Our fearless reviewer introduces the best ideas in hardware, software and communications for the mobile user.

Home for the holidays--what a wonderful thought. But you’ll be back on the road in the new year, looking for anything to make travel easier.

Here are some products, services and security tips that may make for a happier and safer 2005. If you find anything you like, you might want to casually mention the item to loved ones--they’ll no doubt appreciate having an alternative to the familiar gift of a scarf or tie.

Computing

Electronics technology moves forward so fast that high-end prices in every product category keep falling. Not too long ago, you could spend $5,000 on a notebook computer. Now you can’t spend much more than $2,500, unless you insist on adding every bell and whistle.

Battery life is also getting better. There are finally notebooks on the market that can truly keep running through a cross-country flight, although you may need an optional high-capacity battery.

The best combination of features and value remains two-spindle notebooks that have both an internal hard drive and a DVD drive, weighing four to five pounds. There’s a wide selection for about $1,500. Make sure the DVD drive can also record, or burn, CDs for easy backup of important files. For about $100 to $200 more, you can get a DVD burner, although the huge capacity of recordable DVDs-4.5 gigabytes, compared to 640 megabytes for a recordable CD-is rarely necessary unless you’re editing video presentations.

Almost all notebooks selling for more than $1,000 now include built-in WiFi wireless networking, which makes it possible to work wherever there’s a hotspot for public access. That includes more and more airports, as well as most Starbucks, Border’s book stores and FedEx Kinko’s stores nationwide. WiFi provides the same high-speed Internet access as office networks, and usage fees are much lower than for the more sluggish data service provided by wireless phone companies.

Mobile printers, too, are much improved. They’re smaller than ever, yet they offer text output that matches the biggest office laser printer, along with photo-quality color if you bring along special paper.

And don’t skimp on accessories. A sturdy, well-padded notebook case is essential. If you’re worried about the health of your spine, get a knapsack-style laptop bag. The look may be less than professional, but your muscles will thank you for not hanging all your gear off one shoulder.

IBM ThinkPad X40 notebook computer

$1,499 and up
Not the thinnest or lightest notebook computer, the X40 is nonetheless this year’s ultraportable champ for its elegant design, with a solid keyboard, bright 12.1-inch screen and a full checklist of features, including built-in WiFi and Bluetooth wireless networking. There’s also special security software to automatically back up your personal files in a section of the hard drive that’s off-limit to viruses. Optional batteries extend running time to 10 hours. The only downside: no internal DVD drive, so the X40 isn’t the best choice for watching movies on the plane.

Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 450wbt mobile printer

$349
We’re almost a quarter-century into the personal computer revolution, and business still runs on paper, even on the road. The HP 450wbt is designed for travelers, with built-in Bluetooth for making wireless connections to Bluetooth-equipped notebook computers, personal digital assistants and mobile phones. Weighing just 4.6 pounds, the 450wbt is small enough to slip into most notebook carrying cases, yet can produce photo-quality output with an optional cartridge and has a rechargeable battery capable of printing up to 350 pages.

Netgear Wireless Travel Router WGR101

$99
More and more hotel rooms, thankfully, now come with high-speed Internet access. But it’s usually through an Ethernet cable that always seems to be just a foot long. The tiny Netgear Wireless Travel Router, when plugged into an Ethernet cable and a wall outlet, creates an instant WiFi hotspot, so your wireless notebook can go online anywhere in the room. For security, there’s a single-user mode that prevents anyone else from tapping your connection. At 6.8 ounces, including its AC Adapter, you won’t notice the extra weight in your gear bag.

Presentations

You can’t get very far in business today without sitting through a lot of bad PowerPoint presentations. Don’t blame the software-that’s like blaming Gutenberg for poorly written books. PowerPoint is a tool, not a solution. If you regularly put together PowerPoint presentations, it’s worth spending some time learning what this program can do to keep your audience awake and appreciative.

For example, did you know about the “Package to CD” feature in the latest version of PowerPoint? This handy tool makes it much easier to record an entire presentation, including supporting audio and video files, on disc. The CD can even include a small viewer program for recipients who don’t have PowerPoint on their computers. Now you can leave behind a full-color, full-sound, full-motion copy of your presentation, instead of a dull printout.

