mySimon Laptops Shopping Picks

The new HP Mini 1000, like the Dell Inspiron Mini 9, isn't just a tiny laptop. It's a "netbook," which is loosely defined as a small, lightweight, affordable, energy-efficient laptop that's geared for Web surfing and emailing. The Mini 1000 is less than an inch thick but its keyboard, according to HP, is 92% as big as that of a full-size laptop. The netbook starts at $400; the base price includes Windows XP Home, an 8.9" screen, 512MB DDR2 system memory, mini webcam, 8GB hard drive, and Wireless-G card. But you can upgrade components if you're willing to pay a bit more.

CNET says the Gateway T-6330U "combines an attractive case design and movie-friendly display with lengthy battery life for a thoroughly decent entry-level laptop." Specs include a 14.1" screen, 2.0GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core processor, Windows Vista Home Premium, 250GB hard drive, HDMI output, 5-in-1 media card reader, and webcam. The laptop weighs 5.7 pounds and costs just $650. More budget laptops.

Dell calls its new Inspiron Mini 9 laptop "your new best friend." The petite laptop is an ideal travel companion if you want to blog, keep a journal, surf the Web, send email, and listen to music while on vacation. The Mini 9 has a 9" display and 4 hours of battery life, and weighs all of 2.3 pounds. Under the hood, the $349 base configuration will get you an Ubuntu Linux OS, 512MB of RAM, and a 4GB hard drive, but of course you can spend a little more if you want additional upgrades (Bluetooth, Windows XP, more memory, webcam, larger hard drive). It's not something we'd want to spend 8 hours a day with, but for vacations it sounds like it has everything we need.

With an Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a big 320GB hard drive, the Dell Studio S1535-125B laptop, at $980, offers students and mainstream home users some serious bang for the buck. The laptop has a 15.4" screen, a 2-megapixel webcam for Internet chatting, Bluetooth, 4 USB ports, and Vista Home Premium. And it's Dell, so you get toll-free phone support. The downside: It weighs 6.1 pounds and has just average battery life. See all Dell laptops.

Calling all students and laptop users on a budget: Sony has released an entry-level Vaio laptop that offers both strong performance and long battery life. The Sony Vaio NR430 has a 1.86GHz Intel Pentium dual-core processor, 15.4" screen, 160GB hard drive, built-in CD/DVD burner, and 802.11a/b/g/n wireless LAN. It ships with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium. And right now Best Buy has it for $600. More budget laptops.

Just in time for the recession, HP has released a compact, affordable laptop. The HP 2133 Mini-Note PC is a petite 9" laptop that weighs 2.6 pounds and costs as little as $499 (with Linux). The top-of-the-line $750 model comes with Vista, Bluetooth, a webcam, ExpressCard slot, and 2GB of RAM, and its keyboard is almost as big as a regular laptop's. It might not turn heads at the coffee shop, but it'll get the job done - with plenty of cash left over for a nice fixed-gear bicycle.

How James Bond are the new Lenovo IdeaPad laptops? They have integrated 1.3-megapixel cameras and facial recognition security where you use your face as your password. Designed for general users, the IdeaPad Y510 has a 15.4" display, 1.60GHz Dual Core processor, 160GB hard drive, and 2GB of RAM. The larger 17" IdeaPad Y710 (1.66 GHz Core 2 Duo, 250GB hard drive), which can be outfitted with a Blu-ray drive, is aimed at "entertainment-focused users."

Best Buy is taking preorders for the Apple MacBook Air, the world's thinnest notebook. The 3-pound laptop is only .76" at its thickest point (and .16" at its thinnest), but it's still rather sturdy, thanks to its aluminum chassis. Features include a 13.3" widescreen LED display, full-size keyboard with backlit keys, and large multi-touch trackpad, and a port hatch that flips down to reveal a USB 2.0 port, headphone jack, and micro-DVI port. The laptop is a joy to behold and use, but be warned: There's no media card reader or expansion slot, nor is there an optical drive, FireWire, or Ethernet. And there's only 1 USB port. If you need more connectivity options, check out the regular MacBooks.

