NEC Hong Kong has built on the success of its UltraLite Versa Series by introducing the UltraLite Versa 33C. The latest in the product line has a colour display, 33-mega-Hertz (MHz) processors and a 180 megabytes (MB) hard-disk drive. NEC said the modular UltraLite Versa was the first notebook computer that allowed each user to choose and change specific configurations. The Japanese giant has added to the model a 250 MB hard disk drive that can be upgraded, and a high-capacity memory. These, together with active matrix TFT colour, or STN monochrome display, made the UltraLite Versa one of the most powerful notebooks available, NEC said. The UltraLite Versa Series can be upgraded in many ways: monochrome screens can be changed to colour; the hard disk drive can be expanded up to 250 MB; the system memory can be extended to 20 MB; and the processor can be speeded up to 33 MHz. The UltraLite Versa 33C weighs 3.1 kilograms and measures 297 millimetres by 237 mm by 53 mm. The notebook combines the Intel 486SL microprocessor with an eight KB cache memory and a built-in maths co-processor, which is suited to mobile computing. It operates at 3.3 volts and has four power levels to maximise its battery's life. A ''double time'' feature allows users to remove the floppy drive and insert another battery to double the operating time of the active-matrix colour systems to eight hours. NEC said ''double time'' allowed users to operate their notebooks for long periods without interruption. Charging the battery took less than 90 minutes.