Once you’ve created the perfect PowerPoint, taking your show on the road is also easier. A new generation of lightweight projects, running under $2,000 and weighing less than three pounds, are bright enough for good-sized meeting rooms. With a wireless mouse or remote, you can move around while talking, instead of standing like a tree in front of your computer.

Dell 2200MP projector

$899
Data projectors can enliven presentations, turning any blank wall into a big screen, but until recently, they were expensive and bulky. The 2200MP isn’t the lightest projector on the market, but it’s hardly a shoulder-cruncher at just 4.7 pounds. It is one of the least expensive, at $899, making the decision to buy much easier. It’s also bright, at 1,200 lumens, and uses DLP technology for rich colors and sharp contrast.

Logitech V500 Cordless Notebook Mouse

$69
The best place to stand during a PowerPoint presentation is in front of your audience, but you can’t do that if you need to tap the keyboard of your laptop, hooked to a projector at the back of the room. The V500 neatly solves the problem; it’s a cordless mouse with an unusual 30 feet of range. The small USB receiver, which plugs into your notebook, tucks into a slot in the mouse when not in use for easy travel. There’s also an innovative Four-Way Scroll Panel, a touch strip with no moving parts that takes the place of a standard tilting scroll wheel, for maneuvering up and down as well as side to side.

Communicating

Wireless isn’t just for phones anymore. WiFi, as mentioned above, is making high-speed Internet access available in public places and on many corporate campuses. There’s also a new class of third generation, or 3G, wireless phone networks, identified by such obscure initials as EV-DO and UMTS, that are 10 to 20 times faster than what came before. Cell phones connected to a notebook computer, or PC Card wireless modems inserted into notebooks, previously ran at 20 to 40 kilobits per second (kbps), about the same speed as a home dial-up connection. 3G zips along at anywhere from 100 to 500 kbps, not quite as fast as WiFi, but sufficient for common tasks such as retrieving email and Web browsing.

Even the last place on earth you can now escape from colleagues and clients-the airplane in flight-is going online. Connexion, a subsidiary of Boeing, is already providing WiFi on a few aircraft operated by Lufthansa, reaching the rest of the Internet through satellites. Other airlines looking to provide Connexion service on long-haul flights include ANA, China Airlines, Korean Airlines, Japan Airlines, SAS and Singapore Airlines.

When your flight lands in Europe or Asia, you’ll also be unable to avoid calls on your mobile phone. Cingular Wireless, now in the process of acquiring AT&T Wireless, and T-Mobile provide phones using the GSM standard that’s been widely adopted outside the United States. Verizon Wireless runs on the CDMA standard that’s uncommon overseas, but the company recently started selling a multi-mode phone that also works on GSM.

Of course, it’s no longer enough to carry a mobile phone that only makes voice calls. The 3G networks are intended for data, and there is a rapidly expanding category of smart phones, also known as communicators, intended to tap that extra capacity. No one has yet created the perfect product, although Palm’s Treo 600 and T-Mobile’s Sidekick II are useful, if you don’t mind maneuvering your thumbs around a nearly microscopic keyboard and squinting to read text on a tiny screen.

Vonage SoftPhone Voice-over-the-Internet software

$9.99 a month, in addition to Vonage voice plan
What if you could make unlimited free calls on the road without using a mobile phone, calling card or overpriced hotel phone? That’s what you get with the Vonage SoftPhone, which could be the best reason for frequent travelers to make the leap to voice-over-the-Internet, or VoIP, phone service. Standard VoIP requires a box called a Telephone Adapter, or TA, that plugs into a home or small business network and isn’t easily transported. The Vonage SoftPhone, available on top of Vonage calling plans priced at $14.99 to $49.99 a month, puts everything inside your computer-no TA required-for making and receiving calls. All you need to take along is a telephone headset to plug into your notebook.

