LG LT20-188R - notebook + Tablet PC
Operating the notebook PC
BIOS
PhoenixBIOS implemented in the computer is not abundant with
tricky functionalities - hardware information, time settings,
passwords, boot devices, and disabling the USB. Nothing of excesses.
However, such scarce functionality in view of the hybrid make is quite
forgivable. Why does the tablet need a too wired BIOS?
Noise and cooling
Noise? I really didn't hear it. The fan of the processor that
is switched on at regular intervals (only when the computer is loaded
with work) does not strain your ear at all. It runs so quietly that I
would compare the sound to a whisper.
Cooling of the device is neither worse not better than in
others. Yes, it sometimes heats up immensely. And you've got to be very
careful with the air intake holes for the processor fan - they target
your knees precisely when using the computer in the tablet make.
LCD screen
In my view, this is a true masterpiece! Actually, there can't
have been other way - while for the notebook the screen is an important
part, it is the center of all for the tablet PC.
The magnificent digital LCD panel offers maximum brightness
(and the lowest minimum, the range is wide), high contrast, and very
wide viewing angles. These parameters are a real joy for the notebook
PC, and even more important they are for the tablet.
All these characteristics are fine although the LT20 screen is
a touchpad and is not simple.
Keyboard
I put an emphasis on this part, since I wanted to accentuate
its superb quality. Not only the keys move without sway or gaps, they
are simply good to touch. It's a real joy working with the keyboard
despite the device is half a Tablet PC. The keyboard is full-featured,
one used for notebook PCs, so if you tired of moving the digital pen
around the screen, revert to the traditional way of data input.
LT20 as a flatbed computer
Now it's time to talk a bit about the digital pen and the
specifics of using the device as a tablet.
So, here are the pens (2 in the bundle). As we already said,
one of them, the smaller, is fitted in a special jack of the computer.
This is the pen which is always with you. This pen has a small key that
emulates pressing the right-hand mouse button.
The other additional pen is much more convenient to use
because of its dimensions standard for the regular pen. This stylus has
an emulation key, but of larger dimensions. Besides, there are five
replacement nozzles and a metal ring to facilitate the replacement come
bundled with the stylus.
You can position the screen, or the windowed desktop, the way
you like - there is a special turning program that is invoked on
pressing a special key above the screen and turns the screen in 90
degrees increments.
Another convenient thing of the Tablet PC is the EZ Menu and a
fast-access button. Here, various settings are gathered (e.g., volume,
screen brightness etc.), switching to other operation modes and
whatever often necessary. Without a mouse and keyboard (which is
specific of Tablet PC), this is really important.
The availability of such standard programs for Tablet PC like
Sticky Notes,
Windows Journals,
on-screen keyboard,
does not need to be talked much.
The Battery Miser 3.12, a program for the power-saving
features of the notebook, merits a separate mention.
Unlike the classical ways to degrade performance for
prolonging the battery life, this program does not do anything special.
In fact, it is a power supply manager that controls all the power
settings for the monitor, processor, HDD etc. What I really liked about
it is the screen fade feature while the device is idle.
Besides, the program displays a real-time graph of power,
current and voltage.
The other convenience that the Battery Miser offers is the
manager of predefined power supply profiles. By default, the program
offers 10 predefined modes for various types of working with the
notebook.
General software
Despite that no bundled CDs were found in the package, there
is a very interesting application, LG GILJABI pre-installed on the hard
disk.
As is seen from the GUI, that is a setup manager for all the
drivers and some system applications. The manager is very
user-friendly, intuitive and nice to look. It's a pity that was not
recorded on a separate disk - that way would have been more convenient.
We also found two pre-installed useful files in Adobe Acrobat
format - User's Guide and Troubleshooting Guide. Both files give a
detailed account of what hasn't fitted on the small color poster that
comes in the bundle.
Especially nice it was to see Norton AntiVirus 2004 as a
bundled item.
Well, does the computer deserve the name of a Tablet PC? - of
course, yes! Both its software and ergonomics make operating the device
an easy and pleasant experience. There is nothing better than a flatbed
PC for Internet, diary, notepad. Want a notebook PC - just a few
seconds and your Tablet turns into a Note.
Performance tests
It is clear that the video subsystem of the hybrid is unable
to cope with modern monsters, and it doesn't have to. Measuring FPS and
score points in 3DMark is definitely not a task for LT20. It is
intended for business and multimedia applications that do not require
huge video resources. Anyway, that does not at all mean that you won't
be able to play games on the notebook - unless you are a fan of Unreal,
the standard integrated video Intel 82852/82855 GM will suit you quite
well.
We'd better turn to the overall system performance through
running SiSoftware Sandra Professional 2003 and look at the results in
the below table.
SiSoftware Sandra Pro 2003
| CPU arithmetic Benchmark |
| Drystone ALU, MIPS |
5804 |
| Whetstone FPU, MFLOPS |
2389 |
| Whetstone iSSE2, MFLOPS |
3589 |
| CPU Multimedia Benchmark |
| Integer iSSE2, it/s |
10219 |
| Floating point iSSE2, it/s |
11839 |
| Memory Bandwidth |
| RAM Integer Buffered iSSE2, Mb/s |
1621 |
| RAM Float Buffered iSSE2 Mb/s |
1622 |
I must admit, the results really appealed to me. With this
performance you can do some tasks although not so demanding.
Tests of power-supply
The power supply rating.. Most people are guided primarily by
this parameter in choosing a mobile PC. What sort of a mobile computer
it is, if it is able operating from the mains only? Besides,
power-saving modes are neither for us as well! I mean the drop of
performance during operation since many manufacturers are notorious for
that. When you don't use the computer intensely (HDD disabled, the
screen brightness degraded), that is OK with power-saving modes. But no
more than that!
That's why after running the battery in the "full charge -
full discharge" mode and disabling all the power-saving modes together
with the warning signals about the critically low battery charge level,
there was started the Battery Eater 2003 program.
The result is as follows: the time of offline operation - 1
hour 15 minutes. I must say, not too much. But keep it mind that the
system was loaded to the full.
If we follow all the manufacturer's recommendations on tuning
the power-saving modes, including the software, the offline operation
time amounts to 4.5 hours.
Charging the battery from scratch to the full takes up 2 hours
15 minutes.
Summary
The cost of LT20-188R device in our configuration is about
$2500. Is it little or too much for such a computer? It's up to you to
decide. In my view, it is a bit too much. On the other hand, with this
money you get a full-featured notebook and a tablet - two computers in
one. That's just two full-featured computers with a good set of small
utilities and the superb assembly quality in one casing! Isn't that a
dream?
The only flaw is the lack of an external CD-ROM drive in the
bundle. It's not quite good without it. And the lack of software CDs in
the bundle can't be regarded a shortcoming - there is no CD-ROM! LG
also offers a model with a bundled DVD-CDRW, but it costs $200 more.
You can purchase such a hybrid in the minimum configuration at about
$1800.
If you want to get an office computer, then you won't ever
regret buying a LT20-188R. A high-quality, stylish and well-done
computer will never spoil your mood with small and large flaws which
are unfortunately common in various hybrids.
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