Digital Trends

Gateway M320XL October 11th, 2004 | by Ian Bell

Features and Design

The biggest difference between the three systems in the M320 product line is the processor each one of them uses as well as the amount of memory the system comes with. The base M320CS comes with an Intel Celeron processor, a 14” screen and 256MB of memory. Stepping up to the M320X will give you an Intel Pentium M 1.5GHz CPU, 256MB of memory and a larger 15” screen. Lastly the M320XL will give you a faster Pentium M processor running at 1.7GHz, 512MB of memory, a DVD+/- writer and an 80GB hard drive.

When we first heard that Gateway was going to be making their products available through Best Buy and other large retailers, we really worried that the quality of their products would go down in an effort to increase margins. We are happy to report that this is not the case. We were pleasantly surprised when we got our hands on the M320XL. The system looks like a cross between IBM's ThinkPad X40 series and the Sony VAIO S series notebooks. The outside of the case features a silver painted top half and a black painted bottom half. All of the ports are located on the sides of the system with exception to the VGA output located on the back. Three USB ports, one FireWire port, a PCMCIA port and a SD/Sony Memory stick port are located on the left hand side of the system while the DVD writer, one USB and the audio controls and inputs can be found on the right hand side. A blue LED on the outside of the system flashes when the computer is plugged into its AC Adapter or in standby mode. The outside of the system has a close resemblance to a Sony VAIO notebook computer.

The inside, however, carries the look and feel of the IBM X series ThinkPad. The keyboard, touch pad and the mouse buttons are all recessed and flush with the systems case. It gives the M320XL a very streamlined look. Gateway also put blue LED's on the inside of the system which adds to the systems overall appeal. It's worth noting that Gateway has ditched the traditional scroll wheel in favor of a new scroll touchpad; a trend we see other manufacturers doing as well. The area where you rest your hands features a different type of rubber coating then what we have seen before. It feels like leather although it really is a textured rubber or plastic molding; it gives the system a fancier feel.

The M320XL only comes with a few preinstalled programs which include Microsoft Office XP Professional trial version, Microsoft Works 7.0 and Norton Antivirus trial edition. The Gateway system is a stark contrast to the latest Sony VAIO systems which come with way too many preinstalled trial applications. It's nice to see only a few necessary programs come preinstalled. Gateway warranties the M320XL for 1-year from the date of purchase. This includes parts and labor.