labs main picture. Sony Vaio FS195XP 1. AJP D900T, 2. Alienware MJ-12m 7700 , 3. Apple PowerBook G4 15-inch 4. Dell Latitude D610, 5. Evesham Voyager XT , 6. HP NW8000, 7. Sony Vaio A397XP 100 d
Creative laptops BY NEIL BENNETT The next generation of laptops and mobile workstations are here, so whether you need something small and light for regular travel or a powerhouse that only needs to go desk-to-desk, prepare to do more on the move. 2 0<strong>04</strong> was supposed to see the laptop emerge – we’d all chuck out our hulking desktops and workstations and work from ‘hot’ desks and airport lounges on tiny silver devices, serviced by secretaries in pencil skirts while saying ‘Ciao’ into mobile phones. While this fed the fantasies of largely male sales departments and middle managers, creative pros have been underwhelmed by what’s been made available to them. Creative applications from Quark and Photoshop to Final Cut Pro and LightWave require high-resolution workspaces, which require a screen at least 15-inches in size. The only laptops <strong>com</strong>bining spacious displays with a light frame seemed to be Apple’s PowerBook G4s, which were a generation behind their workstation-class G5 cousins. At the beginning of <strong>2005</strong> though, Intel is attempting redress the balance between power and mobility with a renewed version of its Centrino platform for notebook <strong>com</strong>puters. The platform, known by its development codename Sonoma, will provide benefits across the board, according to Intel. The Centrino platform is aimed at notebook <strong>com</strong>puters and consists of three major pieces: the processor, its <strong>com</strong>panion chipset, and a wireless board. The new Centrino platform includes improved versions of all three <strong>com</strong>ponents with a new chipset, called 915 Express, forming its centrepiece. The 915 Express chipset, formerly known by the code-name Alviso, adds support for the PCI Express interconnect technology. This allows users to add more powerful graphics chips to their notebooks. The chipset supports DDR2 memory, a next-generation memory standard that clears the way for memory chips to run at faster speeds. The chipset also <strong>com</strong>es with support for a faster front-side bus, increasing the speed at which data flows between the processor and the memory from 400MHz to 533MHz. Multimedia improvements include support for Dolby <strong>Digit</strong>al and Dolby 7.1-channel surround sound. Changes have also been made to the wireless side of the package. There is improved networking software, within both the chipset and a new client application. Intel says this will make it easier for users to connect to Wi-Fi access points, as well as bring several security enhancements aimed at enterprise users. However, wireless speeds are still significantly slower than their ethernet equivalents. Wireless is great for Web surfing but you’re still better off plugging in to move Quark documents or video clips around your studio’s network. Seven new Pentium M processors are available as part of the package. They range from a top-of-the-range model that runs at 2.13GHz to an Ultra Low Voltage version that runs at 1.2GHz. Intel has presented benchmark tests that show a notebook PC with a 1.6GHz processor running the new Centrino platform would deliver a 5 per cent increase in performance with no impact on battery life, <strong>com</strong>pared to a similar PC running at the same speed based on the old platform. The difference in graphics performance between the same two PCs is even greater with the new Centrino platform delivering a 91 per cent increase in performance, according to Intel’s benchmarks. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 d 101
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