Comdex gear gets playful

A big notebook from a little-known supplier
PC Laptops, a notebook supplier that’s little known outside of its home state of Utah, has launched a beefy new notebook in a bid to burst onto the national market.

PC Laptops introduced on Tuesday the brawny E-Pro Max 585, which is powered by a 2.8GHz Pentium 4 desktop processor. The desktop-replacement notebook’s other features include 1GB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, a 64MB ATI Radeon 9000 graphics chip, a 15-inch UXGA screen, two swappable bays, and four USB ports. The price you’ll pay for this kind of power can be measured in weight: The E-Pro Max tips the scales at a shoulder-straining 9 pounds.

While it’s available now for $2,999, there’s no way to ascertain whether the top-notch components of E-Pro Max will yield proportionately high-performance scores. CNET.com plans to test the notebook soon and report on its performance, however.

Despite its relative obscurity, PC Laptops has been around for several years. The company was founded as Elite Systems in 1994, and changed its name in 2002. It currently offers a wide range of notebooks under product names that include Max, Ultra, Supra, Traveler, Allure and Padawon.

Its chief executive, the self-titled Dan "The Laptop Man" Young, has set some ambitious goals for the company that extend beyond breaking out of the regional box. "We are committed to delivering the best dang laptops on the planet--no questions asked," he says.
--Tom Dunlap