Digital Trends

JVC Interlink 7310 November 16th, 2003 | by Ian Bell

Introduction

Just when we thought sub notebook computers could not get any smaller, JVC proved us wrong. Their Interlink 7310 is the smallest Centrino based notebook computer currently available - anywhere. At just 8.58” x 1.16” x 6.97” the JVC 7310 can literally be taken just about anywhere. But does there come a point when smaller is not necessarily better? Read on to see what we think. The JVC Interlink 7310 can be found at iCube for a competitive price of $2199 preloaded with Microsoft's Windows XP Pro.

Features

The Interlink 7310 features an Intel Centrino based chipset and Pentium M processor running at 1GHz. The standard memory configuration includes 256MB of DDR RAM but can be upgraded to 512MB per the manufacturer's recommendations. Because the Interlink 7310 uses the same motherboard found in Panasonic's W2 notebook, this means that, technically, the system memory can be upgraded to 728MB although this is not mentioned in the manufacturers specifications.

The Interlink 7310 also comes with a 40GB hard drive, 64MB of video memory with an 8.9” XGA display featuring a 1240x600 screen resolution. Now because this system is using the Centrino chipset, this means that it will also have the 802.11b integrated wireless networking. For input and outputs, the Interlink 7310 has USB 2.0, FireWire, VGA out, Ethernet, modem and audio ports. The Interlink 7310 does not come with an integrated CD or DVD drive, nor does it comes with an external floppy or CD/DVD drive, so we recommend picking up a good portable drive such as Pioneer's DVR-SK12D for use with these laptops. This will set you back another $250 dollars.

JVC 7310 sitting next to the Pioneer DVR-SK12D DVD writer

On the left hand side of the system is where the PCMCIA  expansion port and FireWire port is located and on the right hand side is where the USB 2.0, Ethernet/modem and VGA ports can be found. JVC also moved the AC adapter port and audio inputs to the right hand side of the system. You will have to purchase a special VGA dongle if you want to use an external display; the VGA output is not the same as found on other laptops.