Most users will fit somewhere in-between these almost polarised system demands. The trick is to find a mobile solution that meets your needs, allows you room to grow in the immediate future and doesn't attach a vacuum cleaner hose to your wallet. Unless your needs are absolutely minimal, there's no point in buying a computer with anything less than a 100mhz chip in it, whether it be a Pentium, AMD K series or Power PC processor. Slower chips will be found in systems priced at the rock bottom, but despite their attractive price, they are an almost immediate dead end. Consider 16MB a bare minimum, 32MB an acceptable consideration and 64MB to be a sincere goal.
Screens are an important consideration.
The most prevalent screen type in the laptop market is the passive matrix LCD screen. The current variation is the dual scan passive matrix screen which perceptibly improved the pallid reproduction of the original passive matrix screen technology. If the image on your screen must be accurate or you spend a lot of time working on your portable computer, your only real choice is an active matrix screen and I urge you to consider spending less on processing power and more on screen quality. If so, then you will probably want to weigh in the cost of the peripherals in your cost evaluations. Common companion purchases include a mouse, an external monitor and a portable printer, the best of which offer a battery option for true road warrior eligibility.