Compaq Armada 7400

Author's product rating:   

Speed	Average
Look & Feel	Satisfactory
Comfort & Portability	Good
Robustness & Durability	Excellent
Value For Money	Good

Advantages:	light & inexpensive
Disadvantages:	a mouse with a mind of its own

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I've owned my Compaq Armada 7400 for nearly a year now. I bought it second hand off ebay because I needed a computer that was portable and light with a decent amount of grunt (and that wasn't too expensive) to take with me when traveling overseas. (They are currently selling for about £150 – 200 on ebay – obviously prices vary depending on the optional extras and the competition!)

The specs of my system are:
400 MHz Pentium II
128 MB RAM
10 GB Hard Drive
DVD-ROM Drive
Internal 56K modem

In addition to the above I purchased an Ethernet card for home networking as this did not come standard with the machine.

The computer I bought didn't come with a Floppy Drive either (although you can get them with floppy drive built in) and I have considered getting one since as I don't have a desk top computer to download the information on to when I am traveling and I sometimes want my data to be a little more portable – but that is just a personal preference and I have done without quite well really.

The built in 'mouse' is the older style 'track stick' (little nubby thing in the middle of the keyboard with right and left buttons at the bottom of the keyboard). The only down side I have found to this arrangement is that if the laptop is not on a level surface the pointer can tend to wander off on its own (happily gliding off to a corner of the screen while I am not looking) and I have to go fetch it back again if I want to use it.

The keyboard itself is large and responsive. The keys are a good size, even for men with big fingers. It comes with all the standard keys but some are accessed through an extra function key.

One of the function keys allows for you to see how much battery life is left on the computer and there are three 'power conservation' settings that allow you to work with lower speed and screen brightness to make the battery last longer. The battery should last about two hours (however mine is old and only lasts about 45 minutes – this means I should buy a new one (about £100) but I am too poor – sob, sob).

I have encountered a few problems with my particular machine (running Windows 98) not powering down when I request shut down, it gets as far as the 'shutting down' screen and then just sits there, annoyingly not shutting down, whirring happily to itself in a decidedly smug manner.

On one occassion I also had a problem with it not starting up first time however, I contacted Compaq's help line and they were able to offer prompt and easy to understand advice to try before offering to fix or replace the problem. (In this case it was loose wiring and I fixed it myself with no problem - not recommended).

Given the age of my Armada it has lasted extremely well and although I have never tested its durability by, say dropping it down a flight of stairs, I am fairly sure it can stand rough treatment (I tend to leave mine lying on the floor where others accidentally step on it).

Compared with new models the Armada 7400 is slow and clunky, so if you are into vim and vigor go for a more updated laptop. It is not a computer for playing the latest games on. However, if you are patient and want something for word processing and surfing the net from the luxury of your own bed this is the machine for you.