The latest thin-and-light laptop reviews
	Michelle Thatcher Associate editor	Updated September 21, 2005 When shopping for laptops, you usually have to make a trade-off of some kind: give up on truly mobile computing in exchange for better performance or accept a smaller display and keyboard in exchange for lightweight portability. But thin-and-lights gracefully straddle the middle of these two extremes, offering powerful mobile processors that race through everyday office tasks in a portable 4- to 6-pound case. You can also expect to find functional 12- to 14-inch displays, combo CD-RW/DVD drives, all the standard ports, and wireless networking capabilities. Here are the latest thin-and-light laptops we've reviewed. More resources  See all new notebook reviews  Editors' top notebooks    CNET's notebook buying guide

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Product name	Sharp M4000	Sony VAIO S470P/S (Pentium M 740 1.73 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB HDD)	Toshiba Satellite M55-S325	Gateway M250E	Averatec 4200	Apple PowerBook G4 (15-inch)
Review date	September 6, 2005	September 2, 2005	August 25, 2005	August 16, 2005	August 9, 2005	August 4, 2005
Editors' rating (Editors' rating explained)	7.2 Very good	6.9 Good	6.0 Good	6.6 Good	5.4 Average	7.1 Very good
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Review summary	The flashy Sharp M4000 WideNote offers a wide screen, a comfortable keyboard, and decent (though not stellar) performance in a remarkably light case.	The thin-and-light Sony VAIO VGN-S470P delivers an ideal combination of performance and features in a perfectly portable package.	The colorful Satellite M55 will satisfy your craving for a well-rounded, affordable thin-and-light.	With its extended battery, the well-designed Gateway M250E will keep road warriors and students computing for hours upon hours--just don't expect blazing performance.	The colorful Averatec 4200 may not deliver the fastest performance, but it has enough oomph for basic tasks and offers some nice features, including a DVD burner, at a bargain price.	The high-performance, fully loaded, simply beautiful 15-inch PowerBook G4 will satisfy students and creative professionals who can afford to sacrifice cash for style.
Product series	N/A	See all products in this series	See all products in this series	See all products in this series	See all products in this series	See all products in this series
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User comments	Average user rating from 17 CNET users: Very good - 7.6 out of 10	Be one of the first to rate this product!	Average user rating from 33 CNET users: Very good - 7.7 out of 10	Be one of the first to rate this product!	Average user rating from 15 CNET users: Average - 5.9 out of 10	Average user rating from 61 CNET users: Excellent - 8.7 out of 10
Basic Specs
Dimensions (WxDxH)	12.3 in x 8.9 in x 1.5 in	12.3 in x 8.9 in x 1.4 in	13.5 in x 9.5 in x 1.5 in	13 in x 9.7 in x 1.1 in	12.3 in x 8.8 in x 1 in	13.7 in x 9.5 in x 1.1 in
Weight	3.7 lbs	4.4 lbs	5.3 lbs	5 lbs	4.6 lbs	5.5 lbs
Processor	Intel Pentium M 740 / 1.73 GHz	Intel Pentium M 740 / 1.73 GHz	Intel Pentium M 740 / 1.73 GHz	Intel Celeron M 360 / 1.4 GHz	Intel Pentium M 730 / 1.6 GHz	Motorola PowerPC G4 1.67 GHz
Cache Memory	2 MB - L2 cache	2 MB - L2 cache	2 MB - L2 cache	1 MB - L2 cache	2 MB - L2 cache	512 KB - L2 cache
RAM	512 MB (installed) / 1.5 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM	512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM - 400 MHz - PC2-3200	512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 333 MHz - PC2700	256 MB DDR2 SDRAM - 533 MHz	512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 333 MHz - PC2700	512 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 333 MHz - PC2700
Hard Drive	80 GB - 5400 rpm	80 GB - 5400 rpm	100 GB - 5400 rpm	40 GB - 4200 rpm	80 GB	80 GB - 5400 rpm
Optical Storage	CD-RW / DVD-ROM combo - Integrated	DVD?RW (+R DL) - Integrated	DVD?RW (+R DL) / DVD-RAM - Integrated	CD-ROM - Integrated	DVD?RW - Integrated	DVD?RW - Integrated
Graphics Controller	Intel GMA 900	NVIDIA GeForce Go 6200	Intel GMA 900 - 64 MB	Intel GMA 900	Intel GMA900	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 - 64 MB
Networking	- IEEE 802.11g , - Fast Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11b , Network adapter - Ethernet	Network adapter - Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11g , - IEEE 802.11b , - Fast Ethernet	Network adapter - Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11g , - IEEE 802.11b , - Fast Ethernet	Network adapter - Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11g , - IEEE 802.11b , - Gigabit Ethernet , - Fast Ethernet	Network adapter - Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11g , - IEEE 802.11b , - Fast Ethernet	Network adapter - Ethernet , - IEEE 802.11g , - IEEE 802.11b , - Gigabit Ethernet , - Fast Ethernet , - Bluetooth
Battery	Lithium ion	Lithium ion	Lithium ion	Lithium ion	Lithium ion	Lithium ion
OS Provided	Microsoft Windows XP Professional	Microsoft Windows XP Professional	Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Microsoft Windows XP Professional	Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition	Apple MacOS X 10.4
Product name	Sharp M4000	Sony VAIO S470P/S (Pentium M 740 1.73 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB HDD)	Toshiba Satellite M55-S325	Gateway M250E	Averatec 4200	Apple PowerBook G4 (15-inch)
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Price range	Email me when this product is available	Email me when this product is available	Email me when this product is available	This product is available directly from the manufacturer's Web site.	Email me when this product is available	Email me when this product is available