Sharp Actius PC-AV18 Notebook PC (AMD Athlon-XP 1800+, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, CD-RW/DVD Drive)

Sharp Actius PC-AV18 Notebook PC (AMD Athlon-XP 1800+, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, CD-RW/DVD Drive)
Manufacturer: Sharp
Product Type: Personal Computer

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Product Description
Though not a power user's dream rig, the petite Sharp Actius PC-AV18 Notebook PC is instead designed for those who need a conveniently portable light-duty mobile solution that won't break the bank. Exceedingly compact at a mere 11.1 by 9.4 by 1.04 inches and 3.89 lbs. (4.33 lbs with optical drive), the Actius PC-AV18 fits comfortably in a briefcase and even some handbags, and is ready for virtually any situation and environment.

Driven by a low voltage mobile AMD Athlon XP-M processor 1800+ running at 1.533 GHz and 256 MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM memory (expandable to 768 MB), the Actius PC-MV14 will easily handle most standard 2D tasks such as word processing, spreadsheets, Internet surfing, contact management, and basic graphic design. However, it is not recommended for sophisticated business apps, high-end 2D graphics or complex multitasking. The system's integrated S3 Graphics ProSavage 8 video accelerator features just 32 MB of shared (not dedicated) memory, and is therefore adequate for older 3D games and midlevel 3D graphics and animation, but not for more advanced 3D tasks.

The unit's 40 GB hard disk sports lots of space for basic files and programs, but not quite enough for true multimedia mavens. Sharp has also included an adept optical drive that supports both CD playing and burning and DVD playing, thus allowing you to listen to audio discs, backup your data to digital media, and watch your favorite movies on the fold-open 12.1-inch active matrix display. DVD writing is not supported.

For such a small and affordable unit, the Actius PC-AV18 is very well connected. Communication options include a 100Base-TX/10Base-T LAN port for fast network interaction and a 56K modem for dial-up environments. Other amenities include a pair of fast USB 2.0 ports for data streaming with external devices such as scanners and digital cameras, an IEEE 1394 FireWire port (commonly used for downloading from digital camcorders), a touch-sensitive control pad with Intelli-wheel feature, an SPDIF audio out jack for high-quality digital sound, and a single mono speaker.

Estimated battery life is average at 2.9 hours with the included standard battery. With an optional second battery, that figure jumps to a commendable 5.8 hours.