Weighing less than 4 pounds and sporting 1-inch profiles, ultralight (aka ultraportable) laptops deliver take-anywhere productivity. What separates the toys from the tools: a keyboard that isn�t too cramped, built-in Wi-Fi for accessing wireless networks, and three or more hours of battery life.
SPLURGE
Toshiba Port�g� 2000
Though you�re probably paying for Toshiba�s smart, stylish design, the Port�g� 2000 is more than mere eye candy. The 2.6-pounder packs a full-size, 19-mm keyboard into 0.6-inch-thick frame. A well-thought-out switch turns the electronics — and power drain — on and off. At 750 MHz, the Port�g��s Pentium III isn�t the fastest, but with up to 6.5 hours of juice and a snap-on battery pack, you�re set for the day.
$2,199, www.csd.toshiba.com.
BEST BUY
Fujitsu LifeBook P-2000
No notebook crams more features into so compact a package as the 3.4-pound P series. It�s the smallest ultraportable to feature a built-in DVD/ CD-RW combo drive, and its wide-format 10.6-inch display makes for great in-flight viewing. Granted, the 867-MHz Transmeta processor could be more responsive. But its 3.5 hours of battery life, built-in Wi-Fi, 384 Mbytes of RAM, and ports (FireWire, S-video, and two USB) make up for it.
$1,699, www.fujitsupc.com.
OVERRATED
Sharp Actius UM30W
The follow-up to the groundbreaking PC-UM20 features the same retractable keyboard — watch it collapse as the lid does. It also adds Wi-Fi, a CompactFlash card slot, and FireWire. But this 866-MHz PIII Actius is just as ergonomically challenged as its predecessor; the keyboard�s layout makes no-look typing a pain. Worse, the external USB CD-ROM drive is noisy, and the included battery lasts little more than two hours.
$1,999, www.sharpsystems.com.
PLAY
Boys Will Be Girls
Gettin� Jiggly Wit It
Arcade Aerobics
Schooled in Design
Machinimania!
Drilling Into The Core
Built for Sound
Hit Machine
As Heard on TV
DAVID "BROON" BROWN Swayzak
Earth Angels
A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry
reviews
Fetish
Rough Riders
Light and Loaded
Sharper Imagery
Easy on the Eyes
