After a long and frustrating wait, Pentium 4 laptops are now available. Bringing more good news to users, PIII prices have dropped by at least R3 000, while the recent recovery of the rand against the dollar is making laptops, overall, much more affordable again.
So said Christopher Riley, general manager of the Notebook Company (www.notebook.co.za), who believes migration from PIII to the P4 technology will be "relatively rapid".
"IBM and Toshiba were first in line with their top-of-the-range - and somewhat overpriced - Pentium 4s with all the bells and whistles one can hope for in a mobile PC. Their prices haven`t changed much during the past month and for a hefty R37 000, you can take one of these beauties home." Riley said he would personally opt for one of the more cost-effective models - the Mecer, HP or Acer.
"Not only are their prices better - ranging from R15 500 to R23 000 - but they have a wider variety of units to choose from.
"I suspect that many of the manufacturers are holding their P4 launches back in order to rid themselves of their `old` Pentium III stock first," said Riley, " because NEC and Fujitsu Siemens haven`t given any notification that their P4s are available yet." But he said Pentium 4 pricing is bound to decrease dramatically over the next four months, with PIII prices remaining relatively stable for the meanwhile.
Commenting further, the said most of the manufacturers are now steering clear of what they deem to be "old technology". Most of the new notebooks are not equipped with stiffy drives, but the end-user has the option of purchasing a USB storage device known as the "USB Keyring". "It is literally the same size as a highlighter, incredibly lightweight and comes in choices of 64MB and 128MB, with prices range from R550 to R900. It can connect to any PC or notebook via the USB port and is very user friendly. The storage device is mounted onto a keyring and this makes travelling a breeze -you`ll always have your data with you, no matter where you go."
The company`s P4 prices range from about R20 900 excluding VAT and include models such as Acer, IBM, HP and Toshiba.
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