Introducing the IBM X30 notebook computer

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A couple of weeks ago I was drooling over the latest, not quite state-of-the-art, desktop computer offering from a discount grocery store chain.

Before you finish laughing, note that this unknown machine was built with mostly name brand components, was solid-looking and included:

• a 2.66 gigahertz Intel P4 processor,

• Windows XP Home,

• 256 megabytes of high speed Random Access Memory (RAM),

• a 120 gigabyte hard drive,

• a CDRW CD burner,

• a DVD player,

• five USB2 ports,

• a FireWire port,

• direct slots for reading from and writing to CompactFlash, MMC, SD and MemoryStick solid state memory (the USB, FireWire and memory slots, and video and audio in and out accessible from the front of the machine), and

• the usual keyboard/mouse and so forth.

All of this was available for $900 plus tax with a one-year warranty. I didn’t read it so I don’t know whether the meat or frozen foods departments provide service on the one-year warranty.

I didn’t bite! If all of this is available from a food store before Christmas, who knows what bargains will be offered by more traditional computer retailers after the holidays. Besides, although I could use another desktop, I really need a nice notebook, perhaps one from the most traditional computer manufacturer/wholesaler/retailer of them all, IBM. Enter the IBM X30 notebook computer.

Specs and stuff

I tested an X30 ThinkPad computer with a relatively slow (less than half the speed of the grocery store desktop mentioned above) 1.2 gigahertz Mobile Pentium 3 processor with a 512 kilobyte level II cache, 256 megabytes of RAM, 40 gigabyte hard disk, Cisco 802.11(b) radio card with an antenna built into the top of the unit, 12.1 inch screen with a bright and easily readable TFT 1,024 by 768 display and nominal 4.5 hour lithium-ion battery — all in a 10.7 by 6.8 by 1-inch package weighing less than 4 pounds.

The built-in 87 key keyboard is compact with a TrackPoint pointing stick in the middle of the keyboard, at the intersection of the G, H and B keys. Of course, the X30 has the usual input and output — parallel, serial, USB, infrared, FireWire, modem, NIC (Ethernet Network Interface Card), audio and headphones line out, audio line in and microphone. It even has a CompactFlash card reader to complete the unit’s connectivity.

In addition, you can purchase an eight-hour nominal extended life battery for $190 and an add-on “Media-Slice” unit that includes a CD burner and DVD player for $200. These units each snap on to the bottom of the notebook and pop off after pulling a convenient built-in lever. Alas, you can’t use the extended life battery and the DVD player at the same time, something you would certainly want to do in an extended travel situation. (You can, however, spend another $150 or more for a spare system battery that probably gives you enough time for a New York to Los Angeles flight.)

If you need a floppy disk drive, and that probably won’t happen very often, the company provides a USB add-on for $100.

The X30 comes with a three-year warranty on everything but the battery, which carries a one-year warranty. Toll-free telephone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the entire warranty period.

Using it

Of all of the portable computers I’ve used over the years, this is the smallest and lightest. It tucks easily into a briefcase and is rugged. (I don’t torture test these machines by dropping them onto concrete floors from 12 feet, but they do accidentally get knocked about from time to time, and this one survived unscathed.)

The keys on the keyboard are set closer together than I like, but the only serious problem I had was hitting the page down key when intending the backspace key, and my fingers never do remember exactly where the insert key is. Otherwise, my steady, albeit not very speedy, touch-typing proceeded as usual. Key travel and tactile feedback were fine.

I haven’t liked MouseSticks in the past, but the red TrackPoint device worked reasonably well, particularly when combined with the scroll button between the two mouse buttons set immediately below the keyboard. (Hold down the scroll button — I tend to use the thumb on my right hand — then move the TrackPoint stick, and in many programs the screen scrolls up and down without resorting to scroll bars.) The TrackPoint button still isn’t as good as a mouse, but it’s adequate. If you like, of course, you can connect a more traditional mouse.

I didn’t get 4.5 hours from the system battery or eight from the extended battery, but the two together should cover a morning and afternoon court session if you don’t have a nearby electric outlet.

The X30 comes with a small power supply/charger that charges the batteries and runs the computer at the same time. When you’re using battery alone, an icon in the system tray estimates remaining battery time.

CDRW and DVD

The X30 also easily turns into a serviceable personal DVD player. Just set the computer onto the Media-Slice unit, insert the DVD and use the provided software to watch the movie or to manipulate the extra features that come with a lot of DVDs these days. The drive plays DVD movies well, particularly with a quality set of headphones instead of relying on the workable, but somewhat limited built-in speakers. The speakers, like most computer speakers, are fine for routine messages and such, but just provide high fidelity and aren’t very private.

The same unit will play music CDs or let you record on CDRW disks for back up or simply to transfer data (large databases, video, and JPEG pictures to name three examples) or to provide general backup for your hard disk.

Built-in Wi-Fi

The X30 connected to my unprotected Wi-Fi network for Internet purposes without difficulty. I had some difficulty in installing WEP (the outmoded and breakable encryption offered with the current version of Wi-FI), mostly because nomenclature on this high-end Cisco unit didn’t match that on the cheapie “home networking” equipment I had been using. Once the Cisco folks explained how to do it, however, the wireless connection was maintained without difficulty.

Wi-Fi makes the X30 very convenient — in your home or office. Access the Internet and your network from your desk, the conference room, the family room, bedroom, dining room or wherever you happen to be.

As long as I had it set up, I tossed the X30 in the car when I drove around town, looking for available Wi-Fi signals. The results convinced me that whatever the problems, Wi-Fi is alive and well, and probably in more places near your office than you can imagine.

If you want to network this XP computer with others that don’t run under XP, you’ll have to run a program created under XP on each of the other computers in the network. XP saves the program to a floppy disk — which is a problem when your computer doesn’t come with a floppy drive. Setting up the network was the only time I really missed not having a floppy drive. If you have at least one other computer that has both floppy and XP, you shouldn’t have any difficulty at all.

Consider
ations

This 4-pound wonder lists for about $2,600, with another $400 to $500 for desirable extras. That’s three times the cost of the much faster, almost

state-of-the-art grocery store desktop, but of course you can’t put the desktop into your briefcase when you go to court or want to work on the commuter train, nor use it to surf the Web from home or office, or connect to a Wi-Fi interface — soon to be at your local Starbucks. The X30 is certainly powerful enough to use in home and office as well as in between.

Price aside, if I were limited to only one computer this would certainly be a leading candidate. And you can tell yourself that because it replaces at least two other computers, it really isn’t all that expensive.

Summary

The 4-pound IBM X30 notebook computer certainly isn’t inexpensive, but has an easy-to-view screen, a comfortable albeit compact keyboard, is more powerful than the fastest desktop computer a couple of years ago, and slips easily into your briefcase. With added CDRW/DVD and built-in Wi-Fi, the X30 is a computer you’ll find very useful and will enjoy using.

Barry D. Bayer practices law and writes about computers from his law office in Homewood, IL. To contact him, write to Law Office Technology Review, P.O. Box 2577, Homewood, IL 60430; call him at (708) 957-3322; or send an e-mail to [email protected]. Specific origin and pricing information about the products discussed in these columns are available at www.lawtechreview.com/details.html.