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Page Two: The latest kit for faster, longer and cheaper mobile working Adding a twist of phosphate Another company, Valance, is replacing cobalt with phosphate as the cathode material in its lithium-ion batteries - a process that the company claims will mean batteries become more stable and less expensive. Valence is calling the new technology Saphion, with devices using it expected to hit the market soon. Valance says notebook manufacturers are likely to be the first to adopt the new battery technology. But analysts remain sceptical. Short-term fix If you need more battery life now and can't wait for fuel cells, then a joint venture between Motorola and Freeplay Energy Group could point the way to an answer. The Motorola FreeCharge is a wind-up mobile phone charger. It won't work for notebook PCs, and at present only Motorola phones are supported, but adapters for Nokia mobiles are expected by September. Adapters for other brands of phone, and possibly other devices, are also being developed and will be released over time says the company. Freeplay intends to develop what it calls "self-sufficient energy" for other devices. Rory Stear, chairman and chief executive of Freeplay Energy Group, said at the launch that the company intended to put its technology into as many electronic devices as possible. Apart from the obvious application of the FreeCharge to devices like PDAs, Freeplay is working on more powerful generators for more demanding applications such as laptops. A foot-powered generator is one such innovation in the pipeline, which will use two of the generators used in the FreeCharge. Other possible areas for development are wind-powered generators. Speed High speed and plenty of memory are ubiquitous today, but there will always be a trade-off between speed and battery power. The following graph, produced by ZDNet Labs shows just what you have lose on the swings to gain anything on the roundabouts.
Our recommendations : Wireless networking is a must-have in any portable kit, and all the following notebooks come with 802.11a wireless networking built in. Notebook for long battery life:
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This graph summarises the performance and battery life advances made by the new Pentium M/Centrino notebooks. The previous generation of Mobile Pentium 4-M notebooks (green dots) were good performers (30-50 on Business Winstone 2001), but typically delivered between 2 and 3 hours' battery life. Notebooks that use the desktop Pentium 4 chip (purple circles) could be excellent performers, but battery life rarely exceeded 2.5 hours. Older Mobile Pentium III-M systems (blue triangles) could exceed 3 hours' battery life, but performance was lower (20-40 on Business Winstone 2001). The three new Pentium M notebooks (pink diamonds) we have tested so far occupy the hitherto-elusive top-right quadrant of the graph, where performance was excellent (>50 on Business Winstone 2001) and battery life long (3-5 hours).
The low-power processor shows up in IBM's ThinkPad X31 and delivers impressive working time in an ultra-lightweight system. The X31 that we looked at was configured as a true-blue Centrino, although you can also specify IBM's 802.11a/b wireless and built-in Bluetooth. Beyond its 3.5-hour battery life (six hours with a second battery fitted), the X31 offers flawless design and flexible configurations. The ThinkPad X31 makes a desirable package for someone who travels a lot and relies on long-running batteries. 
IBM's long-lasting ThinkPad T40 series combines a svelte, thin-and-light chassis with Intel's Pentium M processor, the 855PM chipset and a choice of wireless adapters. Choosing Intel's PRO/Wireless adapter (as fitted in our review sample) makes your T40 a true Centrino notebook. The ThinkPad T40 also offers a dual-band, 802.11a/b antenna; an excellent keyboard; and wafer-thin swappable modules. It's not the fastest Pentium M notebook we've tested, but it's a business traveller's dream nonetheless: an extra-thin system with superb battery life if you buy the bigger of the two batteries. Those who crave more speed should consider another Pentium M notebook. 
