Notebooks That Entertain

Looking for a good time? Here's what you'll need in a notebook.

James A. Martin

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Feature: Entertaining Notebooks

This is just a wild guess, but I bet you and I have at least one thing in common: We use notebook computers a lot in our work.

But that doesn't mean we can't have some fun with our notebooks, too. So if you're looking to buy a notebook that shows movies and TV programs as well as it lets you crunch spreadsheets, or you want to make your existing portable more fun to use, here's a list of key features and components to consider.

A Wide-Screen Display

Movie fans love wide-screen notebooks. Why? Because they can watch films on DVD in their original aspect ratio but without the black bars that result from letterboxing a wide-screen movie onto a standard-sized screen. You can also view two documents side by side--but that's taking us into work territory, so we'll skip that for now.

Wide-aspect-ratio screens on notebooks typically range from 8.9 to 17 inches, measured diagonally from corner to corner. JVC's Mobile Mini Note MP-XV841US, with its 8.9-inch screen, is among the smallest, lightest wide-screen notebooks. The $2300 ultraportable is well equipped for its size, with a built-in DVD-ROM and CD-RW combo drive, two USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, and a Secure Digital card slot, says PC World reviewer Carla Thornton. In her recent review, Carla gave the JVC notebook three (out of five) stars, and it earned a spot in PC World's Top 15 Notebook PCs chart.

The Dell Inspiron 9100 ($2230), with a 15.4-inch wide-screen display, recently appeared in our Top 15 Notebook PCs, too. The Inspiron that Carla reviewed received four stars for its multimedia prowess, including a built-in subwoofer for excellent audio; fast performance; and the option to upgrade to a 100GB hard drive, which is rare among notebooks. Unfortunately, at 9.2 pounds, it's heavy; and battery life was a brief 90 minutes in our tests.

Other Options: Many portable DVD players offer displays with wide aspect ratios. Panasonic's wide-screen DVD-LS50 ($400) features a 7-inch display that slides back and forth and swivels up and down for optimal viewing angles, according to the company.

A TV Tuner

Notebooks with the Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system include a tuner that lets you record programs directly from a television. Once recorded, you can watch the programs on your notebook or burn them to DVD for viewing elsewhere.

Currently, though, there are only a handful of Windows Media Center-based notebooks, primarily from Toshiba and Hewlett-Packard. Generally speaking, these portables are heavy, often weighing more than 8 pounds; and they have short battery lives, often under 2 hours.

For example, Toshiba's Satellite P25-S670 ($2699) weighs 10 pounds and in PC World tests ran just 1.2 hours on one battery charge. The feature-packed notebook serves up TV programming well, writes Carla, letting you watch and pause live TV. The Media Center interface, which Carla says looks great on the notebook's 17-inch screen, makes downloading and navigating TV listings easy. The screen produced a slightly grainy full-screen TV picture, but it's not a distraction for casual viewing and looks sharp in a small window. You can go to the PC World Product Finder for the latest prices.

Other Options: If you don't have (or don't want) a Media Center notebook, you can connect an external TV tuner to your existing portable.

For example, ADS Technologies' Windows-based Instant TV ($129), a cable-ready TV tuner, connects to a notebook via USB 2.0. The external device lets you record programming from cable and satellite TV.

Instant TV comes with SnapStream Beyond TV, software that pauses, rewinds, or forwards live TV. Beyond TV also has a programming guide, and you can set it to record TV shows to a hard drive, CD, or DVD up to seven days in advance. PC World's Tom Mainelli reviewed the software and despite some installation problems, gave it four stars.

Other Features to Consider

Hardware Controls. A few notebooks offer buttons for controlling video and audio playback. With the HP Pavilion Dv1000 ($1500), you don't even have to boot up your computer. Just press the DVD or the Music button above the keyboard, and you're off. Read Kalpana Ettenson's first look at a preproduction model.

Acer's Aspire AS2003LMi ($1599) is a multimedia-enhanced notebook that recently appeared in our Top 15 Notebook PCs chart and includes audio controls that remain accessible when the notebook's lid is closed.

Powerful Basics. To achieve top-quality video playback, your notebook should have a fast processor, plenty of standard and graphics memory, and top-quality audio components. Here again, the Dell Inspiron 9100 seems a good choice. In our speed tests, the 9100 performed better than two other notebooks with the same 3.2-GHz Pentium 4 processor and 512MB of RAM. The 9100 also has a 128MB ATI Radeon 9700 graphics processor, which is above average for a portable.

By comparison, the HP Compaq Nc6000 ($2021), recently the top dog in our notebook roundup, has a 32MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 graphics processor. You can get the latest prices at our Product Finder.

