Averatec 4200

DESIGN/ERGONOMICS
An iBook in Windows clothing, the gleaming white 4.7-pound Averatec 4200 definitely makes a statement when you pop it open. It’s almost refreshingly devoid of buttons and features a glossy 13.3-inch widescreen. The keyboard is fine except for a shrunken right Shift key, and there’s a smooth touchpad with vertical and horizontal scrolling strips. The back cover is a distinguished dark blue, but there’s more color options available through Averatec’s site.

FEATURES
The system is pretty stacked for the price; the 4200 comes with a decent 1.6-GHz Pentium M 730 processor, 512MB of RAM, and a big 80GB hard drive. Three USB 2.0 ports are standard fare, but the FireWire and S-Video ports are a nice bonus.

PERFORMANCE & BATTERY LIFE
Because of its slower processor, this system didn’t feel nearly as snappy as the competition, and it showed with a MobileMark score of 161. On the plus side, the 4200 lasted well over 3.5 hours on a charge. Wireless performance was about average.

INCLUDED SOFTWARE
The requisite Microsoft Works 8.0 is there for students on a budget, along with Norton AntiVirus 2005, and NetZero Platinum if you’re looking for cheap dial-up access when you can’t connect over broadband.

 

PLAY:
SPECIAL FEATURES
The 4200 comes with a multi-format DVD burner, but it doesn’t support dual-layer discs. A 4-in-1 memory card reader enables easy uploading of digital pictures. There’s not much else to speak of other than a dedicated launch button for Windows Media player.

MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE
The system includes a full suite of Cyberlink software with MediaShow (for creating photo slideshows), PowerDVD 5 (for watching movies), Power2Go (for basic CD and DVD burning), and PowerProducer (for editing movies and burning them to disc). The simple PowerStarter utility combines all of the applications under one umbrella for quick access.

AUDIO
 With two tiny front-facing speakers on the bottom half of the notebook, the 4200 was the quietest of the bunch during DVD and music playback; you’ll definitely need a quiet room or a good set of headphones for anything resembling listening pleasure. Simple Fn commands raise and lower the volume.

VIDEO/GRAPHICS
The 4200 had no problems with our Spider-Man 2 DVD and the AveraBrite display impressed with its rich colors, even if it didn’t have the best viewing angles. Gamers should avoid this system like the plague; it couldn’t even run 3DMark2001.

OVERALL
Cool design, good endurance, and a great price, with a few minor trade-offs.
www.averatec.com