Remember when the aim of notebook computer manufacturers was to make their machines lighter, more portable and full of features we all drool over? Well, it seems that "lighter" needs to go on a diet.

If the Satellite P35-S611 ($1,649) from Toshiba is any indication, the new batch of 17-inch widescreen notebooks usher in an era of computing where manufacturers have had to change their definition of the word "portable."

Don't get me wrong, you can still carry this around with you. But this isn't your average thin, six-pound computer. The addition of the 17-inch display and a larger keyboard, plus the harman/kardon "gaming" speakers makes this baby a lot heavier. But as with many things, bigger is better.

Although it can perform the mundane tasks computers were created for, this machine was designed to lure the gamer --- the computer geek in your family that wants the awesome power of the ultimate gaming machine along with the ability to write memos and create spreadsheets.

The P35-S611 I tested included a 100 GB hard drive, a multiformat DVD burner, an ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 graphics card (which can be upgraded to the Radeon 9700) and Athteros 802.11g wireless networking.

In addition, the notebook features:

• An Intel Pentium 4 3.3 gigahertz processor.
• 512 megabytes of memory.
• A 17-inch widescreen with TruBrite technology.
• Microsoft XP Home Edition.
• The motherboard features 1 megabyte of L2 cache and a 533 megahertz frontside bus.
• Software includes Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office OneNote, ArcSoft Showbiz, and Sonic Solutions RecordNow Basic.
• Three USB 2.0 ports, an I-Link port, and an S-Video port.
• A 5-in-1 Media Bridge port.
• A v-92/56K built-in modem.

All of this boils down to one basic thing: Once the gaming junkie in your household sees how this baby handles games and DVD movies, he (or she) will be hooked.

More information can be found at www.toshibadirect.com.

---

 

To comment on this article, contact me here.