The Mac Observer: AAPLTalk System Shootouts - US$1,600 UltraPortable Laptop System Shootout

by Charles Gaba

Visit Charle Gaba's new System Shootout site for the latest shootouts!

Desktop Shootouts
New!	(U.S. $):

$800
Desktops

Apple Desktop Lineup
Page 1	Page 2

Laptop Shootouts
(coming soon!)

$800
Laptops

$1,100
Laptops

$1,600
"Mini-Me's"

$2,000
Laptops

$2,600
Laptops

$3,000
"LapZillas"

Apple Laptop Lineup

Laptops: iBook vs. Lindows

Educational Desktops: $700 / $1,000

OS's: Mac OS X vs. Windows XP

	CONFIGURED THE WEEK OF 6/2/03 Must Include 12.1" Display, Optical drive, Hard Drive & Battery, totalling under 5 lbs.* Note: Read the AAPLTalk System Shootout FAQ before proceeding!!! All images and logos are copyright to the respective companies listed. Total must be within $25 of $1,600 INCLUDING SHIPPING!
HP/Compaq has no ultraportables available for under $1,925. Toshiba has no ultraportables available for under $2,100. *Gateway has no ultraportables available at ANY price (smallest laptops are 14.1"/5.8 lbs.)

Company

Apple

Dell

Sony

Best of Field

12" PowerBook G4

Lattitude X200
(variance allowed)

VAIO V505A

Dimensions:

112 cubic in.
10.9" x 8.6" x 1.2"

150 cubic in. (w/external drive)
10.7" x 8.9" x 0.8" + ext. drive

135 cubic In
10.9" x 9.5" x 1.3"

Weight:
(all bays filled; full system)

4.6 lbs.

4.6 lbs.+ with external drive

4.3 lbs.

Battery Life:

up to 5 hrs.

up to 3 hrs. (?)

up to 3.5 hrs.

Processor:
Rating Notes

867 MHz PPC G4
1.3 GHz Pentium 4

933 MHz M Pent. III
1.1 GHz Pentium 4

1.8 GHz Pentium 4-M
1.4 GHz Pentium 4

L1 Cache:

64k

32k

L2 Cache:

256K

512K

L3 Cache:

RAM Type:

DDR PC2100

SDRAM PC133

DDR PC2100

Front Side Bus:

133 MHz bus

400 MHz bus

RAM Amount:

256 MB (2 DIMM)

128 MB (1 DIMM)

256 MB (1 DIMM)

Max. RAM:

640 MB (1+1 open)

1.0 GB (2 slots)

Hard Drive
Capacity:

40 GB

30 GB

Hard Drive Type:

Ultra ATA 100

Ultra ATA 100 (?)

Hard Drive Speed:

4200 RPM

4200 RPM (?)

CD-ROM:

24x CD

24x CD (external)

24x CD

CD-RW:

24x10x CD-RW

24x10x CD-RW (ext.)

8x4x CD-RW

DVD-ROM:

8x DVD

8x DVD (external)

8x DVD

DVD-RW:

Floppy Drive:

Other Drive:

Memory stick

PC Card Slot?

802.11g Card Slot

Yes

Bay Type:

Fixed

(n/a due to ext. drive)

Fixed

USB Ports:

2 USB 1.1 ports

FireWire Ports:

1 400 Mbps port

Legacy Ports:

Video Card:

NVIDIA GeForce4 420 Go

Intel Integrated Graphics

ATI Mobility Radeon

Video RAM:

32 MB DDR

up to 48 MB shared

16 MB DDR

Dual-Display?

Mirror or Span

Mirror or Span (?)

Mirror or Span

VGA Out:

Yes

S-Video Out:

Yes (configged w/adapter)

RCA Out:

Yes (configged w/adapter)

DVI Out:

Display Size:

12.1" TFT XGA

Native Res:

1024x768

Audio In:

Built-in microphone
Digital audio-ready

Line in port
Digital audio-ready

Audio Out:

Yes
Digital Audio-ready

Speakers:

Stereo

Ethernet:

10/100

Internal Modem:

56k V.92

Wi-Fi Card?

optional (802.11g)

optional (802.11b)

optional (802.11a or b)

Bluetooth Card?

