HP Compaq NC4200 (Preview)

Unveiled just a little too late for inclusion in our group test of Sonoma notebooks in the Personal Computer World June 2005 issue (out on 21 April), the HP Compaq NC4200 is aimed at business users looking for a truly portable system.

We got our hands on the prototype to bring you an exclusive preview.

The NC4200 comes with either an Intel Pentium M 740 or 750 processor (that's 1.73GHz and 1.86GHz in old money) and 512MB of DDR2 memory, expandable to a maximum of 2GB.

Hard drive options include both 5400rpm and 7200rpm drives up to 80GB and the drives are designed from the start to be easily replaceable by end users. Graphics are also provided by Intel, thanks to the 915GM Express chipset with 128MB of memory.

At just 1.8kg the system is refreshingly light and easy to carry for extended periods. The main reason for this, however, is the lack of any kind of optical drive as standard.

As with some other HP systems, this needs to be bought separately and various docking options are set to be available. Even so, it's something that needs to be factor into your sums before buying.

All models include a 12.1in TFT display, which helps keep the size down to aid portability and includes an ambient light sensor. The screen was noticeably murky on our model and no amount of brightness and contrast adjustment seemed to affect it. HP was quick to reinforce the fact that we had a prototype, so we expect to see a noticeable improvement.

On a more positive note the keyboard has an excellent feel, similar to IBM's Thinkpads, and includes both Pointstick and trackpad mouse control. In tests, we preferred the latter. Interestingly, the actual printing on the keys shines out more than usual.

While this can look a little odd in bright light, it makes it easier to locate keys in dim lighting conditions. Given the target market, there's also handy 'presentation button' that can be set to instantly launch a Powerpoint slideshow, plus volume control keys.

Other notable goodies include three USB2 sockets (sensibly laid out at the rear, left and right), an integrated SD/MMC slot, a PC Card slot, a 56K modem, Bluetooth 1.2, Gigabit Ethernet and VGA and S-video outputs. Being a Centrino system you also get 802.11b/g wireless networking.

HP claims up to 5.5 hours of battery life from the standard lithium-ion battery (a six cell Sony in the prototype) and up to 11 with an additional travel battery.

The NC4200 will ship with Windows XP Professional, plus HP's own security tools and Norton Antivirus.

Model reviewed was a Pentium M 740 with 512MB and 40GB drive.

Contact www.hp.com/uk

Pros Good keyboard; truly portable; PCI Express graphics
Cons No optical drive as standard; screen dull on prototype

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