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To: Road Walker who wrote (91444)	10/31/1999 7:36:00 AM
From: Process Boy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

John and Thread - Mobile Coppermine Review; "20 percent performance gain with no serious battery drain" zdnet.com Latest mobile CPUs make big difference Latitude CPx, ThinkPad 390X show 20 percent performance gain with no serious battery drain By Michael Caton, PC Week Labs October 25, 1999 9:00 AM ET Powered by Intel Corp.'s new 500MHz mobile Pentium III processor, Dell Computer Corp.'s Latitude CPx and IBM's ThinkPad 390X deliver significant performance gains over machines packing the previous-generation mobile Pentium IIIs. Prices are a little higher, but buyers get a bonus — battery performance shows no ill effects from the increase in clock speed. The $2,999 Latitude CPx H500GT and $3,399 ThinkPad 390X begin shipping this week, coinciding with Intel's introduction of the first mobile Pentium IIIs manufactured using a 0.18-micron process. The notebooks address slightly different mobile-user needs. The Latitude is a solid product for the mainstream mobile user. With its 14-inch screen, the system approximates a desktop experience without being too heavy or large to take on the road. The ThinkPad, by contrast, has a 15-inch display that, combined with integrated CD-ROM and floppy drives, would serve well as a desktop PC replacement, albeit an inconvenient one to lug around. In PC Week Labs' tests, both the Latitude CPx and ThinkPad 390X delivered about a 20 percent performance increase in general workload or typical business applications over a 400MHz Pentium II-based Dell Latitude CS notebook. The improvements make the systems robust enough that performance on productivity applications should be good throughout the life of the systems. The notebooks also deliver very good battery performance. With a battery life of nearly 4 hours, the notebooks have an edge over just about every other notebook we've evaluated recently; most can go only 3 to 3.5 hours between recharges. The Latitude CPx's greatest appeal to corporate buyers will be its consistency with previous-generation Latitude CP products. The modular components of the Latitude, such as its removable CD-ROM drive, can be interchanged with those in Latitude CP notebooks going all the way back to the Pentium-based versions. The product has been updated since the Pentium version with a larger screen; in addition, the CPx has a new ATI Technologies Inc. Rage Mobility graphics controller and supplements its touch-pad with a track stick, both of which were developed by Alps Electric Co. When it comes to changes in a system design, the pointing device and graphics controller are the features most likely to make IT administrators nervous about usability, software compatibility and management of driver upgrades. Therefore, sites that have been purchasing Latitude systems should carefully evaluate the CPx with an eye toward these changes. Providing a choice of pointing devices will please end users, however. Dell also will be offering an internally mountable, rewritable CD-ROM drive with the new Latitude, although we did not receive one with the evaluation system. Although support for two pointing devices was a nice bonus, we were disappointed by a complete lack of value-added software or features on the Latitude. Given the inconvenience of PC Card-based modems and the availability of low-cost V.90 modems, an integrated modem would go a long way toward making the Latitude a more convenient notebook to carry. Furthermore, the trend among competitors is to integrate modems into their notebooks. With a three-year, on-site warranty and optional $179 complete-care service plan, the service and support options on the Latitude are strong. The optional complete-care service plan is essentially three-year insurance against accidental damage. It is most valuable for notebooks used in a loaner pool environment or by employees with histories of damaging notebook PCs. Bigger isn't always better The 15-inch LCD is at once the most appealing feature of the ThinkPad and its biggest drawback. The screen will be an adequate substitute for a monitor, but it makes the ThinkPad an enormous notebook at 13 inches by 10.5 inches by 2 inches and 8.5 pounds. Only first-class passengers will be able to use it on an airplane, and its excessive weight will discourage frequent flyers from traveling with it. The ThinkPad has several value-added features that give it an edge over more generic notebooks such as the Latitude. It includes a V.90 modem, so users do not need to wrestle with and potentially lose additional PC Cards and dongles. The ThinkPad also includes an Active Desktop-based utility for setting up the system, managing software and providing basic training on the notebook's features. The product has a few annoying ergonomic shortcomings, however. The ThinkPad has to be the only notebook from a top-tier supplier that doesn't have a keyboard with Windows-specific keys. The shape of the system also makes accessing the PC Card slots difficult. The warranty offering with the ThinkPad is weak — only one year with some limitations. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Summary: Latitude CPx H500GT USABILITY B CAPABILITY C PERFORMANCE A INTEROPERABILITY B MANAGEABILITY B Dell's Latitude CPx, like IBM's new ThinkPad, delivers good performance at a good price. Balancing portability against features, the Latitude's biggest drawback is that it lacks an integrated modem or self-support application that would drive costs down. Short-term Business Impact: Despite supporting previous-generation drive modules, the Latitude CPx will be more expensive to roll out for companies in the short term because a change in graphics controller and pointing device will increase the support burden on IT staff, require some user training and might introduce some software compatibility issues. Long-term Business Impact: The Latitude's 500MHz Pentium III processor presents a good opportunity to provide users with desktop performance in a portable package. Dell's optional service plan that offers insurance against accidental damage gives companies an opportunity to offset some of the budget uncertainty associated with notebook PCs, provided they are purchased only for those notebooks that are at high risk of being damaged. Good performance and battery life; provides choice of pointing devices; maintains some backward hardware compatibility with previous Dell products. Lacks integrated modem; change in graphics adapter and pointing devices means buyers will have to re-evaluate. Dell Computer Corp. Round Rock, TX (800) 999-3355 Executive Summary: ThinkPad 390X USABILITY B CAPABILITY B PERFORMANCE A INTEROPERABILITY B MANAGEABILITY B Users needing a desktop replacement that they can tote between home and office will be well-served by the IBM ThinkPad 390X, but the system's considerable bulk (8.5 pounds) will go over like a lead balloon with road warriors. Integrated features such as the V.90 modem and drives make the product a good value for the price. Short-term Business Impact: The ThinkPad 390X will be an inexpensive system to purchase because its 15-inch screen and three-drive configuration essentially means that corporations won't need a docking station. A less expensive, PC Card-based network adapter or optional port replicator will fill the remaining gap in network connectivity. User training and support costs will likely be low because of the Active Desktop-based support software. Long-term Business Impact: The performance of the ThinkPad 390X's 500MHz Pentium III processor lets companies outfit users with notebook PCs with the performance to support the next generation of software. Good performance and battery life; well-designed self-support software; excellent screen. Too big and heavy for regular travel; poor access to PC Card slots.