Compaq M700 Review

The professionally refurbished by Compaq, Compaq Armada M700 hits its target: It's a corporate system intended for IT managers who want stable product life cycles and easy hardware management. Adding to this focus, Compaq offers programs to manage total cost of ownership (TCO), including prepaid service plans and standardized peripherals, which are shareable among a host of Armada E-series and M-series models.

Switching modules (drives, an extra battery, and so on) in and out of the single hot-swap bay worked smoothly for us, and the MultiBay accepts a range of devices (our test unit came with a CD-RW drive). Compaq did not, however, build in a wireless network adapter. The company says that doing so might saddle buyers with an obsolete standard should 802.11b be superseded during the life cycle of the laptop. That's a valid concern, but we feel the simplicity of having an embedded adapter and not having to keep tabs on a PC Card outweighs the drawbacks of 802.11b.

Unlike the other notebooks in this roundup, the M700 does not include separate volume control buttons (you have to use a function-key combination). Audio CDs and DVD movies launched automatically, but the speakers had a tinny sound with a buzzy bass. (The sound quality was improved with headphones.) The display quality was fine but not exceptional.

Compaq has added four one-touch Easy Access buttons above the keyboard (set to Internet, Home, Search, and E-mail), which can be easily reset to launch favorite applications or Web sites. The key pitch, at 17.8 mm, is a bit less than standard. We didn't have a reach problem when typing with the M700, although the key travel seemed a bit shallow.

The M700 performed well on our tests: It turned in the best Content Creation Winstone 2001 score of the bunch, and the battery life of the 5.2-pound unit (3:18) was excellent. This conventional but unexceptional $3,499 laptop becomes worth considering only if you'll take advantage of the fringe benefits aimed at corporate buyers.

: What warranty terms will I receive with a Refurbished PC?
All our Refurbished Laptops are supplied with a 3rd Party 30-day RTB warranty, covering all parts and labour. Our warranty is one of the best available with a guaranteed first time repair.

Specifications may be subject to change without notice. All Trademarks acknowledged. E & OE. Photographs are for illustration purposes only. Intel, Intel Inside and the Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor - M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Intel Corporation or it’s subsiduaries in the United States and other countries. All models shown are subject to stock availability. Iridium will replace/repair any one of its notebooks/LCD Monitor if it has more than 5 bad pixels during the first 12 months from its date of purchase.