Specifications: 1.8 Ghz Pentium 4-M Processor/256 MB of DDR SDRAM memory (expandable to 1GB)/30 GB Hard drive/DVD/14.1 Screen/Windows XP Pro
Now that we have gotten the technical stuff out of the way, let me give you a layman’s, or rather a laywoman’s, opinion of this machine.
The HP Compaq Evo N610c Laptop is a very cherry machine. It is one of the thinnest and lightest laptops in its business class. Its pros greatly outweigh its cons as follows:
Pros of the HP Compaq Evo N610c
Thin: The HP Compaq Evo N610c measures a mere12.1 by 9.8 by 1.2 inches.
Lightweight: With an empty MultiBay the Evo N610c weighs about 4.8 pounds. Loaded, it weighs about 5.6 pounds. Either way, it is very easy to handle. I am a small woman and I have no trouble carrying it around.
Fast: Though not quite as fast as a 2 GHz, the 1.8 moves quickly when downloading, opening applications, and surfing the Internet. The larger version is available for those who wish to pay for the extra speed.
Keyboard: The keyboard’s layout is perfect as all of the keys are in the standard Windows layout. It also has a perfect touch. It is not too easy and not too hard. The HP Compaq Evo has both a pointing stick and a touchpad with a dual set of left and right mouse buttons. These keyboard features give you options that make the Evo easy to use.
Screen: The 14-inch display supports a dense but very crisp native resolution of 1,400x 1,050. It is clear and very easy on the eyes with beautiful colors.
MultiBay: The Evo’s hot-swappable MultiBay accepts many options such as: a floppy drive, second hard drive or battery, DVD/CD-RW combo drive, a regular CD-ROM, or it can be filled with included plastic inserts for lightweight.
Good looks: The HP Compaq Evo N610c is compact, slender, sleek and stylish with a black magnesium alloy case adorned with silver accents
Extra Features:
Four programmable buttons sit above the keyboard and come preset, but you can change each to launch the application of your choice.
The speakers, which also rest above the keyboard, deliver decent and clear sound for a notebook.
Price
Now, we come to the bottom line. What do all of the above mentioned goodies cost? Is it two arms and a leg? I purchased the HP Compaq Evo N610c Laptop, refurbished, for $399.00 with a one-year warranty. See my article: TigerDirect.com Roars, Rocks, and Rules for more information and bargains.
Cons of the Compq Evo N610c
As this is not a perfect world and it is almost impossible for anything to be 100% perfect, the HP Compaq Evo N610c Laptop does have a few minor cons.
Hot: As with many laptops, you cannot keep this machine in your lap for too long. Perhaps that is why their name was changed to notebooks? After an hour or so, you could fry an eye on the battery section of its underside. So, you need to move it around or shut it down to let it cool.
BatteryLife: The Evo has a battery life of about two hours compared to some other machines in its class with three-hour battery lives. However, you can carry an extra battery in the machine giving you up to four hours of usage.
Fire-Wire: The HP Compaq Evo N610c does not have a Fire-Wire Port to support multimedia peripherals such as digital video cameras and other high-speed devices like the latest hard disk drives and printers.
According to a C-Net review, “The Evo N610c is a fine business laptop, just not quite as stellar as the Dell Latitude C640 and the IBM ThinkPad T30.” I have not tried the other two machines, so I cannot comment on their performances. I can tell you that the HP Compaq Evo N610c is one beautiful little machine that is very user-friendly with many more pros than cons and well-worth every penny of its price.
