Sony VAIO VGN-SZ170P Ultraportable Laptop Preview

Measuring in at 12.2" x 9.3" x 1.5" and with a weight starting at 3.8 pounds (actual measured weighted), Sony's VAIO VGN-SZ170P is a retail iteration of the SZ170 line. This model is from Sony's midline SZ notebook series. Considering Sony has a larger and smaller notebook series, this is best described as something in between a full-size and an ultra-portable model. Outside is a handsome black-and-charcoal carbon fiber chassis; open the ultrathin lid and you'll find an elegant brushed charcoal keyboard deck offset by a silver touchpad. The whole package looks and feels classy. At $2,000, however, this is by far the most expensive unit here.

The VGN-SZ170P is loaded with security and durability features, including a fingerprint reader, TPM circuitry, and an active protection system for the shock-mounted hard drive. Extra touches abound: a built-in DVD burner, a Memory Stick slot, and even an embedded webcam and microphone for easy videoconferencing with colleagues or video chatting with family while you're on the road.

When you open the lid you’re greeted with a 13.3in widescreen display finished with Sony’s X-Black high-contrast coating. As always, whether you like an X-Black screen or not is a matter of personal preference, but I find that the bright and vivid colours more than make up for the increased reflection. For a notebook that’s likely to be carried with you whenever you’re travelling, you’re probably going to find yourself watching the odd movie – with this in mind I’m happy to say that the S4M makes an excellent mobile movie player.

With a resolution of 1,280 x 800, you've got a reasonable amount of desktop real estate at your disposal, especially considering the 13.3in physical size. Of course the VAIO VGN-SZ170P has a slightly higher resolution on an even smaller screen, but that's the whole point of the S Series - some people actually don't want a notebook as small as the VAIO VGN-SZ170P. The VAIO VGN-SZ170P is targeted squarely at highly mobile multimedia users. It isn't small enough to be an ultra-portable notebook but it isn't quite big enough to be a full-sized notebook either. This notebook is meant for someone that spends some time at the desk but still spends a decent amount of time on the run. The VAIO VGN-SZ170P is a reasonable compromise between performance and size.

Panasonic Toughbook CF-W5 Preview I

Panasonic has been making notebooks for a long time, but despite this you may not have come across the ToughBook brand before. The reason for this is that Panasonic models tend to attract a certain type of buyer, a buyer that is more concerned with durability than design and performance. To get an idea of who the ToughBooks appeal to, next time you see a BT engineer working on a junction box in the street, take a look over his shoulder and it's a near certainty that he'll be working on a ToughBook.

As the name suggests, ToughBooks are built to be, well, a bit tougher than your average notebook. In fact the fully rugged units sported by field engineers are built to withstand impact, water, dust ingress and just about any other environmental hazard that mobile computers might be subjected to. But not everyone wants to carry around a large, heavy, metal clad notebook, no matter how strong it might be. With this in mind, Panasonic created semi-rugged ToughBooks. Being a semi-rugged notebook, the CF-W5 can’t survive a drop of one metre like the CF-29 and CF-18.

However, Panasonic will guarantee that it can withstand a drop of 30cm, which is more than you’ll get with most other notebooks. The great thing is that Panasonic hasn’t had to make the CF-W5 any larger or heavier to make it that little bit more robust. The CF-W5 can also withstand up to 120kg of pressure - so you could stack things on top of it, or use it as a seat cushion if you really wanted to.

The first thing you’ll notice when you pick up Panasonic’s new Toughbook CF-W5 will likely be its matte-silver finish, super-light weight, and pop-up optical drive. You won’t, however, need to pay much attention to the battery meter, since this system lasts a staggering eight hours on a charge. Throw in a durable design and an optional Verizon Wireless EV-DO card for anytime, anywhere connectivity and you have a pricey but highly recommended ultraportable.

Lenovo ThinkPad R60 Preview

ThinkPad® R Series are affordable and lightweight notebooks with great performance, outstanding battery life and large, bright displays. Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology delivers new levels of mobile performance, reliability, and manageability (select models). The R60 comes in 14 or 15” screen sizes. It is designed to be a more wallet friendly business class notebook, but if you get all the options it can get quite expensive. The R60 lacks the rock star status of the T series ThinkPads even though they share a lot of parts.

Good news to Laptop-crazed peeps out there! Another latest laptop features are out in the market and this entry is purely dedicated to the latest Lenovo's ThinkPad R60 model, which is by the way, an almost identical version of Lenovo's ThinkPad R52 model of 2005 it is an update to the ThinkPad R52. The R60 can be thought of as a budget version of the ThinkPad T60. Many options on the T60 are available on the R60 and sizes are very similar. However, the T60 is thinner and has a more durable casing.

Those differences aside, if your cost sensitive and don't crave the thinner more solid case of the T60 then the still very respectable (and cheaper) R60 might be for you. The R60 does not use the same case construction as the T60 and it is not as wonderfully thin and light. The lid of the R60 is constructed of plastic while the T60 is made of a mag-alloy -- a sturdier more rugged material. The R60 is for the most part plastic casing, not cheap plastic by any means, it's a rugged enough notebook by its own right, but not as rigid and sturdy as the T60.