HP Compaq 6730b

Costly biz machine brings the battery life



NO ONE WILL MISTAKE the $1,387 HP Compaq 6730b for anything other than what it is-a button-down business notebook-but it runs circles around lower-end models. As suitable sa it may be for suit wearing travelers, however, the 6730b seems overpriced and underpowered-at least in the graphics department-compared with the similar Lenovo ThinkPad SL400 (see the review below).

The 6730b weighs a hair under six pounds and measure 1.3x14x10.5 inches (HWD). Its matte-silver finish and black keyboard are dull, but the 6730b has one decorative bit of flair: an LED-lit, touch-sensitive strip of quicklaunch and volume-control buttons. (It even works when the notebook is off-simply tap the Info button to launch HP's QuickLook2 for instant access to Outlook 2003/2007 data.)

Based on Intel's new Centrino 2 platform, our test unit came with a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a DVD burner with LightScribe, and Intel's GMA X4500 HD integrated graphics. The 15.4-inch widescreen LCD has a native resolution of 1,280x800, an antilare coating, and a fairly narrow viewing angle. The 6730b also supports Bluetooth and 802.11n Wi-Fi; other hardware perks include four USB ports, an ExpressCard slot, a memory-card reader, a VGA WebCam, and a fingerprint sensor. It also has a mini-FireWire port and a serial port.



A decent performer (except in games, thanks to its integrated graphics), the 6730b is a great choice for long trips. It lasted just under three hours in our battery-drain test, which means you should get close to six hours of runtime with the power-managementfeatures enabled.-Rick Broida

Computer Shopper November 2008