AT&T said today that it would adopt the business model that served the mobile phone industry so well subsidizing the cost of the hardware by tying users to the service for two years. It's starting with a trial rollout of netbook promotions in Atlanta and Philadelphia.

Customers will be able to choose between the Acer Aspire One, Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and Mini 12, and LG Xenia at prices ranging from 49.99 to 249.99. Those netbooks normally range from 449.99 to 599.99.

The low price on the hardware is incumbent on the customer signing up for two years on AT&T's Internet at Home and On the Go plan, which includes AT&T DataConnect wireless access and AT&T Fast Access DSL. AT&T is offering two levels of DataConnect in the trial a 200MB plan for 40 per month and a 5GB plan for 60 per month.

In addition to netbooks, the trial will also offer Lenovo's X200 notebook, which comes with a Core 2 Duo processor and a 12.1inch screen, for 749.99 with Internet at Home and On the Go. The laptop is available for 849.99 with a twoyear DataConnect plan only. The X200 sells for between 1,000 and 2,000, depending on configuration.

Customers will get 30 minutes of instore technical support if they purchase qualifying data plans to get them up and running on the hardware.

Broadband is not just about speed anymore it's about mobility, David Christopher, chief marketing officer for AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, said in a statement. We want our customers to have Internet at Home and On the Go. Pairing minilaptops with AT&T's home, WiFi, and mobile broadband offerings enables consumers to get the most from their new devices, virtually anywhere, anytime.

The miniature notebooks will come with AT&T Communication Manager preloaded to help customers manage their usage and connections. The Communication Manager will prompt customers to connect to AT&T Hot Spots when available, stores information for previously used WiFi networks and can display usage notifications.

It's really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of Laptop Compare. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.

When was the last time you did a quick laptop compare at the local electronic superstore I did this just yesterday. I admit, I'm a computer nut. It's a blast seeing how things change so rapidly. I'm constantly amazed at the new and improved additions and accessories. I mean come on, who couldn't use another computer Yesterday while browsing through Best Buy, I noticed some cool deals on Sony laptops and notebooks. I regret not giving these a fair shot. They look so upperscale, but lack the hefty price tag. You can't beat that. Once I had finished my laptop compare in Best Buy, it was off to Circuit City. They also had a nice selection of computers to sort through. In the end I still prefer doing a laptop compare and search online. The WorldWideWeb always has the most to sift through. Not to mention the great prices found in cyberspace. Before I purchased my Mac Ibook G4, I decided to do a little background research. I was able to do a laptop compare using the various review sites. This was rather informative to say the least. It was interesting hearing loads of reviews regarding several different computers.

If you are trying to do a laptop compare, then I suggest the Internet first. Don't listen to the sales pitch from the guy at the Dell booth, or Mac store. He will just push his product in your face. Remember, he wants to make that commission. When it comes down to purchasing a computer, you need to do some recon on your own. It's imperative to know what you want the PC or Mac to accomplish before buying it. This is so simple now days. Hop online and do a laptop compare now.

Now you can be a confident expert on Laptop Compare. OK, maybe not an expert. But you should have something to bring to the table next time you join a discussion on Laptop Compare.

Introduction

As an intern working for Sun Microsystems, one of my first projects was to configure my laptop to multiboot the Solaris Operating System, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. It sounded very exciting but daunting. However, as I went along, it proved to be a fairly easy exercise.

From my experience, these are the steps it takes to configure a system for multiboot

1. Ensure the system meets the minimum hardware and disk space requirements.
2. Obtain the media CD/DVD for the partitioning software and the operating systems.
3. Back up the system.
4. Decide how to partition the disk.
5. Install Microsoft Windows.
6. Install partitioning software, and partition the disk.
7. Install Linux.
8. Install the Solaris 10 OS for x86 platforms.
9. Set up access to all three operating systems.

1. Ensure System Meets Minimum Hardware and Disk Space Requirements

Make sure your BIOS is set up to boot from a CD/DVD .Then check your system, especially your disk space and processor type, to ensure it meets the minimum requirements for all three operating systems.

