Gateway announces E-100M / NX100X ultraportable

The two are essentially the same, but Gateway's back in the ultraportables game as of today with their E-100M and NX100, the professional and consumer versions of their teensy 12.1-inch 3.15 pounder. A little out of the norm for your average Gateway, these things feature a magnesium body, some new Intel Core Solo 1300 ULV processor we've yet to hear anything about, measure less than an inch thick, have 6-in-1 media readers, 802.11a/b/g, gigabit Ethernet, and options for up to 1GB of RAM, and Bluetooth. Prices start at $1,400 -- time to get your small on.

[Joni @ Mar 30th 2006 1:14PM]

Wow! Good to see Gateway getting something new out that looks good and more importantly seems like it's got some decent specs!

[Nikooo @ Mar 30th 2006 1:17PM]

According to you guys, what is better for the geek-road-warrior:
1) A similar ultra-portable machine
2) A UMPC

1 takes more space/weight than 2 but is way more powerfull... Though decision...

[Joe @ Mar 30th 2006 1:26PM]

"we've yet to anything about"

"have up 6-in-1 media readers"

[Christian @ Mar 30th 2006 1:37PM]

Why is it that apple can make an ultraportable and include an optical drive, but for everyone else (except Sony - the SZ line is fabulous), the concept of a slotloading otical drive is an urban legend. While it's true you can get by without it, considering the price, consumers have more than paid for it. Give me my damn slotloaded Double Layer DVD burning Disc Drive.

[torkhum @ Mar 30th 2006 1:44PM]

I can see myself spending $1400 on a Gateway. LOL

[Dennis @ Mar 30th 2006 2:12PM]

looks interesting for a gateway, but you can pull my carbon fibre Vaio TX from my cold dead hands. 5 hour battery life, super light, and internal DVD.

[pintomp3 @ Mar 30th 2006 2:45PM]

#4 last time i checked, apple isn't making anything under 4lbs. kind of hard to squeeze an optical drive in under that weight.

[OK @ Mar 30th 2006 3:00PM]

Uh, Christian, as far as I can remember Apple has never made an ultraportable laptop (less than 4 pounds). Their smallest laptop is the 12 inch powerbook at 4.6 pounds. The following manufacturers make lighter laptops with an optical drive and at least 12 in. screen: Dell (710m), Sony (SZ), Fujitsu (S7000, S2000, and S6000), Panasonic (W2 and Y2), and various other companies like ASUS and Samsung. Apples are nice machines, but certainly not the best in terms of portability (a 12 inch iBook is 5 lbs., I had a 14 in. Dell the same weight!).

[Alex K. @ Mar 30th 2006 3:26PM]

"some new Intel Core Solo 1300 ULV processor we've yet to anything about,"

engadget, read that to yourself, then learn english

[Christian @ Mar 30th 2006 3:39PM]

Gateways link to these products on there page is down.
2:38 CST

[x @ Mar 30th 2006 4:14PM]

I'd take a Core Duo, but not a Core Solo. That really sucks. I would definitely buy this if it had Core Duo.

[capbuck @ Mar 30th 2006 5:48PM]

I don't get why people compare these things with Apple notebooks. Apple simply does not make an ultraportable notebook. A 12 inch notebook does not immediately qualify something as 'ultraportable.' Someone above clearly demonstrated that there are a number of other products with 12 inch screens that are not ultraportables. There is a reason that Dell makes two 12-inchers, the Inspiron 710m and the Latitude X1. The 710m is not ultraportable-its light and has a 12-in screen, but its not less-than 1 inch thick. And Apple does not make a single notebook less than an inch thick.

There's two things that characterize an ultraportable; weight and thickness. Over 4 lbs? Not ultraportable. Over 1 inch thick? Not ultraportable. Many of the ultraportables don't include optical drives b/c their weight and their thickness is not necessary for the business user the machine is targeted at, so the drive gets added on externally. The other critical factor for an ultraportable is the battery life-that's why these things go for the slower-but-less-power hungry Ultra Low Voltage processors. The Dell X1 runs a 1.1 ghz M processor. I'm certain that's why Gateway is only putting a Core Solo processor in this thing, b/c a ULV Solo eats far less power than a full-speed Core Duo.

What's my point? Quit whining, that's my point. If you need more processing power, more memory or an optical drive in your system, don't look at an ultraportable. They obviously aren't designed to meet your needs.

If, however, you're like me, and you find yourself packing your laptop in your bag and moving from location to location an average of 10 times a day, AND you don't need the power to run the most demanding apps, then this is the ticket for you. 1400 for a Gateway sounds a bit much, but its less than the 2000 bucks it still costs to get Toshiba's version of the ultraportable laptop-plus its Core Solo and not Pentium-M.

[sturmnacht @ Mar 31st 2006 1:48AM]

^capbuck: Vaio TX is 1.1" max. thickness, but with an average thickness of less than an inch. Will you call it an ultraportable?

[capbuck @ Mar 31st 2006 10:21AM]

Sturmnacht: Not that I'm the authority on these things, I was only trying to relay a difference between targeted designs that people don't seem to get. But the Vaio TX at 1.1 inches, well its got an 11.1 inch screen, so yeah the thing is tiny. There's a Fujitsu that's got like a 10.5 inch screen and some Asus models that roll in the 10-11 inch range, I'd consider those all ultraportable too. For my knowledge, Sony is the only company out there that is throwing full-speed Core Duos in their ultraportable lappys. That includes the SZ series that is like .9-1.2 in thick and does include the optical drive.

[Outrigger @ Jun 5th 2007 2:31PM]

If you guys are looking for a true ultraportable WITH an optical drive, then look no further than sony's vaio TZ series which I will receive in less than 2 weeks. 32GB SSD and dual layer DVD drive, 11.1", 0.89" thick front to back and just 2.25lbs, now THATS an ultraportable.