2. Dimensions And Weight: Smart But Not Slim

"Fat Boy:" the SmartStep tips the scales at a hefty 3.7 kilograms.

The silver finish of the plastic case gives the SmartStep an elegant appearance. But the case's haptics and scratch-resistance are not convincing. With dimensions of 32.5 x 4.8 x 27.5 cm3, the device is not exactly slim, either. Including the power supply, the SmartStep weighs a hefty 4.26 kilograms (device 3.7kg, power supply 0.56kg). In practice, both factors tend to limit mobility considerably.

But in terms of connections, there's no room for complaint with the SmartStep 250N. The back features parallel and serial ports, a VGA connector, a PS2 jack and two USB connectors and S-Video output.

Connector-Friendly: the reverse of the notebook.

Located on the left-hand side of the case are the audio connectors and the volume control; next to them is the FireWire connector.

Multimedia center: audio and FireWire connectors.

The two slots for PC cards are on the right-hand side of the case.