ome gather 'round and listen to me while I sing the praises of the new ultralight laptops.
These new machines are laptops as they should be: superbly light, sleek, and beautiful. Yet at the same time these Windows-based machines are extremely fast, rivaling all but the fastest desktops. They are capable, with ample memory banks and hard drives. And most important, they are affordable.
In many ways the computers in this new generation of laptop companions are far more similar than they are different. They all have magnesium cases (for added strength), a single PCMCIA slot (there's not room for more), external floppy disk drives (an internal would take up too much space), and external port extenders (no room for the connectors, either). They all come with a standard battery, with a high-capacity available as an option. Likewise, external CD-ROM drives are sold separately.
The three leading notebooks in this class are the Sharp Actius ($1,812 for 64MB RAM/3.2GB HD/233Mhz; $2,134 for 64MB RAM/4.3GB HD/266Mhz); the Sony Vaio 505 ($1,699 for 32MB RAM/4.3GB HD/233 Mhz; $1,999 for 64MB/4.3GB HD/266 Mhz); and the Toshiba Protege 7000CT ($2,672 for 32MB RAM/4.1GB HD/266 Pentium II).
Although it's the fastest, I don't like the Toshiba because of its pointer stick and its short battery life (80 minutes). Leaving that one aside, comparing the Sony with the Sharp is like trying to decide between oranges and tangerines: The Sharp is rarer and a bit more expensive, but it is much sweeter.
The Sharp Actius is a slim machine measuring 10 1/2 by 8 1/2 by 1 inches and weighing just 3.1 pounds; with an external battery it weighs 4.1 pounds. Besides the PCMCIA slot there is a USB port, a slot for a security lock, a VGA port (which is blocked by the external battery), headphone jack, microphone jack, PS/2 mouse jack, IR port, and a built-in 56k modem. It has a big, brilliant 11.2-inch diagonal screen and a very comfortable touchpad. The external floppy disk drive also has the parallel port, the serial port, and a second PS/2 jack.
The Sony Vaio 505 is virtually the same size and weight as the Sharp. The Sony has headphone and microphone jacks, USB, built-in modem, and IR ports. It provides an external floppy and a separate external port extender that has a serial port, keyboard, mouse, VGA, and printer ports. The screen looks much smaller than Sharp's, although it has a diagonal measurement of 10.5 inches.
Sony does a much better job with cable management than Sharp. The Sony power supply, for instance, has molded plastic on which you can wind up the power cords. The Sony port extender has a slot for stowing the cable and its connector. Overall, the Sony is a more attractive machine.
But Sharp does a better job where things matter - the mechanical and performance aspects. The Sony laptop doesn't have an internal battery: The standard external battery lasts just two hours; the extended battery just four. And Sony's battery is loose: Even when it is locked in place, it rattles around. Sharp, on the other hand, gives three hours of life off the built-in battery, and another five from the external. That's a full day of use from the machine.
But Sony has been selling a lot more laptops lately than Sharp, and this experience has paid off in other ways. The Sharp laptop is a basic brick, delivered with a virgin copy of Windows 98 and no Sharp-specific software. You can't even turn off the tapping feature on the touch pad, something that drives me crazy. And there are no tools for managing the Sharp's power configuration from within Windows 98.
Sony, meanwhile, delivers an impressive array of software with its laptop - much of which, truth be told, few people will actually use. Preinstalled software includes Adobe Acrobat Reader, America Online, CompuServe, Dr. Solomon's Anti-Virus, Dvgate, PictureGear, VirtualKey, VoiceView, and a rather extensive set of help files. More important in my book: It comes with BatteryScope, PowerPanel, and an extensive Sony Notebook configuration program.
One of the much-hyped features of the new Vaio is a touchpad that you can use with a stylus. This lets you sign your name on the touchpad and create a digitized signature (I can't think of many other uses for the feature, though). I don't really like the new touchpad: It is less responsive than the one on the Sharp or on the previous generation of Sony laptops, the 700 series.
My biggest problem with the Sharp is its power management. My Actius frequently would not wake up properly from sleep or suspend mode. Windows 98 realized that it wasn't waking up and eventually gave me the option of disabling sleep entirely, which solved the problem, although it's not great for one's battery life.
I spoke with Sharp about this problem and the company said nobody else had reported it. Of course, that's what they all say. One power advantage that Sharp has over Sony is that the Sharp laptop can power its external CD-ROM drive off the internal battery, whereas Sony's external CD-ROM drive requires that you plug it in.
Having bought a laptop for myself in 1997 and one for my wife last year, I'm not in the market for a new machine. But if I were, it would be a hard decision. Certainly the Sony is a better value. But I like the Sharp a lot better. I find the keyboard easier to use and I like the styling of the case. It feels like a more solidly built machine.
On the other hand, the Sony has digital-video input, and I just bought myself a new digital video camera (which I'll review in an upcoming column). Chances are I would let battery life be the deciding issue, and buy the Sharp with the external battery and CD-ROM - both of which cost extra.
Fortunately, today I can sing the praises of these laptops without having to buy one.
Technology writer Simson L. Garfinkel can be reached at plugged-in@simson.net.
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