Friday, June 1, 2007
LG's C1 Express Dual Series Tablet PC: Small And Fast, But Doesn't Last Long Enough
Posted by Jason Dunn in "HARDWARE" @ 07:00 AM
Hard Drive, Optical Drive
The hard drive is an 80 GB parallel ATA model � LG doesn't specify the speed, but I suspect it's a 4500 RPM or 5400 RPM drive at best. Unfortunately, I forgot to test the hard drive performance before I had to send it back. 80 GB is average � I wouldn't accept anything smaller, but 120 GB would have been even better.
Figure 5: The optical drive is small and looks great � but that USB cable is too short.
Optical drive duties are handled by a very slick external DVD Super Multi Dual Layer (DVD-R/RW, +R/RW, RAM) drive. The DVD burner impressed me greatly in that it runs off a single USB port for power � that makes it much more portable than similar drives I've seen that require their own power brick. It also looks great, with the same mirrored finish as the top of the laptop. My only criticism of it would be that the USB cable (that is also stored in a tucked-away zone under the drive) is extremely short � the optical drive has to align with the side of the laptop rather than with the back like most drives. It's not much a problem, except perhaps if you wanted to use the drive on an airplane (yes, both the laptop and the optical drive would fit on a table tray).
The C1 is a step down from the Fujitsu P7010D here, because with my Fujitsu I have the option of putting in the DVD burner if I want to travel with it and sacrifice some battery life. But for as often as I do that (which isn�t often), I can understand why LG chose to omit the internal drive on the C1. Although, if the C1 had a drive bay battery, it sure would have helped the overall battery life. I'm honestly completely baffled as to why more laptop manufacturers don't allow for removable optical drive bays and offer a second battery for that bay - I can probably count the number of laptops that have that feature today on one hand. Battery life is one of the top concerns for laptop owners, and putting a second battery in the laptop is a great way to boost overall run-time. What laptop owner wouldn't want that? It's also a money-maker for the laptop companies because they get to sell a $150-$200 accessory.
Figure 6: The volume is set with a rocker switch that moves back and forth � this is a great implementation, and pressing the rocker inward is a one-button mute. Very nice. The SRS WOW button is right next to it.
Ports, Ports, Ports
The usual array of ports are present: VGA out (why isn't DVI standard yet? VGA is dead - get an adaptor if you need to connect it to a projector), a 56K modem port (for those forced to live like it was 1993), a gigabit Ethernet port (kudos to LG for busting past 100 mbps), audio line-in, microphone-in, and an S/PDIF digital audio output port. Speaking of audio, the C1 has an included (presumably hardware-based) SRS WOW function that ties into the Realtek HD Audio chipset. It has three modes: SRS WOW HD, SRS TruSurround XT, and off. Does it make a difference? When playing audio on the external speakers, yes, the SRS WOW HD mode makes everything sound louder. When headphones are connected, the SRS WOW HD effect is more gimmick than anything else. The TruSurround XT setting is just bizarre-sounding and I�m not sure when you�d use it.
Figure 7: From left to right, we have the microphone input, the headphone output (which doubles as the digital optical out), and the line input.
Figure 8: The right side of the laptop has a single USB port next to the modem and gigabit Ethernet port. The other two USB ports are on the left side � I like a laptop with USB ports on both sides, it makes for more flexible configurations.
Getting back to the size got a minute, because I'm looking for a laptop to replace my current Fujitsu P7010D, here are a two comparison photos to give you an idea of how each laptop measures up.
Figure 9: The LG C1 is basically the same thickness as my Fujitsu, although it feels and looks thinner because it's narrower in some parts.
Figure 10: From the top, the laptops are nearly identical in size. The C1 is just a bit longer, and it's also a bit taller. This makes for a bit more of a snug fit in the neoprene cases I have for the Fujitsu.
