Digital Trends

Gateway M275XL

March 1st, 2004 | by Rob Curtis

Introduction

Gateway's M275XL is a hybrid machine that transforms from a laptop computer into a Tablet PC. For those wanting to explore the world of Tablet PC's the Gateway M275XL is a nice bridge between style and functionality.

For a little over $2000 you get Intel's 1.6GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB DDR SDRAM (2-256MB modules), and a 60GB ultra ATA hard drive. Weighing in at 5.7 pounds and 12.60"(W) x 10.83"(D) x 1.10"(H), this isn't the smallest or lightest Tablet PC, but considering it's a full-featured laptop, that seems about right.

Features and Design

Gateway ships the M275XL with the Windows XP Tablet Edition operating system. It also features Microsoft OneNote as well as Microsoft Works 7.0. OneNote is new Microsoft Office 2003 product that allows you to make notations — be it handwriting, typed text, audio, images, or diagrams — in many different applications. Works 7.0 is a scaled down Office-type suite that includes a word processor, spreadsheet, database, and calendar application.

This unit is quite capable with the hardware package mentioned above and becomes even more versatile with the addition of a 24x/10x/24x CD-RW and 8x DVD combo drive, integrated 4-in-1 memory card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, a IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port, VGA port, 14.1" XGA TFT Active Matrix screen, integrated 10/100 Ethernet adapter and integrated 802.11b wireless networking card. 

This is not a gaming machine and the graphics solution is an integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2. This chipset works fine for normal productivity and multimedia applications,  as well as light gaming and we had no problems with it affecting our performance.

The unit offers quite a punch and Gateway has utilized a robust hardware combination in the M275XL that allows the user to utilize the machine for work, multimedia as well as lightweight gaming. 

Since its a Centrino, the M275 XL features an integrated 802.11b wireless connection. While we're seeing many other notebooks include 802.11g, the Centrino hasn't been upgraded to the higher speed yet.

An attractively styled notebook that will get some looks, the M275XL features a metallic silver outer finish and textured black keyboard area. Gateway has conveniently placed several control buttons on the lip of the monitor as well as the keypad area. These chrome buttons allow the user to control screen orientation (which is useful as a Tablet PC), toggle a software keyboard on or off, adjust LCD brightness, and access Windows Task Manager.

The keypad area houses four one-touch access buttons for email, Internet, help and Windows explorer. The inclusion of the Windows task manager and Windows explorer options are a nice touch, as we frequently accessed these areas during our testing and regular use. This option dramatically reduces the number of required keystrokes.

The M275XL with the screen flipped in Tablet PC mode.