Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2003/04/08/how_to_turn_your_ibook/

How to turn your iBook into an iMac (sort of)

And Toshiba updates its UK PDA line

By Tony Smith

Posted in Personal Tech, 8th April 2003 08:47 GMT

Reg Kit Watch

Mobile

Want an Apple iMac, but having to use an iBook instead? Want your bring your PC laptop into the Anglepoise Generation™? Then you need Lapvantage's Dome notebook stand. Apparently.

As you can see from the piccy, the Dome is an iMac-esque hemispherical base with a clear perspex flat panel for your notebook where the iMac has its LCD screen.

Chuck in a stylish Apple Pro Keyboard and Pro Mouse and you'd could almost imagine you too owned an glistening white iMac. Or a black one - Dome comes in black for all you ThinkPad fans out there.

Actually, Dome isn't new - Lapvantage has been offering the standard model since last August, but we were so taken with it we thought we'd give it a mention. The $49.95 standard model's notebook stand is fixed at 5.5in, but there's a more expensive, $79.95 deluxe edition that features an adjustable stand, allowing you to position your portable between 4.75 and 6.5in above the desk.

We jest a little about the Dome's looks - and its rather obvious source of inspiration. But like the Sherpaq Oyster, does try to address the ergonomic issues surrounding notebook usage by bringing the laptop's screen up to eye level, the better to eliminate neck and back strain. The Dome scores over the Oyster not only because it looks better, but it supports a much wider range of notebooks - though not Apple's 17in PowerBook. And with more notebooks being sold as desktop replacements, here's a product that allows you to use your portable PC that way.

At present Lapvantage isn't shipping the Dome outside of the US
and Canada. However, its reseller, Other World Computing, is carrying the and does ship abroad.

PDA

Toshiba has launched its Wi-Fi enabled e750 and budget e350 PocketPC PDAs in the UK.

The £499 e750 features on-board 802.11b support and a 400MHz Intel XScale PXA255 processor. It has a 3.8in 240x320 16-bit colour screen. In addition to the 32MB Flash ROM and 64MB RAM, the e750 has an extra 32MB of Flash memory to preserve applications and data from hard resets and battery drains. SD card and CompactFlash slots allow for expansion. It is available today.

The "super thin" e350 is a budget PDA that's only 12.4mm thick. It weighs under 150g. It's an upgrade to the existing e330. It too is based on the PXA255, but at 300MHz. Its display is a 3.5in 240x320 16-bit colour LCD. A built-in SD card slot is home to an optional Bluetooth card, and a variety of SD-based devices. The e350 will be available from 18 April for £249. ®