Lenovo’s ThinkPad SL400 tops the chart with power and flexibility while costing under $1300. Meanwhile, HP gives Lenovo a run for its money with the HP Compaq 6530b. Without the power brick, the HP is lighter than the Lenovo (5.3 pounds versus the SL400′s 6.1 pounds); it’s cheaper, too ($1195 versus $1295). Both work well as business boxes that can go the distance: In our tests the SL400 lasted 5 hours, 8 minutes, and the 6530b ran for 4 hours, 22 minutes.

Sony’s VAIO VGN-NR485 helps you save cash, if you don’t mind its moderate performance. The system scored 75 in WorldBench 6, behind the SL400′s 84. The Sony is suitable for basic computing needs; and its 3-hour, 56-minute battery life and 200GB hard drive along with its price make this model a compelling deal

What the HP Compaq 8710p business notebook lacks in striking looks it makes up for in processing brawn and enterprise reliability. Plus, for a buttoned-down corporate notebook, it includes some surprising multimedia options.

The dull, black-and-gray 8710p isn’t much to look at, and at 7.5 pounds, it’s not very portable, either. Beneath that ho-hum exterior, however, lies a killer business system. HP outfitted the 8710p with a wonderful non glossy 17-inch wide-screen LCD panel with 1,680×1,050 resolution. Pair that with a 256MB nVidia Quadro NVS 320M graphics card, and you get excellent DVD playback and enough 3D pop for doing business graphics and even some CAD work. Surprisingly, HP is also offering some pre-configured 8710p models with high-definition Blu-ray drives and a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) port.

The keyboard is another nice plus: full-size and comfortable, with a separate numeric keypad. You also get specialized controls that give you access to a utility for fine-tuning your presentations, as well as dedicated mute, volume, and calculator buttons. As for connectivity, the 8710p provides the expected options: including six USB ports, Draft N-compatible Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, but it lacks wireless-broadband connectivity. Also onboard are a fingerprint reader and Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip for security.

The disappointment is that the 8710p comes only in pre-configured models, the review unit performed well on our productivity and multimedia benchmark tests. Plus, its standard battery lasted an impressive 2 hours and 45 minutes on the DVD rundown test. And better yet, HP backs the 8710p with an unusually long warranty: three years of coverage.

The large and small of it all You won’t have to worry about choosing between a large screen and a small price with the new HP Compaq 6820s laptop. Its 17-inch wide-screen display gives you plenty of high-resolution screen real estate, while its $999 starting price won’t lower your financial. You also get Intel processors (Core 2 Duo or Celeron), up to 4GB of memory, Draft N-compliant 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi, and ATI Mobility Radeon X1350 graphics. And that will ensure your productivity isn’t curtailed, either.

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