What do you want in a laptop?

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Here are some of my current favorite choices:

I think ThinkPad laptops and notebooks are terrific -- I always have. For my way of typing the ThinkPads have the best keyboards around. I seem to type better when I use one -– and I love using one.

The G series is the affordable in the ThinkPad line. Prices start at $899. Next up is the R series, with a Pentium M processor, 256 MB of memory, a 30 GB hard drive, a CD burner and 15-inch screen. The R series prices start at $999.

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I also must mention the X series of laptops. Their X41 is small, thin and lightweight. Think in terms of a great, full-sized keyboard on a 3 pound machine. You can add extra batteries -– one in the back and one that attaches underneath -– which provides you with an astonishing 8-9 hours of battery life. Perfect for cross-country flights or a full day’s worth of note-taking, IMing and Web browsing. X series prices start at $1,499.

HP
HP's Compaq Presario m2000 series can be configured with a Celeron, Pentium, Sempron or Turion 64 processor.
HP also has a number of lines of laptops – including the very affordable Compaq Presario m2000 series -– which, at the time of this writing –- starts at $529 (after a rebate) with Intel Celeron M and Pentium processors and the m2000z series with AMD Sempron and Turion 64 processors. HP also offers the somewhat similar ZE2000z (with AMD chips) starting at $579 and the ZE2000 (with Intel chips) starting at $599.

Toshiba has a number of affordable laptop lines -– like the M30X -– with computers from $699. But there are two Toshibas which deserve special mention.

The first is the oddly named Qosmio Media Center laptop. Toshiba says it’s perfect for dorm rooms. That’s because it’s a laptop that doubles as a TiVo-like audio/video recording device and triples as a flat-screen TV. It’s also a pretty good gaming computer too. Prices start at just under $1,800 and run up to around $3,000.

Toshiba
Toshiba's latest Libretto, the U100, sports a 60 GB hard drive in a tiny enclosure.
At the other end of the scale is the Toshiba Libretto U100. Think of it as a laptop that someone shrunk or a PDA on steroids. It has a full (small) keyboard, a Pentium M processor, 512 MB of memory, a 60 GB hard drive, Windows XP Professional operating system and 802.11b/g wireless networking. And it's all in a package that weights around 2 pounds and can fit in the palm of (a large) hand. Prices hover in the $2,000 range.

The new Libretto has serious competition in the tiny portable category. There’s my wonderful OQO mini (with me nearly always) and the often threatened release of the similar Flip Start device from Paul Allen’s Vulcan Inc.

Apple Computer
Pretty little PowerBooks all in a row.
Finally, there are the terrific devices from Apple. The iBook G4 line comes in two sizes: The 12-inch screen ($999) and the 14-inch model ($1,299 - $1,499). PowerBooks comes in three sizes: 12-inch ($1,499 - $1,699), the very popular (there’s one in my house) 15-inch ($1,999 - $2,299) and the 17-inch ($2,699).

Once again, prices differ because of different and improved features. It’s now easy to make sure that your next laptop is exactly what you want, need and can afford.

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