I just oozed over the Gateway M255-E as our Favorite Value Notebook of 2006. But Gateway didn't stop with the M255-E. The company also sent us the M685-E very late in 2006 and we've been banging on it ever since. At first glance, this looks like one of those jumbo media notebooks meant more as a portable TiVo than a work machine; but the M685-E is aimed square at the business set. Though it could have used just THE SPEC SHEET The spec sheet is big, which is fitting because the notebook is, too. A 17-inch display dictates the machine’s size; and this can be had in either 1680×1050 or 1440×900-capable modes or an upgraded 17.1-inch 1920×1200 version. CPU is Intel Core 2 Duo running between 1.66GHz-2.16GHz with a RAM complement between 512MB and 4GB depending on your inclination. Hard disks start at 80GB and skim up to 120GB, though if you’re a 7200rpm fanatic, you’ll be limited to 100GB. External hooks include 802.11a/b/g, a wired 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, 4 USB ports, a FireWire port, VGA & S-Video out ports, full audio input/output, a 6-in-1 mem card reader and a Type II PC Card slot. Oh, and the usual options of CD or CD-R/DVD or CD-R/DVD-R optical drives.Overall, this makes for a highly capable platform that Gateway still manages to sell for a nice price (starting under $2K). However, the company bills the M685-E as its ‘Ultimate’ laptop workstation. Hmmm. I can see why they’d say that, but if that’s the case, I might have expected a few other things:Digital video port. This is a business-oriented machine, so I’m not expecting Windows Media Center extensions; but I would have liked to see a digital display port instead of or in addition to the VGA port for a higher-end display. The M685-E’s video card could certainly handle it. An ExpressCard slot. Hey, PC Card Type II is okay for now, but a box this muscled is going to be around tomorrow and that’s going to be ExpressCard’s domain. A webcam. Yeah, it’s a biz machine, but there’s so much happening with video chat and soft phones, more and more people are using these things for even in-house communications. Not critical, however, but a nice-to-have. Integrated WWAN. If it’s one thing I liked about Dell’s giant workstation notebook (the Precision M90), it was the integrated support for a wireless broadband data network, like EVDO or EDGE. I certainly would have liked to see it in the M255-E, since that’s far more mobile than the M685, but as long as they’re bantering the ‘Ultimate’ tag… Still no Vista on this machine, which is actually fine, tho I would like to at least see it offered as an option. We installed an RTM copy of Vista as part of our test and the M685 handled it with no problems. Drivers weren’t an issue and the video system was more than strong enough to deliver the whole Vista graphics experience. However, Gateway still isn’t offering the OS as an option on its site, which means they’re waiting until the list of Vista-compatible business applications reaches an acceptable level–like most PC makers. THE DAY-TO-DAY I used the Gateway M685-E as a day-to-day machine for a couple of months. The biggest problem I had was the…bigness. This is really a honker. So much so, I had to temporarily move to a different notebook knapsack as my regular one was just too small. Ironically, the size was even more of a problem than the weight. Gateway has done a decent job keeping this machine’s weight around 7 and a half pounds as long as you stick with the standard battery. Jump to a long-life power cell and you’re well over 8 pounds. And while we’re on it, basic battery life was nothing to brag about or sneeze at. With a standard battery doing standard work in battery saver mode, you’re looking at about 2-2.5 hours. Jump that to watching full-screen movies and you’re going to get significantly less. We didn’t get a chance to test the long-life battery, but all reports indicate this should almost double the standard battery’s capacity. Aside from its size, however, the M685-E was a stellar performer. It should have been since we got the Core 2 Duo 2.16GHz CPU with 2GB of RAM. That let me run XP and a variety of virtual machines, a full install of Vista and it probably would have run Fedora 6 with all the eye candy extensions if Gateway hadn’t wanted it back.Gateway’s case construction looks great, but your first few contacts with the machine may make you think it’s weak. But that isn’t the case. It’s not a Toughbook–meaning I wouldn’t drop the M685-E, but for day-to-day wear and tear, the construction was a good balance between solidity and weight management.Hey, if you need a work-oriented desktop replacement at a great price then the M685-E is a good choice. Rabid travelers and those who want home media capabilities, however, probably need to look at another machine. M685-E Gateway Computers Price: $1985 (base) Pros: Very strong PC performer, loads of connectivity options and full Vista compatibility Cons: No ExpressCard support, no WWAN support. Technology Industry