The 15.4-inch, 1,280 by 800-pixel display proved sharp and bright, with no bad pixels in our test unit, although the viewing angle wasn't the widest we've seen -- presentations turned into photo negatives when we stepped toward the side. Widescreen DVD movies looked great; their soundtracks, however, were predictably tinny once we turned up the volume to overcome the occasionally noticeable but not obnoxious cooling fan.

If you'd like better sound, there's an S/PDIF audio jack along with line-in and microphone jacks on the front edge. Along the left are a PC Card slot; a MultiMedia Card/Secure Digital/Memory Stick flash-card slot; and modem, Ethernet, IEEE 1394 FireWire, and two USB 2.0 ports; a third USB port joins TV-out, VGA, and parallel ports at the rear.

The LiteOn DVD±RW (4/2/8X DVD+RW, 2/2/8X DVD-RW, and 24/10/24X CD-RW) drive is at the right. Like the 60GB, 4,200-rpm Hitachi hard disk, it's a capable if not flashily fast performer; Averatec accompanies Windows XP Home Edition with CyberLink's PowerDVD playing, PowerStarter burning, Power2Go presentation, and PowerProducer video-editing software, as well as Microsoft Works 7.0 and the starter version of Symantec's Norton AntiVirus 2004.

There's no floppy drive, helping to keep the Averatec's weight below that of many low-priced but luggable laptops. The system measures 14 by 10.6 by 1.5 inches overall, making it obviously bulkier than the 12.1-inch-screened slimlines the company's been best known for so far, but it didn't feel ponderous in our lap or tote bag -- physically, it's a fair compromise between more slender Centrino models and all-but-immobile, 16- or 17-inch-screened desktop replacements.

Something else that's capable if not flashy is the 6130HS' keyboard, which combines a straightforward layout -- including properly dedicated and arranged Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn keys, though you'll need a minute to get used to the Delete key near the bottom right instead of top right -- with a comfortably soft typing feel.

Three buttons above the main keys, next to the power button, launch your Web browser and e-mail client and toggle the 802.11g WiFi radio on and off. The Synaptics touchpad works smoothly, though we found ourselves ignoring the tiny page-up and page-down buttons placed in lieu of a scroll wheel between the two primary buttons.

Everything But Battery Life

In addition to a forthcoming Tablet PC convertible, Averatec's Web site promises a more multimedia-oriented, play-DVDs-and-CDs-without-booting-Windows model as a coming attraction. If you don't mind waiting for the operating system to load, we think the widescreen 6130HS already competes nicely in the multimedia sweepstakes; it's not a Media Center PC with TV tuner, but it's noticeably lighter as well as less expensive than most laptops in that category.

There are lots of tempting, low-priced laptops on the market nowadays, but if you long for a wide-aspect-ratio screen and DVD burner, prices can climb quickly. Except for its short-lived battery, the 6130HS is a handsome way to get more notebook than you thought you could afford.

Pros:

• A bargain-priced desktop replacement complete with DVD burner and 802.11g wireless
• Eye-catching wide screen; eye-opening CPU and graphics performance

Cons:

• Too-brief battery life
• Lighter than some competitors, but no one'll mistake it for a slimline

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