The all-around ultralight champ
Written: Sep 13 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small, light, fast, great LCD, excellent quality all around
Cons: Crappy speaker, no CD-ROM included
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| hirschma's Full Review: Sharp Actius A250 (PCA250) PC Notebook |
Subnotebook and ultralight computer fans are attracted to this class of computing device for the 3P's - price, performance and portability. If you're looking for the absolute best value in the 3P's, you've found your computer with the Sharp Actius A250. The A250 is the hand-down winner in this category, being almost flawless in execution.
The A250 is among the lightest notebooks on the market, tipping the scales at 2.8 pounds and having roughly the dimensions of a 1" thick magazine (it actually tapers to less than 1" at the front). And although ultralight subnotebooks are usually known for what isn't in the package, this one includes a built-in 56k modem, a 10/100mb ethernet connection, a 3D accelerated display, external monitor port, two USB ports, a CardBus enabled PC-card slot, PCI sound, a 6.4 gig drive and up to 128 megs of SDRAM. Additional ports are located on the back of the included floppy (serial, parallel and a second mouse/keyboard port), too. CD-ROM, unfortunately, is not included.
Features aside, even the most portable notebook isn't going to be of much use if the essential features aren't there. In this case, they are. The keyboard is extremely comfortable and is close enough to full size to allow easy touch-typing. The glide-pad mouse device seems to be Sharp's own, and it among the best of its ilk. Screen resolution is only 800x600, but this resolution is available in 16.7 million colors. Both hard drive and processor feel as fast as their desktop counterparts.
Some unusual features further distinguish this unit. The 11.4" screen is remarkably bright and clear, so much so that you can actually take the A250 out into direct sunlight and use it. The LCD is so good, in fact, that it sets a new quality standard. The size is bigger than or equal to most of its competitors, only falling short compared to the pricier Sony Z505's 1024x768 12.1" LCD.
Another unusual feature is the dual-headed display. This is something that isn't mentioned in the marketing materials at all, and only in passing by the slim manual. While LCD-only, simultaneous-display-on-monitor-and-LCD and monitor-only modes are expected (and are standard on almost every notebook computer made), the A250 allows you to also hook up an external monitor to extend your desktop to the second monitor. While Macintosh users have been doing this for years, Windows 98 finally brings this ability to those with the right hardware - like A250 users.
One last unusual feature is the battery life. While the standard battery life is shy of 2 hours, which is standard in the sub-notebook market, the essential extended long life second battery pushes life to over 6 hours! The second battery adds about a pound to the entire package.
A few other perks are worth mentioning. An 4mb IR port is included, and is fast enough to use as another network interface (it works great with wireless interfaces from Extended Systems). All port covers are non-removable, and a clever non-skid bottom keeps things in place on your desk. And the A250 sure is pretty - even sexy, if a notebook can be described that way.
Perfection? Almost. While the unit is mostly clad in alloy casing, the bottom is plastic, and the hinges seem fragile. The A250 will likely not take as much abuse as the Sony Vaio series or other fully armored machines will. The mono speaker on the bottom is, to put it charitably, not loud. You'll need something else for presentations. Some of the hinged port doors can fall off too easily, and the PC card slot doesn't have one. And while the keyboard is among the best found on a notebook this size, the layout for cursors and other "navigational" keys is a bit weird. If you opt for the 64 megabyte version, you'll be visiting the dealer for a memory upgrade - the A250 isn't user serviceable in any way. Lastly, while there is 3D acceleration for the game players out there, OpenGL isn't available for the Trident-based hardware, so forget about playing Quake. And like all computers of this genre, you'll need to buy an external CD-ROM, which is really not so optional.
Still, these things are minor quibbles for anyone that needs solid computing in the smallest available package. The A250, along with a few options, give you desktop power in a superb package that won't strain your wallet or back.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
hirschma
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Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 1 member
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