|font:Courier New||B:0|Size and strength don't matter as long as you have what it takes to get the job done, and the Compaq Contura Aero 4/33C is proof of that. This notebook has a smaller screen, less powerful processing, and a small-capacity hard disk. Still, it meets the challenge of most college-level tasks while standing out as the smallest and lightest notebook of the bunch.|CR||CR||CR||B:1|1/6^|font:Courier New||B:0|The scale tells the tale: 5.5 pounds, including the AC adapter and the external floppy-disk drive. In addition to some useful software (Xerox TabWorks, Lotus Organizer, and WinLink), you also get a three-year warranty and toll-free technical support that's available 24 hours every day.|CR||CR||CR||CR||B:1|2/6^|font:Courier New||B:0|The size does lead to some shortcomings. The Contura's color screen is a mere 7.8 inches on the diagonal, and it uses a single-scan passive-matrix design instead of the dual-scan, technology used by the others in this group. Its 250MB hard disk is one of the smallest of the bunch, and its battery life was only average in our tests.|CR||CR||CR||B:1|3/6^|font:Courier New||B:0|The keyboard is cramped, and my fat- fingered attempts to use the tiny built-in trackball were not always successful. The left and right mouse buttons are located on the right side of the case, and I found them a little awkward to use in comparison with other models' buttons at the top of the case. |CR||CR||CR||CR||B:1|4/6^|font:Courier New||B:0|The external floppy drive uses a PCMCIA card as its interface, which is convenient, but since there is only one slot, you can't use the floppy drive at the same time as a PCMCIA network interface or modem. And there are no standard ports for an external monitor, keyboard, or mouse, although you can purchase a $25 port extender that provides all three by plugging into a proprietary connector at the back of the unit.|CR||B:1|5/6^|font:Courier New||B:0|Finally, the Contura uses an SX-33 processor, which is slower than the processors used in the other machines, and it does not have built-in math coprocessor circuitry. In short, it would not be a good choice for heavy number crunching. For a lightweight, compact computer that is easy to use and can go anywhere with ease, however, this one is hard to beat.|CR||CR||CR||B:1|6/6^|font:Courier New||B:0|* 486 SX-33 CPU|CR|* 4MB of RAM expandable to 12MB|CR|* Ultra-lightweight design|CR|* Reduced size, 76-key keyboard|CR|* 3-year warranty and 24-hour, toll-free|CR| technical support|CR|* PCMCIA Type II|CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||CR|
