Geek Chic: IBM's ThinkPad Z60m

The Lenovo Group, which last year acquired IBM's Personal Computing Division, has made the Z60m equally impressive on the inside. Our review unit (Model #2529-EAU) came with an Intel 2-GHz mobile Pentium M processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 100-GB hard drive, 128-MB ATI Radeon X600 video, a fingerprint reader, 1-GB Ethernet and a lot more. And though it's just over 14x10.3x1.5 inches, the notebook is nowhere near as big or hefty as other manufacturers' earlier wide-screen WXGA laptops, some of which looked more like shrunken desktop PCs. With its nine-cell battery, this model weighs in at 6.8 pounds.

The Z60m's wide-body chassis offers some dividends in addition to the screen size: larger speakers, for example, mounted on either side of the keyboard, where they won't be muffled by your lap. The bigger case means more real estate for connectors, too. It offers three USB ports, a FireWire port and a three-in-one card reader. The built-in pointing device is good enough for me to toss my desktop mouse.

I encountered one significant problem: The Intel 2915 a/b/g 2200BG wireless networking mini-PCI card that came with the unit disconnected frequently, especially on sleep and wake-up. After adjusting the 2915's settings (available in Device Manager), I finally found a configuration that makes the card work nearly all the time.Given its size and weight, this isn't the notebook for people constantly on the go. But for anyone else, the Z60m is worth consideration.

$2,229, Lenovo Group, www.lenovo.com