You con never be too thin
Compaq is breaking computer design conventions with the first series of desktop multimedia computers to be equipped with a flat-panel display instead of a CRT monitor. Unplug the power cord and you’ll be able to tote a Presario 3020 from room to room.
Still, these machines are not true portables. Compaq estimates they’ll weigh in at just under 30 pounds, and they won’t run on batteries. But if you decide to analyze your budget on the kitchen table while gobbling a midnight snack, you can easily move the computer from the den. “We wanted to create something that wasn’t an eyesore in the living room and could, occasionally, be moved to another room,” says Compaq product manager Kevin Frost.
Since battery life isn’t an issue, the Presario 3O2O’s 12.1-inch DoubleBright TFT display will pump two light sources through a wide-angle LCD. Compaq promises an especially bright display that doesn’t distort even when viewed from the sides. This is important, because the display will tilt, but it won’t swivel.
The 3020 will feature a 166MHz Pentium under the hood, with 24MB of EDO DRAM, a 2GB hard drive, and a 33.6Kbps fax/ modem. Each model in the 3000 series will also feature an NEC 6x, four-disc CD-ROM changer that’s built into the side of the chassis. The drive uses a single volume letter for all four discs, so you won’t need to memorize the path Win 95 arbitrarily assigns each one.
A pair of JBL speakers will be built into the case, mounted behind and adjacent to the display. Although the case is shallow, the 3000 series will offer two PCI and two ISA expansion slots, plus a full contingent of I/O ports, including two USB ports. There will be no open drive bays, however.
Compaq plans to offer a digital camera that will feed video to the system through one of its USB ports. The camera, which is expected to cost less than $200, will be able to pump full-motion color video through the system at 15fps. Using Intel’s Video Phone technology, the Presario will enable you to make videophone calls using a single analog phone line-provided the other party is also equipped with a video teleconferencing system that complies with the H.324 standard.
The Presario 3020 has a flat panel display that is especially bright and readable..
The Presario 3020 will have a three-button cordless mouse (using radio frequencies in the 100kHz to 150kHz spectrum to eliminate line-of-sight requirements), but the keyboard will be hardwired to the system.
Compaq will market these machines to the “image and design conscious” who are “somewhat more affluent,’’ according to Frost.
— Doug Lombardi
PRICE: $3,499
URL: www.compaq.com
