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Photograph courtesy of Gateway
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By WILSON ROTHMAN
Sometimes it's hard to tell one Windows laptop from another. Without the differentiation provided by a new technology (Tablet PC, Centrino, etc.), there really aren't a whole lot of standout features, just the usual differences in weight, screen size and, of course, price. One that does stand out: Gateway's M500 (available starting June 16). It's a topnotch portable music and movie system.
The most interesting thing about the M500 is that it plays CDs (including MP3 discs) without booting up Windows. The advantage is mostly ease of use, though if you're running on batteries, you'll get longer lasting life when all you want to do is play music. Since you can't have music without good speakers, the M500's speakers with built-in subwoofer are nice and clear, though not booming. While watching the gunfight-heavy film "Equilibrium," I could hear the bullets whizzing from left to right. Light rock is great too, though when I put in Third Eye Blind's latest album and cranked it all the way up, all I got was an unintelligible roar.
While the other big selling point of the M500 is its 15.2-in. "wide-panel" screen, it's the little touches that make it cool, like the slot-loading CD-R/DVD drive and the fact that there are two 1394 FireWire ports and three USB 2.0 ports for maximum camera and camcorder compatibility. You can get nearly four hours of battery life on this Pentium 4 Mobile system, which also includes built-in Wi-Fi. The sleek silver and blue look won't make up for the fact that it's fairly heavy, and the 40GB hard drive won't satisfy hardcore MP3 or video junkies, but for the money, you can't find a cooler laptop.
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