also, the Inspiron 700m I tested was curiously sluggish at downloading e-mail and Web pages. On both my home and office wireless networks, downloading identical material took two to four times longer using the Dell than the Panasonic, as well an IBM laptop I also tested. Dell says this was a fluke, and rushed me another 700m to prove it. Sure enough, this second 700m was much faster over wireless, matching the speed of the Panasonic and IBM. But I have no way of knowing how common the slow performance is.
The Dell's poor combination of weight and battery life makes it inferior to the Panasonic, assuming you can deal with the latter's keyboard.
Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com
posted by Emanuel | 2:17 PM
2 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
My Inspiron 700m with the larger capacity battery is a gem. As a systems tech I appreciate the the ~4lb and ultra fine display. I bought mine directly from Dell for around $1500.00 10-months ago; with 512mb; 40g; cd-rw-dvd; extended warr; builtin wifi; etc.). I have also owned and or supported Gateway, Compaq-HP, Toshiba, IBM and Sony notebooks. All did a good job but I really like the 700m. However I do have a question? My 700 has recently become very slow. Being a systems tech I run a full firewall, the latest anti-virus; diskkeeper; and WPA on wireless. I have added no new software. Any ideas? Thanks.
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