Micron TransPort Trek2
03/01/99
Computer Shopper from ZDWire
Copyright (c) 1999 ZD Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Micron TransPort Trek2 offers an interesting contrast between the Inspiron and the Solo. While its 1.8x12.3x9.9-inch (HWD) form factor bears a closer resemblance to the Solo, its AGP-based graphics, simultaneously usable drives, and hardware-based wavetable audio suggest its hardware is a closer match to the Inspiron. Selling for $3,399 direct and weighing 7.8 pounds, the TransPort again falls in between the Inspiron and the Solo in both respects.
Unlike the 64MB Inspiron and Solo systems, the TransPort comes with 96MB of memory, and as proven in this instance, an extra 32MB of memory can help boost application performance. The TransPort's Business Winstone 99 score of 17.8 is 9 percent higher than the 16.4 result of both the Inspiron and Solo systems. Not all the credit is due to the additional memory, however. The TransPort's preproduction IBM hard drive's score of 1,980 on the Business Disk WinMark 99 test is roughly 20 percent faster than that of the disk subsystems in the Inspiron and the Solo. The TransPort's 10GB hard drive is also the largest-capacity drive in the roundup.
Using a 1x AGP-enabled graphics chip set, the Trident Cyber 9397 with 4MB of SGRAM, the TransPort's 2-D graphics performance falls between that of the Inspiron and Solo systems. Although Micron does not market the TransPort as a 3-D-graphics-enabled notebook, Trident claims the chip supports 3-D in hardware. We confirmed this by noting the graphics driver's Direct3D Hardware Abstraction Layer, although we were unable to run the 3D WinMark 99 test. And anecdotal testing with G-Police and Incoming indicate that the TransPort would be a poor choice for running any 3-D applications.
Using a 4,500mAh lithium-ion battery, the TransPort had the last-place showing on the BatteryMark 2.0 test, with a time of just 2 hours and 32 minutes.
The TransPort uses an integrated Acer M3309 DVD/MPEG-2 decoder card for DVD movie playback. Although the DVD video quality was good, it didn't quite measure up to that of the Inspiron or Solo systems. Additionally, the TransPort played back some letterbox movies in the wrong format. Micron promises to have this problem fixed by the time the unit ships.
Samsung manufactures the notebook's bright 14.1-inch active-matrix display. The system supports up to a 32-bit color depth at 1,024x768.
With the volume level set to the maximum, the TransPort's audio quality is just as impressive as that of the Inspiron. This was not surprising, because they both use the same ESS Maestro-2 audio chip with wavetable synthesis in hardware. However, at lower audio levels, the audio playback deteriorated, resulting in a significant amount of distortion. According to Micron, this is a known bug with the beta BIOS that should be fixed by the time the unit ships.
The TransPort is DMI 2.0-compliant and comes with Windows 98, a driver CD, and a choice of either Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Edition or Home Essentials. Ordering the notebook with Windows NT costs an additional $95, and a port replicator is available as a $199 option. Micron has 24-hour toll-free support, and the company covers parts and labor for one year. Various extended warranty options are available; two additional years of coverage cost $149.
If application performance is your primary need from a desktop replacement, the TransPort is your best bet. Frequent travelers won't appreciate the shorter battery life, however. Hopefully, the few problems we witnessed will be worked out by the time you read this.
Acer M3309: acerlabs.com
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