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After holding steady for a couple of years--mostly due to high screen costs--laptop prices are trending downward again. It's now easier than ever to find a brand-name notebook in the $1000-to-$1200 range with a fast processor, an active-matrix screen, a decent-size hard drive, and a comfortable keyboard.

A compelling example: Dell's Inspiron 3800, our top budget machine for the fifth month in a row, has fallen $150 since January, to $1199.

Not a bad deal for a 12.1-inch active matrix screen, 5GB of storage, and dual pointing devices. Similarly equipped laptops are available for around the same price (or less) from Compaq, IBM, and Fujitsu. On the midrange side, Gateway's Solo 5300 has shed $200 since February, to $2074, and earns a Best Buy for the first time. Fujitsu PC's E-6571, at $2099, costs $800 less than it did last month.

Three new notebooks debut this month. Micron's thin-and-light $2986 TransPort LT snags fourth place on the power chart, with WinBook's $3399 Z1 close on its heels. The Z1 line puts WinBook laptops on an equal configuration footing with competing power models by offering a 15-inch, high-resolution screen and a 30GB hard drive. Toshiba's $1799 Satellite 2805-S202, fourth on our budget chart, would make a fine personal laptop.