HP EVO N410C PIII 1.2GHZ 12.1TFT 256MB 30GB MOD/NIC 16MB VIDEO XPP (Compaq-470037550)

WHAT'S HOT: Equally at home on the road or on the desktop, the Evo N410c can serve as a lightweight ultraportable or as a desktop alternative, depending on your needs. It weighs a scant 3.6 pounds without add-ons, but includes a surprisingly full set of connections and wireless connectivity via a Wi-Fi (802.11b) module that mounts on the lid. (A Bluetooth module sells for $129.) An extra battery can be snapped onto the back. When plunked atop its Mobile Expansion Unit docking station, or MEU, the N410c gains two modular bays that bring a whole raft of additional configuration possibilities. With the MEU attached, you can equip the N410c with two optical drives at once, or with a total of four batteries for (according to Compaq) up to 10 hours of cord-free computing. The MEU also replicates the notebook's connections, adds two USB 1.1 ports (for a total of four), and provides good stereo speakers.

WHAT'S NOT: You might feel nickel-and-dimed trying to get everything you'll need for the N410c. The optical drive and an internal or external floppy drive cost extra ($219 for the 8X DVD-ROM drive we got with our test unit and $69 for the internal floppy drive). The MEU, or docking station, costs another $199 and adds two pounds to the weight. Battery life with the N410c's standard 4-cell internal power pack is about the same as its predecessor's, the N400c: only two hours. Should you need longer battery life, a second, high-capacity external 4-cell battery adds $219 to the price. For top longevity, you can buy two additional two-cell batteries for the MEU's modular bays at $149 apiece for a total of four power packs in use simultaneously.

The MEU is easy to pop on and off the notebook using a big blue latch button on the side, but its drives are difficult to eject. You have to slide a release on the bottom, and the devices tend to stick in the bay--our DVD-ROM drive and floppy drive froze halfway, and we had to tug them out. Finally, the hard drive isn't removable by the user.