Gateway Solo 5300XL

WHAT'S HOT: The Solo 5300XL is almost as small and lightweight as IBM's standard-setting ThinkPad T20. It measures 1.4 inches tall and weighs 5.1 pounds with a hollow travel module in its single internal bay, compared with 4.7 pounds for a ThinkPad T20 equipped with a screen and a hard drive of the same size.

WHAT'S NOT: Though it's plenty fast, the 5300XL performed slightly below average for a Pentium III-750/600-based portable with 128MB of SDRAM running Windows 2000. We were also a bit disappointed in the wiggly, slightly noisy keyboard. Because the floppy drive can't be connected externally, you must purchase Gateway's USB floppy drive (for $49 more) to use a floppy disk and another device in the notebook's bay simultaneously.

WHAT ELSE: Call the Solo 5300XL a ThinkPad Lite. It's almost as easy to lug as an IBM ThinkPad T20, but it's a less adaptable notebook. The 5300XL's internal bay, for instance, accepts only four add-in devices (one at a time): the bundled CD-ROM drive, the floppy drive, a $149 DVD-ROM drive, or a $99 SuperDisk drive. The 5300XL lacks the T20's special digital camera connection, its mini-light for illuminating the keyboard in the dark, and its dedicated application launch buttons. The 5300XL's battery life of 3.1 hours nearly matches the IBM T20's, but the latter machine has a slightly better keyboard and speakers.

Gateway's notebook, available in configurations starting at $1500, sports a silver screen back adorned with an oversize embossed Gateway cow-box logo. And unlike the T20's fixed hard drive, the 5300XL's drive slides out for quick swaps, upgrades, or storage. A composite video-out connection lets you hook the notebook up to a TV or other big screen for presentations.

You also get a handy LED battery gauge, mouse buttons you can program to launch applications, and the usual outstanding Gateway documentation. Gateway includes Intel LANDesk Client Manager software for managing the 5300XL across a network, plus an electronic manual and GoBack, a utility that restores your system to previous settings.

BEST USE: Gateway pitches this midsize machine to consumers, students, and professionals (though we don't know why the former two would need LAN management utilities). Overall, the 5300XL qualifies as a solid choice for companies seeking a lightweight laptop with a high-end processor and big hard drive at an attractive price.

SUMMARY

Gateway Solo 5300XL PC WorldBench 2000 score of 155, Pentium III-750/600, 128MB of SDRAM, Windows 2000, 14.1-inch active screen, S3 Savage/IX+MV graphics chip with 4MB of SGRAM, 20GB hard drive, 10X-24X CD-ROM drive, built-in V.90 modem and network adapter, touchpad pointing device, 7.1 pounds (including CD-ROM drive, floppy drive, AC adapter, and phone cord). Three-year parts and labor warranty; free, unlimited 24-hour toll-call tech support. $2279 800/846-2000 www.gateway.com