Compal FL31 Review (Zepto Znote 2314W)

With the Zepto Znote 2314W we’re dealing with one of the smaller-sized notebooks on the market. It’s only equipped with a 14.1” monitor in widescreen format. Therefore the weight of the notebook is also lighter making it good for the mobility inclined users. It’s built upon the trusty Centrino technology which has become renowned for its performance and battery life. Whether or not this configuration can live up to the expectations we’ll find out.

One of the first things you’ll notice about the notebook is the back of the monitor. There’s the usual company logo on the middle in silver wrapped with a white back. The surface is special since it might resemble scratches at first sight when in fact the cover is coated to look like marble. Once you know it’s intact you’ll appreciate its special design as it shines through the rest of the notebook market. Zepto chose to replace the dull white background with a marble coating giving the customers a little something extra for their money.

The notebook weights 2.4 kilo with an included 300 gram battery but excluding its 400 gram power supply. It measures 33.5 cm wide, 24.0 cm deep and 3.5 cm tall.

Processor	1866 MHz Mobile Intel Pentium M 750 (Sonoma)
RAM	1024 MB DDR RAM
Harddrive	80 GB HD – 7200 RPM
Optical Drive	DVD-RW drive
Graphics Chip	NVIDIA GeForce Go 6400 with 64 MB dedicated plus 192 MB shared
Display	14,1” WXGA (1280x768)
Communication	V.90 modem, 10/100/1000 Mbit Ethernet, IEEE 1394 FireWire, 802.11 a/b/g WLAN
Battery	Li-Ion
Operating System	None
Pointing Device	Touchpad w/ scroll-wheel
Weight	2,4 kilo
Other	4-in-1 Card Reader
Pris	USD $1820

At the top right of the keyboard you’ll find the Power button along with three LEDs. The LEDs shows whether or not you’ve enabled CAPS LOCK, num lock or scroll lock. Right below this you’ll find another set of buttons useable for DVD and audio playback in your Media Player. There’s even an LED above these buttons that’s glowing blue when you’re connected to a wireless internet connection and flashing when you’ve found an access point but haven’t connected to it yet. If you like case-modding and flashy lights you might find it useful. Otherwise it can get in the way as it illuminates everything around you while a more subtle approach might have been the better choice.

The keyboard itself has all of the regular hotkeys one would expect though it can feel a little small at times. The keyboard layout is pretty standard in terms of button placement though there’s no Control button in the lower right besides the Arrow keys. Instead you’ll find the Insert and Delete buttons with only one Control button to the far left. Whether it’s because I’m a leftie and they’ve shifted the “normal” keyboard setting a little is hard to tell but I personally prefer to have two Control buttons – one in each side of the keyboard. Other than that it’s a fine keyboard that’s kept in white to preserve the design of the notebook.

Full size | Medium size

Full size | Medium size

The monitor of the Znote is a small 14.1” widescreen with a native resolution of 1280x768. Since it’s a widescreen it looks even smaller due to its restricted height. If you favour lightweight mobility its fine though I find it a little hard for anyone to truly appreciate DVD playback on such a small monitor. I’d prefer to go against the trend of widescreen notebooks and only have it on the big screen models. This way you’d also get more space for your office applications as you can’t really enjoy movies on a small 14.1” monitor.

Aside from its smaller size you do get a decent monitor that’s even got a built-in 300K web cam in the top. You can tilt it upwards and downwards for the perfect angle. It’s a BisonCAM and the quality is quite fair though it doesn’t perceive fast movements all to well at times. But if you’re looking for a cam on the go and don’t want an external one it’ll do and I’d personally like to see more of this kind in other notebooks.
indbygget i de bærbare computere.

The Znote 2314W is configured for wireless LAN activities in addition to its integrated 1 Gb Ethernet module. It comes with four USB 2.0 ports that are ideally placed with two on each side of the notebook near the user. In the right side you’ll also find a FireWire port as well as the DVD drive and the modem port. In the left side you’ll see the built-in PCMCIA port in addition to the Ethernet port and the plug for the power cord. There’s also a Kensington Lock beside a big fan. There’re only two ports on the back for TV and video output while the rest is placed on the front cover. This setup is quite convenient since you have easy access to the integrated 4-in-1 card reader as well as the line-in and line-out jacks. There’re also three standard LEDs showing power on and battery status plus the hard disk activity.