Asus just redefined the phrase "ultraportable laptop" with the $400 EEE PC. This 2-pound laptop is tiny (just 8.8" across and an inch thick, with a 7" screen) but perfect for travelers, kids, and anyone else who could use a dirt-cheap laptop the size of a paperback book. Granted, it's only got a 900MHz Intel Mobile processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 4GB hard drive, but it's hard to put much more into a machine this small. The EEE PC does have Wi-Fi plus a Firefox browser, media player, IM client, SD card slot, and 3 USB ports.

Have you heard about Dell's new line of Vostro laptops? Designed for small businesses with fewer than 25 employees and no dedicated IT staff, the simple laptops have dual core processors and automated, easy-to-use tools that help with data back-up, PC performance and health, and networking. And they don't come with any trialware. Prices start at $449 for a laptop with a 15.4" display, Vista Home Basic, Wi-Fi mini card, 24X CD burner/DVD combo drive, and 60GB hard drive. See also: Dell Vostro desktops.

PC magazine recently did a roundup of "Luscious Laptops for Less," which included the 14.1" Dell Inspiron 1420, a winner of their Editors' Choice award. The bare-bones $829 model comes with a 1.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Vista Home Premium, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, CD/DVD combo drive, and a 802.11g WiFi card, but you can pay more for extras like a webcam, discrete graphics (a good idea to have with Vista), 1,440 x 900 resolution, or a Crayola-colored colored chassis. CNET says "The wide-ranging configuration options mean that virtually any mainstream user can find a system to fit their budget." More Dell Inspiron laptops.

Thin and light latops are for the weak. Check out the HP Pavilion HDX laptop. It weighs a whopping 15.5 pounds and has a huge 20" widescreen display. Under the hood, the minimum configuration includes a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Windows Vista Home Premium, 2GB of RAM, a 240GB hard drive, and a TV tuner. But this fancy multimedia laptop requires a strong lap - and an even stronger wallet.

Sony is taking preorders for its new series of VAIO CR laptops, which ship next month. The 5.5-pound laptops have 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo processors, 14.1-inch displays, and run Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium. Extras include Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro, SD card, and ExpressCard media slots, a built-in web cam and microphone, and an S-video port in case you want to connect it to a TV to watch movies or play games. Choose sangria (shown here), cosmopolitan, dove, or indigo. More Sony laptops.

Get down to business with the Dell Latitude D630, an award-winning laptop with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors (up to 2.40GHz), Windows Vista or XP, your choice of Intel integrated or NVidia graphics, and a bright 14.1" widescreen display. Dell has made the laptop "road ready," thanks to the magnesium-alloy construction and reinforced hinges. The built-in WiFi Catcher helps you find a network (even when the laptop is closed). Additional bonuses: Corporate-level security, a 3-year warranty, and a long-lasting battery. Prices start at $849. More Dell laptops.

What do you do when your PDA is too small for computing on the run, and you don't want to haul around your laptop? Use the brand-new Samsung Q1, a joint effort from Samsung, Microsoft, and Intel. This "UltraMobilePC" weighs just 1.7 pounds and has a 7" widescreen touch-screen display. It runs a modified version of Windows XP Tablet and lets you access the Internet, listen to MP3s, play games, watch TV, view photos, and even get some work done.

Can you believe it? No new iPods were announced at Macworld this week. The big news is the MacBook Pro, the first Mac laptop built upon the new Intel Core Duo chip, which is actually 2 processors built into a single chip. The MacBook runs up to 4 times faster than the PowerBook G4 and is packed with features, including built-in iSight, AirPort Extreme, ExpressCard slot, SuperDrive, Front Row, and more.

This new Toshiba laptop made CNET's list of Must-Have Gadgets because it's such a powerful multimedia machine. It's got a TV tuner, high-end speakers, a DVD burner, and a bright 17-inch display. And its Nvidia GeForce Go 6600 GPU, 128MB of dedicated memory, and a 2GHz Pentium M processor will certainly appeal to gamers.