T-Mobile Sidekick II communicator

$299 with one-year contract
One of the best-designed communicators for making phone calls, checking email, browsing the Web and instant messaging, the Sidekick II is worth a look, even though it’s designed for twentysomethings. The 2.5-inch color LCD screen is bright and flips out to reveal a tiny keyboard. At 6.5 ounces, it’s not much heavier than a standard mobile phone. You can even enter phone numbers and appointments through a Web page tied to your account. E-mail, instant messaging and Web browsing are unlimited for $20 a month on top of any T-Mobile voice plan.

Verizon Wireless Push-To-Talk service

$20 a month, in addition to voice plan
Push-To-Talk, or PTT, is to mobile phones what instant messaging is to computers. With PTT, you set up a group and communicate in walkie-talkie fashion: One person talks at a time, and everyone else in the group listens. Once limited to field service workers, PTT is now available from most big wireless carriers and makes it easy to stay in touch with a scattered workgroup. PTT even offers “presence,” whereby you can see which people in your group have their phones switched on. You do have to accept a lesser selection of phones; Verizon Wireless now offers only one PTT model, the Motorola V60p, at $199 with a two-year contract.

Hewlett-Packard iPaq h6315 Pocket PC-Phone Edition

$599
There’s no pop-out corkscrew, but otherwise, this is clearly the Swiss army knife of communicators. The h6315 works as a mobile phone on the nationwide T-Mobile network, connects to WiFi hotspots for fast Internet access, has Bluetooth for connecting to wireless headsets, syncs with Microsoft Outlook, plays MP3 music and even has a built-in low-resolution digital camera. Best of all, the six-ounce h6315 seamlessly switches from low-speed Internet access from T-Mobile to high-speed WiFi whenever the device is within range of a hotspot.

Security

The more we rely on computers, the more our most important information is at risk. “It is not uncommon for a laptop to be a portable office, containing contact lists, customer information, product plans, business plans, financial information, proprietary software and other confidential information that could cause great harm in the hands of a competitor,” says an advisory from the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies.

There’s no way, of course, to be completely safe all the time. But there are several basic steps that aren’t particularly expensive or difficult. Among them:

Physical security. Your notebook computer should never be left unattended without a cable lock securing it to a table leg or some other solid object. Most thieves are looking for a quick grab, so you’ll gain a considerable measure of protection, even if the cable lock is hooked around a piece of heavy furniture that could be moved. Cable locks cost as little as $20, and work with a small hole on the side of all modern laptops. Also, your laptop bag should look like anything but what it is. Get a laptop bag that appears to be a briefcase, large purse or knapsack.

Data security. If your notebook is stolen, confidential information should still remain off-limits. Set up a password to sign into Windows, and set your screen saver to require the password before returning the system to full operation. You can also use encryption software to scramble files for anyone without a password; one such program is PGP Personal Desktop at $59. Or you can keep important files separate from your computer by storing them on a USB thumb drive. Thumb drives, small enough to fit on a keychain, now offer half a gigabyte of storage for under $100-more than enough to hold all your truly sensitive files. The thumb drive stays safely in your pocket whenever the computer is outside your personal surveillance.

Internet security. The online world has become a much more dangerous neighborhood in the last year or so, with cybercriminals constantly coming up with new ways to steal information. This makes it crucial to install and keep updated three types of protection: antivirus software, a firewall and a spyware detector. If you work for a large enterprise, your information technology staff may do this for you. Otherwise, you can cut through the confusion with one-stop-shopping packages, such as Norton Internet Security and McAfee Internet Security Suite.

Common sense, in the end, can be the best defense. Always be skeptical of incoming email that asks for any type of confidential information, even if it seems to come from a trusted source. Don’t put highly confidential information on your notebook’s screen in a very public place, such as a coffee shop. Find a way to keep your notebook out of sight when leaving it in a car or hotel room. A little bit of caution will go a long way toward making you more secure.

