Gateway's scaled-down sequel

We really liked the recent 15.4-inch Gateway NX570 laptop. It was a highly configurable system that could run anywhere from $699 to almost $2,000, but the brushed metal accents and fingerprint-resistant design made it seem like a much more expensive system than you'd expect based on its low starting price.

The sequel keeps a lot of what we liked about the original but shrinks it down to a 14-inch package. The more-portable Gateway NX270 (replacing the NX260) should be available February 1, right after the Windows Vista launch and will have a similarly affordable starting price--$699--and much of the same configuration flexibility.