Fedora requires a minimum processor speed of 200MHz, 92MB RAM for graphical installation, and a 6.9GB hard drive to install everything. Windows XP requires a minimum processor speed of 233MHz, 64MB RAM, and a 1.8GB hard drive during installation. The Solaris 10 OS requires a minimum processor speed of 120MHz, 256MB RAM, and a 2GB hard drive. For the Solaris OS on x86 platforms, check the Hardware Compatibility List HCL to see if your system is listed. If your system is not listed, you might still be able to install the Solaris OS.

My laptop has 1GB memory, a 76GB hard drive, and an Intel Pentium M processor; its processor speed is 2.00GHz, so the system meets all the basic requirements for the three operating systems.

2. Obtain Media CD/DVD for Partitioning Software and Operating Systems

3. Back Up Your System

As with any new install, my first step was to back up my current files. Installing operating systems, especially one involving different partitions of a single hard drive, is a volatile process. It is essential that you back up all your files; you can reinstall them after you partition the hard drive.

4. Decide How to Partition Your Disk

The next step was planning my partition. You should plan your partition based on how you are going to use each of the operating systems. Here is how I partitioned my hard drive.

Partition Information for Disk 1    76,316.6 MegabytesVolume         PartType    Status    Size MB    PartSect     StartSect  TotalSectsC             NTFS        Pri      20,481.3           0  0          63  41,945,652               Linux ext2  Pri      20,481.3           0  1  41,945,715  41,945,715               Type BF     Pri,Boot 33,295.5           0  2  83,893,824  68,189,184               ExtendedX   Pri       2,055.2           0  3 152,087,355   4,209,030               EPBR        Log       2,055.2        None  152,087,355   4,209,030SWAPSPACE2   Linux Swap  Log       2,055.2 152,087,355  0 152,087,418   4,208,967

I allocated more space to the Solaris OS because I planned to do most of my development on that OS. I allocated 20GB each to Linux and Windows to be able to do development and testing on those platforms.

5. Install Windows

I reinstalled Windows XP and the application programs from the recovery disks. Installing from the recovery disk is an interactive and easy process. I installed Windows XP first because PartitionMagic needs to be installed on Windows. I then booted Windows and made sure it was operational.

6. Install Partitioning Software and Partition Hard Drive

Installed PartitionMagic on Windows and started up PartitionMagic. Using the options in PartitionMagic's menu, Resized Windows to 20GB. Created a Linux partition of type ext2 and allocated 20GB to it. Finally, and created a Solaris partition, allocated 33GB, and formatted the partition as FAT 32. Although the Solaris OS uses a different file system, formatted the Solaris OS as FAT32 because PartitionMagic does not recognize the Solaris file system and  wanted to avoid getting an unformatted partition message. Formatted the remaining space, which was now in the extended partition as Linux swap space; it was exactly 2GB.

The bottom left panel showed a list of all the pending actions that we requested. and was able to go through the bottom panel and edit any mistakes . After  confirmed that the list was correct, PartitionMagic restarted my computer, performed the requested actions, and gave the detailed live progress report. When the process was complete, PartitionMagic restarted my computer again and loaded Windows. I checked that the partitions were the right size and type as requested. Next, I checked that the Windows applications were still operational, then reinstalled  back up files from my USB mass storage.

7. Install Linux

Installing Fedora seems relatively easy. The menu is very informative and it is easy to identify the information requested at the prompt. I indicated I wanted to manually partition my hard drive with Diskdruid instead of letting it use a default configuration. Fedora recognized my ext2 and Windows partition but called the Windows partition other, so I had to change the name to Windows. I indicated the ext2 partition as the installation location for Fedora, and indicated I wanted to be able to boot Windows from Fedora's GRUB menu.

