Polished Chrom@ brightens the mobile office
It's obvious from the outset that Packard Bell's Chrom@ is primarily intended as a desktop replacement. It's unusually large, and at 4.2kg, very heavy, which suggests that you aren't intended to carry it around a great deal, but the Chrom@ isn't aimed just at business users wanting a clear desk.
Its striking and highly distinctive styling also lends the credibility it needs to fit into a domestic setting, now seen as a promising market for notebooks since many people don't want to clutter their living areas with a large and obtrusive full-sized PC.
The core specification is appropriate for something claiming to be able to take the place of a desktop, with a PIII/700 SpeedStep in the engine room, 128Mb of SDRam (expandable to 256Mb) and a 20Gb hard disk as standard. There's a 6-speed DVD drive at the front of the case, but this is fixed in place, so you cannot buy other optional drive modules to extend the Chrom@'s capabilities, which is a pity.
A set of dedicated play controls above the keyboard for the DVD drive makes life easier when viewing films or listening to audio CDs. The notebook has a total of six speakers (in a stereo configuration) built into its body and screen surround, which produce better sound quality than usual for a portable, and it also has an SP/DIF output for use with a full 5.1 surround-sound speaker system, as well as TV outputs in the form of both S-video and RCA jack.
The Chrom@'s consumer feel is further enhanced by the provision of an IEEE 1394 Firewire port, which is most often used to import video from a digital camcorder for editing.
Graphics are provided by an 8MB ATI Rage Mobility-M1 accelerator which drives a 15in XGA resolution TFT screen. This proved reasonably bright and highly readable thanks to its large size.
It has to be said that the Chrom@ isn't especially fast for its class, nor is its approximately 2 hours 40 minutes battery life anything out of the ordinary. With this in mind, even taking into account features like an integrated V.90 modem and bundled copy of Microsoft Works Suite 2000, the Chrom@ comes out looking expensive for what it is.
Dominic Bucknall
Published in the December 2000 issue of PC Direct
| Home Entertainment Centre |
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Lurking beneath the sleek metallic exterior is a mobile entertainment centre featuring a 6x DVD-ROM with Dolby Digital audio output. Plus, Chrom@ comes with a free S-Video cable. So whether its on its huge 15-inch XGA screen or on your own TV, Chrom@ delivers stunning DVD entertainment right out of the box. |
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| Ultimate Gaming Platform |
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With its 15-inch screen and sizzling ATI-powered video performance, Chrom@ is designed for today’s power-hungry gaming titles. And thanks to its S-Video connector, Chrom@ lets you enjoy top-quality graphics on your TV. |
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| Digital Multimedia |
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The extraordinary Chrom@ brings the pleasure of digital multimedia to a mobile PC. Thanks to its USB, IEEE-1394 (Firewire) and S/PDIF ports, Chrom@ gives you the best tools for multimedia connectivity. From digital home movies to digital music, you can playback, transfer and edit them all with Chrom@. |
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| Master of the Internet |
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With its free1, unlimited Internet access, e-mail, and built-in 56K modem, Chrom@ is the best mobile Internet connection you could ask for. Plus it comes with the latest Internet software and pre-loaded browser plug-ins, so you get the most out of online multimedia content.
1Excluding local call charges to access the service. |
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