X1 laptop offers speed and versatility

JIM ROSSMAN
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
WinBook's new X1 takes portable computing to extremes.
At 4.7 pounds, it's light for a full-featured laptop. At 1 inch thick, its profile is extremely small. With a processor speed of up to 1 gigahertz, it's blazingly fast. The aluminum case makes it durable; the optional CD-RW/DVD drive gives it versatility.
In short, the X1 has darn near everything a mobile professional could need in a great-looking package.
Though the X1 can be configured differently, my test model was powered by a 1 GHz Pentium III processor with 320 megabytes of RAM and a 30-gigabyte hard drive. It ran Windows 2000 and had a 13.3-inch, active-matrix LCD.
Most laptops make us choose between DVD or CD-RW drives. Not the X1. Its combo drive could even play a DVD that I burned on another computer.
The track pad was the only thing I disliked; it's about 2 inches left of center. As a right-hander, I had to reach farther across my body than was comfortable. Also, I wish the buttons were bigger.
The WinBook X1 starts at about $1,700. As set up, my model was $3,098 -- a fair price given its features, size and appearance. In fact, the X1 was just about nirvana for me.
Call (800) 254-7806 or visit www.winbook.com to learn more.