NEC Versa TXi

Ultra-portable notebooks are always tempting. The stylish designs usually provide the initial enticement, but the key attraction is simple: you can carry one around in your bag or briefcase for a couple of weeks without ending up at the back clinic.

There is a downside, however. Most ultra-portables use a separate docking station or CDRom drive to keep size and weight down, and Sod's Law dictates that at some point you'll desperately need one or the other when you've left them both at home.

With NEC's Versa TXi that should never be the case. It's got the key advantages of an ultra-portable, weighing only 1.55kg and being just 30mm thick, but it also has a built-in 24-speed CDRom, plus all the ports you could wish for.

In truth, the parallel printer port and the tiny composite video output need a small adapter cable, but the rest are built in and ready for use.

While there's no serial or PS/2 connectors, the inclusion of three easily accessible USB sockets should make up for that, and there's a VGA output at the rear. You also get a built-in Xircom 56K modem, plus an Intel 10/100BaseT Ethernet adapter. There's even a mini-FireWire port at the front of the unit, by the microphone and headphone sockets.

When not in use, all the ports are kept behind pull down plastic flaps. Usually, we'd give these flaps a life expectancy of two weeks, but not in this case. The hinges are made from a flexible plastic which is quite resilient. In fact, the whole notebook feels very durable.

With FireWire implemented as standard you might think that the Versa TXi has the makings of a mobile video editing system, but the specification isn't really up to the task. For one thing, the 10Gb hard disk doesn't leave you an awful lot of space for digital video files once you've installed a few apps on top of Windows 98SE.

For another, you'd need more than the 64Mb of SDRam supplied. With a 750Mhz Pentium III SpeedStep processor and an 8Mb ATi Rage Mobility M1 chipset handling graphics, we'd still expect a fair turn of speed, but the Versa's overall SYSmark 2001 score of 63 was slightly disappointing.

On the plus side, it's still got enough grunt for most business and presentation chores, and you could improve speed by putting another 64Mb in the spare socket.

Of course, any ultra-portable manufacturer has to make a few ergonomic compromises, and the Versa TXi is no exception. The 12.1in screen handles a 1024 x 768 resolution, which does look slightly cramped when you're used to a larger display, but this TFT has a crisp, colourful image.

The keyboard has smaller function keys than usual and undersized return and backspace keys. But after an hour of use you'll find that you've adjusted, and the shallow typing action makes this a comfortable machine to work on over long periods. Even the touch-pad is a winner, with a handy little scroll-pad replacing the usual mouse wheel.

The Versa's biggest flaw is battery life. While the similarly sized Sony Vaio PCH-R600HEK we reviewed last month pushed through one hour and 43 minutes of our battery rundown tests, the Versa TXi gave up the ghost after a feeble 41 minutes.

It seems that the slim-line lithium-ion cell can't really deal with what's expected of it, although SpeedStep and ACPI Power Management should improve things in real-world use. Even then, this isn't the ideal notebook for anyone who expects to be away from a charger for any serious length of time.

If that's not the case with you, then the Versa's combination of ultra-portable form and all-in-one convenience is pretty appealing, as is the approachable price. Unfortunately, its lack of stamina on the road is going to prove a real problem. NEC has got the design mostly right, but it needs to take a look at the specification and battery life if it wants to give the Versa TXi a decent chance to shine.

CONTACT: NEC UK
0870 010 6328
www.nec-online.co.uk