Loaded Little Laptops

New subnotebooks bulk up (ever so slightly) to improve performance and battery life.

Anybody who's been on a successful diet knows how hard it is to keep the weight off. But when it comes to the latest ultraportable notebooks, their new gains are all muscle.

For example, the $1699 Fujitsu LifeBook P5000 weighs in at 3 pounds, 14 ounces--half a pound more than its predecessor, the P2000 (click here for more information). Most of the extra heft, however, comes from a larger lithium ion battery, which lasted 5 hours in PC World Test Center tests, versus 2.2 hours for the P2000.

Equally notable: My production P5000 scored 105 on PC WorldBench 4, almost twice the score of 53 for the Transmeta Crusoe-based P2000.

Fueling the P5000's pep are a 900-MHz ULV Intel Pentium M CPU, 256MB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, and a combination 8X DVD-ROM and 24X/10X/24X CD-RW drive.

Fujitsu has addressed some of the P2000's weak points, but it has also introduced a few new ones in the P5000. Designers wisely replaced the P2000's mispositioned right Shift key with a proper, wider one; but they went on to shrink the period, comma, and forward-slash keys--a move that's sure to cause typos.

Fujitsu's biggest misstep, however, involves the P5000's display. Though it looked remarkably sharp under average office lighting, the screen was completely washed out under bright sun or fluorescent light.

Sony's $2200 VAIO PCG-TR1A, the evolutionary offspring of the discontinued sub-3-pound C1 PictureBook and SRX Series notebooks, offers an exceptionally high-quality display. Unfortunately, it suffers from the same reflection problems as the Fujitsu.

The 3.2-pound preproduction unit that I tested came with the same Intel processor as the Fujitsu, as well as 512MB of RAM, a 30GB hard drive, and a fixed internal 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/4X/24X CD-RW combo drive.

As with the older PictureBook, Sony throws in a 640-by-480 VGA swivel camera, built in to the top of the PCG-TR1A's screen. If you're the rare bird who uses a notebook for videoconferencing, the camera may be a boon, but for most users the novelty will likely wear off quickly (it lasted about 5 minutes for me).

Based on the same processor as the Fujitsu, the PCG-TR1A scored a comparable 104 on PC WorldBench 4 (although the Sony had double the RAM). The Sony's smaller, lighter battery trims weight from the unit, but it lasted just 3 hours, 54 minutes (average for a notebook of this size).

At 3.7 pounds, the double-branded HP Compaq Business Notebook Nc4000 weighs about the same as the Fujitsu and Sony systems but packs a larger display and a faster Intel processor. HP calls the $2099 Nc4000 an ultraportable, but its more corporate-friendly design lacks an integrated optical drive, which means that prospective buyers should also consider it against similarly configured business units such as IBM's ThinkPad X31.

Since the Nc4000 lacks an integrated optical drive, you'll need to buy both a $79 external MultiBay and an optical drive of your choice. My preproduction unit came with a $219 8X DVD-ROM drive; a combination DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive sells for $299. The downside: The extras contribute another 1 pound, 3 ounces to the mix, for a total near 5 pounds.

The Nc4000 comes with a 60GB hard drive, 256MB of RAM, a full-size keyboard, a touchpad and pointing stick combination, and full compatibility with various HP docking stations. Of course, one of the most attractive features of the HP is its powerful 1.6-GHz Pentium M processor, which propelled it to a PC WorldBench 4 score of 122, making it noticeably faster (about 16 percent) than the LifeBook.

One of the reasons that Fujitsu and Sony used ultra-low-voltage chips instead of standard Pentium Ms was to try to achieve better battery life. The HP ran for a modest 3 hours, 23 minutes, the shortest time of the three units.

Even though these three notebooks aren't as svelte as their predecessors, each of them will appeal to some portion of the subnotebook market. On a price/performance basis alone, the Fujitsu LifeBook P5000 wins. Despite its screen-reflection problems, the machine delivered solid performance, amazing battery life, and plenty of amenities.

The built-in camera and high-tech styling of the equally loaded (but notably more expensive) Sony VAIO create a strong first impression that erodes slightly when you realize that some of its cooler toys aren't entirely useful.

And finally, though the HP isn't quite in the same design class as the Fujitsu and Sony systems, its excellent benchmark performance and corporate-friendly bent will likely win over IT buyers.

Buying Information

Hewlett-Packard Compaq Nc4000 3.5 stars (7/29/2003) Price when reviewed: $2099 Current prices (if available) Powerful, but lacks optical drive; IT buyers will like it anyway.

Buying Information

Fujitsu LifeBook P5000 4 stars (7/29/2003) Price when reviewed: $1699 Current prices (if available) Solid performance and battery life, but overly reflective screen.

Buying Information

Sony VAIO PCG-TR1A 3.5 stars (7/29/2003) Price when reviewed: $2200 Current prices (if available) Stylish pricey unit with a built-in camera has screen issues.

--Michael S. Lasky