Gateway E-100M Review (pics, specs)

by Kevin Giberson

The Gateway E-100M ultraportable notebook, a sleek, exceptionally attractive offering that utilizes the Intel Core Solo CPU, can be purchased from Gateway's business oriented websites, while its twin, the NX100X, can be found at the Home & Home Office site. The main difference between the two models is the inclusion of the TPM embedded security chip in the business model, which offers enhanced security by providing various hardware-based encryption options. As of this writing, the E-100M, as configured below, costs approximately $1,570 at the Small Business website. For this price, you would get a basic 1-year warranty and a single 9-cell battery, rather than the three distinct batteries shipped with this unit.

Gateway E-100M ultraportable notebook (view large image)

Gateway E-100M Specs:

• Processor: Intel Core Solo U1400 (1.2 GHz/2MB L2 Cache)
• OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional
• Hard Drive: 80 GB SATA @ 5400RPM (manufactured by Fujitsu)
• Screen: 12.1" WXGA Widescreen (1200 x 800)
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• RAM: 512MB DDR2 SDRAM @533 MHz (1 x 512MB)
• Optical Drive: External USB 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW)
• Battery: 3-, 6- and 9-cell lithium ion
• Wireless: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 a/b/g + Internal Bluetooth
• Weight: 3.15 lbs (with 3-cell battery; steps up to 3.87 with 9 cell)
• Trusted Platform Module: TPM embedded security chip
• Dimensions: 0.9" (H) x 11.41 " (W) x 8.93" (D)
• Ports/Slots: 1 IEEE 1394 (FireWire), 2 Universal Serial Bus (USB 2.0), 6-in-1 removable memory card reader, 1 Type II PC Card Bus Slot, VGA monitor out port, RJ-45 Ethernet LAN, RJ-11 modem, headphone/speaker jack, microphone connector
• Price: Starting at about $1,418 through the Small Business site

Obtaining the Notebook

This notebook came directly from Gateway for the purpose of this review and, as indicated, included three batteries, as well as the external optical drive, a standard feature.

Initial Impressions

Gateway E100 with included external optical drive (view large image)

When I received the E-100M, removed it from the box and fired it up, the first thing that struck me was its beauty. I found myself captivated by its exceptionalintegration of form, function and substance. I wondered if the lack of an internal optical drive might eventually detract from using the E-100M, but given the notebooks good looks and portability I was able to easily overlook this one minor deficiency.

Right away I liked everything about the E-100M's looks: the black cover; the solid yet svelte magnesium build; the absence of largely redundant buttons, such as those for adjusting the speaker volume; the subtle, discreet blue indicator lights, all at the base of the touchpad except for the power light, just below the right LCD hinge. Indeed -- the size and look of this notebook had me yearning to travel the globe just so I could show it off!

Design and Build

The design, once again, is exceptional. The E-100M is as visually appealing as any notebook I've ever used, including a ThinkPad T40, which I also found very attractive for many of the same reasons, though I find myself more inclined toward the look of the Gateway because it is so exceptionally clean looking and small.

The build quality of the E-100M shines, as well. There is no part of this particular machine that feels cheap or flimsy. The hinges seem strong, and the latchless cover snaps gently into place. I see no evidence of any build flaws that might lead to this notebook having trouble withstanding the rigors of regular travel.

Top view of Gateway E100 with 3-cell battery (view large image)

Top view of Gateway E100 with 6-cell battery (view large image)

Each of the three different battery sizes offers a somewhat different look and feel. The 3-cell battery is the only one that doesn't extend beyond the back of the case; it is quite tiny and flush with the back of the notebook. The 6-cell extends beyond the rear of the case approximately one-half inch, same as the nine cell, which also raises the back of the notebook a half inch or so, being about as deep as it is wide. From the point of view of aesthetics and comfort, all three batteries work well, but I found myself sticking with the 9 cell after testing the other two batteries, simply because the additional three-quarters of a pound or so made no difference to me while carrying the notebook around the house, and I found the slight tilt and elevation of the keyboard no problem at all while working; and, of course, the 9 cell lasted a lot longer than the other two batteries.

