Notebooks & Accessories

Review: Long-Lived Toshiba Tecra M1

The Toshiba Tecra M1's single lithium ion battery worked for 6 hours, 29 minutes in PC World tests--only 9 minutes short of the record set by Toshiba's Tecra S1. And if that's not long enough, you can swap out the notebook's optical drive for an optional secondary battery ($169). The Tecra M1 also includes a Secure Digital memory card slot and dual pointing devices. In our tests, however, the notebook's performance was lackluster, compared to other 1.6-GHz Pentium M-equipped notebooks. And the optical drive tends to stick in the modular bay, making swapping devices a bit cumbersome.

You can use the PCWorld.com Product Finder to check pricing.

News: A Better Way to Watch Movies on a Notebook

Movielink, the movie studio-sponsored Web site for legally downloading films, has revamped elements of its service. Among the improvements: You no longer need an active Internet connection to begin watching a downloaded movie. That requirement often made it impossible to view movies on the road.

For my review of the Movielink service, read "Mobile Computing: Rent Movies for Your Notebook."

Review: Full-Sized but Slim Amax Elite

The Amax Elite 6053M is a full-size Centrino-based portable with a 15-inch screen. And yet the notebook is only about an inch tall with the lid closed--a nice touch for a notebook its size. The unit we tested included a handy on/off switch for the built-in 802.11b wireless networking, a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive conveniently located on the notebook's front, and a Secure Digital memory card slot. The notebook's audio sounded weak, though; the documentation was slim; and typing on the keyboard was awkward.

The computer's base price is $1929. You can configure one online at the Amax Information Technologies Web site.