4 x USB 2.0 ports
4-in-1 Card Reader
1 x RJ-11 jack
1 x RJ-45 jack
1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
1 x Line-In jack
1 x Line-Out jack
1 x DC-in jack
1 x 32 bit Type II PC Card slot
1 x Extern monitor port
1 x S-Video Out
1 x Kensington Lock
1 x Built-In Microphone

Full size | Medium size

Full size | Medium size

Full size | Medium size

Full size | Medium size

Zepto have designed a small and lightweight notebook that’s quite suitable for on the go mobility. As such one would expect a low-noise computer that’d be capable of running various tasks quietly. Unfortunately for Zepto they seem to have missed that target since it’s not all too quiet. The fan is spinning a lot which results in unwanted noise even when there should be none. This is true when surfing the web or writing an email where the humming is easily noticeable! Not a good score if you want to be on the go while at the same time keeping a low profile. Though some might be able to live with it it’s still too loud and if you want a silent-as-the-grave notebook this it not the one you’re looking for!

The notebook wasn’t shipped with any operating system though it can be included. Therefore there’s no recovery CD and all of the needed drivers were put on a separate CD. It includes the latest versions on release for all of the products from the graphics chip to chipset and the web cam. There’s a separate CD with software for Intel’s wireless technology along the standard bundle of Nero and PowerDVD 5. If you care about internet protection there’s also been included a CD with anti-virus, firewall and backup utilities from Bullguard. They’ve even included two special tissues (wet and dry) from AM for use when cleaning the monitor.

The warranty Zepto is offering is above the fold. The battery comes with the standard six months but the notebook itself is guarded by a full 24 month period. They also have an extended warranty were they promise everyday phone support to four hours onsite service. With this package they guarantee a two-day maximum of repair time before it’s being returned.

On their website you can find detailed specifications for the Znote 2314W in addition to being able to configure it to your specific needs. There’s an online FAQ that contains a fix to the black screen of the integrated web cam as well as a dedicated FTP with the latest drivers and manuals for easy reference. They’ve also produced a quick start guide that’s detailing how to operate the notebook as well as giving an overview of the various ports and plugs in a user-friendly way. This is definitely a good initiative and they deserve a pad on the back for their good guide.

The Znote 2314W is configured with a speedy 7200 PRM hard disk. It’s more than most notebook hard disks and the performance boost it gets is quite noticeable. It scores an impressive first place in our benchmarks topping the predecessors by quite a margin! There’s no doubt about the speedier hard disk is making its mark here and if you want top-notch office performance you’ll surely get it with the Znote 2314W from Zepto.

On the dull side we have its measly battery performance. What is has in speed in office applications it lacks in battery life. There’s just enough time to watch a single average length DVD movie and nothing more. If you want to unplug and go with the flow you’ll quickly find yourself out of battery whether you’ve been typing something in Word or making a web page. To sum it up the lifespan of the battery is nothing to brag about especially when considering its light weight making it perfect for long hours of unplugged mobility. Sadly that scenario is a no-go.

The Zepto Znote 2314W is equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce Go 6400 graphics chip. Zepto is actually stating it’s only a GeForce Go 6250 with Turbo Cache though the driver suggests it’s in fact a GeForce Go 6400 chip! The chip itself isn’t the most high-end on the market but it’ll do for those that are just looking for a decent office notebook.





All tests results are available here.

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In the end who might be interested in the Zepto Znote 2314W? If you despise the slightest sound of noise it’s not for you and it’s not for you if you like being on the go. It’s simply put too loud and too power consuming. If you want a high performing notebook with a good grip on office applications it’ll deliver. It’s small and lightweight and comes with a decent finish.

The price is a bit steep compared to other models that are less noisy and more capable of 3D games while being able to preserve the battery better. The latter might be fixed by configuring it with a more powerful 9-cell battery claiming an 80 % increase in battery life for a modest price. But if you crave top-of-the-range performance in office and business applications you might want to consider the Znote 2314W.

+
Strong performance in office applications, speedy hard disk, good warranty, lightweight
–
Noisy, poor battery performance





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