CONSUMERS LAPPING UP PORTABLES : NOTEBOOK-SIZE COMPUTERS BYTE INTO MAINSTREAM AS PRICES FALL.

Byline: David E. Kalish Associated Press 

Huddled in the turrets of tanks and Humvees, troops in Fort Hood, Texas, punch commands into the Army's latest tactical tool: laptop computers. Screens blink alive to reveal icons of enemy tanks and other war-game positions.

Police in Orange County tote laptops on the beat to interview witnesses and type up reports, paring office paperwork.

Wake Forest University in North Carolina has equipped its 900 freshmen with portables for notes in class and homework.

Once a pricey tool of business travelers and workaholics, laptops have become powerful and cheap enough to challenge the boxy PCs that populate the nation's offices, homes and classrooms. Offering new high-tech freedom to people of all walks, the nifty portables are no longer just gadgets for typing memos on airplanes.

``The desktops may be $400 to $500 less expensive,'' said John Anderson, vice president of Wake Forest University, which is buying 4,000 IBM ThinkPads to equip every student by the year 2000 and to replace the staff's Apple desktops. ``But mobile computing has an advantage.''

Capability to compute nearly anywhere, anytime, is fast encroaching on the once-undisputed reign of PCs.

This year, about 14.5 million executives, salespeople and others will buy laptops, according to Dataquest Inc., a research company. While worldwide sales are still only about one-fifth those of PCs, laptops are edging closer. Laptop sales are expected to rise 17 percent next year, compared with 15 percent for desktop models.

Behind the demand is a steady drop in prices even as manufacturers cram more features into the notebook-size machine. The average price of a laptop is down 15.2 percent from a year ago, compared with only a 13.7 percent drop in desktop prices, according to a research firm, Computer Intelligence.

``Do I really want to give up my powerful desktop? It used to be a tough decision,'' said Matt Sargent, an industry analyst at the La Jolla firm. ``Now it's easier.''

The choice wasn't always as easy. Just four or five years ago, laptops took far longer to process information and featured dull, monotone screens. But today's breed of faster and lighter portables, most running on Intel Corp.'s 133-megahertz Pentium chip, can do nearly everything a typical desktop can do. Makers have expanded displays from 10 inches two years ago to 12 inches or more.

Leading the price-cutting charge, Compaq Computer Corp. this month reduced its lowest-cost Armada 1120 laptop to $1,000 and slashed prices of its more expensive Armadas. That puts its most basic laptop, with a 100-megahertz Pentium processor, well within the price range of desktops.

At the pricier end, IBM Corp., the No. 2 maker of portables, is aiming directly at powerful corporate desktops with new ThinkPads that will come out in June with prices starting at $6,000, according to sources close to the company. The 765D will feature a 166-MHz Pentium MMX processor for better quality video, sound and pictures, a 3-gigabyte hard disk and IBM's largest laptop display ever - 13.3 inches.

Even more sophisticated is No. 1 Toshiba Corp.'s new Tecra 740 CDT model, featuring 13.3-inch displays as well as Intel's MMX microprocessors. Starting at $6,500, it enables traveling executives to hold video conferences with a modem, video card and a tiny camera attached to the top of the screen.

Sharp Electronics has come out with its WideNote laptop that stretches horizontally like a movie screen - wide enough to view two Web pages side-by-side. Prices start at $3,500 for the Sharp WideNote Pentium, a 133-MHz machine with 16 megabytes of RAM.

Even Apple Computer is back after dropping out of the market in May when its PowerBook 5300s hit huge quality snags. Apple offers the fastest laptop available, a PowerBook 3400 that uses a PowerPC microprocessor which runs at 240 megahertz, easily beating the fastest rivals on the Windows operating system.

Like many high-tech advances, the spread of mobile computers may be a double-edged sword. Adherents become more productive during otherwise idle time, but what's so bad about doing nothing and relaxing?

Then there's the added risk of soreness from typing in awkward positions. A 1995 study found that people who used computers on their laps tend to contort their wrists. Those who typed into keyboards at the edge of desks or tables - another common laptop position - lacked sufficient support for their arms.

The lightweight computers also are fragile and vulnerable to damage. An errant swipe of the arm sends them crashing to the ground. About a dozen companies now make sturdier laptops.

LOOKING FOR A LAPTOP

Laptops aren't for everyone. You pay a premium for miniaturization, so a desktop PC has more power for the buck. Laptops also are prone to crashes and other problems. But you can't beat one if you travel a lot or have limited space and don't mind a smaller keyboard and display.

A laptop powerful enough to serve as your only PC probably will cost about $2,000 to $4,000. That should buy a CD-ROM, a 133-MHz Pentium, at least 16 megabytes of RAM and a 1.5 gigabyte hard drive.

If you want a laptop as your primary machine, make sure it includes a docking station for hooking up a larger keyboard and monitor for use when at home or in the office.

If you're planning to use a laptop as a second computer, expect to pay anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000. That will buy a machine with at least a 100-MHz Pentium, eight megabytes of RAM and a large-capacity hard drive. At the cheap end: Compaq's $1,000 Armada 1120.

Try them for comfort. Type at least a business letter to test the keyboards, which range from too tiny to just right.

Active-matrix screens look the best but cost more than dual scans, which are good enough for e-mail and notes. No matter which you choose, buy the largest your budget allows.

Pointing devices come in two flavors: Touch pads, which are pressure-sensitive rectangular pads inset below the keyboard, and pointing sticks. The choice is a personal one.

Lithium ion batteries are the longest lasting, but also the most expensive. Make sure replacements for whatever you buy are readily available should they die on the road.

CAPTION(S):

Box: LOOKING FOR A LAPTOP (See text)