Front side view of E100 (view large image)

Right side view of E-100 with 9-cell battery (view large image)

Left side view of E-100 with 6-cell battery (view large image)

Screen and Graphics

Gateway E-100M screen (view large image)

The 12.1-inch matte screen on this model is virtually flawless and the 1280x800 resolution suited me during all the usual activities: office suite applications, Internet use, DVD viewing. The LCD brightness control provided a good range of settings, and I found one level below the maximum to be to my liking. The integrated GPU provides plenty of graphics power for anything this notebook might reasonably be asked to do.

Sound

Sound is fine, even somewhat better than expected, given my low expectations. As is well known, notebook audio almost always benefits significantly from headphones or external speakers, and the E-100M is no exception. Don't expect a full, rich listening experience from this or just about any other notebook's internal speakers and you won't be disappointed.

Processor and Performance

While the Core Solo U1400 is not a top-level performer, I found that for everyday office, multimedia and Internet use, performance was just fine. I didn't expect the E-100M to process like some of the Core Duo machines I've used recently, and it didn't, but this did not detract from my overall opinion of this notebook. It is not intended for CAD, gaming or intensive video editing, so I wouldn't expect the E-100M to be comparable in these tasks to a notebook weighing three times as much or costing significantly more.

I felt that expecting the E-100M to handle CPU- and RAM-intensive tasks with all the ease of a powerful desktop, and then being disappointed when it couldn't, was akin to marrying a fashion model with an advanced degree in medieval history and then being shocked, once we settled into our new home, because she refused to move the refrigerator by herself and replace all the drywall in the kitchen. Most every creature has its charms, but few if any creatures excel in everything. I suppose there's no absolute reason why beauty and refinement can't exist together with brute power, but obtaining all three in a reasonably priced package seems to defy realistic expectation.

Benchmarks

Super PI (calculating pi out to 2 million digits):

SuperPi

Machine	Time to Calculate Pi to 2 Million Digits
Gateway E-100M(Core Solo1.2 GHz)	2m 2s
Samsung Q1 UMPC (900MHz ULV Celeron)	3m 6s
Fujitsu LifeBookP1500D(1.2GHz ULVPentium M	2m 23s
Fujitsu ST5000 Tablet PC(1.1 GHzULV Pentium M)	2m 37s

PCMark05 yielded an overall score of 1648 PCMarks, comparison and thendetails are in the below tables

PCMark05

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Gateway E-100M (1.20GHz Intel Core Solo Ultra Low Voltage)	1,648PCMarks
Fujitsu Q2010 (1.20 GHz Intel Core Solo Ultra Low Voltage)	1,943 PCMarks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60)	5,597PCMarks
Sony Vaio SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	3,637 PCMarks
Dell Inspiron e1405 (1.66 GHz Intel T2300)	2,879PCMarks
Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400)	3,646 PCMarks
Toshiba Satellite M70 (Pentium M1.86GHz)	1,877 PCMarks

PCMark05
HDD -- XP Startup	6.26 MB/s
Physics and 3D	50.75 FPS
Transparent Windows	178.69 Windows/s
3D -- Pixel Shader	12.42 FPS
Web Page Rendering	1.76 Pages/s
File Decryption	29.51 MB/s
Graphics Memory -- 64 Lines	285.72 FPS
HDD -- General Usage	4.22 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 1 / Audio Compression	697.03 KB/s
Multithreaded Test 1 / Video Encoding	90.03 KB/s
Multithreaded Test 2 / Text Edit	31.81 Pages/s
Multithreaded Test 2 / Image Decompression	7.23 Mpixels/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / File Compression	1.33 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / File Encryption	7.36 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / HDD -- Virus Scan	6.96 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / Memory Latency -- Random 16 MB	6.35 Maccesses/s

HD Tune performance scores for the included80 GB Fujitsu drive:

(view large image)

Keyboard and Touchpad

Gateway E-100 keyboard view (view large image)

The full-size keyboard on this E-100M was excellent, with the keys having comfortable travel and responsiveness, and the non-alphanumeric keys possessing a size and placement that was not difficult to get used to. There were no problems with the touchpad, either, though it was somewhat stiffer than most I have used, requiring a rather firm press, though not to an extent that I found annoying or bothersome.

