New Notebooks Offer Slew Of Features For All Uses

"New State-Of-The-Art Notebooks Offer Something For Everyone"

Fujitsu LifeBook N Series
Fujitsu's N Series three-spindle notebook has a built-in floppy drive, but the trade-off is that it weighs more than 8 pounds. The portable features a 2.8GHz Pentium 4, 512 Mbytes of memory, a 60-Gbyte hard drive, a DVD-RW drive, WLAN, a V.90 modem, a 10/100 NIC, four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, an S-video Out port and two PC Card slots. It also has a 15-inch MVA (Multidomain Vertical Alignment) SXGA++TFT display.

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MARC SPIWAK

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Technical Editor

The MVA display technology provides twice the contrast ratio of typical LCD screens, and whereas most LCDs have a satiny gray appearance when turned off, the MVA display looks like black glass when it's not running.

Panasonic ToughBook CF-W2
Panasonic's new ToughBook weighs less than 3 pounds even with its 12.1-inch XGA display and "hidden" DVD-CD-RW drive, which is accessed through a pop-up door on the wrist-rest area. The notebook features a 900MHz Pentium M chip, 256 Mbytes of memory, integrated 802.11b wireless, a 10/100 NIC, a 56K modem, a Secure Digital media slot, two USB 2.0 ports and one PC Card slot.

All of the above is crammed into a package that measures just 1.7 inches high by 10.6 inches wide and 8.3 inches deep. Even with the battery installed, the CF-W2 weighs in at only 2.87 pounds.

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Sharp Actius MM10
This notebook is designed for people on the move. It has no built-in drives other than a hard disk, its display is a relatively small 10.4 inches, and it weighs only 2.1 pounds. Based on a 1GHz Crusoe processor, the Actius MM10 includes a 15-Gbyte hard drive, 256 Mbytes of memory, two USB 2.0 ports, integrated Wi-Fi and one PC Card slot. Files stored on the MM10 can be accessed through a USB port. The jewel-like MM10 measures 9.9 inches wide by 8.2 inches deep and 0.78 inches high.

Toshiba Satellite P25-S507
Toshiba's 17-inch, wide-screen Satellite P25-S507 is a grandiose notebook that measures 1.8 inches high by 16.4 inches wide and 11.5 inches deep. It weighs 9.9 pounds and features a 2.8GHz Pentium 4, 512 Mbytes of memory and a 60-Gbyte hard drive. Other features include four USB 2.0 ports, a DVD-R/RW drive, a modular bay, a Secure Digital media slot, a FireWire port, 802.11a/b wireless, a V.92 modem, a 10/100 NIC, four USB 2.0 ports, a TV Out port and direct controls for CD/DVD playback. The notebook's wide screen makes it ideal for working on two documents side-by-side, perfect for gaming and a treat to watch DVD movies on.

CHANNEL PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS
>FUJITSU LIFEBOOK N SERIES (CRN Test Center Recommended)
PRICE: $1,899
MARGIN: 10 to 12 percent
WARRANTY: 1 year
DISTRIBUTORS: Ingram Micro
TECH RATING:


CHANNEL RATING:

CHANNEL OVERVIEW: Fujitsu, Santa Clara, Calif., provides strong one-on-one support and excellent communication. The vendor's channel development executives make joint sales calls with solution providers and help them design specific solutions. Fujitsu also creates customized e-mail blasts for solution providers to send to their customers.

>PANASONIC TOUGHBOOK CF-W2 (CRN Test Center Recommended)
PRICE: $2,145
MARGIN: 10 to 12 percent
WARRANTY: 3 years
DISTRIBUTORS: Synnex, Tech Data
TECH RATING:


CHANNEL RATING:

CHANNEL OVERVIEW: Panasonic, Secaucus, N.J., customizes its Toughbook Premier Partner program, including marketing support, training, MDFs and seminars, to help solution providers enter new markets or sell to new customers. Numerous online sales and technical resources are also available.

>SHARP ACTIUS NM10
PRICE: $1,499
MARGIN: 12 percent
WARRANTY: 3 years
DISTRIBUTORS: Ingram Micro, PC Wholesale
TECH RATING:


CHANNEL RATING:

CHANNEL OVERVIEW: Huntington Beach, Calif.-based Sharp provides basic support through its one-year-old channel program, including customized marketing support, joint sales calls and training.

>TOSHIBA SATELLITE P25-S507 (CRN Test Center Recommended)
PRICE: $1,999
MARGIN: 12 percent
WARRANTY: 1 year
DISTRIBUTORS: D&H Distributing, Ingram Micro, PC Wholesale, Synnex, Tech Data
TECH RATING:


CHANNEL RATING:

CHANNEL OVERVIEW: Irvine, Calif.-based Toshiba launched its new Preferred Partner Program in early July 2003 and provides marketing tools and financing assistance. Also included are sales and technical training, a dedicated bid desk and a trade-in program.

Note: Vendors can earn up to five stars for technical merit and five for their channel program. If the average of these two scores is four stars or greater, the product earns CRN Test Center Recommended status.