agrawal@grip.cis.upenn.edu (Sanjay Agrawal) (06/02/91)
I am planning on getting a 386SX/20Mhz notebook computer. The configuration I am interested in should have 4-5M RAM, 40/60 MB HD, and a slot for a modem/fax. I have looked at models by AST, DELL and Toshiba and have read about the ZEOS, Northstar, Bona and Micro Express versions, and they all seem quite comparable. The last four companies deal directly through mail, and the approximate price for the above configured system is $3000 - $3500. Can one get the AST/DELL/TOshiba models for a comparable price? Is there any reason why one would not buy from the direct mail companies? I am considering buying a Northstar. Any recommendations or advice that would be useful, is most appreciated. Thanks Sanjay
borsom@imokay.cmw.ltn.dec.com (Doug Borsom) (06/03/91)
Keep in mind that the Toshiba 2000SX and the Zeos are 16Mhz, not 20Mhz 386SX's. Everex (pretty much a twin of the Zeos) is selling a 20Mhz version of their spiffy notebook (which originally shipped as a 16Mhz system). I've seen it adverstised with 3 megs of ram and a 60 meg HD for around $3200. (The the Science section of the Tuesday New York Times seems a popular place for discounters to advertise) You might want to check out the Everex. I've seen the AST (with 2 megs, 40 meg HD) advertised for around $2700, But I don't know whether anyone actually has these systems in stock. -Doug
andrew@frip.WV.TEK.COM (Andrew Klossner) (06/04/91)
I spent a few evenings studying 386 notebook computers. Here are the
resulting notes. The features that are important to me are, in no
particular order, size, weight, keyboard (good feel, inverted-T
cursors, unshifted PgUp/PdDn/Home/End/Ins/Del, shift keys where shift
keys go, and put the CONTROL key to the left of the A), resume mode,
display screen gray levels, two serial ports or one serial+one mouse
(so I can use my external 9600 baud modem), screen size, max RAM, disk
size, battery life.
Tandon: an excellent machine in all respects except for the keyboard,
which is reported to be more compact than usual, mushy, and (show
stopper) they put the cursor-up key where the right-hand shift key
goes. Two serial ports.
Dell: another excellent machine. One serial port, one mouse port. My
only gripe is that they put CAPS LOCK where CONTROL goes. I ordered a
Dell. They claim over three hours of battery life, but I take that
with a grain of salt; it's likely closer to two.
Zeos: no resume mode, a show stopper for me. With two hours of
battery life, you've gotta have resume mode to get through the day, or
through an airplane trip.
Everex: the same (Samsung) design as the Zeos, no resume mode. An
impressive keyboard, though. If keyboards matter at all to you, check
out the Everex before buying Zeos.
Compaq: at this price, forget it.
IBM: ditto.
TI/Sharp/CompuAdd: the keyboard is mushy, there are no separate page
keys, and (show stopper) the battery doesn't recharge while the machine
is operating, and the battery has to cool down for an hour or two after
recharge before you can use it. Bizarre.
Toshiba T2000SX: only one serial port. Key travel is short, but
acceptable. The nickel hydrid battery would be a win. The resume mode
is very sophisticated, so much so that it can get wedged if you do
anything fancy with the 386, like run QEMM or Windows.
Northgate: I haven't seen a review, but the ads portray a very
impressive machine. You can count on Northgate to get the keyboard
right. Only one serial port, sigh.
-=- Andrew Klossner (andrew@frip.wv.tek.com)
(uunet!tektronix!frip.WV.TEK!andrew)quimby@madoka.its.rpi.edu (Quimby Pipple) (06/04/91)
andrew@frip.WV.TEK.COM (Andrew Klossner) writes: <very interesting mini-review deleted> >Everex: the same (Samsung) design as the Zeos, no resume mode. An ^^^ >impressive keyboard, though. If keyboards matter at all to you, check >out the Everex before buying Zeos. I'm pretty sure the Everex and Zeos notebooks are manufactured by Sayno, not Samsung, which is selling yet another notebook. Battery life should be about 3 hours with these machines, but it would depend a lot on how much you used the hard drive. Quimby -- quimby@mts.rpi.edu, quimby@rpitsmts.bitnet
tohaver@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Timothy J O'Haver) (06/05/91)
In article <10958@orca.wv.tek.com> andrew@frip.wv.tek.com writes: >Northgate: I haven't seen a review, but the ads portray a very >impressive machine. You can count on Northgate to get the keyboard >right. Only one serial port, sigh. Thought I'd jump in here and add some of what I've read on Northgate's Compu$erv forum: The display, keyboard, battery size, and small AC adapter are highly praised. Battery life seems to be universally condemned. Extra batteries, modems, and 60 mb drives still aren't available. As many things as these guys do right with their desktops, anyone shopping for a notebook should look at their portable. -- Tim O'Haver tohaver@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
shane@inferno.peri.com (Shane Bouslough) (06/06/91)
From article <23105@shlump.lkg.dec.com>, borsom@imokay.cmw.ltn.dec.com (Doug Borsom) writes: > > You might want to check out the Everex. One thing the Everex has over the ZEOS is the keyboard has true arrow keys *and* page up/down. The ZEOS requires a meta key to use the page keys. -- Periphonics Corp. | Shane Bouslough is: shane@inferno.peri.com Ride Bike! 4000 Veterans Hwy. | Bohemia, NY 11716 | "Too slow, Chicken Marango! Too slow for *this* cat!" 516-467-0500 | -Cat, Red Dwarf