Do You Need A Laptop? Maybe, maybe not. For some road warriors, a Palm will take care of business.

Duh.sometimes the solution is as near as the palm of my hand, but I still don't see it. For many years, I've complained about the high cost of laptop computers but could never bring myself to not own one. I am increasingly tethered to e-mail-clients and friends alike expect me always to be within easy reach, so when I travel, I need a way to get online. You can probably relate.

But do I really need a laptop? Keep reading, because I'll tell you how to stay in touch with important contacts but only spend 25 percent of what a laptop would cost. In the process, you'll be doing your back a serious favor by lessening your load.

Ask yourself what you use a laptop for. If, like me, you use it primarily for e-mail, with perhaps a little word processing, you'll likely be fine with a low-priced handheld. How cheap can this get? Pretty much any Palm will do; figure around $250 for an entry-level model. (I use the Palm IIIx.) Add a modem (around $99). But don't stop there. With just those basics, a Palm theoretically will fetch and compose e-mail, but not well or comfortably. But buy a few more tools, and you'll genuinely transform a Palm into an e-mail machine: