ECS 536 Notebook

EliteGroup's Award-winning ECS 536 notebook might not strike some as the "in" thing in latest mobile tech, but it sure does have what it takes to compete with the rest of the pack in terms of battery life (up to about 3 hours) and at an amazingly low price ( got mine at a local computer shop for about $ 560).

Like most notebooks in the market today, the AMD Turion 64 - powered ECS 536 sports the same features like built-in wireless capability (WLAN b/g MiniPCI card), industry-standard power-saving features (goes on standby when you close the lid then gracefully restores your session when you run out of batteries), a VGA port for that extra monitor and the ever-present DVD Combo drive. It comes with 256 MB upgradable memory (SODIMM) and 40 GB hard drive that you can upsize as well. Also has 2 speakers, touchpad for with left and right mouse buttons, an integrated 10/100 lan, s-video out at the rear, 4 usb ports and a parallel port.

This lappy will do as a mobile powerhouse in itself without all the upgrades (surfing the net, making reports, etc.). But if you're no average techie ( like me ) you'd go for the uber-speed upgrades (up to 2 GB) and an upsizable hard drive that could go for up to 160 GB, good enough for kick-ass gamers on the go and hardcore power users that are tight on the budget.

Here a few outstanding features that I discovered for myself in using it:

1. Automatic power-source switching - reverts the notebook's power source from the outlet to the battery pack silently, no need to turn off the unit when you need to unplug from the power socket.
2. Session saving and recovery - the ECS 536 gives you time to plug your power cord back in once your battery pack loses juice, and still be able to go back to your last working session. Very useful for sudden power knockouts.
3.The battery pack recharges itself while it's plugged in.

Some performance issues to take note of, though. Playing DVD's wears out the batteries quite fast (to 2 hours), so best stick to watching movies with the power cord plugged in. The wireless switch function needs some getting used to, because it doesn't automatically detect a wireless network unless you press the WLAN switch on the panel (even worse: there's no LED indicator that tells you if the switch is set to on or off). The sound coming from the panel speakers is barely audible at times (especially on battery mode), it's almost like a whisper when you try to listen to it at a distance of about 4 feet. Also, Sempron-based processors are known to heat up very quickly, so you might notice that it becomes a bit uncomfortable on your lap after an hour or so of working. If so, you might consider purchasing a cooling pad to prevent your unit from getting too warm.

Despite the 536 having lesser and fewer features than its branded counterparts, it still comes out good in terms of usability and long battery-life. It does an excellent job in being a notebook offering basic functionality minus the fancy eye candy and hidden bells and whistles. Lightweight and compact, the ECS 536 offers mobile computing at a reasonable price.