INTRODUCTION:

The Compaq M700 has been my computing buddy for about eighteen months or so. This is the standard corporate issue at our company. We have a large number of these systems all round the USA in use with our Field Service, Sales and Engineering staff. They are not all to the same specifications; we use lower performance systems for Field Service and Sales. As such, we have pretty significant user experience. Unfortunately this system has been one of the more unreliable units.

THE SYSTEM:

Compaq Armada M700

PHYSICAL:

Weight: Circa 5lbs
Width: Circa 1”
Construction: Mag-alloy frame mounted LCD with plastic ABS skin
Composite Computer Enclosure
Unique Multi-bay construction

PROCESSING:

CPU: Processor PIII 1000 MHz, mobile Pentium
[Also available in 700MHz, 750MHz, and 850 MHz Variants]
Features INTEL® Speedstep technology (Energy Saving Feature)
RAM: Standard RAM size (as shipped) 125 MB
(Max is 576MB)
Graphics: ATI Rage Pro Mobility Processor CRT/LCD 64-Bit
1024x768 Resolution, 16.7 M Colors (LCD)
w/ 8MB SDRAM, 2x AGP
66MHz Graphics Bus
Software Support for MPEG1, MPEG2, and DVD Play
Sound: 16-Bit Sound Blaster Pro compatible
Hard-drive: 20 GByte (User Removable), 4500 rpm….
(Available in 5, 8, 10, and 30 GByte variants since original release)


HUMAN INTERFACE:

Keyboard: 102 PCAT
Pointing Device: Compaq Track Point “EasyPoint IV™ (licensed from IBM)
Screen: LCD TFT, XGA 14.1 inches, 1024x768 (Resolution), Edge-lit
(Other lower cost models feature smaller 13.1” screen sizes)
Audio Out: Stereo Speakers
Audio In: Microphone
Activation: Power Switch

Suspend: One Push Button Switch

Lid Open Switch
Display Latch (to release display from base to open up LCD panel)

INDICATORS:

Total: 7 LEDs
Power: One Green LED
On-Charge: Bi-colored LED GREEN/AMBER
System Status LEDs

COMPUTER INTERFACES:

DC Power-in
RCA Composite TV Video output jack
Modem: Integrated 56k modem, V90 standard
Microphone Input
Stereo Output jack
One External Monitor Output (VGA)
One Telephone Jack (for Modem)
Two PCMCIA Slots
Two Type II
One Type III
Both feature 32-bit. Card Bus Support, also 16-bit PC Cards
One Serial Interface RS232 (for external Mouse, or other serial device)
One USB
One external keyboard
One Parallel Port (for Centronic Printer Interface)
One IR interface
One Expansion Port (for Compaq only Docking Station)

STORAGE:

3 ½” Floppy Disc
CDROM

OPTIONS:

DVD 8x
CD Player 24x
CDROM Burner 4x
LS-120 3 ½” Floppy
ZIP 250 (Multi-bay)
Second Battery
Docking Station
Carrying Case

BATTERY PERFORMANCE:

Battery UP-TIME (New): Circa 4 Hours.

MANUFACTURER SUPPLIED SOFTWARE:

Compaq Insight
Compaq Intelligent Management
Diagnostics for Microsoft Windows - all versions.
Power Management
Security
On-line Safety et al.
Fax
Acrobat Reader
Reference Guide
CD Recovery Disk

AC ADAPTER:

External w/6ft cord
15-30 (Peak) watts
Input Volt Range: 90-264 VAC (Auto-sensing)
Frequency Range: 47-63 Hz

WARRANTY:

3 Years labor and parts world wide

UNIQUE M700 FEATURES:

Unique features of the M700 are; QuickLock/QuickBlank (which are ways of locking the computer and screen), Internal-External display toggle (which allows you to switch between the external monitor and the LCD), Power Conservation, battery gauge – where supported (NT does Not!), Volume Control, and Brightness/Contrast Control. There are also some dedicated Browser keys.

Of note, the system has three bays (multi-bay) underneath the computer. One is the interchangeable bay for the storage device of choice, which can be a 3 ½” floppy, a DVD/CDROM or CDROM x4 burner. Another bay is for the hard-drive, and the third one is for the battery. The multi-bay components are hot-swappable (in other words they can be interchanged with the power still on). This product was shipped standard with Windows 98.

A comprehensive manufacturer’s specification is available from Compaq at: http://www.compaq.com/products/quickspecs/10382_na/10382_na.pdf . This covers just about everything you could wish to know.


MY M700 (SPEC:)

The OS was changed on receipt to Windows NT 4.0… not necessarily the best choice for a mobile computer. However, Windows 98 is verboten on our corporate network. The RAM was increased to 256 MB. A docking station and monitor were delivered (and never used, more on that later) along with the Compaq carrying case. Also purchased was the CD burner. A rather large XIRCOM PCMICA 10/100 Ethernet card was installed for network access. I also, for some reason best known by our support staff, was given a SCSI PCMICA card – it has, however, never been used.

