2. First Impressions: Built to Order

Like Dell, Zepto lets its customers configure their notebooks according to their wishes. The product page provides a basic configuration that can then be customized by the customer, step by step. In addition to providing a choice of upgrades for components such as CPU, RAM, HDD and WiFi options, Zepto also offers some accessories, including laptop bags, sleeves, extra batteries or chargers.

This is a very customer-friendly approach, allowing you to put together a notebook that meets your requirements without paying for extras you don’t need. But by today’s standards, Zepto’s choice of selling its notebooks without an operating system is unusual, at best. Linux users and those with a valid, transferable Windows license will appreciate this. Everyone else will not. Most people will have to purchase a version of Windows for an additional fee. Zepto offers both 32 Bit and 64 Bit versions of Windows XP Home and Professional as well as Windows Vista Home Premium, Ultimate or Business .

Although our review sample came with a 32 Bit version of Vista Home Premium on a DVD, the OS was not pre-installed. Despite being labeled as a recovery DVD, the disc is actually a normal installation DVD. In other words, there are no drivers integrated. This puts the user in the rather unusual position of needing to install notebook drivers by hand.

The problem with this is that the Windows Device Manager doesn’t always give you the information you need to find and install the correct driver. In the end, the simplest (and certainly quickest) solution is to install all of the drivers on the CD (or on the Product Page on the Internet) until the last exclamation mark disappears from the Device Manager.

Zepto does not include a lot of extras with its Znote. The box contains only the notebook, the power supply , a printed manual plus a single CD containing (partly outdated) drivers. Lastly, Zepto included a very practical laptop bag with several compartments and a shoulder strap. Additional software is not included. On the plus side, that also means you don’t have to deal with crapware, a.k.a. "trial versions" of software with dubious benefits that only take up space on your system. If you do need a certain tool, you can always add it to your configuration in Zepto’s online store before checkout.

Zepto provides updated drivers on its FTP Servers, which are linked form the product page. Firefox users that are greeted by a seemingly empty FTP directory should not despair. Hit the refresh button instead, and voila – drivers. New BIOS versions are also available from the same address. These are provided in ISO format which allows them to be burned as bootable CDs, making updating the BIOS much easier.