The Portege R500 is Toshiba's newest premium notebook for the business crowd. Just how premium is it? Well, with a list price of S$3,999, this puts the R500 out of reach for all but the highest-level executive. However, for a dual-core 12.1-inch ultraportable complete with integrated optical drive, there are few which can compete in its class. The Sony Vaio G series may be slightly more affordable at S$3,799, but it has only a Core Solo processor. The HP Compaq 2510p comes closer with a Core 2 Duo chipset, but isn't as slim or light. Protected with Toshiba's EasyGuard features and possessing long battery life, the Portege R500 is great for students.

A higher-end edition of the Acer 6291, this TravelMate bumps up the processing power and adds a biometric fingerprint sensor for added security. Possibly the first business-oriented notebook from the Taiwanese manufacturer, the Acer 6292 uses magnesium alloy for its top cover for added protection. However, for a 12.1-inch portable it's a little thick and heavy compared to other models in this category.

Updated with a faster processor and larger memory from the previous incarnation, The Apple MacBook received high scores for its simple design and multimedia capabilities. However, some may find its glossy exterior a little high maintenance especially when moving around on campus.

The LifeBook S6410U version offers a strong security suite with Core 2 Duo performance in a slim profile. Its battery life is not too spectacular, clocking in at 3 hours using the standard cell. However, its optical drive can be swapped with a second battery to ramp the runtime up to 4.2 hours. Based on the Centrino Pro platform, it has 1GB of Intel Turbo Memory to boost application speeds, though some reports have noted that the actual performance increase is minimal.

Updated from the previous MacBook Pro configuration, this version hops on the Santa Rosa platform with a DirectX 10-compatible graphics card. It remains one of the more portable 15.4-inch notebooks around, and the fact that it can dual-boot with Windows is a major plus. However, it is a little costly considering it lacks common features such as a memory card reader and full-sized ExpressCard/54 slot (it uses the smaller ExpressCard/34 format).

The LifeBook E8410U descends from the E8210 and takes over the role as Fujitsu's flagship business model with a 15.4-inch display and Nvidia GeForce 8400M G discrete graphics card. This Centrino Pro system has a bright 300nits widescreen display and strong security features, with 1GB of Intel Turbo Memory installed.

An update for Apple's 17-inch portable, the latest 17-inch MacBook Pro uses the more environmentally friendly (and less power-hungry) LED display which can be bumped up to an optional 1,920 x 1,200-pixel resolution for HD videos. Its Santa Rosa platform and DirectX 10-compatible graphics card make quick work of most common applications and even permit some heavy gaming.

Updated from the LifeBook T4215 Tablet PC, the LifeBook T4220 is a 12.1-inch convertible tablet PC with a bi-directional digitizer screen that can rotate 180 degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise. It uses the Core 2 Duo platform with integrated Intel X3100 graphics solution and allows for a second bay battery to replace the integrated optical drive for longer uptime. It has a spill-resistant keyboard and a fingerprint sensor/TPM security chip combination for data protection.

At first glance, the HP Pavilion tx1000 introduced at the company's launch in Korea looks like a smaller 12.1-inch version of the popular Pavilion dv2000-series notebooks. However, upon closer inspection, the screen swivels to disclose its true identity as a convertible tablet. As the first tablet PC in the Pavilion series, the tx1000 retains the fun aspects of its lineage while combining the serious work ethics of a portable.