LIFE WITH THE M700:

This computer travels to and from work every day. In fact, wherever I am… it is. It is used to run a full suite of Microsoft office applications, graphics tools, and numerous engineering tools used in the course of my work. In the evenings it is often used; to prepare for the next day, to write articles for Epinions (Especially on those occasions when my wife bars me from her studio where the home computer lives.), and to track expenses (and the family budget) with the ever-present Quicken. I must say that this particular unit has suffered its share of abuse with me. It has traveled on planes, been X-Rayed at the airport and subjected to strip searches by security personnel! On a daily basis it has been bounced around in the back of our Explorer several times. Much of the abuse it suffers goes hand in hand with the fact that it is indispensable to me in my work. It gets carried around in the office, used as the secretary in meetings and as host in presentations. For the majority of time the Compaq works ok. Regrettably, however, it has not been fault free.

I have owned and used laptops since the original Compaq luggable. My first real laptop was a Toshiba 3200 – a plasma screen based 286 system. Over the years I have owned and use; Toshiba, IBM, Compaq, NEC, MICRON, DELL and a few others I have forgotten. So, you could say that I have had an amount of experience with many of the units in the marketplace. I generally end up replacing laptop systems every eighteen months. The Compaq I am using now is due to retire next month, and I am counting the days..

In the last year and a half the Compaq has been suffering from a defective disc drive carrier, resulting in random lockups. ( The drive disconnected from the CPU whenever I was in the middle of that all important document!) Then, six months after it was replaced the drive started having “senior computer moments” losing random blocks. It also started receiving the generous attention of “scandisk” every time I powered up the system. We replaced the drive, and restored it to some sanity – for now. The other joy I have recently discovered is that the batteries will currently last only 45 minutes or so before shutting down the system. As NT 4.0 is such a joy to use on a laptop, you get no warning as the lights go out. This also means that you loose a chunk of your work – or worse… The down side of this for some units is that the power pack was subject to a recall due to several slightly unfortunate incidents resulting in unintended melt-downs.

As mentioned earlier, the docking station is not used. As a long time lap top user, I find the smaller built–in keyboard more than adequate for my needs. In fact, the small size greatly increases my speed (not that my speed is always such a great thing as those who know how I got the name of Exploder are aware-see my bio if you are wondering what on earth I am talking about) and actually reduces fatigue. I find the LCD is preferable to use than traditional monitor CRT – as does the rest of world judging by the popularity of the new LCD monitors on the market within in the last year. As such, the docking station provides very little utility, other than the ability to provide a network connection. Thus, it remains under my desk replete with its original box and cables. The extra power pack resides at home, allowing me the luxury of one less thing to carry home at night!

The CD-burner is a bit of a conundrum. I have had poor success using it with standard CD’s to store data. It has proven somewhat unreliable in successfully backing up files to standard CD media. Roughly one disc in four has proved unreadable. However, with the newer CDRW discs I have had 100% success every time. In fact, I have started to use this media in place of the traditional 3 ½” floppy discs!

The overall ergonomics of the M700 are quite good. There is great support for the hands when typing. The included track point mouse is “ok” although I would have preferred a touch pad. The three key mouse buttons are easily used, and the complete assembly works very well in practice. The LCD display is easily moved to the optimal viewing angle, and is very stable. However, the LCD panel itself is a disappointment. It washes out in ambient light, and appears to have lost its initial sparkle. To Compaq’s credit there are no failed pixels visible, and there has been no change in this since it was new. The M700 gets quite warm in use, but it is no worse than previous generations of laptops that I have used. I would have to give Compaq high marks in this department. The keyboard, and front section do not get excessively hot. The unit can actually be used in your lap without sustaining first-degree burns!

The unit runs very quietly. The keyboard action is tight and sustains high typing speeds without problems to either the user, or the computer. The exterior of the M700 has clear markings for all controls, and interfaces. The dual power control, however, can be confusing and seem to be the one area that regularly trips up new users. It is not immediately obvious to first time buyers why they exist, or when the controls need to be utilized. However, given the reliability (yes, this is British sarcasm here) of this system, new users may eventually find themselves well accustomed to using them!

The case of the M700 is quite thin, circa one inch. There are no sharp edges, and the system fits nicely in the hand. It is light and very portable. I frequently carry it around at home and at work. The LCD panel snaps shut easily, and firmly. The speaker grills however, are prone to filling up with dirt at a rapid pace. The upside to this is that they do provide some resistance to palm movement when typing – this may irritate some users. The loudspeakers are minimal in performance. They work, and can produce enough noise to be embarrassing at work when playing audiophiles accidentally. The quality is, however, very poor in terms of fidelity.

The M700 laptop’s performance is heavily compromised in this particular design. I have not run any system tools on the Compaq to quantify this, but basic tasks such as opening up files, loading programs etc, are extremely slow and protracted. Boot-up under NT 4.0 takes around two minutes. The CPU, while a slow component in itself, appears to be largely I/O bound… especially with respect to the hard-drive and CDROM. As I remember it’s a s-l-o-w 4500rpm device. This clearly impacts performance greatly. In addition I have read on the internet that the keyboard is on a different interrupt, resulting in slower response. I cannot confirm this technicality, but the system as a whole is positively slower than drying paint….

