Highs and Lows You don't need to spend a fortune on office equipment.or do you? From cheap to posh, here are our picks for the tools you need.

You know there's more than one way to scan a cat. You can dothe job with an expensive scanner . . . or acheap one. Which to buy? It depends on what you're doing. Ifyou need to make photo-quality reprints, you want to buy high. Ifyou just need to add Fluffy the Office Cat to the company Web site,go low. We looked at high- and low-cost examples of desktops,laptops, Palm PCs, printers, scanners, ergonomic chairs and digitalcameras. It's OK to go all out on the equipment you really needif you take it easy on the supplies that are less-than-crucial foryour business. A few hundred dollars saved on a Palm PC plus a fewhundred saved on a printer can add up to get you a lot morelaptop.

Palm PCs

HIGH:

The Cassiopeia E-100 runs the stripped-down Microsoft OS,Windows CE. Windows CE means tight integration with big Windows.The color screen is powered by 16MB RAM and a 131MHz processor. ACompactFlash slot allows for easy memory expansion. The Cassiopeiasyncs to your desktop computer with a serial cable. If you onlyneed a memo pad/calculator and the occasional game ofmini-solitaire, check out the Handspring Visor.

Manufacturer: Casio

Model: Cassiopeia E-100

Street price: $499

Phone: (800) 836-8580

Web site:www.casio.com

LOW:

Handspring's Visor runs the popular cross-platform Palm OS.The screen isn't in color, but the Visor Deluxe ($249) isavailable in five iMac-like colors. The USB connection allows forfaster data syncing with your desktop than through a serial port.But with this one, you'll be compromising on memory. The basicVisor has only 2MB RAM. The Springboard expansion slot will acceptan optional pager, modem, MP3 player, Universal Remote, GPSreceiver or memory card. The Visor runs on two AAA batteries thatlast for up to two months.

Manufacturer: Handspring

Model: Visor

Street price: $179

Phone: (888) 565-9393

Web site:www.handspring.com

Desktops

HIGH:

When you shell out $2,500 for a desktop computer, you'repaying for the latest technology. It makes sense if you work withhigh-end graphics or multimedia and need the power. The micronmillenia max packs it in with a 750mhz intel pentium III processor,128mb ram, a dvd-rom drive, a 27gb hard drive, a 19-inch monitorand a 56kbps modem. You won't have to worry about upgrading forawhile. You can customize the configuration to your heart'sdelight at micronpc.com's web site.

Manufacturer: Micron

Model: Millenia MAX

Street price: $2,494

Phone: (888) 218-7502

Web site: www.micronpc.com

LOW:

The eMachines eTower 533id2 takes it easy on the specs to clockin at a low, low $599. Instead of a Pentium III, you get a 533MHzIntel Celeron processor. The 64MB RAM, 15GB hard drive, 8x DVD-ROMdrive and 56Kbps modem should get you through most businessapplications. You'll have to think about upgrading sooner thanyou would if you bought the Micron Millenia MAX, but the eTowerwon't take much of a toll on your budget. An eView 17-inchmonitor can be added for $199. This might be a better buy if youalready have a good monitor lying around to use with it.

Manufacturer: eMachines

Model: eTower 533id2

Street price: $599

Phone: (877) 566-3463

Web site:www.e4me.com

Digital Cameras

HIGH:

A digital camera like the CoolPix 990 is best if you have a bitof photography experience under your belt to take advantage of allits features. Much more than a point-and-shoot, the 990 can be putin a variety of manual modes that allow adjustment of the aperture,shutter speed and exposure. It's invaluable if you wantsomething that acts like an SLR, but if you're more thePolaroid type, check into the Olympus D-340R. The 3.34-mexapixelresolution of the 990 means true photo-quality images. Pair it withthe Epson Stylus Photo 1270, and you'll have your own semi-prodigital photography rig.

Manufacturer: Nikon

Model: CoolPix 990

Street price: $900

Phone: (800) 52-NIKON

Web site:www.nikonusa.com

LOW:

Unless you're aiming for the graphics high end, the OlympusD-340R should cover your basic business bases. Capable of a 1.32megapixel resolution, the D-340R doesn't compare to the Nikon,but it's no slouch, either. For Web sites, brochures and mostprojects, it'll do just fine. A 2x telephoto mode will help youget up close and personal. On the other end, it can handle subjectsas close as
4 inches. Flash and all settings are handled automatically by thecamera.

