LAPTOP COMPUTERS Low End  High End PHOTO COURTESY OF APPLE    APPLE 12-IN. iBOOK   Suggested Retail: $1,000   apple.com/ibook

Apple 12-in. iBook
That's right, our favorite little notebook is finally priced in the range of more traditionally affordable computers — that is, if you qualify for the education discount. (Here's the test: if someone in your family is either a student or a teacher, you're in.) This iBook is all grown up, including a 1GHz G4 processor and a drive that can write CDs and read DVDs. That isn't all that Apple's offering now. Up until September 25, if you buy an iPod plus an iBook or PowerBook through Apple's education program, you can get a $200 mail-in rebate. In the end, you get the iBook at discount and a 20GB iPod for only $100.