Battery life started out around three hours. Today, it is less than 45 minutes. Our experience with this laptop suggests that this is typical. In fact, the deterioration in performance is such that you can expect to see a rapid reduction after 12 months of regular use. Obviously this is a major drawback for most users. It very often leads to a system shut-down in the middle of work projects. Quite often, unsaved information disappears…forever with NT 4.0. This is often a very big deal if the user has not had an opportunity to save all of his/her afternoon’s work!

OPERATING SYSTEM COMPATIBILITY:

While the Compaq M700 default OS has typically been Windows 98, we have loaded Windows NT 4.0 -and also Windows 2000- without issue. These OSs are listed in Compaq’s product information. However, you should be aware that the DVD ROM and USB functions are inoperable under NT4.0.

Not listed on the Compaq website is LINUX compatibility. However, after some research it appears this product can be used with this UNIX based OS. There is an excellent resource on the web for Laptop compatibility for LINUX at: http://www.linux-laptop.net/ . In addition I found two other resources for actually loading LINUX onto the Compaq at: http://www.bastard.net/~kos/compaq-m700.html and http://www.bath.ac.uk/~masrjb/m700.html. Given the growing popularity of this OS, this may be of great interest to the those wishing to delve further into LINUX. You may want to consider setting up the system for multiple OS options, using a disk partition tool such as Partition Magic. An excellent article on how to do this can be found at: http://www.mozillaquest.com/stories_01/tri-boot-01/tri-boot01_01_Story-01.html . I have yet to attempt this, but once my new system arrives, I may dabble at it if I have time. I don’t suggest doing this on a system that you are actively using and need for daily work! The IS people will have your guts for garters (sorry, British expression) if they find out…!

M700 ANALYSIS:

The Pro’s:

+ Lightweight, comfortable to use
+ Good heat management
+ Fair keyboard action

The Con’s:

- Poor reliability record
- Soggy performance
- Dull LCD screen
- The CD-burner

To put things in perspective, the top three PC laptops I have owned in the last five years

Number One: Micron, 1998
Number Two: Dell Inspiron 7000
Number Three: Toshiba Tecra 1997(,6)

The all time (personal) worst:

Number One: Hitachi (briefly, 1998)
Number Two: Texas Instruments (1996)
Number Three: NEC Versa

If you specifically like the Compaq brand, they have a useful comparison page on their website at: http://www.compaq.com/products/notebooks/index.html which compares all key specifications for the Compaq laptops. This may help refine your selection criteria and product options.


WARRANTY:

The warranty on the Compaq is 3 Years World Wide, but note that it is only 1 year for the Batteries. However, the warranty does cover the hard-drive…which is most reasonable. For what is, and is NOT, covered see Compaq’s full legal description at: ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/supportinformation/ejourney/176100.pdf
Compaq also offers an extended warranty, and accident protection (see: http://www.compaq.com/services/carepaq/us/hardware/cp_portables.html ). An extended warranty should be very seriously considered for home users given the reliability record of the machine I use. This starts at $99.00 for the M700 (at least, at the time this article was written). Furthermore, I would absolutely recommend the home user consider the accident protection, which starts at $170.00. Replacement of the LCD screen can represent some 25-30% value of a laptop’s purchase price. When you consider that it is basically a very thin sheet of glass, mounted in a rigid frame, you can quickly appreciate the possibility and opportunity of its fatal (and costly) destruction.

CONCLUSION:

The M700 is a value-engineered product designed for the corporate environment. It does nothing particularly well. Reliability has been sub par on this particular unit. Experience suggests that the battery life will likely disappoint all but the least demanding user. The interlocking bay design may have long-term weaknesses, which could prove expensive in the long term. The case lacks rigidity (when opened up), and this may put a strain on the internal interconnections and parts. In short, this product is unlikely to age gracefully, and you should budget for repairs. I would not recommend installing Windows NT4.0 on any laptop; consider Windows XP for its enhanced lap top features. This could be a worthwhile upgrade for current users with either NT or Windows 98.

I do not recommend the Compaq M700 for home users due to the potentially high cost of maintenance. This is a heavily optimized business solution. If you do decide to purchase this unit, seriously consider the extended warranties and accident protection products available from Compaq. I would not consider purchasing one of these systems used (especially from a large corporation …even if it is your employer) unless it is for a “very substantial” reduction.

Alternatives to consider are the DELL laptops which are geared towards Windows users. If this will be your only computer, and you are not interacting with other PC users in an office environment I would suggest looking at the new Apple laptops. They feature a titanium case, good battery life, and really great graphics. Their touch pads are excellent. Furthermore, you can now buy Microsoft Office for the Mac – which has been highly praised in reviews. If I had a choice I know which I would choose….



RECALL INFO:

Charger recall announced October 4th 2000. The model number of affected AC adapters is listed on the Compaq Website at: http://www.compaq.com/products/notebooks/adapterrecall/













Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 2,200
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20