... Packard Bell have come up with a laptop which is marketed for the domestic user who dislikes big desktops or tower systems.
The Chroma is an all in one solution for a moderate user, it is capable of handling most applications with ease. With the added advantage of less bulk than a desktop. ... Read review
Advantages: Compact Stylish Attractive Laptop Disadvantages: Limited in terms of handling larger applications overpriced
...fits neatly into any home. Packard Bell have come up with a laptop which is marketed for the domestic user who dislikes big desktops or tower systems.
The Chroma is an all in one solution for a moderate user, it is capable of handling most applications with ease. With the added advantage of less bulk than a desktop.
Visually, it is very pleasing to the eye. It's trapezoid in shape, with the wider of the parallel sides ... ...doesn't look cheap and compliments the semi transapert keyboard, There are six speakers covering tweeter, mid range and bass, these are well concealed and provide rich sound.
These, and a set of dedicated play controls just above the keyboard, are supposed to be used with the built-in Panasonic 6-speed DVD-ROM drive to turn the Chroma into a portable DVD player as well as a notebook. This works up to a point, as the sound quality is ... more
This laptop is not ideal for travel as it is slightly bulky, it is ideal for home use as it fits neatly into any home. Packard Bell have come up with a laptop which is marketed for the domestic user who dislikes big desktops or tower systems.
The Chroma is an all in one solution for a moderate user, it is capable of handling most applications with ease. With the added advantage of less bulk than a desktop.
Visually, it is very pleasing to the eye. It's trapezoid in shape, with the wider of the parallel sides forming the front. The casing is partially silver matte which doesn't look cheap and compliments the semi transapert keyboard, There are six speakers covering tweeter, mid range and bass, these are well concealed and provide rich sound.
These, and a set of dedicated play controls just above the keyboard, are supposed to be used with the built-in Panasonic 6-speed DVD-ROM drive to turn the Chroma into a portable DVD player as well as a notebook. This works up to a point, as the sound quality is better than usual for a notebook, but of course you'll need external speakers to get anything like the best out of a film soundtrack.
There are play controls located just above the keyboard, these are used to operate the built-in Panasonic 6-speed DVD-ROM. This gives the chroma versatility to be used as a portable DVD player as well as a laptop. There is also a Firewire port (IEEE1394) which can be used to transfer photo or video clips from a digital camera.
An ATI Rage with 8MB of local memory is included which controls a 15 inch TFT screen at a resolution of 1024 x 768 XGA resolution. If you are a hardcore gaming user than this video card is not going to handle the 3D capabilities you will most probably expect.
The Chroma has a built in modem for communications whether at home or on the road, as i mentioned earlier this is slightly bulky for a laptop at 4.2 kg. The battery life is quite dissapointing, 2 hours 40 minutes of use on a full charge.
For the price this laptop doesn't deliver great performance, it could have done with more RAM, the 20GB hard drive is sufficient.
Overall the Chroma is quite expensive for what it is, it is simply a mediocre machine wrapped up in chic style.
Spec:
Intel Pentium III 750 MHz 256kb Cache 128Mb RAM, maximum 256MB Floppy Drive: 3.5" 1.44 MB 20 GB Hard Drive Optical Storage DVD-ROM 6x 15" TFT active matrix (16.7 million colours) ATI RAGE Mobility M1 -8 MB Video Output : SECAM, PAL Audio Output: Yamaha 740 Sound card Microphone - integrated Fax / modem - PCI 56 Kbps
Product Information for "Packard Bell Chrom@ ME" »
Video
Graphics Processor / Vendor
AGP 2x - ATI RAGE Mobility M1
Video Memory
8 MB SDRAM
Supported Display Graphics
VGA (640x480), XGA (1024x768), SVGA (800x600), VESA BIOS VBE 2.0
Video Output Supported
SECAM, PAL
Audio
Audio Output
Sound card
Signal Processor
Yamaha 740
Compliant Standards
Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster 16/Pro
Audio Input
Microphone - integrated
Input device(s)
Type
Keyboard, touchpad
Operating system / software
OS Provided
Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
Software
Drivers & Utilities
Manufacturer's product description
With its 15" screen and sizzling ATI-powered video performance, Chrom@ is designed for today's power-hungry gaming titles. And thanks to its S-video connector, Chrom@ lets you'll enjoy top-quality graphics on your TV. Chrom@ is the best mobile Internet connection you could ask for. Plus it comes with the latest Internet software and pre-loaded browser plug-ins, including Intel WebOutfitterSM plug-ins, so you get the most out of online multimedia content. Packard Bell also comes with Dolby Digital sound which is most commonly used with DVD, using five full bandwidth channels for true surround sound; IEEE 1394 port that is perfect for transferring large amounts of data between digital camcorders and computers; S-Video cable for transmitting video signals from one device to another; S-video for TV-Out that lets you playback computer-generated video on your TV (It's great for watching DVD movies or playing games on a bigger screen).
