The notebook to take if you want to travel light

The notebook to take if you want to travel light

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): When I finally had my turn to test drive a
ThinkPad 570, I understood why people have been raving about it.
It's very light, has a powerful engine and is really pleasing to
the eyes. I'd like to compare it to the BMW Z8 Roadster, the
sleek two-seater that will debut next year. ThinkPad 570's pretty
high price tag (US$ 3,600) more or less matches the Z8's
projected $100,000 price, too. In fact, because of its price --
more than double the ThinkPad i Series -- I think I can only
sleep soundly again after it's no longer in my possession.

Price aside, ThinkPad 570 is one of the ultra-slim notebooks
that have become increasingly popular in the last one-and-a-half
years. Another very popular model would be Sony VAIO 505, which
is still not available here. Courtesy of PT USI Jaya/IBM, I had
the opportunity to test drive this notebook, which replaces the
smashingly popular ThinkPad 560Z Series.

The unit I had was propelled by an Intel Mobile Pentium II
processor running at 366 MHz. It had 64 MB of RAM, a 6.3 GB hard
disk, a built-in V90 modem that we could upgrade by downloading
the required software from IBM's Web site. The screen was a
spacious 13.3 inch TFT, the same as the one I found in the
ThinkPad i Series that I reviewed a few weeks back. As far as I'm
concerned, this should be the optimum size of a notebook screen.
Any bigger, and you'd have problems opening it on an airplane
seat tray, especially if the guy sitting in front of you reclines
his seat all the way back.

The space efficiency of this notebook, which actually has the
same width and depth as my beloved three-year-old Siemens Nixdorf
SCENIC Mobile 300 but with a thickness of only 28 mm, is quite
amazing. Despite its slimness, it has all the facilities that a
notebook normally offers: All the standard ports parallel,
serial, keyboard and infrared ports, two free PC-Card slots, the
three audio jacks -- line in, line out and microphone -- and a
USB port. The floppy diskette drive is external, and so is the
power adaptor that is smaller than what I saw in the ThinkPad i
series. The keyboard was excellent, but it didn't have the
Windows keys. My test unit was made in Mexico.

You can buy an UltraBase for this notebook for an additional
$100. Attached to the underneath of the notebook, the UltraBase
can add a CD-ROM, a DVD ROM, a Zip, a LS 120 SuperDisk drive or
an extra hard disk in one bay and the floppy diskette drive or an
extra battery in the other. An extra battery will allow you to
double the length of time you can continue working without being
tethered to a wall outlet. Despite its size, the Li-Ion battery's
life expectancy is excellent. I got more than two and half hours
per charge.

Tap the head

While other notebooks make you use a combination of the Fn and
one of the function keys to adjust the brightness, in ThinkPad
570 is done by sliding a bar right underneath the screen. On the
other hand, while other notebooks let you adjust the audio volume
using a thumbwheel, in ThinkPad 570 this is done using Fn and the
PgUp or PgDn key. But these idiosyncrasies are no problem at all,
because the functions work very well.

On a notebook with a TouchPad, we can usually tap our finger
on the panel once to simulate a click of the left mouse button.
Now you can also do the same thing with TrackPoint IV. Tap once
on the red head, and that will be equal to a left button click.
However, it will take some practice, though, because you don't
want the cursor to move when you tap on the stick.

Three models are available. If you like the design but don't
have the budget for the latest, you can opt for the Intel Mobile
Pentium II 300PE model. It is offered at $2,697.77 by CDW, a mail
order company in the U.S. It comes with a 4.3 GB hard disk and a
12.1 inch TFT LCD. Between this model and the one I tested, there
is an Intel Mobile Pentium II 333 MHz based model with most
features closer to the top model.

In addition to Windows 98, ThinkPad 570 comes with a good
collection of software: programs and utility. Not surprisingly
Lotus SmartSuite is included. To protect the system from digital
germs, IBM has thrown in Norton AntiVirus. To help you
troubleshoot problems if they occur, PC Doctor is also available.

As the notebook gets thinner and thinner, however, I think
it's high time IBM abandoned the reinforced plastic and adopted
magnesium casing. While the black plastic casing is strong enough
in most respects, magnesium will provide better protection. I
believe that ultra-thin notebooks should use the truly solid
magnesium casing to protect the components inside it. IBM warns
users of ThinkPad 570 of not placing anything heavy on its top or
squeezing it into a packed handbag, as this may press the LCD
screen against the keyboard. The manual even tells us that if we
see scratches on the screen, they could be caused by the cap of
the TrackPoint or the keys in the keyboard being pressed against
the screen. We can clean it simply by wiping the surface with a
piece of cloth damped with some monitor cleaning liquid.

Another suggestion: The two small legs that I found in the
rear of ThinkPad i Series really made typing more comfortable as
they raised the rear end of the keyboard. I think IBM should add
them to ThinkPad 570 as well.

In their July 1999 issue, PC Magazine published their annual
survey of computer users' satisfaction with vendors. The
questions of the survey included the number of units that
required repairs in the last 12 months, satisfaction with product
reliability, satisfaction with services, satisfaction with tech
support and whether the respondents would buy again from the same
vendors. In the past year, Big Blue, which had been earning an A
for the past seven years for desktop PCs, had done better than
average in the notebook area as well. Only IBM and Sony received
straight A scores for all five issues in the notebook vendor
category. Not bad.

The fast-growing number of ladies who are mobile workers will
definitely love this notebook. However, male road warriors will
appreciate it, too, because of its flexibility. If you need all
the features, including the CD-ROM drive and the extra battery,
you can take along the UltraBase. If you just have to continue
working on your Word document or Excel spreadsheet, you can leave
it at the office and just take the 1.8 kg notebook and its slim
external floppy diskette drive. And a spare battery, perhaps.

But, with this price range, you may have to work for a Fortune
1,000 company or the Central Bank to be able to tote a notebook
like this.