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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: William F. Wager, Jr. who wrote (172609)	4/3/2003 10:59:02 AM
From: William F. Wager, Jr.	Respond to of 176387

Big screen Apple vs. Dell, Walt Mossberg... Is Apple's New PowerBook Too Large to Be 'Mobile'? How large can you make a laptop's screen without making the overall computer too unwieldy to be described as "mobile"? Apple Computer, famous for its slick designs, thinks it knows the answer. It's in my hands right now. I am typing these words on Apple's latest PowerBook, the first laptop with a huge, 17-inch, widescreen display. This rectangular, high-resolution screen is simply breathtaking -- vivid, sharp and oh, so roomy. It's big enough to comfortably display two Word documents, or two Web pages or e-mail messages, side by side. And DVDs look fabulous on it. But the generous screen stretches the width of the laptop so far that the machine is a long, narrow rectangle. Even some of its fans have nicknamed it "the aircraft carrier." It's a little odd, but not really difficult, to carry or to use on your lap. But it is too wide for my trusty old computer bag. Apple's 17-inch PowerBook A laptop of this shape and size isn't for everybody. It certainly isn't as mobile as many smaller, squarer portable PCs. And, at $3,299, the 17-inch PowerBook is really aimed at Apple's loyal cadre of so-called pro users -- graphic designers, video producers and others willing to pay for the roomy screen, and for an array of other powerful and clever features. The most striking thing about the 17-inch PowerBook, after the screen itself, is how brilliantly Apple managed to shrink the size of the machine built around that big display. Sure, the PowerBook is an unusually wide 15.4 inches, but it's only one inch thick. Yet, it feels solid as a rock. It's just 10.2 inches deep and weighs only 6.8 pounds. To get an idea of how sleek those dimensions are, compare the new PowerBook with another brand-new laptop, Dell's Latitude D800. This model also boasts a widescreen display, measuring 15.4 inches diagonally. But, even though the Dell has a significantly smaller screen, it looks like a whale next to the 17-inch PowerBook. The Dell is larger in every dimension except width, and even there it is only about an inch smaller. It weighs 7.4 pounds, compared with 6.8 for the larger-screen Apple. And when its lid is open, the Dell's smaller screen extends upward about 1.5 inches higher than the Apple's -- a crucial limitation when using a laptop on an airplane and the person in front of you reclines. Apple uses a special hinge that minimizes the height of the open screen. Dell doesn't. The Apple is clad in cool, handsome aluminum. Unlike some previous metal-clad Apples, it never gets really hot, just warm. It has built-in Wi-Fi wireless networking, using a new standard that is compatible with current Wi-Fi networks yet can transmit and receive data as much as five times faster. In my tests, Wi-Fi reception was quite good. Inside, the machine boasts a whopping 512 megabytes of memory, a big 60 gigabyte hard disk, built-in Bluetooth wireless connectivity and a drive that can record CDs and DVDs. There are two big stereo speakers, a robust video card and the first Firewire 800 port, which can handle external hard disks and other devices at roughly twice the speed of original FireWire, or of the new USB 2.0 ports. In classic Apple fashion, the 17-inch PowerBook has a nice surprise built in. When you use it in a dark or dim room, the keyboard automatically lights up so you can keep working. In my tests, it handled everything I threw at it, crisply and without any hiccups. That included e-mail, Web surfing, photo editing, word processing, spreadsheets, and playing music and video clips. The PowerBook even connected to a Windows laptop via my Wi-Fi network, in about a minute. Battery life is respectable, especially when you consider the huge, power-draining screen. In my usual harsh battery test, where I turn off all power-saving features and play a continuous loop of music, the 17-inch PowerBook lasted two hours, 38 minutes. That suggests that with power-saving on, and a more normal usage pattern, you'd get between 3.5 and four hours, which is pretty good, though shy of the "up to 4.5 hours" that Apple claims. However, there's a new crop of Windows laptops using the new power-saving Intel Pentium-M processor that typically do a lot better. In my tests of four Pentium-M laptops a few weeks back, three of the four showed significantly longer battery life than the new Apple. Another drawback is the keyboard layout. The keyboard itself is very good, but it is pushed all the way to the back of the large base, forcing you to reach over a wide swath of the case to touch the keys. Palm rests are great, but these are too large, especially for two-finger typists like me. Then, there is that jumbo width. Despite its admirable design and plethora of features, the new PowerBook's dimensions can be inconvenient. It swallows nearly all of a coach airline tray table, about 16.5 by 10.5 inches. And it would be too wide to gracefully fish out of a briefcase jammed under the coach seat in front of you. You might even need to get a new bag to carry it. But, if you mainly use it as a desktop replacement, or at most tote it back and forth between home and office, the 17-inch PowerBook is a great choice and another design win for Apple. Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com Updated April 3, 2003