It's the first new laptop announced at three figures by a major manufacturer.
None is a speedster, but they all handle E-mail, Web surfing, and word processing well.
Each sports a processor running about 450 MHz, a hard drive of about 5 GB, and 32 MB of memory. The biggest compromise is their passive-matrix screens, which are difficult to see from an angle. Until now, for less than a grand, you could only get used, discontinued, or off-brand models. Compaq's move may be a signal of more deals to come, even though notebooks' complexity makes them more resistant than other computers to discounting. The next installment of Harry Potter's adventures is almost certain to become the most widely distributed item in E-commerce history.