IBM ThinkPad A22P

WHAT'S HOT: The best-equipped laptop IBM sells, the ThinkPad A22P is a Lexus among portables. It teams great design with top-shelf components, as well as a screen resolution of 1600 by 1200, the highest available for notebooks. Like most ThinkPads, the A22P includes two unique features built in along the top edge of the screen. The ThinkLight, an LED controlled by a small switch, illuminates the keyboard so that you can type in the dark. The Ultraport, a proprietary USB connection hidden beneath a small rubber plug, accommodates a small digital camera, a CompactFlash card reader, an infrared port, or a digital microphone. (IBM offers the microphone for $199; the other items are priced at under $100 each.)

The A22P also offers both a video-out port for hooking up big screens and a less common video-in port, useful for capturing images from a camcorder (you must supply the video-editing software). We were very impressed with the A22P's long battery life, which we clocked at 4 hours, 22 minutes.