So what's so special about this product from ECS? It looks like a laptop, but isn't one; the manufacturer likes to call it the 'DeskNote' - basically a desktop PC in a laptop shell! The difference between the I-Buddie and a proper laptop is that in the former, most of the components used are same as the ones used in the desktop computers, in order to save on costs. The i-Buddie XP uses a conventional Athlon XP 2000+, and other standard desktop components without any of the costly power saving trickery that makes laptops much costlier. The Buddie does not come with a battery, and though you can buy a battery pack separately, you will need to dig deep into your wallet, and battery life won't be any good because of the standard power-sapping desktop PC components used in this machine. In effect, this means that the DeskNote has to always be close to a power source and not actually be used while on the move. Though sounds a bit pointless at first, this actually does work for some users who use a laptop in office, lug it back home, and work there again, and not use the machine on the move.
The Notebook that wasn't!
The silver-finish i-Buddie XP looks and feels like a standard notebook, and is shipped with a power adapter, power cord, a phone cable and a user manual with software CDs comprising of drivers and some software applications like PC-Cillin 2000 and WinDVD. You also get a CD which comprises of a complete installation of ThizLinux, an operating system based on the Linux kernel. This was rather surprising because the i-Buddie XP DeskNote came preinstalled with Windows XP Home Edition. Overall, we admit that you do get lots for the money you pay.The Notebook that wasn't!
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The i-Buddie XP we tested, was powered by an AMD Athlon XP 2000+ processor running at 1.66GHz, and had 256MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM. The system had integrated 256-Bit 3D/128-Bit 2D Graphic Engine onboard, and the AGP 4X interface and shared memory size (up to 64MB) gave good graphics quality. You are also provided a CD ROM drive that can be upgraded to DVD ROM, CD RW or even a Combo drive. The Hard Drive on it was a 20GB IBM Travelstar, which is adequate for most applications. IBM makes the Travelstar brand of hard drives especially for the mobile PC market, and they are very common in Notebooks and run at 4200rpm, at low power consumption, and very low heat generation.
More goodies...
You also get a 14.0" XGA/SXGA+ TFT LCD display that provided good image quality, and supported 1024x768 resolution. The viewable angle was about 120 degrees, which is much better than most laptops. The keyboard felt nice and we were comfortable with marathon typing sessions. The mouse buttons were large but did not respond to clicks well. If you plan to use the i-Buddie XP for presentations, there's also an analog VGA output beside the S-video connector.The BIOS does not condone much tweaking, though you can change the amount of shared video memory between 8, 16, 32, and 64MB. As for the FSB settings, it only allowed us to choose between 100 and 133 MHz. A big advantage people will have with the DeskNote is that upgrading and installing basic components like the hard drive, CPU and RAM can be done with ease by simply unscrewing the various panels under the DeskNote, and replacing the component with another. Also, it uses the standard 184-pin DDR SDRAM and runs on AMD Athlon family of processors that are very easily available and provide good performance for their price, so no more paying for costly SO-DIMM memory while upgrading this one.
Performance in testsWe tested the i-Buddie XP using SiSoftware Sandra 2002 and 3D Mark 2001, and the results were impressive! We also ran the Quake III Demo to check out what the FPS (Frames per Second) would be like on this machine. In 3D Mark 2001, this DeskNote scored 1196 points. In Quake III Demo, with the highest possible settings at 1024X768, we were able to achieve 31.7 FPS, which is quite playable. If anything, these scores were restricted not by the CPU but by the graphics processor, and also because the system memory is shared. Add a little more DDR-RAM, and the performance figures are sure to go up...
The Desknote sure does outperform any other similarly priced mobile PC, and does well against most mid-range desktop PC's. ECS have packed all the desired features of a desktop PC into the size of a notebook! Though the heat produced by the DeskNote worried us, the machine remained stable at all times, so the heat is not of much concern unless you insist on keeping the I-Buddie on your lap!We wished that there were a compartment on the chassis for a battery, as it would be useful when mobile, but then again, on an Athlon XP, the battery would not last long as the Athlon XP is one of the most energy-inefficient processors available nowadays!
In the final reckoning, those who want to go in for a mobile computer but are not willing to spend in excess of a hundred thousand rupees might as well want to take a look at the I-Buddie. Sure, you will to have to wait till you get to your hotel room, office or home before you start working on that presentation, but then the trade-off might be worthwhile for some. At Rs.70000, this Athlon XP 2000+ powered machine is just about worth it, if saving on size and space is on the top of your list of priorities...Test unit sourced from: BBS Electronics, Mumbai
