Ultraportable notebooks are the choice for serious travelers. They may not be as powerful or have as many features as some of the bigger notebooks, and are mostly likely available at a premium price. But they're easy to tote, handle the basics, and look great on your airplane tray table. Moreover, with increasing component miniaturization, some ultraportables nowadays even sport an internal optical drive. If you are looking for notebooks which put the P in portability, here are the top picks for real mobile computers.
The following notebooks are not ranked in any particular order.
Click here for a feature comparison table.
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ThinkPad X60 (Core Duo Processor T2300 1.66GHz, 512MB RAM)
CNET Asia rating: 8.4 out of 10
The good: Extremely portable design; excellent keyboard; fingerprint reader; great performance; incredibly long battery life when configured with high-capacity battery.
The bad: More expensive than comparable models; lacks built-in optical drive; lacks built-in support for ExpressCards.
The bottom line: One of the first ultraportables to accommodate Intel's Core Duo platform, the ThinkPad X60s combines blazing performance and incredible battery life with a full feature set and a compact case. We like it.
Dimensions: 268 x 211 x 35mm
Weight: 1.43kg
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ASUS U1f (Core Duo U2400 Processor 1.06GHz, 1.5GB RAM)
CNET Asia rating: 8.3 out of 10
The good: Piano-black lid and leather palm rest; extremely lightweight and very thin.
The bad: Smallish keyboard; picks up fingerprints easily; no 3D gaming ability.
The bottom line: The ASUS U1 is one of the best ultraportable laptops available today and more than powerful enough for Web browsing and office tasks--just don't expect it to run 3D games.
Dimensions: 276 x 192 x 28mm
Weight: 1.1kg
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Sony VAIO VGN-TX37GP (Core Solo U1400 Processor 1.2GHz, 1GB RAM)
CNET Asia rating: 8.8 out of 10
The good: Portability; integrated DVD drive; fingerprint reader; battery life.
The bad: Position of mouse buttons; limited memory card compatibility; few USB ports.
The bottom line: A terrific petite laptop, the TX37GP is light, stylish and has a prodigious battery life--it's perfect for using on-the-go. Clearly, it's not meant for playing modern games, but for day-to-day mobile computing you'll have to go a long way to beat this.
Dimensions: 272.4 x 195.1 x 28.5mm
Weight: 1.25kg
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Fujitsu LifeBook P7230 (Core Solo U1400 Processor ULV 1.2GHz, 1GB RAM)
CNET Asia rating: 7.1 out of 10
The good: The Fujitsu LifeBook P7230 has an attractive design; it's lightweight; an Eco button lets you easily drop into low-power mode to extend battery life; includes optical drive.
The bad: Single-core processor means performance is limited; very small mouse buttons are annoying; 10.6-inch screen is smaller than that of most other ultraportables.
The bottom line: A sleek-looking ultraportable, the Fujitsu LifeBook P7230 will turn heads with its polished design, but its middling performance make it suited best for basic office tasks.
Dimensions: 272.9 x 200.9 x 29.9mm
Weight: 1.33kg
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Dell Latitude D420 (Core Duo U2500 Processor 1.2GHz, 1GB RAM)
CNET Asia rating: 7.2 out of 10
The good: Slim, lightweight design; full-size keyboard; Wi-Fi Catcher works even when system is powered off.
The bad: High native resolution means tiny type; only one CPU choice.
The bottom line: Dell's smallest business laptop, the Latitude D420 manages to combine decent specs with a convenient form factor, even if it's not all that configurable.
Dimensions: 295 x 209.8 x 25.4mm
Weight: 1.36kg
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