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From: paulh@hplsla.HP.COM (Paul Hall)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: need info on laptops
Message-ID: <5300001@hplsla.HP.COM>
Date: Sat, 17-Oct-87 18:19:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: hplsla.5300001
Posted: Sat Oct 17 18:19:33 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 18-Oct-87 13:14:44 EDT
References: <14876@clyde.ATT.COM>
Organization: HP Lake Stevens, WA
Lines: 29

There is a comparison of some 11 portables in the September 7, 1987 issue
of INFO WORLD.  I've also seen a magazine dedicated to portables on a 
newstand somewhere.  Both would be good sources to check.  

It really is important to figure out how portable you want your computer.
The new Vectra Portable sounds like a wonderful machine, but at 17 pounds,
( please check my numbers, they're from a fragmented memory ) it's more in 
the "trans-portable" range.  The Portable Plus, however, is much lighter 
(11 lbs???).  The Portable Plus will run for about 10 hours on a battery 
charge and you can get MS Word on a ROM cartridge.  The great thing
about having a true word processor in ROM is that you open the case and 
start typing.  There're no discs to load, no program warmup and no delay when
the program reads in overlays ( try Wordstar on a slow floppy system! ).

There was an article on the Portable Plus in the HP Journal a while ago, try
a sales office for a copy.  The people who built that box did an excellent 
job on the battery design.  I'd wager that HP portables are able to get the 
most out of your battery charge and that can be important if you don't want to
be tied to a 110V outlet all day long.

If you're looking for a single mobile computer, the Vectra portable may be the
best.  If you can set up one stationary computer ( with LaserJet & Co. ) and 
one highly portable computer, then a Portable Plus may be the best remote for 
you.


	Paul Hall		ihnp4!{hplabs|harpo}!hp-pcd!hplsla!paulh
	(206) 335-2252		paul_hall%50@hpa100
	Hewlett-Packard Co.	8600 Soper Hill Rd   Everett, WA 98205-1298