At a system weight of 4.6 pounds and a travel weight of 5.4 pounds (with transformer), the dazzling new Sony VAIO PCG-Z1A ($2,299.99 direct) is the lightest two-drive thin-and-light notebook we've tested. But a couple of design quirks-most noticeably a bit of styling excess that messes up the keyboard-keep it from moving into the first rank of mainstream notebooks alongside the IBM ThinkPad T40 and the Dell Latitude D600.

Aside from the latest Apple PowerBooks, this is arguably the
best-looking notebook you can buy.