From: tbarker@curly.Iphase.COM (Ted Barker)
Subject: Compaq LTE/Lite 25c Review (long)
Reply-To: tbarker@iphase.com
Organization: Interphase Corp., Dallas, Texas
Distribution: comp
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 00:11:55 GMT


Review of Compaq LTE/Lite 25c; 7/23/92

We purchased the Compaq LTE/Lite 25c notebook computer approximately 2
weeks ago at Computer City, Tandy's new computer super store.  The
following are the specifications on it.


640x480x256 color active matrix TFT screen; 8.4 in diag. 5.1x6.35 in. SHARP
    LOOKING! 
386sl 25 MHz w/64 KB external cache
4MB RAM expandable to 8, 12, or 20 MB using 4, 8, or 16 MB expansion card
84 MB HD (120 optional)
built-in trackball on the right side of the screen with the buttons on the
    back side or exterior of the screen.
Optional internal 9600bps modem (lot$) or 24/96 faxmodem
External video, parallel, serial, numeric keypad, and PS/2 keyboard/mouse ports
External expansion port
Inverted "T" cursor keys, 10+2 function keys dedicated PgUp, PgDn, Home,
    and End keys, embedded numeric keypad 
8.5 x 11 x 2 inches exterior
6.5 lbs (I believe) w/ battery
NiMH battery (smartpak) 2.5 hrs in DOS, 2 hrs in Win3.1 w/ power
    management. Less without PwrMgmt. 1.3 lbs, 2.2Ah
Small, light power supply; 1.4x3.3x5.3 in, 0.8 lbs
DOS 5 and Win3.1

Included in the list of possible options are:
CD-ROM - external
80/120 or 60 MB external tape drive or 3.5 or 5.25 " floppy drive
Desktop expansion base for use with or without an external monitor &
    keyboard
Automobile adapter
2-battery battery charger


The machine is quite fast, particularly the video.  Ghosting and cursor
submarining do not occur on this machine.  The screen is quite bright and
the colors look very good on it. (None of the "washed out" look of passive
matrix.)  It has a 6-bit DAC, so apparently cannot display a real 256
colors, but does a very good job of emulating them (fooled me).  I believe
that the external video connector will provide a full 256 "real" colors in
640x480.  I was not able to confirm it, but I believe that the external
port will support 800x600x16.  The much better readability of this screen
makes up considerably for it's smaller size.  The viewing angle is
extremely wide, almost that of a CRT.  The screen is a little difficult to
see in bright sunlight, but I guess just about any screen will be that way.
(Until now, I never really tried to compute while commuting.)  The disk
performance is quite respectable also.

The trackball is mounted on the lid of the machine, next to the right side
of the screen.  It is about 3/8in. diameter and is mounted about the right
height to rest your hand on the surface supporting the machine, and twiddle
it with your thumb.  The buttons are located on the outside of the lid, so
that all of the trackball action is performed by your thumb, forefinger,
and middle finger, in a semi-clasped fashion.  Since the lid can be moved
to just about any angle, the trackball can end up at the most comfortable
angle quite easily.  The screen actually seems to have richer colors as the
screen is pushed further back and down (lid open).

The keyboard has short travel keys and emulates the layout of the IBM 101.
I like the feel, as does my wife. Both are touch-typists.  The PgUp, PgDn,
Home, and End keys are small and at the top of the keyboard away from the
inverted "T" cursor keys (small also).  The "F" keys are small and the F11
and F12 keys require Fn+F1 and Fn+F2 respectively. There is only one Ctrl
key.  The other can be emulated by pressing Fn+Ctrl.  There are 2 Alt keys.

The battery slides in from the front and is VERY easy to remove and replace.
It charges in about an hour if machine is not running, 1.5-2 if running.
Machine has "auxiliary battery" for changing batteries.  The power
management features are quite extensive.  A "gas guage" accurate within 10
minutes can be displayed with a two keystrokes.  Power conservation schemes
can be changed with three other keystrokes.  Two more keystrokes will swap
from internal to external displays.  A keyboard/mouse lock can be enabled
with two more strokes. 

The suspend button will shut down all devices and hold the contents of
memory.  The system can be configured to enable "hibernation" which dumps
the contents of memory and processor to disk and powers off the machine.
When the machine is powered on, it automagically loads all of the contents
of memory back up, and puts you back exactly where you left off.
Hibernation can be instigated by pressing the Fn+Suspend or if the machine
is in suspend for a user-defined period, it will automatically enter
hibernation and power off.  Also if hibernation is enabled, and the battery
reaches a certain low-power level, the machine will automatically hibernate
until AC or charged battery is applied.  

The complaints that I have are: the battery life is short, and cost is high
(penalties for active matrix screen); the machine seems to freeze for about
20-30 seconds (mouse cursor still moves) after clicking on the "open file"
button in Word 4 Win ver 2.0a.  The latter problem seems to occur whether
under battery power or AC, and whether the disk is spun down or not.  In
fact if the disk is spun down, it will not start spinning up until that
20-30 seconds have expired.  This is an intermittent problem, so it is only
a nuisance.  Posted message on Compuserve Compaq forum last night, but have
not heard back yet.

Price: $4699 at Computer City; $4999 for 120MB drive version
expansion base: $800-900
NiMH battery: $185
NiCad battery: $130 approx.
Additional charger: $125 approx

Check out the First Looks section of the August PC mag for their opinion of
it. 


--
------
Ted Barker                          All Standard disClaimers Apply
Interphase Corp.
Internet: tbarker@iphase.com        CompuServe: 71042.2533