Manufacturer: Olympus America

Model: D-340R

Street price: $250

Phone: (800) 622-6372

Web site:www.olympusamerica.com/digital

Laptops

HIGH:

"Top of the line" is an apt description for theGateway Solo 9300CX. A 600MHz Pentium III processor puts this up inthe desktop-replacement stratosphere. Add in the 96MB RAM,
15.7-inch active matrix display,
12GB hard drive and 6x DVD-ROM drive, and you know why you'repaying well over three grand. Buying big from the start is easierthan upgrading later. If you don't need so much horsepower,check into the budget-friendly option to the right.

Manufacturer: Gateway

Model: Solo 9300CX

Street price: $3,699

Phone: (800) 846-2000

Web site:www.gateway.com

LOW:

At $2,700 less than the Gateway, the AmeriNote RL is a low-priceleader. The processor is a respectable 366MHz Intel Celeron. Thespecs round out with a 3.2GB hard drive, a 24x CD-ROM drive, 32MBRAM and a built-in 56Kbps modem. The whole shebang weighs under 6pounds. The 12-inch display helps keep the weight down. Foron-budget portability, this one takes the cake and eats it,too.

Manufacturer: CompUSA PC

Model: AmeriNote RL

Street price: $999

Phone: (888) 2-COMPPC

Web site:www.compusapc.com

Printers

HIGH:

True photo-quality printouts are the domain of the Epson StylusPhoto 1270 inkjet printer. The
1,440 x 720 dpi resolution is helped out tremendously by theEpson's tiny ink droplet size. This is a good printer if youneed to generate professional-looking photo enlargements, brochuresand graphics. Another great feature is the wide format. Withspecial banner paper, the 1270 can turn out a 13-by-44-inch print.This is handy for large-size graphics work. Replacement blackcartridges cost $24.95, while color replacements cost $30.

Manufacturer: Epson

Model: Stylus Photo 1270

Street price: $499

Phone: (800) GO-EPSON

Web site:www.epson.com

LOW:

The Lexmark Z11 Color Jetprinter is a budget printer with animpressive 1,200 x 1,200 dpi maximum resolution. Normal mode is 600x 600 dpi. Print speeds are on the slow side at 4ppm in black andwhite and 2.5ppm in color. The parallel interface doesn't helpthe speed issue. You'll have to spend more for fasterperformance. Replacement printer cartridges cost $30 for black and$35 for color. For functionality and affordability in a low-demandoffice environment, it's hard to beat the high resolutioncapability of the Z11.

Manufacturer: Lexmark

Model: Z11 Color Jetprinter

Street price: $99

Phone: (800) LEXMARK

Web site:www.lexmark.com

Chairs

HIGH:

Don't look now-this chair is expensive. You've got to bereally serious about your ergonomic seating to plunk down $799 fora place to rest your tush all day. But there is a method to themadness. The wild-looking design offers some of the most advancedergonomics you can find in an office chair. The Duo-Back designcomfortably cradles the back while the rest of the chair offersknee-tilt, height- and depth-adjustable head rest, seat-depthadjustment, back-angle adjustment, and tension control. Keyboardarms are optional-this price includes them.

Manufacturer: Grahl Industries

Model: Synchron 7

Street price: $799

Phone: (888) 289-GRAHL

Web site:www.grahl.com

LOW:

We'll understand if you don't want to pay quite so muchfor a seat. You can still get some comforting ergonomic featuresfrom the Global Dash Adjustable Basic Task Chair.

Manufacturer: Global

Model: Dash Adjustable Basic Task Chair, Model 2264

Street price: $100

Phone: (800) 220-1900

Web site:www.globaltotaloffice.com

Scanners

HIGH:

A flatbed scanner is the only way to go. When you open wide yourpocket book, you can grab HP's ScanJet 6300Cse ProfessionalSeries Color Scanner. For $399, you get, well, professional scans.The hardware resolution maxes out at an impressive 1,200 x 2,400dpi with 36-bit color. Optical Character Recognition is built in toturn your scans into editable text.

If your work involves heavy use of high-quality graphics, thenyou'll need every bit of this scanner's capabilities.Otherwise, a cheaper alternative will handle the occasional scanjust fine.

Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard

Model: ScanJet 6300Cse

Street price: $399

Phone: (800) SCAN-JET

Web site:www.hp.com

LOW:

For scanning graphics for a brochure or a Web site, a machinelike the AcerScan Prisa 620U will probably suffice. Like the HP, ithas 36-bit color, but the resolution only goes to 600 x 1200 dpi.Not bad for most uses. The USB connection ensures reasonablespeeds, though it won't be as zippy as the HP. One handyfeature is the high-speed, one-pass scan that pops up a colorpreview in just five seconds. It comes bundled with ABBYY FineReader OCR and Ulead iPhoto Plus.

Manufacturer: Acer Peripherals America

Model: AcerScan Prisa 620U

Street price: $99

Phone: (800) 379-2237

Web site:www.acerperipherals.com