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ChemBook 2260A reasonably priced portable that performs. Price: $1,349
For frequent travelers who require a notebook that’s compact and lightweight, but doesn’t skimp on performance, Chem USA delivers a capable thin-and-light machine that won’t break the bank.
Slightly larger than a sheet of 8.5 x 11-inch paper, and one inch tall, the ChemBook 2260 isn’t much of a looker, but it has a slim and unassuming profile. The case’s designers crammed in as many ports as they could within the small confines, including a Type II PC Card slot and a MMC/SD/Memory Stick combo slot. The battery sticks out in the rear and raises the notebook slightly in the back; it weighs about a pound. The power brick is small and light, but it can get hot during regular use. The 12.1-inch widescreen display feels tight on space, but it works well for programs like Word if you zoom in a bit. The native resolution of 1280 x 800 is great for watching DVDs, and the screen is bright enough for most purposes, though we’ve seen brighter. The 2260 won’t run any recent games, as it uses integrated graphics with 128MB of shared memory. (We tried playing Myst IV, an older and less intensive game, and the cut scenes and gameplay appeared choppy.) If you enjoy making home movies once in a while, Chem USA includes a double-layer DVD burner, and Cyberlink’s Power2Go software for DVD editing and authoring. Despite the notebook’s size, you’ll find a comfortable full-sized keyboard and pre-assigned hot keys for e-mail, Internet browser, wireless on and off, and search function. The trackpad is a bit smaller than we like, and the buttons are thin and hard to use, so we recommend using an external mouse when possible. The 2260’s engine is a strong 1.86-GHz Intel Pentium M chip. Achieving a MobileMark 2005 score of 227 with the Wi-Fi on, applications started up quickly and the overall performance was very good. The notebook woke up from Standby mode in about one second and reconnected with our wireless network instantly. The Wi-Fi connection between the 2260 and the network is fairly robust from close range, but during testing it averaged 2.9 Mbps at 50 feet. Road warriors will appreciate the ChemBook’s above-average endurance. The 2260 lasted 3 hours 48 minutes with Wi-Fi turned off, a runtime that dropped by 19 minutes with the radio turned on. That won’t get you through a cross-country flight, but you’ll be able to watch a DVD and have time left over for work. While performing everyday productivity chores like surfing the Web, the notebook stayed extremely cool. The ChemBook warmed up slightly when the optical drive was in use, but not to the point of being uncomfortable. The fan stays on constantly and is always venting, but generally it’s a slight hum and only gets noisy when things get taxing. Strangely, the 2260 sometimes made an annoying buzzing sound when certain applications were running (particularly Internet Explorer). We’re assuming that this is an issue with our unit only. The ChemBook 2260 doesn’t impress with its looks, but it’s a mobile machine that gets the job done. If you spend most of your time in the office or at home, you can find more affordable alternatives. However, if you’re looking to save space and weight and get a few extras like a huge hard drive and a DVD burner, the 2260 is a worthwhile investment.
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