Panasonic Toughbook W7

Pros: Durable, reliable, full-featured

Cons: Expensive (but worth it if you travel), specs not top-drawer

Summary: I've owned Toughbooks for 4 years and the W7 is the latest incarnation. These things are considered "semi-rugged" for a reason: they're tough as hell. I actually dropped a W-series Toughbook down 13 concrete steps once -- while it was on -- and it's never had a single hiccup. I think the CNET reviewer must be a chimp or some other primate with low dexterity, because the circular trackpad is certainly NOT difficult to use. In fact, it's better than a square one: you can move your finger around the perimeter of the pad to continuously scroll up or down a webpage or long document. Ingenius, really. The only significant downside to the W7 is that the processor and chipset won't give you the best performance in this category, but it's more than adequate for web browsing and Office tasks. Really, for regular travelers, there are darn few better choices than a Toughbook, and the sub-3-pound W7 is a terrific combination of portability and versatility.