Microsoft Fingerprint Reader

$64
If you can’t be bothered to remember the many user names and passwords required for modern life, you might write them all on a piece of paper, or use the same password for every account. Both are a major security blunders. The very portable Fingerprint Reader, which plugs into a computer’s USB port, uses your finger to retrieve the correct user name and password whenever you encounter a sign-in page. So, you no longer have to write down the information, and you’re free to create long and varied passwords. Suddenly, you’re safer.

Rocket Software SecurityShades software

$19.95
Is that person in the next airplane seat just stretching, or surreptitiously trying to read confidential information on your computer screen? Stop worrying with SecurityShades, software that cleverly alters a notebook’s display so that only a user positioned directly in front of the screen can see what’s there-without requiring costly and bulky add-on polarized screen covers. One more benefit: You can watch R-rated movies without inadvertently offending your aisle mates.

Kensington MicroSaver Guaranteed Notebook Replacement cable lock

$54.99
There’s not much exciting about notebook cable locks, even though they’re a basic security tool for any frequent traveler. But what about a cable lock that comes with aninsurance policy? The MicroSaver Guaranteed Notebook Replacement provides up to $1,500 in coverage, based on blue-book value, for a notebook stolen while the lock is in use. Kensington’s insurance company probably isn’t losing sleep over the offer, since the cable uses aircraft-grade steel, Kevlar fiber and stainless steel braiding.

Fun

For all the extra work generated in the always-on, always-connected world, there are also more ways to kick back and relax. Movies on DVD have changed in-flight entertainment; most notebook computers can now deliver the Hollywood film of your choice on a screen as big as the one stuck in the ceiling three rows down. Portable DVD players with generous 10-inch screens now cost less than $500, creating another way to enjoy movies on the go. DVD rental through the Web, from services such as Netflix and Blockbuster Online, include return by mail-so you can send back movies while traveling, and have new titles waiting when you return home.

Music has also been transformed. Portable hard-disk players, such as Apple’s iPod and Creative’s Zen, put hundreds of albums in the palm of your hand with eight hours or more of battery life. Your entire music collection, in other words, can now travel with you. Noise-cancelling headphones, once an expensive indulgence, now cost as little as $50 and will make the drone of jet engines fade into the background.

Digital photography gives a new way to stay in touch. You can email vacation pictures to friends and family while the trip is in progress, making for a kind of personalized postcard. Three-megapixel cameras, which offer enough resolution for decent 8x10 prints, now cost as little as $200. For less than $1,000, you can get eight megapixels, enough for images that rival or exceed 35-millimeter film in clarity and detail. Lightweight digital camcorders make it possible to shoot high-quality video, while video-editing software lets you turn the raw footage into a polished package.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 digital camera

$499
The best digital camera in the world is useless if it’s too big to take on the road, and you miss that once-in-a-lifetime shot. The credit-card-sized T1, only an inch thick and 6.3 ounces, easily rides in a pocket. Yet there’s no compromise on features, with five-megapixel resolution, a Carl Zeiss 3X zoom lens and a movie mode that captures a full 30 frames a second. One drawback: You can only frame your shots through the large 2.5-inch LCD screen-there’s no optical viewfinder.

Apple iPod mini

$249
Yes, the iPod mini crams a four-gigabyte hard drive into a package the size of a credit card, at just half an inch thick and weighing just 3.6 ounces. Yes, it works seamlessly with Apple’s excellent iTunes software to load your MP3 music and songs you buy online from the iTunes Music Store. But what’s really important about the iPod mini is fashion. This is simply the coolest-looking digital gadget of the year, with a sleek anodized aluminum shell available in five colors: silver, gold, blue, green and pink. A guaranteed head-turner.

Creative Zen Portable Media Center

$499
If the Zen were an iPod, it would be the Maxi model. This 12-ounce heavyweight has a spacious 3.8-inch color LCD screen and a 20-gigabyte hard drive. While it does play MP3 digital music, just like the iPod, it also displays digital photographs and plays video clips-even Hollywood movies purchased through the online CinemaNow service. With up to 22 hours of audio playback time and seven hours of video, the Zen can keep you entertained on even the longest flights.

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Mike Langberg is the personal technology columnist at the San Jose Mercury News. Email Mike at editor@executivetravelmag.com.