How small can a notebook computer get before it turns into a PDA? Compaq appears to be pushing the limits with its rollout of the Presario 800 series, described as “ultraportable”” notebooks.
Priced competitively from $1,800 (expect to pay arund R18000 when it hits South Africa), there`s a lot to like about these sleek items, which weigh in at 3.5 pounds (1.6kg) in a package that`s under 1 inch thick and just large enough to fit a 12-inch (diagonal) screen into its magnesium case … a package not much larger than the smallest size box of chocolates that you could probably get away with giving your sweetie for a special occasion.
With a 700mhz Pentium III processor, 20 gigs of hard drive and 128 megs of RAM, you`re looking at reasonably hefty computing power, a great deal more than most of us had on our desktops not long ago.
CD and DVD drives will be external on a machine of this size, which is also available with a wireless modem as an additional extra. Like all Compaqs, it comes with a touch-sensitive pointing device built in – a disadvantage for those of us who hate those things.
Still, if small size and portability are important to you, this new product appears to be well worth checking out. You`ll find a picture and limited specs and technical information on the Compaq Website,
See more details at nnnThe Compaq At Home nnnsite.”