Compaq's New Series
Has Quaint Old Look
By WALTER S. MOSSBERG
THE FIRST NEW PC design of the 21st century is a throwback
to the 1900s -- the early 1900s. Compaq this week is introducing
its so-called EZ PC series, Windows computers that resemble
large, old-fashioned tabletop radios.
These blue-gray machines have rounded
corners and an unusual oval display
panel, ringed in metallic trim. It might be a
radio channel dial, but it's really a "digital
dashboard" showing various indicators of
the computer's status. The disk-drive
openings in front, and sockets and ports
in back, which would mark this as a
computer, are hidden behind doors and
panels.
This radical design represents Compaq's entry into the new
category of simplified, stylish "legacy-free" PCs already staked
out by Dell's figure-eight shaped WebPC and Gateway's TV-like
Astro. All of these machines are aimed at competing with Apple's
hot-selling, curved and colorful iMac and the impending wave of
Internet appliances, which will emphasize style and simplicity.
They are also efforts to lift the Windows PC out of its low-margin,
low-price, commodity status.
I HAVE BEEN TESTING the new Compaq EZ 2200, one of two
models in the new series. Overall, I like the new design, which
shows a lot of thought and care. My only concern is that the
machine Compaq sent me, a late preproduction model, suffered
several annoying freeze-ups during my testing. Compaq swears
this problem won't appear in the final versions of the computers
that will go on sale late this month. If that's true, then this computer
would be an attractive package.
The EZ 2200, which will sell in
stores for $999, sans monitor,
has 64 megabytes of memory,
a Celeron processor running
at 500 MHz, and a generous
17 gigabyte hard disk. In
addition, it includes a
CD-ROM drive and a CD-RW
drive, for creating your own
music or data CDs. There are four USB ports, two in front and
two in back, and a pair of advanced, ultra-high-speed FireWire
ports, one in front and one in back. The latter, which Compaq
calls 1394 ports, are great for connecting digital video cameras
to edit movies, and Compaq has also included video-editing
software.
Like all the other new legacy-free PCs, the EZ 2200 omits the old
parallel and serial ports, and the traditional keyboard and mouse
ports. Everything connects via the USB or FireWire ports,
including printers. However, unlike most of the other legacy-free
models, the EZ 2200 has a floppy-disk drive, because Compaq
surveyed potential customers, and they demanded a floppy. Also,
unlike most of the competitors, the EZ 2200 has a couple of open
internal slots, accessed via a clever snap-off panel on the left
side. Removing a similar panel on the right side reveals the most
accessible memory-expansion slots I've seen.
If you have a question you want answered, or any other comment
or suggestion about Walter S. Mossberg's column, please send
e-mail to mossberg@wsj.com
The EZ 2200 lacks an Ethernet network connector, necessary for
connecting cable modems or high-speed DSL Internet phone
lines, but you can add one via an internal slot. A higher-end
model, the EZ 2700, includes a built-in Ethernet port, and
replaces the CD-ROM drive with a DVD-ROM drive. This step-up
model also has a larger, 20 gigabyte hard disk, a Pentium III
processor running at 550 MHz and a 17-inch monitor, for a total of
$1,499 after a rebate. It'll only be available directly from Compaq,
starting a few weeks after the base model appears.
EXCEPT FOR THE FREEZE-UPS, which Compaq attributed to
preproduction software on my test machine, I was pleased with
the way the EZ 2200 worked. I used a variety of software on the
machine without problems, surfed the Web, and sent and
received e-mail handily. I easily created an audio CD, using the
bundled software, from songs copied from commercial CDs I own
as well as MP3 digital music files. I hooked up a Visioneer
scanner to one of the USB ports and used it with no hitches.
I appreciated the little touches Compaq included. The keyboard
has a solid feel, unlike some of the flimsy keyboards I've noticed
on other new PCs, and it's replete with programmable buttons for
Internet navigation. The front-door panel slides open smoothly
and tucks away when opened. The vertically mounted CD-ROM
drive has a little spring-loaded clip inside for securing the disks.
The digital dashboard window sports an LCD display that shows
whether you're online, and confirms that you've added or removed
peripherals. It also displays the time, synchronized with an atomic
clock via the Internet. There's even a light that indicates whether
you have e-mail waiting.
I found this e-mail light to be disappointing. It isn't coordinated
with the computer's e-mail software, and so doesn't immediately
detect when you've read messages. It also doesn't work right if
you are one of the minority of users who choose to leave e-mail
messages on your provider's server, instead of deleting them
from the server when you download them. And it doesn't work with
America Online, the world's biggest e-mail provider.
The only other complaints I have about the EZ 2200 are that the
fan is a bit noisy and that the online technical-help software has
little information on the machine's special features, such as the
digital dashboard. But the printed manuals are pretty clear.
All in all, this will be a very nice computer, provided Compaq
wrings out the freeze-up problem over the next few weeks.
For answers to your computer questions, check out my
Mossberg's Mailbox column in today's Tech Center.
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