Gateway E-155C

The tablet has a somewhat limited palette of features. You get only two USB ports, for instance, and no ExpressCard slot. The E-155C also lacks the ThinkPad X61 Tablet's ability to rotate the screen automatically between portrait and landscape orientations as you rotate the notebook.

The E-155C is somewhat sluggish, and its battery runs down much too fast for a note-taking device. Our test unit was equipped with a 1.06-GHz Core 2 Duo U7500 chip and 1GB of RAM, a shortcoming that resulted in a WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 45. (You can purchase the E-155C with up to 4GB of RAM.) Though moving through menus and jotting notes in the input panel seemed quick, the E-155C slows down more than the ThinkPad X61 Tablet when trying to accomplish tasks such as burning DVDs or working in multiple windows. Battery life (2.3 hours on a single charge) was the most disappointing aspect of the unit.

If you need an ultraportable notebook that can also serve occasionally as a nice tablet, the E-155C is a good choice, assuming that you don't mind carrying a power adapter. For heavy work or extended periods in the field, however, look for a convertible that offers better battery life.

Carla Thornton