Laptop Cost Goes Up with Performance

Next month, Intel plans to make their low-power 600 and 750MHz mobile Pentium III chips available. Along with the release of their 600MHz Celeron, this will shorten the gap between desktop and notebook CPU speeds. Currently, Intel is developing a 900MHz mobile chip, which is expected to be released early next year. Intel's 750MHz mobile PIII chip is expected to ship next month, while their 800 and 850MHz models will be released in the second half of this year.

With the new performance boost, prices are also rising. "The best thing for the consumer would be if notebook manufacturers worked to make their notebooks more economical," stated mobile computing analyst, Matt Sargent. "When consumers come to the marketplace and compare (notebooks and desktops), there's a huge (price) difference between them."

There are significant diversities in notebook prices, however performance is sacrificed for the more cost-friendly unit. HP recently released their OmniBook 6000 series, with a price range from $1,999 to $4,199, while Compaq Computer Corp. has a less powerful machine, available at $1099.