Although the three notebooks offered different levels of performance, battery life, features and reliability, they all proved ready for the road. The Dell Vostro 1510 led in performance and battery life, and the Compaq 6735b had a fingerprint scanner as well as a modem. The Satellite Pro L300D tied with the Dell as the lightest system of the bunch and was otherwise a good middle-of-the-road system.

One of these notebooks stood out, however. The Dell Vostro 1510 provided what a traveling businessperson needs in a package that's smaller and lighter than the rest, yet it outperformed the pack on basic tasks and had excellent Wi-Fi range and battery life. I love a bargain, and the notebook's $782 allows a lot of room for adding Bluetooth, a fingerprint scanner and even a bag. To my way of thinking, the Vostro 1510 wins in the rough-and-tumble world of mobile business by offering a lot for a little.

Brian Nadel is a freelance writer based near New York and is the former editor in chief of Mobile Computing & Communications magazine.