Mobile Computing: Notebook Buying Tips

By James A. Martin, PCWorld Dec 23, 2004 1:00 AM

Mobile Computing News, Reviews, & Tips

Notebook News: HP's Latest Media Center Portable

At 9.9 pounds, Hewlett-Packard's new Zd8000 series notebooks aren't likely to be impulsively packed in your backpack for a jaunt to the corner cafe. Rather, the hefty notebook, with Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 operating system and digital video recording capability, is meant to be a mobile digital media hub for students, families, and others (preferably those with a strong back). For example, the notebook records TV broadcasts via dual external TV tuners, which connect via USB ports. The tuners let you record one program while watching another.

The Zd8000, an update to HP's Zd7000, is available in various configurations: A base model costs about $1400 after rebates, depending on the retail outlet, HP says.

Notebook News: NVidia's Blazing Graphics Chip

We tested NVidia's new high-end mobile graphics chip, the GeForce Go 6800, a notebook processor designed to rival the performance of desktop graphics chips. We liked what we saw.

The chip we tested was in a ProStar 9095 notebook with a 3-GHz Pentium 4 processor and 1GB of RAM. Its performance was impressive: For example, in Doom 3, the notebook posted scores similar to those of a desktop PC with a high-end graphics board. The GeForce Go 6800 chip will be in portables from Alienware, Falcon Northwest, Voodoo PC, and others.

PDA Tip: Put How-To Info on Your Palm OS Device

PC World's PDA Pundit Yardena Arar says the How-To tab at the PalmSource site points you to lots of downloadable, helpful software organized by interest, profession, and task. You'll find practical guides and software tools for teachers, doctors, realtors, salespeople, writers, ham radio operators, food and wine lovers, film buffs, genealogy enthusiasts, pet lovers, and scuba divers. Read "Where the (Palm OS) Apps Are" for more about what Denny dug up.

Gadget Accessory: Pricey IPod Speaker Dock

There's no shortage of cool accessories for Apple's IPod these days. Now Bose, the high-end stereo equipment maker, has added its SoundDock to the pile. The speaker dock works with third- or fourth-generation Apple IPods and IPod Minis, simultaneously charging the music player and blasting out your tunes. The sleek, shoebox-size device puts out solid sound; but it's expensive ($299), and it doesn't run off batteries.

Wireless News: Hotspot Providers Hold Hands

Anyone who's traveled with a Wi-Fi enabled device--especially abroad--knows the hassle of having to maintain multiple Wi-Fi service contracts. So here's some good news: Some of the globe's biggest Wi-Fi operators have signed a worldwide roaming agreement, meaning that subscribers of one service can have instant access to hotspots maintained by the other services involved. The agreement covers some 20,000 wireless hotspots in 11 countries, operated by the BT Group (the UK), StarHub (Singapore), T-Mobile (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the U.S.), Telstra (Australia), and Telecom Italia. For more details, read "Global Wi-Fi Access Deal Makes World Wireless."

Hands-on: TV Shows to Go

As a TiVo fanatic, I foamed at the mouth when Humax's new DRT-800 Recorder with TiVo ($399) was released. The device is among the first affordable digital video recorders to offer the TiVo subscription-based service ($13 a month or $300 for the product's lifetime), a DVD-R/-RW recorder, and an IEEE 1394 port that lets you connect your digital camcorder and burn your movies to DVD.

The upside: Now I can catch up on ABC's hit show Lost when I'm on the plane. Given that the show is about a bunch of people stranded on an island after a plane crash, however, maybe I'll watch Desperate Housewives instead. The downside: Like other TiVo devices I've used, the initial setup was thorny and time-consuming; I spent the better part of a weekend figuring out which cables went where, and so forth. But now that the kinks are ironed out, I have all sorts of new DVD viewing options for my cross-country trips.

For another take on the device, read "Gadgetiquette 101: Next Up."