From the CNet site:
"PowerBook's new PC rival--designed by Porsche
By Tom Dunlap
Senior editor
(10/23/02)
Retailer Best Buy is aiming to take a bite out of Apple Computer with the release of a new, wide-screen notebook designed by Porsche.
The VPR Matrix 200A5 is the third notebook Best Buy has created, and it's the best. It's also the first Windows notebook with a wide-aspect, 15.2-inch LCD with a 1,280x854 native resolution and a remarkable, high-fidelity digital audio system. The $2,399 system also includes a 2GHz Pentium 4-M, 512MB of DDR SDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, a combo CD-RW/DVD drive, and integrated 802.11b wireless networking. It all comes in an eye-catching, silver-magnesium case that weighs 6.4 pounds and measures 13.9 inches wide, 10 inches deep, and 1.2 inches thick.
I'm not an audiophile, but I know high-quality sound when I hear it. That's definitely the case with the VPR Matrix 200A5, thanks to the Sonopür Digital Audio system, with its patent-pending 24/192 upsampling technology. This system dramatically enhances digital music and offers very rich sound.
The VPR Matrix 200A5 has many other nice touches, as well. You can load discs directly into the DVD/CD-RW drive slot--no tray slides out to grab your CD. You can also play CDs with the lid closed, using controls on the front edge. You'll also find two USB 2.0 and two FireWire ports.
What's the Porsche connection, you're wondering? The notebook was designed by Porsche Design GmbH, the Austrian firm founded by F.A. Porsche, grandson of the famous engineer. Chances are you missed the big coming-out shindig this week at the Porsche Design Boutique in Beverly Hills, attended by F.A. Porsche himself (along with Anthony Edwards, Herbie Hancock, and other "luminaries").
You can snap up the VPR Matrix 200A5 at Best Buy stores, online at BestBuy.com, and at Porsche Design Boutiques in the United States. Check back later for the full review, including performance test and battery scores, at CNET's revamped notebook section."
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Okay, first of all, why the hell is Porsche making a laptop? Who do you call when you need tech support for your Porsche laptop in 3 years? Are those amazing geniuses at Best Buy gonna help you? Also, being an audio engineer and whatnot, I can tell you this "amazing audio" is nothing short of total BS. The only possible reason that you'd need to upsample before output is because you have really ****ty A/D converters. Either way, it certainly doesn't have native 1ms latency like OS X and Coremidi! Finally.. it's a total Ti ripoff! Okay, I know this isn't exactly new news (2 days old) but... dah. That audio system is total BS and it bugs me, haha. OBVIOUSLY this guy isn't an audiophile, or he'd realize ALL sound cards that are in laptops are much, much noiser than the ones in desktops which are much noisier than external units due to all the interferance caused by the tightly packed components. Anyone who buys that thing is a -total- idiot. No exceptions.
"PowerBook's new PC rival--designed by Porsche
By Tom Dunlap
Senior editor
(10/23/02)
Retailer Best Buy is aiming to take a bite out of Apple Computer with the release of a new, wide-screen notebook designed by Porsche.
The VPR Matrix 200A5 is the third notebook Best Buy has created, and it's the best. It's also the first Windows notebook with a wide-aspect, 15.2-inch LCD with a 1,280x854 native resolution and a remarkable, high-fidelity digital audio system. The $2,399 system also includes a 2GHz Pentium 4-M, 512MB of DDR SDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, a combo CD-RW/DVD drive, and integrated 802.11b wireless networking. It all comes in an eye-catching, silver-magnesium case that weighs 6.4 pounds and measures 13.9 inches wide, 10 inches deep, and 1.2 inches thick.
I'm not an audiophile, but I know high-quality sound when I hear it. That's definitely the case with the VPR Matrix 200A5, thanks to the Sonopür Digital Audio system, with its patent-pending 24/192 upsampling technology. This system dramatically enhances digital music and offers very rich sound.
The VPR Matrix 200A5 has many other nice touches, as well. You can load discs directly into the DVD/CD-RW drive slot--no tray slides out to grab your CD. You can also play CDs with the lid closed, using controls on the front edge. You'll also find two USB 2.0 and two FireWire ports.
What's the Porsche connection, you're wondering? The notebook was designed by Porsche Design GmbH, the Austrian firm founded by F.A. Porsche, grandson of the famous engineer. Chances are you missed the big coming-out shindig this week at the Porsche Design Boutique in Beverly Hills, attended by F.A. Porsche himself (along with Anthony Edwards, Herbie Hancock, and other "luminaries").
You can snap up the VPR Matrix 200A5 at Best Buy stores, online at BestBuy.com, and at Porsche Design Boutiques in the United States. Check back later for the full review, including performance test and battery scores, at CNET's revamped notebook section."
---
Okay, first of all, why the hell is Porsche making a laptop? Who do you call when you need tech support for your Porsche laptop in 3 years? Are those amazing geniuses at Best Buy gonna help you? Also, being an audio engineer and whatnot, I can tell you this "amazing audio" is nothing short of total BS. The only possible reason that you'd need to upsample before output is because you have really ****ty A/D converters. Either way, it certainly doesn't have native 1ms latency like OS X and Coremidi! Finally.. it's a total Ti ripoff! Okay, I know this isn't exactly new news (2 days old) but... dah. That audio system is total BS and it bugs me, haha. OBVIOUSLY this guy isn't an audiophile, or he'd realize ALL sound cards that are in laptops are much, much noiser than the ones in desktops which are much noisier than external units due to all the interferance caused by the tightly packed components. Anyone who buys that thing is a -total- idiot. No exceptions.
