Laptops of Luxury

We rounded up six of the biggest, baddest laptops we could find to see which are worth your hard-earned dollars. We tested three desktop replacement models (the Apple MacBook Pro, Dell Inspiron 1720, and HP Pavilion HDX) and three all-purpose laptops (the Lenovo ThinkPad R61, Sony VAIO VGN-FZ180E/B, and Toshiba Satellite A205-S4639). We ran our WorldBench 6 Beta 2 benchmark test suite--as well as our battery tests--on the notebooks, and we also put them through our rigorous hands-on evaluations. In the end the HP notebook came out atop the desktop-replacement category, while the Lenovo portable bested the other all-purpose models.

In addition to looking at some of the most decked-out portables available, we examined the latest mobile broadband options to help you stay connected when you're on the road. We also checked up on solid-state technology and how it's changing the way laptops perform. We peeked a bit into the future to see where laptop technology is headed. And finally, we rounded up a number of carry-on bags for protecting your machine and looked at some accessories that can help increase your productivity when you and your notebook are traveling.