Synapses crackle -
Take a soft synth package like propellerhead's REASON 2.0 ($280?) http://www.propellerheads.se/
ADD
One 'Desknote' Laptop [upgradable memory AND cpu!]
ECS A929 i-Buddie XP ($650 - 790?) http://www.sybercom.com/cgi-bin/sybercom/NBA929C
ADD
One USB / MIDI Keyboard controller ($250)

Result - one powerful portable workstation / arranger, that has storage capacity, great sound output, and expandability.

Where is the arranger function? Does Reason support chord recognition?

No, this is misstated. I use Reason 2.0 and it is not an arranger program by any stretch. It is an awesome soft-synth/soft-sampler package and sequencer program that is very much like having an analog/digital synth studio with virtual patch cords, effects, and mixers. There's no need for any external hardware: Reason can produce CD-quality finished music or MP3 files. It's one of the most visually-interesting music programs ever made and seems especially good at producing techno dance music, but it is not an arranger at all and has no chord recognition/accompaniment in the sense that an arranger keyboard does. The best part is that Reason does not require an excessive amount of RAM and CPU to run so even less-than-the-latest Mac or PC laptops can run it (I run it on a Win98/333Mhz/128MB laptop trouble-free and have heard of people using far less). You can try it out for free here:
http://www.propellerheads.se/index.php3

Some people are using the new Midiman Oxygen 8 USB keyboard controller with Reason:
http://www.reasonstation.net/tools/oxygen8/

But if you really want to see a cool keyboard controller for Reason, check the Novation ReMOTE out:
http://messe.harmony-central.com/Musikme...77&image2.y=126

Novation announced prematurely at Winter NAMM 2001 that it was developing a special keyboard with built-in speakers for Reason called the ReMOTE. However, production problems have slowed release and latest rumors are that the Novation ReMOTE keyboard will be available in the first quarter of 2003, maybe.

However, the is no reason (pun intended) why you simply couldn't use an arranger keyboard as a midi controller for a laptop loaded with Reason, especially if it had built-in speakers and a stereo return or input so that you could take the audio from your laptop into the keyboard's sound system. If you want to lock yourself away in a remote cabin with a powerful music production studio, this might be the way to go.

|Addendumb|
I forgot to mention 'Band-in-a-Box' and 'Power Tracks' by PG Music - - - http://www.pgmusic.com/

P.S. - the ECS A900 is a Cyrix based 'desknote' that has a similar SiS chipset, but is only $620 - $630 USD.
The A929 has the AMD Athlon based SiS chipset.
I used an ECS A900 some months ago and was impressed with it. For the bucks (money), it had all the bang - 10 GBHD, 4 USB, Audio, SPDIF, LAN, Modem, DVD/CD, 2nd Video out, and even S-Video! I wouldn't be surprised to see folks using it for Karaoke lyric output. It doesn't have a FDD, but if your Arranger Keyboard DID, maybe you can make a happy hybrid.

question - are there no latency issues here?

technicsplayer: yes, there are latency issues depending on the audio drivers of your computer whenever you use soft-synth-based programs like Reason. These can range from over 400ms to less than 8ms. Windows audio drivers have improved and can provide very low latency.

jetgraphics: just FYI, in your original post you used the word "arranger" in relation to Reason. Just so you know: in the context of this group this word means "auto-accompanyment", as in a keyboard or software program which can produce bass-chords-rhythm backing based on live chord input and can change with that input. None of the programs you've mentioned can do that, and in fact there are very few software programs that can (I've seen very few anyway). All of the programs from Reason to Band In A Box can produce "arrangements" of songs, but they are basically sequencers and cannot do what "arranger keyboards" can do.

The Pro: "All of the programs from Reason to Band In A Box can produce "arrangements" of songs, but they are basically sequencers and cannot do what "arranger keyboards" can do."

You're correct. They aren't 'on-the-fly' operations.

I wonder why no one has put in a simple system of chord recognition?

Perhaps one can amend my original post to "ADD one obsolete arranger, and you have a portable solution..."

the reason I asked is that it is possible to achieve low latency with asio or wdm drivers for high end soundcards if you buy carefully and read the reviews first. It is much more difficult to achieve a usable latency with a laptop generic soundcard.
Besides laptop soundcards generally have poor audio quality with many noise and interference issues, which I solved by using an external USB soundcard.

I use ASIO drivers on my studio workstation at home which gives me a low 8ms latency. I use my laptop for when I am mobile, and you are correct that the laptop's lower-quality soundcard results in much higher latency, though fortunately that does not result in lower sound quality for me... no pops or noises and the sound quality is quite good actually using Microsoft DX drivers. I've even played back Reason files on my laptop through my car stereo with great results. Reason files are very portable so I can construct ideas on the laptop that I can transfer to my studio workstation for fine tuning and mastering.

yes, the playback quality from a laptop can be good if you buy carefully (this is one of my no 1 criteria), but I have heard some shocking examples if you play back over a good monitoring system or high end headphones. I am just wondering about the feasibility of really low latency real time software synth playing from a laptop...