| Lenovo launched the Lenovo 3000 C100, a | | | | Above the keyboard sits a lonely mute |
| stylish widescreen notebook combining popular | | | | button--the extent of the C100's dedicated |
| features at an attractive price. The N100 | | | | multimedia controls--and one other button, |
| will be available in 14.1-inch- and | | | | which summons Lenovo's useful |
| 15.4-inch- wide models. All Lenovo 3000 PCs | | | | system-management and help utility. Both the |
| include Lenovo CareSM, a software application | | | | Inspiron E1505 and the Pavilion dv4000 have |
| that helps your computer recover from viruses | | | | dedicated multimedia buttons and full |
| at the touch of a button, update itself and | | | | external volume controls. |
| enable it to easily connect to wireless | | | | |
| networks. | | | | Lenovo 3000 C100 notebook also sports |
| | | | standard DVD/CD-RW combo optical drive and |
| Open things up and you really get a feel for | | | | has integrated 802.11/b/g wireless network |
| how dated this notebook appears. If it wasn't | | | | connection, a 10/100 Ethernet adapter, |
| for the rounded corners, I'd have trouble | | | | built-in 56 kbps fax/modem and 3-in-1 media |
| telling the difference between this and a six | | | | card reader. Instant On feature of Lenovo |
| year old machine. The 4:3 ratio, 1,024 x 768 | | | | 3000 C100 notebook allows playing MP3s, music |
| screens is the first indication of this. The | | | | CDs, and DVDs or look at digital photos |
| quality isn't bad, but it actually feels like | | | | without having to boot into Windows XP, and |
| a panel from an old notebook, possibly due to | | | | the Express Card 54 slot offering more |
| the slightly poor contrast ratio. Perhaps | | | | 'future-proof' upgrades than a traditional PC |
| panel manufacturers are only concentrating on | | | | Card slot or an Express 34 slot. Wi-Fi ready |
| the widescreen panels now and haven't updated | | | | Lenovo 3000 C100 notebook PC offers four-pin |
| 1,024 panels in the past few years. 1,024 x | | | | FireWire, four USB 2.0, 3-in-1 digital media |
| 768 is fine if this is only a secondary | | | | reader (SD/MMC/MS), Audio/S-video in, |
| machine, but if I was using this all day | | | | External Display (VGA), External Microphone |
| everyday, I would want a little more desktop | | | | Line-In, Headphone/Line out, IEEE 1394, |
| real estate to play with - that said, many | | | | RJ-11, RJ-45, and TV/S-Video Out port. |
| notebook manufacturers maintain that a large | | | | |
| portion of the customer base still wants this | | | | Lenovo 3000 C100 Features:- |
| resolution in a large physical screen. | | | | |
| | | | * Intel Celeron M Processor 370 * 1.5 |
| The plastic used for the rest of the chassis | | | | GHz, 1 MB L2 cache, 400 MHz front-side bus |
| is a finely pitted dark grey, much like you'd | | | | (FSB) * Intel 915 GM Chipset * |
| see on the inside of a budget mid-80's car or | | | | 256-MB DDR2 SDRAM, 533 MHz * 40-GB 5400 |
| on a canteen chair. Despite this apparent | | | | rpm 2.5-inch HDD * DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive |
| roughness, it's actually fairly smooth to the | | | | * 15-inch XGA TFT display, 1024 x 768 |
| touch. The optical drive is decorated to | | | | resolutions * Intel Graphics Media |
| match. This is a contrast to the lid which | | | | Accelerator 900 (GMA 900) * Integrated |
| has a smooth silver finish. | | | | 802.11/b/g Wireless Network Connection * |
| | | | 56 kbps V.92 modem/fax * 10/100 Ethernet |
| ThinkPad laptops generally have excellent | | | | LAN adapter * 3-in-1 media card reader |
| keyboards. The C100 isn't a ThinkPad, and it | | | | * One ExpressCard/54 slot * Bluetooth |
| doesn't have a ThinkPad keyboard, but what it | | | | 2.0 (optional) * Ports: 4 USB 2.0 |
| does have is pretty good. The keyboard is a | | | | ports, 4 pin FireWire, VGA and S-Video ports, |
| bit more cramped than those on comparable | | | | PCMCIA slot * 8-cell Li-Ion battery, 4.5 |
| systems, such as the Pavilion dv4000, but the | | | | hours backup * Dimension: 265 mm x 360 |
| keys are firm, wide, and very comfortable to | | | | mm x 32.2 mm * Weight: 2.90 Kg |
| type on. The touch pad is a bit small, | | | | |
| though, and the touch-pad buttons don't give | | | | Read about Digital Camera Reviews and Mobile |
| as much as we'd like; alas, it lacks the | | | | Phone Reviews. |
| ThinkPad's red, eraser-head pointing stick. | | | | |