Kevin Martin | Tech Section Manager

2/01/02

So your neighborhood computer geek was happily dreaming away of all sorts of things funny, one morning when the phone rang. No big worry, caller ID tells me it's one of my clients who knows it's too early for me to be up, just calling to leave me a voice mail. Boy was I wrong!

That phone call was from her son, whom we'll call TJ. TJ was in town, and had a problem. "I have this computer virus" he says. In my experience of all things technological, computer viruses are always exciting to the user, as after all, it is their data that is at risk, not mine. The virus he explains, he's had since August "or so" and his antivirus program (MacAfee Online) will see it, but can not clean it. He needs this virus eliminated, and his data saved. That request was the $300 request. Eleven hours later, his data is safe, his computer is completely reloaded, I'm exhausted (but now wealthy), and he decides he might just need a new laptop. I don't blame him, his HP Omnibook is a definite P.o.S. So much for me getting some sleep that night.

The next afternoon, I arrived fresh, armed with Mtn. Dew Code Red, and the results of several hours of studying on ultra-portable laptops. What I had learned was what I already knew. Ultra-portable laptops are very light, very small, but are in general fully functional computers. Their Achilles heal is also their strength. Aside from the keyboard and monitor, the only significant components included inside the housing of the machine is the hard drive and battery. The CD-ROM, floppy, Zip drive, DVD, CD-RW, etc are all external devices that connect via a cable. With no power drain from these items, ultra-portables are very battery efficient, and near weightless.

The best manufacturers of Ultra-Portables are IBM, Dell and Compaq, all companies who woo the large customers, and, people like TJ who fly often, and want light weight. IBM is over-priced for what you get, Compaq's I’ve found to be less then reliable, so TJ and I took a tour of the offerings from my favorite OEM, Dell Computer.

Dell recently released the Latitude C-400. Being a member of the Latitude family, it is a laptop (duh!), and is also designed for businessmen in mind. The C-series of machines are nifty in as much as they can all exchange drives, modular bay options, etc because they are all the same type and design. This means my state of the art C810's Zip 250 will work in a C-400, or even a 4 year old Dell Latitude CP. It also means that the next Dell Latitude (say a C-850) will also use the same Zip 250 drive.

Back to the C-400, it's light (almost half the weight of my C810), has a decent screen (12.1"), and comes with several processor options, the fastest of which is the Pentium 3-m 1.2Ghz. Other features this little powerhouse includes is an optional 8-8-8-24 DVD/CD-RW combo drive, optional Zip 250, and a standard Floppy. Other toys you can attach to this machine include a Super-Floppy (120Mb), wireless network card (wired network card and modem are built-in), portable SCSI, and the well designed C-Dock 2 docking station.

TJ ordered the C-400, and with the dramatic flair of a wealthy person, he ordered it fully loaded. And though I don't care for it's small screen, I have had the chance to play with the machine for the last several weeks while he was vacationing. It's definitely a nice machine, and the way to go, if you are going ultra portable.

Dell C-400 Ratings
Weight 9/10
Screen 5/10
Speed 9/10
Battery Life 7.5/10