HP EVO N610C

WHAT'S HOT: The one-bay Evo N610c weighs 5.2 pounds (not including peripherals) and sports Compaq's silver, futuristic-looking Wi-Fi (802.11b) wireless MultiPort module on the lid. The N610c's dual pointing devices each have a set of baby-blue mouse buttons. The notebook's optical drive (a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo at this $2248 price) is removable and can be swapped for a second battery or a second hard drive.

WHAT'S NOT: Like many notebook lines, Compaq's Evo 600 series seems to have taken a hit in battery life after moving to the Pentium 4 processor. The Evo N610c, equipped with a 2-GHz Pentium 4-M, turned in a battery life of a little over two hours, compared with three hours for the 1.2-GHz Pentium III-M-equipped Evo N600c we tested in June. A floppy drive costs $69 extra.

WHAT ELSE: In performance, the N610c's PC WorldBench 4 score of 101 is average. Aside from its conspicuous wireless module, the N610c plays it straight in its looks, with a square black case and black keyboard with plain white lettering. In features, it holds its own for a medium-weight, one-bay laptop?it comes with all standard connections, a good keyboard (including four shortcut buttons), and a smattering of entertainment extras (a composite video-out port, decent sound, and volume control buttons on the front). We also liked the LED power gauge on the underside of the battery pack. However, the notebook's parts could be easier to reach. To get to the memory slots, located underneath the keyboard, you have to remove a small, deeply inset screw on the bottom of the notebook, push in four tabs atop the keyboard, peel back the keyboard, and use a tool to remove the cover. The battery pack is also a pain to remove. The 610c's modular bay devices tend to stick, making it tough to swap them. Compaq provides a printed guide to getting started and for troubleshooting, but it leaves the details to an Acrobat-format user's manual on CD. The CD manual is thorough and nicely hyperlinked, however.

UPSHOT: The Evo N610c is an appealing but conservative business laptop suitable for those who don't need to delve into the notebook's parts very often.