Digital Trends

Gateway M275XL

March 1st, 2004 | by Rob Curtis

Use and Testing

Boot time is fast and the onscreen prompts kept the initial setup time minimal. We did have a complaint with the cooling fan as it was noisy and distracting when compared to other units tested. 

This unit scored well in Sisoft Sandra 2004 and MobileMark 2002 but got low scores in 3D Mark 2001 due to the Integrated Intel Extreme 2 Graphics. The M275XL scored well below it's sister unit the Gateway 450XL, as well as the Sony VAIO PCG-Z1AP1 but beat out the 200 XL with a 2347 16-bit score and 2327 32-bit score.

The M275XL really shines in the CPU benchmark category by soundly beating the competition. Intel has packed the 1.6GHz chip with a 400MHz bus and 1 MB L2 Cache plus other micro architecture features that enable it to score well. Sisoft Sandra 2004 CPU Arithmetic Benchmark reported a great Dhrystone score of 6302 which beats out the Intel P4 2.4 GHz chip and ties the AMD Athlon XP 2000+ 1.67GHz chip. The CPU Multi-Media Benchmark Gave excellent results with a 15181 Integer score and 16752 Floating Point score.   

Intel's Centrino Mobile technology has made significant improvements in battery life.  Features such as intelligent power distribution and SpeedStep Technology dramatically optimize application performance and power usage. These improvements are evident as the unit performed well in MobileMark 2002 with a battery life of 2 hours 24 minutes and a performance rating 146. The upgrade to the optional second battery pack would give the user over 5 hours of use.

The M275XL features an integrated 4-in-1 media card reader.

With the M275XL being a hybrid of a notebook and Tablet PC, it shares the strengths of both. The unit allows you to do most functions you can on a regular laptop computer but adds the extra portable usability of a tablet.

For instance, if you have a wireless network and like to sit in bed or on the couch and browse the Web, a regular laptop can be tough to navigate with. Enter the flip screen: just rotate the screen to Tablet PC mode and you can browse the Web with the Digitizer Pen. Our experience with pen-based browsing was great. It was more comfortable and following links was as simple as just tapping the hyperlink. Of course, if you want to type during your browsing, you may want to go back to notebook mode since the soft keyboard may slow you down.

Conclusion

The Gateway M275XL is an excellent performer that provides the power of a notebook and versatility of a tablet. The flexibility this provides becomes invaluable as you become comfortable with using the unit in tablet mode.

With its Intel Centrino based processor and 802.11b wireless, the M275XL is both powerful and portable. Useful for both the home and business user, the combination of a Tablet PC and a standard notebook makes this unit something that a wide range of users can appreciate.