虽
然苹果iPad之类的平板电脑是现今的热议话题，笔记本电脑依然是电脑行业的生存之本，小尺寸的笔记本尤其受到消费者的偏爱。因此最近我又试用了两款小尺寸笔记本电脑，屏幕都是11英寸。它们向我们展示了高超的工艺如何让常见的设备焕然一新，使之符合特殊用户的要求。
这两款机子区别非常大，针对的也是截然不同的消费者。二者都不是那种价格低廉的上网本，但是机型都设计得非常之小巧。
戴尔Alienware M11x（图片来源：戴尔电脑网站）
另一款是索尼的Vaio X，在假日销售季推出，没有特别大张旗鼓的宣传。基准价为1299美元，是我用过的最为轻巧的一款笔记本。
它只有1.6磅重，所以一开始我还以为是个硬纸板做的模型呢。厚度也就半英寸多一点点。它的处理器和显卡都是上网本的配置，所以其性能跟戴尔M11x不可同日而语。不过这款机子本身针对的就不是那些注重性能的消费者，它所针对的是那些经常带着电脑跑来跑去的人，他们喜欢炫示时尚新品，能够容忍高价位和持航时间很短的标配电池。
M11x像一个方方正正的盒子，虽然尺寸很小，还是一眼就看得出是Alienware系列的。电源按钮很像一张外星人的脸，这个按钮、键盘以及机身前部的一些键都可以闪出各种颜色鲜艳的光。
它采用的是双显卡模式──一个是用于玩游戏的功能强大的独立显卡，处理其他任务或者想要省电时，则可以选择集成显卡模式。两种模式之间转换非常便捷，无需重启电脑。
我不是什么游戏迷，不过我还是简单地试玩了M11x内置的3D游戏，运行流畅，效果很棒。在播放高清晰视频以及处理上网、收发电邮、文档处理等普通任务时也都有良好表现。此外，它还有着丰富的接口种类，包括新一代的多媒体接口标准HDMI高清接口，可与电视快捷连接。
在我严苛的电池检测之下，M11x也有不俗表现，使用独立显卡时可持续近4个小时，使用集成显卡则是近5个小时。如果是正常使用的话，时间还会更长的。
这款机型的缺点在于：键盘很小很局促，基准价799美元机型的配置很可能无法满足发烧级游戏玩家和视频制作者的需求，硬盘为160G，容量相对较小，用的是低端的奔腾处理器，内存只有2G。我试用的这款硬盘容量500G，英特尔酷睿2双核处理器，内存是基准价机型的两倍，售价为1099美元。
索尼Vaio X走的是完全不同的路线，它向世人宣告，索尼公司多年来在轻薄昂贵笔记本领域独占鳌头，如今还在续写这样的辉煌。这么小的一个笔记本电脑装进你的公文包之后，很可能就会湮没在其他物品当中很难找见了。
Vaio X有多种颜色可供选择，不过相对于这个价格来说，配置就显得有点低了。处理器是上网本中最常用的英特尔凌动，集成显卡，内存只有2G，基准价1299的机型只配备了64G的固态硬盘存储，我试用的1499美元的机型则是128G的。
这款机型十分漂亮，我把它秀给别人看时，每个人都为其轻薄小巧赞叹不已。我处理了一些常见的任务，包括播放一段下载自YouTube的高清视频，效果很好。缺点是，它的键盘也很局促，触摸板也是小得可怜。
除了可以通过Wi-Fi上网之外，Vaio X还内置有Verizon公司的3G宽带设置，我试用过，效果非常好。使用3G上网的话需要付费给Verizon公司，包月最低40美元，不包月的话一天15美元或者一周30美元。都有使用上限。
Vaio X的致命缺点在于电池寿命。在我的测试中，那块娇小的内置电池只维持了可怜的1小时48分钟，正常使用的话大概也就两个半小时。它还配有一个外置电池，在我的试用中持航时间达到了令人震撼的8小时11分钟，正常使用的话可能就有10个小时了。不过这个电池体积庞大，像个底座一样支住整个电脑的底部，而且需要用螺丝固定。装了这个电池之后，本子的厚度就成了原先的三倍，重量也达到了近3磅。
透过这两款极富创意的机子，可以看到，尽管平板电脑的新潮流来势汹汹，笔记本电脑依然是一个施展创意的绝佳平台。
Walter S. Mossberg
For all the talk about new tablet computers like Apple's iPad, laptops remain the computer industry's bread and butter, and smaller laptops are especially popular with consumers.
