(MONEY Magazine) – Back in January, computer experts were predicting that prices for basic laptops could fall from $1,800 to as little as $1,000 this year, enabling budget-minded road warriors to stay wired at a reasonable cost. Unfortunately, with the exception of a few low-end machines powered by outdated Pentium chips, that hasn't happened. But if you own a personal computer already and need a portable machine only for e-mail, Web surfing, scheduling and simple word processing, you can get what you need for less than $1,000. Just buy a hand-held computer, which has many of a laptop's features without its high price tag.

Handhelds--most of which have come on the market in the past year--look like notebooks but weigh far less: generally under three pounds compared with six to nine pounds for a laptop. Measuring as little as seven inches deep by 10 inches wide, they're small enough to fit comfortably on an airplane tray, a feature any traveler who's ever maneuvered a bulky laptop into a working position will appreciate. And they're rugged: Handhelds have no moving parts inside and run far longer than laptops do--as much as 12 hours--on a single battery charge.

As convenient as these devices are, however, they're not full-fledged laptop substitutes. Handhelds run on an operating system called Windows CE, a faster, scaled-down version of the Windows platform found on most of the world's computers. Your software choices are pretty much limited to custom versions of major Windows programs, among them Pocket Word, Pocket Excel and a Web browser that's the equivalent of Internet Explorer 3. (Microsoft's most up-to-date browser is Internet Explorer 5.)

More important, handhelds don't have hard drives, and therefore don't let you store much. Instead, the devices use RAM, or short-term memory, to store data. As long as your handheld has at least 16MB of RAM--as all of the machines mentioned below do--you can keep hundreds of names, addresses and e-mail messages on file, work on spreadsheets as large as 750K and save documents totaling a few hundred pages. If you want to store more, you'll have to transfer the files to your desktop PC.

Still, with low prices and lots of uses, handhelds are a great value. To help you pick the best one, we tested four of the most popular models: the Hewlett-Packard Jornada 820, the NEC MobilePro 800, the IBM z50 and the Vadem Clio. Every one of these machines gets high marks from the two leading online computer rating services: ZDNet--the online arm of Ziff-Davis, the publisher of PC Magazine--and CNET. All four list for $999 but sell for $100 to $300 less at online electronics discounters such as Shopping.com and Onsale.com. Our top choice for everyday use is the Jornada, but the other three have attractive features that make them good options for certain users, such as frequent Web surfers or heavy typists. Here's more on each.

ALL-AROUND ALL-STAR HP Jornada 820

Our favorite, the Jornada 820 from Hewlett-Packard, comes closest to qualifying as a laptop clone. Even though the screen is small, the image is sharp; the keyboard, while not the biggest, is comfortable; and the touchpad (for moving the cursor) gives the device the look and feel of a traditional laptop. At only 2.5 pounds and 9.5 inches wide by 7 inches deep, the Jornada is among the lightest and most compact of this group. This machine also has two PC card slots, which let you add extra memory and outfit your machine for wireless Net access (more on accessories below). The other leading handhelds have just one card slot. Our only gripe is that the screen is an inch smaller (measured diagonally) than some of its competitors'. This model was recently selling for $694.95 at Shopping.com.

SURFERS' BEST BET NEC MobilePro 800

If you plan to spend most of your time surfing the Internet, this is your best choice. The MobilePro's large screen measures 9.4 inches diagonally; the image is crisp and clear. Another appealing feature is the touchscreen, which lets you open programs by double-clicking on icons with a stylus or your finger. And the MobilePro has 32MB of RAM, twice as much as the other three machines. Keep in mind that a bigger and better monitor carries a price: less time on each battery charge. In our test, the NEC's battery clocked out in less than three hours; you can, however, plug in the unit. The other weakness is the keyboard. Even though NEC says it's 90% as large as a desktop keyboard, we found it a bit cramped. The best price we found for the NEC was $899.95 at Onsale.com.

TYPISTS' TOP PICK IBM z50

If you plan to use a handheld largely for word processing, you won't find a more comfortable keyboard anywhere. It's just 5% smaller than the keyboard on the company's popular ThinkPad line of laptops. Our admiration stops there. The 8.2-inch screen has a fuzzy display, and the 33.6K internal modem means slower online connections than you'll get on the HP Jornada and the NEC MobilePro, both of which have 56K modems. As for the price, Onsale.com recently offered this machine for $774.41.

SCRIBES' CHOICE Vadem Clio

Anyone who appreciates the lost art of handwriting should check out this machine. Say you're on site at a construction project and want to jot down a note. Just write on the screen, and the Clio's handwriting-recognition software will turn your scrawl into type. (The Clio has a keyboard that lets you type as well.) Although Vadem claims the software can recognize script or printing, the device had some difficulty deciphering handwriting in our test. "See what I mean?" came out "See whst1 mean?" The mistake was annoying but not critical. We found writing in large print is best. At Egghead.com the Clio was recently selling for $793.21.

ACCESSORIES

With storage capacity on these machines extremely limited, you may want to invest in some extra space. One solution is an Iomega Clik! drive, which will give you 40MB of storage space on a two-inch-by-two-inch disk that you insert into the handheld's PC card slot. You can then slip the disk into the Clik! drive to transfer the files to your PC. The drive sells for $199; disks are $9.95 each.

If you want Internet access from virtually anywhere, consider buying a Xircom CompactCard GSM for $129. Insert the card into your handheld's PC card slot, and you can connect to the Internet using a cell phone. To link to your office network, get the Xircom CompactCard Ethernet 10 ($149). These accessories are light, low-maintenance and convenient--just like the devices they complement.