Digital Trends

Gateway E-155C May 20th, 2007 | by Brandon King

Battery Life 

We got about 2-¾ hours out of the system with regular use, and 1-¾ hours with DVD playback. Under high use, with both Wi-Fi on and power-saving features disabled, we got only 1-¼ hours of juice. Buyers should seriously consider the 6-cell battery pack and upgrading the RAM to 2GB, which will prevent memory swapping to the hard drive. 

Size and Weight 

Many people judge the size of a laptop by the size of the screen, which is generally a good measurement. However, for tablets, there is the added size of the screen frame, which houses several buttons and fingerprint scanner. Add to that the extension of the speakers past the screen, and you have a slightly beefy setup. The optical drive adds to the thickness and probably should have been left out in favor of an external USB option. Weighing in at 4.5 pounds, the E-155C has more the feel of a 13.3” laptop when it comes to comparable non-tablet systems. The increased screen dimensions do give the industrial design guys and gals some space to expand the keyboard, which didn’t feel too cramped. Key responsiveness was good, with adequate tactile feedback and travel distance. 

The keyboard is surrounded by a brushed aluminum plate

Conclusion

The E-155C is a great addition to the tablet PC world, and exhibits a solid evolution in Gateway’s approach to tablet design. The machine feels solid, offers many advanced features, and fits the bill for those in need of a second machine. While the price is a little high, the machine is worth it. We should caution that anyone in need of number-crunching power should consider other options, and for those considering the E-155C, be sure to upgrade to Vista in order to take advantage of all the features this laptop has to offer.

Pros:

• Excellent responsiveness from digitizer
• Touch-sensitive screen
• Solid build quality
• Integrated fingerprint scanner

Cons:

• Slightly large for an ultra-portable
• Average computing performance
• Expensive