So, I've been testing two diminutive laptops, both with 11 inch screens, that show how clever engineering can take a familiar device and customize it for particular audiences. These two machines couldn't be more different and they are aimed at radically different customers. Neither is a bargain-priced netbook, but both were designed with compactness in mind.
One of these products is from Dell's Alienware group, which specializes in potent computers for hard-core gamers. The device is called the M11x and it came out this week at a base price of $799. It's an attempt to pack much of the power gamers typically tote around inside thicker, heavier laptops into a much more portable chassis. The M11x weighs about 4.4 pounds, which in the gaming world is svelte, and is about 1.3 inches thick.
The other machine I've been testing was released by Sony over the holiday shopping season with relatively little mass-market fanfare. It's called the Vaio X, starts at $1,299, and is easily the lightest laptop I've ever reviewed.
In fact, it's so light, at just 1.6 pounds, that, at first, I thought it must be a mock-up made of cardboard. The Vaio X is also just a tad over a half an inch thick. Its processor and graphics system are like a netbook's, so it can't come close to matching the Dell in performance. But it isn't meant for the performance market. It's meant for highly mobile users who do typical computing, want to show off something sleek and who can tolerate a high price and weak battery life in the standard configuration.
The M11x is a chunky box that, despite its size, is immediately recognizable as an Alienware product. The power button looks like a space alien's face, and, along with the keyboard and some other features on the front edge, it can be made to light up and pulse in a variety of bright colors.
Inside, it sports dual graphics systems -- one powerful discrete graphics card for heavy-duty gaming, and one lesser integrated card for other tasks or when you want to save battery life. You can switch between them quickly, without rebooting.
I am not a serious gamer, but I briefly tested the M11x on some included 3D games, and they ran smoothly and well. The machine also did great on high-definition video and on common tasks like Web browsing, email and word processing. It's also packed with ports, including an HDMI connector, the new standard for easy hookup to a TV.
On my tough battery test, the Alienware did pretty well, clocking in at just under 4 hours with the more potent graphics in use, and just under 5 hours with the lesser graphics turned on. In normal usage patterns, you could stretch these figures.
The downsides to this machine are that the keyboard is cramped, and the specs on the $799 base model might not satisfy a serious gamer or video creator. It has a relatively small 160 gigabyte hard disk and a low-end Pentium processor. The model I tested, with a 500 gigabyte hard disk, a Core 2 Duo processor, and twice the base 2 gigabytes of memory, costs $1,099.
The Sony Vaio X is a world apart, a reminder that the company, which years ago pioneered small, thin, costly laptops, can keep doing so. This little computer can get lost in your briefcase.
The Vaio X comes in several colors, but has modest specs for the price. It uses the Intel Atom processor, common in netbooks, and integrated graphics. It only comes with 2 gigabytes of memory and the base $1,299 model has a very small 64 gigabyte solid state drive for storage. You can double the storage on the $1,499 model I tested.
The Sony is gorgeous and its lightness amazed everyone to whom I showed it. It handled all the common tasks I threw at it, including some HD video from YouTube, which played fine. But it also has a cramped keyboard, plus a tiny touch pad.
In addition to Wi-Fi, the Sony also includes a 3G cellular modem from Verizon, which I tested and which worked well. If you opt to use it, you have to pay Verizon, with monthly contracts starting at $40 and no-contract usage at $15 a day or $30 a week. All these plans have usage caps.
The Achilles' heel of the Sony is battery life. Its petite built-in battery got a miserable 1 hour and 48 minutes in my test, which might mean 2.5 hours in normal use. Sony does include an expanded battery with the unit, which got an impressive 8 hours and 11 minutes in my test, or perhaps as much as 10 in typical use. But this battery is huge. It covers the entire bottom of the machine and must be affixed with screws. The battery roughly triples the computer's thickness and brings its weight to nearly 3 pounds.
