SAN FRANCISCO (02/10/2000) - Gateway 2000 Inc. and Sony Corp. both unveiled low-end notebook computers this week, joining a growing group of vendors trying to make notebooks more affordable to budget-conscious students and home/small office users. But buyers must trade off higher weight, slower CPUs, and duller screens to get the lower prices.
The $1199 Gateway Solo 1100 is Gateway's lowest-priced notebook yet, according to Product Manager Andy Klopstad. The 6.6-pound machine has a 433-MHz Intel Celeron CPU, 32MB of memory, a 4.8GB hard drive, a 10X CD-ROM, a V.90 modem, and a floppy drive that can swap with a battery.
Rather than the ultrasharp active-matrix screens of higher-priced notebooks, the Solo 1100 uses a 12.1-inch passive-matrix screen, which Klopstad admits isn't as bright from the sides and in direct sunlight. But he claims the system offers more features than comparably priced competitors, adding, "the form factor is really slick."
The Solo 110o breaks with Gateway's tradition of letting customers configure their systems. "This is not a build-to-order machine," Klopstad says. The upside is that buyers will typically receive shipment within four days of ordering.
In comparison, Sony's new VAIO F420 notebook targets tight-fisted buyers who still want a few extra features and will pay more--$1699, to be exact.
The F420 uses a more powerful CPU than the Solo 1100--Intel's 450-MHz Mobile Pentium III--and has a slightly larger 13-inch screen, more memory (64MB), and a bigger (6GB) hard drive. The F420 also comes with the extra multimedia features that Sony has long packed into its VAIO notebooks, such as video- and image-capturing software and a 1394/Firewire connection (called i.LINK by Sony) for fast hookups to digital cameras and scanners.
"It's going to be hard to find another Pentium III at that price point," says Brian Phillips, mobile computing analyst at ARS, a research firm. Phillips says the F420, like the Solo 1100, uses a lower-cost screen technology from Sony called HPA. It's noticeably better than passive-matrix, though still much inferior to active-matrix.
Phillips says the $999-$1500 notebook market--virtually owned by Compaq and Toshiba six months ago--has been heating up of late, with further price reductions by those vendors, Gateway, and Hewlett-Packard, and the entry of new players like e-Machines.
"I do think we're going to see this area get more crowded," Phillips says.