Notebooks

Notebooks

How much has the notebooks landscape changed from last year? Well, for one, last year dual core notebooks processors didn’t even exist yet. Now, users can truly multitask – like surf the web while running a virus scan in the background – without having to suffer through slowdowns and pauses.

Meanwhile, more and more people care about mobility when shopping for notebooks. They want to be able to check e-mail on the sofa one minute and stream Internet radio in the bedroom the next. In fact, the very definition of what’s considered a mainstream machine is shifting from systems with 15.4-inch wide screens to ones with 14.1-inch screens and smaller. After all, it’s easier to zoom in on a display than it is to shed a pound.

The notebooks we’ve handpicked for our Best of the Year awards stand out in several ways. Apple’s Sexy black Mac Book, for instance, makes the best case yet for switching operating systems (even if Windows Vista arrives on schedule). And HP’s Pavilion dv6000t proves that you can get a striking design and dual-core power without breaking the bank. High-definition DVD playback on notebooks is still in its infancy. But Toshiba’s Qosmio makes the splurge worthwhile with its ultra sharp display and HDMI output.