These two creative designs show that, despite the coming wave of tablets, the laptop is still a platform for innovation.
Walter S. Mossberg
So, I've been testing two diminutive laptops, both with 11 inch screens, that show how clever engineering can take a familiar device and customize it for particular audiences. These two machines couldn't be more different and they are aimed at radically different customers. Neither is a bargain-priced netbook, but both were designed with compactness in mind.
One of these products is from Dell's Alienware group, which specializes in potent computers for hard-core gamers. The device is called the M11x and it came out this week at a base price of $799. It's an attempt to pack much of the power gamers typically tote around inside thicker, heavier laptops into a much more portable chassis. The M11x weighs about 4.4 pounds, which in the gaming world is svelte, and is about 1.3 inches thick.
The other machine I've been testing was released by Sony over the holiday shopping season with relatively little mass-market fanfare. It's called the Vaio X, starts at $1,299, and is easily the lightest laptop I've ever reviewed.
In fact, it's so light, at just 1.6 pounds, that, at first, I thought it must be a mock-up made of cardboard. The Vaio X is also just a tad over a half an inch thick. Its processor and graphics system are like a netbook's, so it can't come close to matching the Dell in performance. But it isn't meant for the performance market. It's meant for highly mobile users who do typical computing, want to show off something sleek and who can tolerate a high price and weak battery life in the standard configuration.
The M11x is a chunky box that, despite its size, is immediately recognizable as an Alienware product. The power button looks like a space alien's face, and, along with the keyboard and some other features on the front edge, it can be made to light up and pulse in a variety of bright colors.
Inside, it sports dual graphics systems -- one powerful discrete graphics card for heavy-duty gaming, and one lesser integrated card for other tasks or when you want to save battery life. You can switch between them quickly, without rebooting.
I am not a serious gamer, but I briefly tested the M11x on some included 3D games, and they ran smoothly and well. The machine also did great on high-definition video and on common tasks like Web browsing, email and word processing. It's also packed with ports, including an HDMI connector, the new standard for easy hookup to a TV.
On my tough battery test, the Alienware did pretty well, clocking in at just under 4 hours with the more potent graphics in use, and just under 5 hours with the lesser graphics turned on. In normal usage patterns, you could stretch these figures.
The downsides to this machine are that the keyboard is cramped, and the specs on the $799 base model might not satisfy a serious gamer or video creator. It has a relatively small 160 gigabyte hard disk and a low-end Pentium processor. The model I tested, with a 500 gigabyte hard disk, a Core 2 Duo processor, and twice the base 2 gigabytes of memory, costs $1,099.
The Sony Vaio X is a world apart, a reminder that the company, which years ago pioneered small, thin, costly laptops, can keep doing so. This little computer can get lost in your briefcase.
The Vaio X comes in several colors, but has modest specs for the price. It uses the Intel Atom processor, common in netbooks, and integrated graphics. It only comes with 2 gigabytes of memory and the base $1,299 model has a very small 64 gigabyte solid state drive for storage. You can double the storage on the $1,499 model I tested.
The Sony is gorgeous and its lightness amazed everyone to whom I showed it. It handled all the common tasks I threw at it, including some HD video from YouTube, which played fine. But it also has a cramped keyboard, plus a tiny touch pad.
In addition to Wi-Fi, the Sony also includes a 3G cellular modem from Verizon, which I tested and which worked well. If you opt to use it, you have to pay Verizon, with monthly contracts starting at $40 and no-contract usage at $15 a day or $30 a week. All these plans have usage caps.
The Achilles' heel of the Sony is battery life. Its petite built-in battery got a miserable 1 hour and 48 minutes in my test, which might mean 2.5 hours in normal use. Sony does include an expanded battery with the unit, which got an impressive 8 hours and 11 minutes in my test, or perhaps as much as 10 in typical use. But this battery is huge. It covers the entire bottom of the machine and must be affixed with screws. The battery roughly triples the computer's thickness and brings its weight to nearly 3 pounds.
These two creative designs show that, despite the coming wave of tablets, the laptop is still a platform for innovation.
Walter S. Mossberg
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