MicronPC TransPort GX3

Coolly styled in stippled blue plastic and metallic accents, the GX3 combines st
riking looks and extra security in the form of a chrome-framed fingerprint reade
r located in the palm rest. Like keyboards with a "deep" feel? The GX3's keys de
press an incredible 6mm--twice as far as the notebook standard of 3mm. An 8X DVD
-ROM drive you can swap out for an extra-cost Zip drive or second hard drive rou
nds out the highlights.
The downside to the GX3's bottomless keyboard is clatter. Even if you don't mind
the tap-tap-tap, somebody nearby might.
A midsize all-in-one, the GX3 stuffs a lot of features into a reasonably light 8
-pound (including AC adapter and phone cord) case. All the standard connections
are present, and extras include an S/PDIF port for surround-sound speakers and a
FireWire port. You also get a TV-out port, but it's the lower-quality composite
type (not the S-Video port found in many power notebooks), and the rubber plug
that covers it isn't attached, so it will be easy to lose. The speakers, located
in the bottom of the palm rest, aren't especially loud, but they sound fine. Th
e GX3's accessible design includes three dedicated shortcut buttons and a hard d
rive you can slide out of the right side. Text labels stamped on the bottom clea
rly identify most components, a rare nicety. MicronPC throws in three pieces of
extra hardware: An Ethernet cable for the network jack, a USB mouse, and a split
ter for the PS/2 port for connecting a mouse and keyboard simultaneously. The GX
3's performance is on par with other Pentium 4-M notebooks we've tested. It earn
ed a PC WorldBench 4 score of 94 and lasted 2.5 hours on one battery charge. Our
TransPort included a solid starter package of software: Microsoft's Office XP S
mall Business Edition and Norton Antivirus 2002.
Government buyers and others who need an extra layer of data security should con
sider the nicely-designed Transport GX3--it's one of the very few models we've s
een with a built-in fingerprint reader. The only downside might be the slightly
noisy keyboard and, if you travel frequently, the GX3's size and weight.
Buying Information
MicronPC TransPort GX3
PC WorldBench 4 score of 94, 1.8-GHz/1.2-GHz Pentium 4-M, 256MB of DDR266 SDRAM,
512KB of L2 cache, Windows XP Professional, 15-inch active-matrix screen, ATI M
obility Radeon 7500 with 32MB of DDR SDRAM, 40GB hard drive, 8X DVD-ROM drive, b
uilt-in V.90 modem and network interface, touchpad pointing device, 8-pound weig
ht (including AC adapter and phone cord); Microsoft Office XP SBE. Three-year pa
rts and labor warranty; free 24-hour toll-free technical support.
$ 2499
PC WorldBench 4 score of 94, 1.8-GHz/1.2-GHz Pentium 4-M, 256MB of DDR266 SDRAM,
512KB of L2 cache, Windows XP Professional, 15-inch active-matrix screen, ATI M
obility Radeon 7500 with 32MB of DDR SDRAM, 40GB hard drive, 8X DVD-ROM drive, b
uilt-in V.90 modem and network interface, touchpad pointing device, 8-pound weig
ht (including AC adapter and phone cord); Microsoft Office XP SBE. Three-year pa
rts and labor warranty; free 24-hour toll-free technical support.