Yes

optional

Extras:

Canon i450
Color Bubble Jet Printer

Epson C42UX Color Inkjet Printer

Included OS:

Mac OS X 10.2;
Mac OS 9.2 (via Classic)
BSD Unix;
Apache Web Server

Windows XP
Home Edition

Windows Support:

DOS/98/ME/2000/XP
(via Virtual PC)

DOS/95/98/ME/2000/NT/XP (Native)

Mac Support:

Mac OS 8,9,X (Native)

Mac OS 8 (via emulation)

Linux Support:

Various flavors (Native)

UNIX Support:

Various flavors (Native)

Java 2 Support:

Native

(Must be downloaded)

Zero-Config Networking:

Rendezvous

Save-as PDF:

Native (any file)

(requires 3rd-party app.)

Word Processor:

Word X trial

MS Works

Spreadsheet:

Excel X trial

MS Works

Presentation:

PowerPoint X trial

Database:

FileMaker Pro 6 trial

MS Works

Drawing/Painting:

Art Directors' Toolkit
GraphicConverter
OmniGraffle

Handwriting Recognition:

Inkwell

Calendar/PIM:

Address Book/
iCal / iSync; Entourage X trial

Outlook Express 6

Planning/Projects:

OmniOutliner

Web Browser:

IE 5.2, Safari

IE 6

E-Mail/ Address Book:

OS X Mail;
OS X Address Book
Entourage X trial

Outlook Express 6

Media Player:
*free download

QuickTime 6, Media Player 7*, RealOne*, DVD Player

Media Player 8; DVD Player
QuickTime 6 avail.; RealOne* avail.

Financial:

QuickBooks Pro 5
New Users

Quicken New Users

Reference:

Digital Photography:

iPhoto 2
GraphicConverter

Photoshop Elements 2 Trial
Smart Capture, PictureGear

Digital Video Editing:

iMovie 3

MovieMaker 2

Sony DVGate
Sony MovieShaker

Music:/ CD Burning:

iTunes 3
Disc Burner

EasyCD

SonicStage
ScreenBlast ACID, SoundForge

DVD Burning/ Authoring:

Disc Burner

Easy CD

unknown (?)

Games Included:

Chess

Mine Sweeper
Asstd. classic games

Age of Empires

Additional:

Asstd. system software

Free Services:

1 month Earthlink

Viruses/ Security:

45 known viruses

over 60,000 viruses
McAfee VirusScan

over 60,000 viruses

Firewall:

Yes

Warranty:

1 yr. ltd./mail-in
90 days phone

3 yr. ltd./mail-in
3 yr. phone

1 yr. ltd./mail-in
90 days phone

Quality of
Products/Service:
Consumer Affairs

"Good Guys"
according to
Consumer Affairs

"Rogues Gallery"

Navigation?

Easy

Fair

Customization?

Some

Full

Some

Subotal:

$1,717

$1,803

$1,689

- Rebates if any:

- $99 printer rebate

- $200 system rebate

- $49 printer rebate

+ Ground Shipping:

n/c

n/c (ltd. time)

Total Price
as configured:
(tax not included)

$1,618

$1,603

$1,640
(allowed)

The information above is as accurate as I could make it based on a reasonable time studying the respective companies' Web sites. There is no guarantee that these configurations, prices, and features are the best that one could come up with; assorted bundles, free internet access, free extra memory, and so on can most likely be found for any of the above systems. The point of this chart is to demonstrate that Apple's lineup holds its own against any brand-name computer, even in areas in which it has traditionally had resistance. In short, do not base your purchasing decisions solely on this chart or information. Neither I, nor The Mac Observer will be held responsible or liable for any purchase decisions you make based on this presentation.

Charles Gaba started the AAPLTalk System Shootouts at AAPLTalk.com, and has brought them to TMO. Charles is the creative talent behind Brainwrap Web Design.

AAPLTalk System Shootouts Archives

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