Digital Trends

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

Design

The 7310 is the third generation of what JVC calls the “mini-note” PC. First and foremost, we have to stress just how small this system is. If two CD-ROM cases were stacked on top of each other that is exactly how tall the 7310 is. Now if those same two CD-ROM cases were laid side by side, that would be the same length as the 7310. The Sony U101 is noticeably smaller than the JVC Interlink 7310, but has a slower processor and is much more difficult to type on.

The JVC Interlink 7310 compared to Gateway's 200XL sub-notebook

The design and layout of the Interlink 7310 is also probably the most polished we have seen. The paint job on the 7310 is a work of art and is something that will want to be protected at all costs. The paint job is similar to a car or pianos, very shiny and deep looking. JVC has fortunately acknowledged this and includes a leather sleeve to keep this system in; very similar to sunglass sleeves. When looking at the top of the system there are two labels on either side of the hood that say “Wireless LAN”. We are not sure if that means the antennae's are located on either side of the system or not.

We complained that the casing on the Panasonic W2 felt cookie cutter made because it did not fit snuggly on the motherboard, but this is not the case with the 7310. Everything lines up perfectly as if this motherboard was designed only for the 7310. Since the 7310 was developed for the Japanese market, the keys all have Japanese characters on them. What importers like iCube are doing is adding very tiny English character stickers to the keys. These stickers are very durable and we did not experience any problems with them. In fact it is hard to notice they are stickers at all, they are that well implemented.

Probably the most unique feature about the 7310 is the way the battery system works. The integrated battery is good for 1.5-2 hours of continuous use, but what JVC includes with the system is an even larger external battery which can be plugged into the back of the integrated battery for up to 5 hours or more of battery life. This allows you to add even more battery life to the system on the fly, without turning the 7310 off. The extended battery will add some size and weight to the laptop, but looks normal once it is in place.