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Umax is best known for its wide range of scanners, but it also produces notebooks, and the ActionBook 660T is the latest to reach us.
This is a substantial, desktop-replacement notebook. It is definitely not in the super-light category, but neither will you need a course of steroids to lift it. It's attired in a rather fetching dark grey and shot-blast silver case, which opens to reveal a bright 14.1in TFT screen.
This is a good display, clear and well detailed at its native resolution of 1024x768. The backlight isn't completely even over the entire surface of the screen, making the display lighter at the bottom than at the top, but the effect isn't too pronounced and the display is perfectly usable.
Set into the top of the main body of the ActionBook is a full-size notebook keyboard, with the cursor keys set out in a proper inverted 'T' formation and all the others in their usual places. The key action is soft and smooth and the keyboard is quiet enough to use in libraries.
In front of the keyboard is a 68mm Alps GlidePoint touchpad, which is easy to use and, as usual, supports double tapping for selection.
Between the lid hinge and the back of the keyboard is a row of indicators, a power button and two special function keys. When you run the EZ button software supplied with the machine, these two special function keys are programmed to kick Outlook Express and Internet Explorer into life.
The ActionBook is well equipped with ports and devices, spread liberally around the edges of its case. On the left-hand side are CD and floppy drives - with the CD running at 24-speed - and twin USB sockets.
Opposite these are two Type II or one Type III PC-Card slots that you can use for all kinds of adaptors, from GPS navigation to network connection. There's a modem socket here, for the 56K software modem, and the battery pack slides out from this side, too.
Along the front edge of the machine are the sound sockets for microphone, line in and headphones, and there's a small volume control set into the fascia. An ESS chip provides sound, and the twin speakers set into the front face of the machine give remarkably good sound for their size. You're still better off using headphones with the machine, though, if you want to listen to music.
At the back, as well as external keyboard and monitor sockets, there are serial and parallel ports, a proprietary expansion port and a socket for S-Video output, to run the display signal into an external TV.
Running all this capable hardware is a 600Mhz mobile Celeron processor, with 64Mb of main memory.
The 660T also uses an ATi Rage Mobility M graphics chip with 4Mb of its own graphics memory. This gives better graphics performance than Intel's 810 chipset, which is found in many budget desktops these days. It's still not enough, though, to run 3DMark or most modern games.
The combination of processor, memory, graphics and the 6Gb Hitachi hard drive makes a good core around which to build a notebook. Under test, the ActionBook 660T managed a SYSmark result of 85, which is hardly breathtaking, but is adequate for most applications you're likely to run on a notebook.
Umax has opted for a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery. However, many notebooks in this price range are supplied with nickel metal hydride (NiMH) cells, which suffer from both extra weight and a memory effect. In comparison, Li-Ion packs don't require such careful use.
The ActionBook is supplied with Windows 98SE but no application software.
There's a rather oddly translated manual on the accompanying CD, which shows too much of its Taiwanese origin, but apart from the drivers for sound, graphics and buttons, there's nothing else on the CD.
The ActionBook comes with a vinyl carrying case, which looks a bit glossy and cheap but does protect the machine and its external power supply.
For the money, the ActionBook has a good general specification, fair performance, an adequate screen and all the essentials of a modern notebook PC. It could even be suitable for use as your main PC, unless your interests include games, where many notebooks in this price range will struggle.
But at just over £1400, it's definitely good value.
Contact
Umax: 01344 871 329 www.imcnet.com
See also:
This mid-range scanner offers 42bit colour and an optical resolution of 1200dpi, which is handy for enlarging originals. 31 May 2000
If you're looking for a notebook that will simply do word processing and email, then the low price Umax ActionBook 246T will suit your needs. But you'll have to shell out on an external CDRom drive. 31 May 2000
A 400MHz notebook for under a grand? Few would argue with that, but is there a reason for its low price? 16 Dec 1999The 340T is part of Umax's departure into mainstream hardware, but despite the impressive spec, performance and software are lacking. 30 Nov 1999All Notebooks & Tablets PCs
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