April 4, 2005

Possibly my new notebook

I have finally found a notebook that fits my pusposes well and is within the right price range. My main priorities have always been:

  1. Small and lightweight,
  2. not too expensive, and
  3. Linux compatible.
mininotebook.jpg

What I've found is a machine called Vega+ 223 with the following specifications:

  • Pentium 4 Mobile 1.6GHz, 2MB-Centrino
  • 512MB DDR So-Dimm
  • 60GB HDD Fujitsu silent 8Mb, 5400
  • Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 (855GME, up to 64MB shared memory)
  • DVD±RW
  • 3D sound, mic, 4 speakers
  • 56k Modem & 10/100Mbit LAN
  • Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g (Intel PRO/Wireless 2200)
  • Firewire IEEE1394, 2 x USB
  • Card reader, PCMCIA Type II, Docking port
  • Power Cinema, Smart Power II
  • 12.1" TFT Wide WXGA 1280*800
  • Li-Ion Battery Pack 6 Cells - 4400mA
  • Weight: 1.9 kg (that's 4.19 lbs.)
  • Dimensions: 230mm (W) x 292mm (D) x 25~36mm(H)

Does anyone have any experience with Vega+ notebooks, or anything relevant to say about this choice? The thing I've been a bit sceptical about is the size of the screen. While I'm looking for a small and highly portable notebook since I'll carry it with me to the university almost every day, I still want it to be large enough to actually be usable. Anyone here who has actually used a 16:10 ratio 12.1" widescreen?

Tomorrow I will go to Stockholm where this computer is sold and see how it actually looks like. If it meets my expectations, I'll probably buy it.

Posted by djst at April 4, 2005 6:24 PM
Comments

Some links you might be interested in:

This laptop is produced by Uniwill:
http://www.uniwill.com/products/mobility/223ii0/223ii0.php?HL=2&M=2

Good review; same notebook (other reseller):
http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=9080

Posted by: Timon at April 4, 2005 7:05 PM

David, Jag förstår inte... Varför vill du köpa en dator i Sthlm där den kostar så mycket ? Du skulle kunna resa till London eller Paris med prisskillnaden mellan en dator i Sthlm och en dator där !

Posted by: Daniel Glazman at April 4, 2005 8:00 PM

Daniel Glazman>>
Det nok svært at få et svensk tatatur i London eller Paris.. :-)

Jeg har en 15.4" skærm med en opløsning på 1280x800 og jeg synes at skrifttypen er lille. Så med en 12.1" vil jeg ikke kunne se hvad som er på skærmen.

Posted by: Ole at April 4, 2005 8:10 PM

Ole: man kan köpa en billigare Dell i Paris, och bara tangentbordet is Sverige...

Posted by: Daniel Glazman at April 4, 2005 8:16 PM

Daniel, jag visste inte att du kunde svenska! Jag har dock svårt att tro att det skiljer så mycket i pris. En resa till Paris för två kostar åtminstone 4000 kr. Plus att jag skulle få ett franskt tangentbord. London har jag dessutom just besökt (då hittade jag inga billiga datorer alls).

(Daniel, I didn't know you spoke Swedish! However, I find it hard to believe there is such a big price difference. A trip to paris for two costs at least SEK 4000. Plus, I'd get a French keyboard. Also, I've just visited London and I couldn't find anything cheap then.)

Posted by: David Tenser at April 4, 2005 8:17 PM

I would add some more ram if I was to do any developments. 512 really isn't that much, and with upto 64 of them dedicated to the gfx it is a bit low

Add another 256, and set the vid mem to 8 or 16 mb, depending on what you want to run on it.

Posted by: Henrik at April 4, 2005 10:09 PM

Just a little note:

A Centrino notebook cannot be powered by a Pentium 4 processor.
Intel Centrinos use Pentium M CPUs (derived from the good old Pentium3 core), which, in my humble opinion, are far better than those lap-burning Pentium4.

The specs seems nice. Despite the poor video processor.

Posted by: rubens at April 5, 2005 3:20 AM

4000:- ?!? Nahhhhh....
pris per person med RyanAir: circa 600:- tur och retur om du flyger t.ex. måndag och onsdag. Och det kan vara ännu billigare.

Posted by: Daniel Glazman at April 5, 2005 9:34 AM

Hi!

I hope this may interest you before you go to Paris:

Nexoc Osiris S602 P 1.8-M
[16827] 1.085,00EUR
http://notebookzentrale.de/product_info.php?%20products_id=54

It's the same lap. There are several other resellers of this model in Germany.

You can configure it according to your wishes.

I am going to purchase it soon (that is why I
found this discussion, while looking for hints
related to linux installation on it).

ivkiili@mail.ee

Posted by: ivar at April 10, 2005 4:07 AM