Mobile Computing Tips: Portable Hard Drives

Notebooks

Review: Reasonably Priced LifeBook A Series

Fujitsu's LifeBook A Series offers solid options for budget-minded shoppers looking for a big screen, a combination optical drive, and wireless networking. The notebook we tested had a hearty battery life of 2 hours, 48 minutes. A small button on the lid turns Wi-Fi (802.11b) networking on and off. The scratchy-sounding speakers weren't music to our ears, however, and our evaluation unit turned in a somewhat unspectacular performance.

The unit we tested retails for $1649 and includes a 1.2-GHz Athlon 4, 256MB of PC133 SDRAM, 512KB of L2 cache, Windows XP Professional, a 14.1-inch active-matrix screen, a 40GB hard drive, an 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/4X/24X CD-RW combination drive, and more.

Review: Lightweight LifeBook S Series

We're not done reviewing the new Fujitsu portables yet. The LifeBook S Series ultraportable is one of the lightest you can buy that has a modular bay. The notebook has a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive in its bay, yet the total package weighs just 3.8 pounds. A Wi-Fi antenna is cleverly built inside a long black plastic panel along the notebook's lid. The wireless receiver's on/off switch is on the back of the notebook, and the power switch is conveniently located on the side next to the FireWire port. But forget about legacy ports: the LifeBook S lacks parallel, serial, or PS/2 connections.

Our review unit cost $1929 and came equipped with a 1-GHz/733-MHz Pentium III-M, 256MB of PC133 SDRAM, 512KB of L2 cache, Windows XP Professional, a 13.3-inch active-matrix screen, a 40GB hard drive, and more.

Review: Jumbo Screen From Gateway

The new Gateway 600XL makes a good desktop replacement, especially for digital-video editors, graphics professionals, and others who need a notebook with a large screen (15.7 inches). The 600XL offers all the standard connections, two USB 1.1 ports, and Wi-Fi networking. A composite TV-out port plus S/PDIF digital audio and FireWire ports grouped conveniently help make this portable a good option for multimedia users. But this notebook weighs nearly 10 pounds and measures about 14 inches wide by 12 inches deep by 2 inches tall; the XL in its name must stand for "Extra Large."

The $3149 unit we tested came with a 2-GHz/1.2-GHz Pentium 4-M, 512MB of DDR266 SDRAM, Windows XP Professional, a 40GB hard drive, an 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/8X/24X CD-RW combination drive, and more. Check out our Product Finder for the best prices.