Gateway E-100M keyboard and optical drive (view large image)

Battery Life

9-cell, 6-cell and 3-cell battery lined up for comparison (view large image)

I generally kept LCD brightness one notch below the maximum, left wireless enabled and used a USB mouse. Under these conditions, while making regular use of Internet Explorer and the OpenOffice.org office suite, as well as intermittently running the External optical drive and benchmarking software, the following results where achieved before the battery-remaining indicator dipped to below 10 percent:

Battery	Time
3 Cell	1h 40m
6 Cell	3h 50m
9 Cell	5h 40m

Heat and Noise

This notebook ran very cool and quiet, doing as well in these areas as any notebook computer I've ever used. Heat and noise were never issues, and I was able to use the E-100M on my lap without any real warmth or discomfort at all. Palm rests stayed cool, as well.

Wireless

The Intel 3945 ABG wireless performed as it has with all the recent laptops I've used: no real problems, but depending on the notebook, it seems to have a special affinity for either the Intel wireless management utility or the one provided by Windows, with one or the other of these utilities being slightly more inclined to drop the wireless connection, without any apparent reason, or at least any reason I've been inclined to pursue. In the case of the E-100M, the Intel utility seemed to work better, never dropping the connection, while the connection was dropped a couple of times during the Windows management of wireless.

Service and Support

I have had no reason to call for support. A 3-year, on-site, next-business-day warranty, which I did not include when coming up with the price estimate at the beginning of this review, currently costs an additional $230 on the Gateway Small Business website.

Software

Virtually all of the pre-installed software was actually useful, so I didn't find myself wasting time removing unnecessary, marketing-driven programs that practically no one would want. Everything behaved as it should, with no unpleasant surprises, and startup and shutdown were clean.

Conclusion

The E-100M is a beautiful, well-built notebook possessing both an excellent keyboard and a fine screen. During two weeks of use, I really found nothing to recommend against it and plenty that makes it seem like a fine option for those desiring exceptional looks and portability at a reasonable cost. I will be sad to see it go. The one thing that may engender some reluctance on the part of a buyer is the lack of an internal optical drive. While this wasn't an issue during the course of this review, a frequent traveler who enjoys watching DVDs on airplanes might view the external optical drive as a serious drawback. It's not as if this limitation is impossible to overcome, but available workarounds will not appeal to everyone. Nor will this notebook be especially appealing to those who refuse to sacrifice desktop-type performance for the sake of beauty and stellar portability. All in all, however, the E-100M brings together a fine mix of components designed for portable, battery-powered, everyday computing, in a package that is extraordinarily appealing.

Pros:

• Beautiful design
• Highly portable
• Excellent build quality
• Outstanding keyboard
• Good screen
• Cool and quiet
• Excellent battery life with the 9-cell battery

Cons:

• No internal optical drive
• Performance, while fine for most things, is limited by the single-core CPU

Product Links

• Gateway E-100M at Gateway.com
• Gateway NX100X at Gateway.com

 

This is by far the best looking and most appealing Gateway machine in the lineup right now I think (well, if you're into ultraportables like myself). Nice to see the comparison of battery times for each cell configuration, with an ultraportable battery life is important to me so I'm willing to carry a little more weight for the extra battery life. I'm not sure how I'd feel about the tilted 9-cell for such a small laptop though. Nearly 4 hours on the 6-cell is pretty good anyway so I'd recommend just going with that. You are getting certainly getting a premium product with this notebook here.