S-Video Out. By connecting a notebook's S-Video out port to an S-Video input jack on a TV, you can play a DVD or downloaded movie on your computer on a much-larger screen. S-Video transfers more visual information than standard composite video input/output, so you get a better picture. Older TVs don't have S-Video input jacks, but you can get adapter cables. Dell's Inspiron 9100 includes such a cable as well as a DVI port for connecting the notebook to a digital LCD--a rarity.

The Bottom Line

To my knowledge, there doesn't appear to be a lightweight notebook that includes a wide-screen display, a built-in TV tuner with Microsoft's Media Center operating system, a DVD burner, S-Video out, and other features. It's only a matter of time before such a notebook arrives, I'd bet.

Notebooks & Accessories

News: Canon's Portable Copier/Printer

The new Canon PC 150 ($149) is a laser-based copier/printer that folds into something resembling a briefcase for business travel. But since it weighs nearly 19 pounds, you won't be toting this baby on all your trips. The PC 150 can create copies of letter-size documents at a speed of 4 pages per minute and includes a pop-up carrying handle.

For details about new Canon printers, read "Canon Unveils a Cavalcade of Printers."

News: Microsoft's GPS Lets You Backtrack

Microsoft's Streets & Trips 2005 mapping and trip-planning software is now available in a $129 version that includes a USB Global Positioning System receiver. Streets & Trips 2005 with GPS Locator provides an on-screen window that displays directional coordinates, tracking options, and routing, according to Microsoft. The Trail feature leaves behind a "virtual breadcrumb trail" that shows on a map where you've been so you can backtrack if needed--which is particularly useful for politicians.

Gadgets & Services

Hands On: Bluetooth Keyboard for Pocket PCs

ThinkOutside's Stowaway Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard is now available for Pocket PCs and certain smart phones, such as the Sony Ericsson P800 and P900 models.

At less than 6 ounces, the keyboard is lighter than most PDA keyboards; and it folds up compactly. It communicates with your Pocket PC via Bluetooth. But the keyboard doesn't include dedicated numeric keys. To type numerals, you must hold down the blue Fn key (as opposed to the green Fn key). Unlike traditional PDA keyboards, which connect directly to the PDA via a dock, the Bluetooth keyboard requires two AA batteries. Using Bluetooth is a drain on your PDA's battery, too. And an alert airline attendant is bound to ask you to refrain from using the keyboard (or any other device that requires wireless connectivity) during a flight.

So as sleek as this keyboard is, I can't see why you'd want one--unless it's for use with a smart phone, where your keyboard options are far more limited.

The Stowaway Bluetooth Wireless is available for $150 from ThinkOutside. Dell sells a version of this keyboard for its Axim PDAs, for $106.

Your best bet: ThinkOutside continues to sell the original Stowaway ($80), which comes the closest to replicating a full-sized computer keyboard for PDAs. It's compatible with several Palm OS PDAs and some HP IPaq models.

Hands On: Altec Lansing's IPod Mini Speaker System

With its rich sound and easy portability, Altec Lansing's InMotion ($150) speakers/docking recharger for IPods is one of my favorite IPod accessories.

The company recently came out with a version for IPod Minis that's even smaller, the awkwardly titled IMmini ($130). Though the speakers don't have quite the bass and volume capacity of the InMotion, I'd recommend the IMmini for IPod Mini owners who frequently travel.

If you have a regular IPod as well, though, consider the company's new IM3 ($180), which comes with adapters that fit all IPods. Or stick with the InMotion. Though it's designed especially for regular-sized IPods, my IPod Mini fits into its docking slot just fine. For more information about all three products, go to Altec Lansing's site.

Tip: Helpful Hints for VoIP Woes

Having trouble with your Voice over IP service? PC World's Michael Desmond suggests upgrading your DSL or cable modem, because older broadband modems can have difficulty efficiently delivering packets--which affects voice quality. Michael offers other tips in "Net Phones Evolve."

For more articles on VoIP, go to PC World's VoIP Telephone Center.

News: HP Debuts Its IPod

Hewlett-Packard has come out with its own version of the Apple IPod. Dubbed, not surprisingly, the "Apple IPod from HP," the devices are pretty much identical to Apple's fourth-generation portable music players. Unlike Apple, though, HP is offering HP Printable Tattoos--stickers embossed with artwork that wrap around the IPod, yet provide access to its controls. You can create and print your own artwork and photos in which to envelope your IPod, too. HP's IPods cost $300 and $400, depending on storage capacity.

Suggestion Box

Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket? Tell me about it.