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Ive always been a fan of the ThinkPad X series laptops because of their size and light weight.
Recently, though, Ive gotten a couple of new ultraportables in for review that are bound to appeal to users who value portability—but want it at a more affordable price.
Hewlett-Packards new ultraportable, the $1,599 HP Compaq nc2400, boasts a bright, 12.1-inch screen and weighs 3.6 pounds.
The unit includes an extended battery and has a built-in DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo. The nc2400 was released in early May.
Meanwhile, the Lenovo 3000 v100 laptop could provide serious competition to Lenovos own ThinkPad X60s in some markets.
Sporting a 12-inch wide screen and weighing in at 4.4 pounds, the $1,649 Lenovo 3000 v100 has a six-cell extended battery and a built-in DVD+R dual-layer DVD burner. The Lenovo 3000 v100 was released May 31.
I rarely wish I had an optical drive on my X40 ThinkPad, but the fact that both the Lenovo 3000 v100 and the HP Compaq nc2400 have built-in optical drives will be appreciated by travelers who dont want to carry an external drive with them—its a feature found in very few ultraportables.
As with all the laptops eWEEK Labs evaluates, Ill benchmark these two units using BAPCOs (Business Applications Performance) MobileMark 2005. MobileMark 2005 tests notebook battery life and performance with a core office productivity test that models a mobile professionals workload by opening Microsoft Office applications and creating documents, as well as other tasks.
Both the Lenovo 3000 v100 and the HP Compaq nc2400 could give the X60—the latest X series ThinkPad from Lenovo and an eWEEK Analysts Choice Award winner—a run for its money. Find out when my reviews are published, in the June 26/July 3 issue of eWEEK and at eweek.com.
Senior Writer Anne Chen can be reached at text anne_chen@ziffdavis.com.