Nice review!

 

Nice job. It certainly is a handsome notebook. Whats the case made of?

 

Great review! This certainly looks like a nice ultraportable laptop!

However, one error that I've noticed in your review is that the SuperPi number that you had posted is actually from the Sony UX180P Micro PC.

 

i'd go for this one than the SONY UX...

the size is cute hehehe... according to his review, the battery life, battery size, machine size and heat are all accounted for...

and hey, there's a touchpad... and where's the pointing stick

why'd i need a computer in my palm with small battery life... 2hours fly by fast

 

Exellent review! This is the notebook Sony should have devoloped their 505 series into. The smallest battery makes the laptop remind me of that form factor especially. I lament the lack of a dual core option in this day and age. I admire how you so eloquently put it: "Most every creature has its charms, but few if any creatures excel in everything. I suppose there's no absolute reason why beauty and refinement can't exist together with brute power, but obtaining all three in a reasonably priced package seems to defy realistic expectation." How true. I have yet to see this happen in a notebook, but I think a dual core Sony TX or downsized Macbook form factor (like 11" to 12") would come very close IMHO. I can dream, can't I?

Oh yeah, Gateway seriously needs to change their "COW BOX" logo found on the top lid of this machine. It probably goes well with all of the other homely laptops they have, but not this one.

 

Good review. Its a beautiful, well-built laptop.

 

Really? I love the box. IMO, it is the coolest notebook emblem today. It looks good with black for a change.
Very nice looking machine, and a great review to go with it. Nice job

 

i think their logo reminds me of a brand of milk....

 

that's funny, I was thinking milk chocolate. maybe you can unwrap this thing and eat it...

 

that was the dumb editor's mistake (me) and not the reviewer. I have changed it

 

Why is there a hole on the left side of the hinge?

 

Maybe I should see the emblem in person. I guess it means something; A laptop organization founded by the Dairy Farmers Association of America...

As far as laptops go that's one pretty lil' heffer.

Anyway Keep them doggies rollin' Gateway!

and, uh...Rawhide!

 

Thanks very much for all the comment, everyone.
1) I had some trouble determining the exact materials composition of the case, but gateway refers to the "high-impact magnesium casework." Most of the notebook (i.e., the base and the LCD enclosure) does seem to be some sort of magnesium product, though the lid appears to have an overlay of strong, durable plastic, and there's plastic trim elsewhere, too, such as around the keyboard and just above the LCD.
2) I didn't see the original Super Pi reference that was posted, but interestingly, the result for the E-100M was exactly the same as that of the Sony Vaio UX180P. Both machines use the Intel ULV U1400, but you usually don't see an exact match, even with the same CPU.
3) The hole on the left side of the hinge is where the AC adapter plugs in.

 

I thought that was what the hole was for; just like the Sony X505. I don't know of any other laptop that has that feature in the hinge. Very neat. More like what the X505 should have been; it did not have a trackpad.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_VAIO_X505_series/4505-3121_7-30886049.html

 

$1500 for a 1.2 ghz single core, 12", 512mb ram??

 

I have been waiting a long time for a review like this to come out. With no one in either notebookforums or notebookreview trying this out, I thought I was doomed to risk buying it myself and try it. Thank you so much for doing this!

I do have some questions though. Does this laptop have a fan? Can you take some pictures with a better camera? The pictures that you included make it seems like the laptop is made out of cheap plastic. Does the laptop ever get hot as a result of the 2.5" hard drive when it's spinning at max?

 

Sgt Strider, there is a fan, which I barely noticed, but it did come on occasionally, like when I was running benchmarking programs. As for the photos, sorry, but I don't have a better camera and have already packed up the notebook for shipping; also, I don't think I'd be able to do much better on the pictures. Anyway, for what it's worth, the notebook doesn't look cheap to me. Though the LCD cover has a plastic overlay, as I mention in comments above, the "magnesium casework" is generally evident and and the sturdy-feeling plastic covering is probably not a bad idea because it can easily be wiped clean.

