Gateway Solo 9300 XL

This notebook had the fastest and meanest processor. Its 600MHz clock speed is more than 100MHz faster than its nearest rival. The performance difference was not as high as anticipated, but as an
engineering sample (and a very early one at that), this is due more to the notebook’s preproduction innards than any shortfall with the processor. Once Gateway has packed it with the final components it should blaze along.
The 9300 XL was almost six points ahead of the competition in the Ziff-Davis Business Winstone 99 test. The preproduction components let it down in the CPUmark 99 and FPU WinMark 99 tests, where it languished in the middle of the pack. The 12G hard drive performed similarly; it wasn’t slow, but it wasn’t fast either.
Both the Gateway Solo 9300 XL and the NEC Versa LXi have IS.lin screens, but the Gateway has more grunt in the graphics department. This was reflected in the
Business Graphics WinMark 99 where it slightly edged out the NEC. In the 3D Mark 99 Max test it was trounced by the NEC, but in the High-End Graphics
WinMark 99 test it blitzed the competition by a healthy 43 points.
One of the new design features with the Solo 9300 XL is the four unobtrusive shortcut keys placed above the keyboard. Three of these are preset to open an email package, Web browser and CD/DVD program, but all can be customised to launch any application you desire. Another handy feature is the CD/DVD buttons across the front edge of the unit, which can be used with the notebook shut. However, APC has seen examples of this that were better designed (see IBM ThinkPad i Series 1480 review, APC January, page 40).
Very long battery life has recently become a feature of Gateway notebooks. The Solo 9300 XL lasts more than four hours, which makes it perfect for travelling.