Well, after a three month search I think that I have finally found the perfect travel laptop which is to say a laptop that makes the right type of compromises.

My choice? Drum roll please: A Sony VAIO VGN-SZ280P/C.

Frankly I was [and still am] a bit surprised at my ultimate choice. Most Sony products, particularly their computer stuff, has never really appealed to me, whether in terms of design or performance. But I must say that this laptop has thrown me for a loop.

OK, OK. $3K for a laptop isn't cheap but then this computer is loaded with a ton of useful features, many of which really can't be found elsewhere.

Many of the specs are common to high-end laptops these days: Intel Core-Duo 2GHz processor [would have preferred an AMD Turion dual-core 64bit chip but this Intel chip is fast], 2 GB of DDR-2 RAM, 120 GB hard disk, dual layer multi-format DVD burner, VGA, USB 2.0, and Firewire ports, built-in card reader for Sony MemoryStick, SD, and MMC cards, and ExpressCard54 mini card and PCMCIA slots, and a built-in 1.3 MP webcam with microphone.

Battery life is pretty good. Not class leading but not bad either. I manage to get about 3 hours of mixed use with the primary battery [4+ with Wi-Fi off] and about 8 hours with the extended battery [which itself cost a whopping $299!]

The warranty is a typical 'nothing-special' 1-year affair, I bought the two-year extended yadda, yadda [never kept a laptop for more than two years, we will see how this one goes].

Now for the things that make this laptop great:

[1] a 13.3" wide-format screen at 1280x800. The 13.3" size is the perfect compromise between the too-small 12" and the sometimes too big 14.5"-15.4" screens. Also, the screen on this thing is only about a ¼" thick which helps keep the overall size and weight of the notebook down.

Also, the screen is lit with LEDs rather than traditional laptop screen lighting which makes for the brightest, most evenly lit screen I have ever seen. I rarely set the brightness level above 3/4 even when pluged into the wall as this screen is so bright.

Finally, Sony's BriteView gloss coating really makes images pop and the reflections aren't nearly as bad as on some other screens I have used. More importantly, Sony's coating is the smoothest I have seen, no wavy distortions like those on "Bright" screens by Dell, HP, and Apple.

[2] The entire computer is built into a carbon fiber case ["Premium" models only] that is beautiful, tough, and light [3.5 lbs with primary battery].

[3] The graphics system [and I do mean "system"] is pretty ingenious. This computer has two different video cards, the first is an Intel GMA 950 that is integrated into the combined north/south bridge chipset and borrows up to 128 MB of system RAM. This system is more than adequate for 2D office apps, web surfing, and watching DVDs with the added benefit of using less power thus prolonging battery life.

But when you want to use more challenging 3D based apps like I do such as FormZ, 3DS, CAD, etc, then there is also [ at the flip of a switch] a discrete nVidia GeForceGo 7400 graphics card with 128 MBs of dedicated video RAM. While this is only nVidia's mid-level laptop card it still provides more than enough umph to, oh, I don’t know, play Half-Life 2, or RTCW - and pretty darn well to!

[4] This laptop has built-in wireless communications options out the wazoo: 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi [with built-in hotspot finder] and Cingular EV-DO. There is also a dedicated button to turn all wireless off at once so as to save power, say like on an airplane.

[5] Despite its computing and graphic power this laptop runs cool and quiet. Even playing HL-2 the laptop never gets more than slightly warm to the touch and I can rarely tell when the fans are running.

Oh, almost forgot, [6] Even compared to Apple, and certainly as far as PCs go, this thing is pretty darn sharp aesthetically.

As I said in the beginning this laptop is not perfect, none are, but IMHO it makes its compromises in all the right places [at least for me]. Now I never even hesitate to bring a laptop with me wherever I go as I used to with my older and heavier full-featured laptops, nor do I have to worry any longer about leaving home important features or raw computing power as one must do with every other thin-n-light laptop. I have seen.

Having never owned a Sony computer before I can't speak to reliability but all of the notebook review mags gave it high marks, and while I have never been a fan of Sony customer service in general I am hoping that I won't need to deal with them any time soon.

I am sure that something "better" will be out in six months [or less] but for right now I am in laptop heaven.

Cheers.