 

When it's running at max, is it annoyingly loud?

When you're running in battery mode, does the notebook downclock itself? Does the hd use sata or pata?

 

First of all - nice review although a bit short. I like how you focus on the things this machine is supposed to be - a lightweight machine for presentations, office tasks etc.

Second, a question - is that really a (parallell) printer port I see on the left side of the machine, just right of the VGA out?

 

Couple of final things:
1) it's generally very quiet, though the fan is sometimes slightly audible during heavy processing;
2) HD is SATA;
3) I didn't check the clock during use because most of what I did was pretty mundane, but the U1400 uses SpeedStep, so all I can do is guess that the speed did vary, depending on use and whether power was AC or battery;
4) No, that's not an old-style parallel port but the card reader; guess you'd have to go with a docking station/replicator to get the parallel port.

 

One last set of questions for now. Does the hard drive ever get hot enough that the keyboard or palm rest feels hot? Did you get the Gateway with the extra bright screen? I know that Gateway's website gives you a choice for screen options.

 

There was minimal heat. The bottom stayed cool, as did the top (i.e., palm rests and keyboard). The screen was non-glossy and, like I said, very nice. That said, as you probably know, LCDs can vary even within the same model.

 

I'm getting prepared to buy the notebook and some more questions arised. How did the notebook run MS Office 2003 (Word, Outlook, Excel, and Power Point) when in battery mode? I'm guessing the unit downclock itself to conserve power then? How long did it take for the notebook to boot up (the minute you press the button until it takes to reach the desktop and fully usable)? What speed was the CPU at when it was on battery mode? Did it fluctuate or it stayed at that speed during battery mode? Was it possible to use a program to increase the speed during battery mode? Thanks!

 

Yes, I understand that LCDs can vary within the same model. I'm still confused in which screen you chosed when you configured your system. Here are the options that Gateway has:

1) 12.1" widescreen XGA TFT Active Matrix (1280 x 800 max. resolution)

2) 12.1" Ultrabright Widescreen XGA TFT Active Matrix (1280 x 800 max. resolution)


Option 2 cost $25 more than the default option 1. Which one did you picked?

 

Guys, I need someone to answer the two of my posts above. I really need some answers!!!

 

I'll answer as well as I can, but it's been a while and the E-100M is long gone.

I didn't install MS Office, but ran OpenOffice.org. As mentioned, didn't check the clock speed, and generally ran on power; if SpeedStep was working properly, it should have downclocked, but I can't confirm this. The boot time was very good, but I didn't time it. All I remember is that it was pretty quick. Usually I used hibernate instead of actually shutting down, and it was very quick to come back from hibernation. You should be able to adjust the power settings to get high performance while running on battery, but since I no longer have the notebook, I can't confirm the particulars of clock speed adjustments.

As for the screen, it was #1 above, NOT the Ultrabright. This was a review unit sent by Gateway, and returned to Gateway as soon as the review was done. They decided to send the matte screen version, and I've never seen the Ultrabright screen.

One final thing: if possible, it would probably be a good idea to get 1 GB RAM.

Hope that's some help.

 

I saw some other reviews of the E-100M which mentioned the buttons were clicky which I personally hate. I noticed you siaid the buttons were stiff which I don't mind, but clicky buttons are a no go for me. I was thinking of picking up the next gen S-7110M, but am concerned about the clicky buttons. So I guess my question would be if you can recall, how clicky/noisy were the buttons. Thanks for any help.

 

Thinking back, I do seem to remember an audible click whenever the button press "took" and I think this was quite a bit louder than the Latitude X300 I'm using right now to type this, though the X300 also clicks a little. I'd say the E-100M had the sort of touchpad that might really bug some people, between the stiffness and the noise, but it also looks to me, from a picture I just saw, the the S-7110M has a completely different touchpad.