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Not everyone needs, or indeed wants, the very latest technology in their computer. After all, we are only too happy to tell you that buying the latest goodies means paying a premium and waiting a couple of months can save a lot of money.
We have looked at Iridium notebooks before and always found them to be budget-conscious machines. The Starbook 505, following this tradition, weighs in at just £762.
Initial findings seem pretty positive. The case is finished in a standard silver and grey colour scheme which looks nice, although it is all plastic which makes it less robust than metal ones.
The Iridium is powered by an Intel Celeron processor running at a slightly wheezy 900MHz. That's still plenty of power for writing letters and surfing the internet, but anyone wanting to do serious number crunching or play with video clips may find themselves twiddling their thumbs while the 505 goes about its work.
Without video and music files clogging it up, the 15Gb hard disk should suffice but the 128Mb of memory may not.
As standard, 8Mb is given over as video memory. Modest performance scores were achieved in our tests but we won't be too hard on the 505 as it is a value machine.
The screen and keyboard are two shortcomings that really show up on notebook PCs so it was with much interest we scrutinised this Iridium. Results were mixed.
The 13.1in TFT screen is evenly lit and comfortable to use. The keyboard is a little springy but is a good size while the trackpad is touch-sensitive and can double up as a right mouse button.
If the keyboard is a major problem, the PS/2 port at the back can be used for either a full-sized keyboard or a mouse. One of the two USB ports could also be used if required.
Aside from those two connections, the Iridium can be hooked up to the internet via the integrated modem or to a network via the onboard network adapter.
An external monitor can be connected and older printers are no problem. Normally we would not mention the printer port but there really is little else to talk about in terms of connections.
There are symbols on the chassis for both FireWire and S-video connections but the holes are blocked. A piece of plastic covers what would be the infrared port but, most surprising of all, there's no PC Card slot.
A floppy drive is supplied as standard so there is removeable storage onboard, although there is no CD-RW drive for moving large files. One could be connected via USB but that restricts burning to four-speed.
With modern external drives able to record at up to 24-speed using the right connection, this lack of fast connectivity looks like a cut too far.
A DVD-Rom drive is an optional extra in place of the standard CD-Rom but adding one increases the cost and dilutes the appeal of this ultra-budget computer. Aside from Windows XP Home and an antivirus program, there is no software supplied which makes for further expense before any work can be done.
The Starbook 505 is undoubtedly great value but we feel it's worth graduating to the next model in the range to get a few more functions.
Price: £762 (inc. VAT)
Contact: Iridium 0870 220 0582
www.iridium-uk.com
Also consider: NEC Versa Premium
A nice budget notebook. £820.
See also:
Among the Notino 2200's attractions are a DVD drive and a very reasonable price. 04 Apr 2002
Budget desktop replacement with a 1GHz Intel Celeron chip. 19 Mar 2002All Notebooks & Tablets PCs
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