Controversial point: Ernie Wise was better than Eric Morecambe. A point of some contention perhaps, but who could fail to fall for Mr Wise’s snippity dippity dance routines and unflagging boyish enthusiasm for the performance of one of his “great” plays.
So small can indeed be beautiful (or in the case of little Ern - talented) and Centerprise’s latest all-in-one LCD PC, the LP200C, is no exception. Designed to free up vital desk space without any loss of power, this little beauty is aiming to fill a particular gap in the market, being a similar size to a laptop (17mm deep x 266mm high, with a 15in liquid crystal display), yet it is as powerful as a normal PC - it comes with a, now rather outdated, Pentium III 866MHz processor, 60Gb hard drive with 128Mb of memory.
The screen is clear and when running a DVD the picture is smooth with no fuzziness or jerkiness. Colours were vivid for DVD video play and the screen did not, like others, suffer from annoying glare. In fact the screen and its base (with a panel tilt of 0o to 15o, and swivel of 270o, it moves as well as little Ern did with then world-famous actress Glenda Jackson) is pretty snippity dippity itself as it houses the DVD drive, floppy disk drive, 56.6K modem, four USBports, microphone socket and stereo speakers.A lot is packed into this unit.
Unfortunately, with my review model, the infrared keyboard and mouse were not included, but these would make it easy to move around any working environment. The speed of operation was more than sufficient for this reviewer, who is perhaps too used to the slow rumblings of a towering PC which is now a positively prehistoric five years old. If you need more memory (and who doesn’t) the LP200C can accommodate up to 256Mb of memory in each of its two DIMM slots (making a total of 512Mb of potential expansion) and the manual explains how to do this in an easily understandable way - a change for the better in these jargon laden times.
Also included is a built-in microphone and stereo speakers - the sound is pretty good but, like so many other models of this type, it would be wise to invest in a good pair of speakers if you would like better sound quality.
The ultimate recommendation for the Centerprise LP200C must be that St Thomas More City Learning Centre in Gateshead has just purchased 62 of the 15in LP200Cs, as well as 31 of Centerprise’s other new LCD PCs which will be delivered as you read this (these have 17in screens and more powerful Pentium IV processors). Therefore it is not only powerful, space saving and versatile, but it can also stand up to the rigours of everyday school life and home use. Some other machines would be too flimsy to survive such a physical examination of their strength and durability.
It’s no Sid Little then; this is the true Ernie Wise of the PC world ready to run through its full repertoire of routines with a boyish glint in its eye and no short, fat hairy legs.
Centerprise LP200C all-in-one LCDPrice: pound;899 (special price for the education sector) for standard package (Pentium III 866MHz, 60Gb hard drive, DVDdrive, 3.5in floppy drive, 56.6K modem, stereo speakers and four USBports) Tel: 01256 378044www.centerprise.co.ukeducation
Suitability of purpose: *****
Design ****
Ease of use *****
Value for money ****
