Thanks guys.  I will definitely look into your suggestion.

Thanks for the link cyberdude.  And abc_n_xyz, interesting you mentioned T60.  I was actually considering T200 until I saw U110, both from Lenovo.

Here's another helpful link: http://reviews.cnet.com/best-ultraportable-laptops/

By the way, any thoughts on solid state drives?  Seems like this is the new technology replacing tradition hard disk drive HDD.  Kinda expensive though.