It is important to change the location where the GRUB loader is to be installed from the Master Boot Record MBR /dev/hda to the beginning of the Linux partition, in this case /dev/hda2. With the Solaris 10 OS, if you do not change where GRUB is installed, the Solaris 10 OS will overwrite the MBR during installation and you will not be able to boot your Linux operating system. You need to know how you are going to be using this operating system because there are different software packages for different users. I intend to use Fedora as a development environment but never as a server, so I chose the software development package.

After the installation, I restarted my system and made sure I could boot Windows and Fedora from Fedora's GRUB menu.

If you are going to install the Solaris 10 1/06 OS, navigate to /boot/grub/menu.lst. Make a note of the paths to the Linux partition, Linux kernel, and Linux RAM disk. You will need this information later.

The menu list should be something like this

	root hd0,1	kernel /boot/vmlinuz2.6.91.667 ro rootLABEL/ rhgb quiet	initrd /boot/initrd2.6.91.667.img

Note that if you are installing Linux device drivers, there are numerous Linux support web sites where you can get help.

8. Install the Solaris 10 OS for x86 Platforms

You need to supply the following information for installation. The default values are always None or No

• Network Connection Yes/No If you choose Yes, you need to connect your Ethernet cable so it can be configured. Choosing No still lets you connect to the Internet after installation but you have to do the configuration yourself.
• DHCP Yes/No If you choose No, you need to supply IP, subnet address, and host name. Either way, you need to specify if you want IP Version 6 IPv6, which is a secure protocol.
• Kerberos Yes/No This is a security feature in the Solaris OS. If you choose Yes, you need to provide a default realm, administration server, and the first Key Distribution Center KDC.
• Name Service Yes/No If you choose Yes, you need to supply a domain name and choose a type NIS/NIS/DNS/LDAP/NONE. If you choose any option other than None, you will be prompted for more information specific to that configuration.
• Default Route You can choose to specify one or allow the Solaris installation program to find one.
• Time Zone Indicate how you want to specify your default time zone by geographic region/offset from GMT/from Time Zone file.
• Root Password Provide a root password for the system and save this information. You'll need it to log in to the system.
• Default or Custom Install The default layout will install the Solaris OS in default locations with default directory sizes. Custom Install will let you modify the disk space allocated to different directories.
• Locales Choose the geographic regions you want to support.
• Proxy Server Configuration If you do not connect directly to the Internet but connect via a proxy server, you will need to provide a host name and port number.
• Software Group Choose from Entire Plus OEM/Entire/Developer/End User/Core/Reduced Networking. Entire is the default. The Solaris Companion CD supplies some of the software.
• Custom Package Selection You can choose to add or remove software packages from the Software Group you selected.
• Select Disks Choose your hard drive it will be numbered something like c0t0d0. The Solaris OS alerts you about the Linux fdisk partition and informs you that it doesn't support a Linux and Solaris fdisk partition on the same disk. You are then asked if you want to load the default layout. I chose no, because this maintains the order selected after partitioning. Do not choose Yes, because choosing Yes assumes that the entire hard drive is to be used for the Solaris OS and will erase any existing operating systems.
• fdisk Partitioning You are asked if you want to create, modify, or delete a Solaris fdisk partition. If you choose Yes, you will be asked to select the disk for customization. Choose the partition that you have allocated to the Solaris OS. You are then asked if you want to customize the chosen fdisk partition. I chose the Solaris partition as the one to be formatted for installation and formatted it to a Solaris file system for x86 platforms.
• Preserve Data Yes/No This refers to data on the Solaris partition. I chose No since it was a fresh installation.
• Auto Layout File Systems Yes/No If you choose No, you will have to specify the layout you want. The Allocating Disk and Swap Space section of the Solaris 10 Installation Guide offers guidelines on how to customize the layout of the Solaris file system. Again, you need to have a fairly good idea of how you are going to be using your system. The default was good enough for me.
• Mount Remote File Systems Yes/No Choose No if the system does not need to access software on another file system. If you choose Yes, you will need to provide the server, IP address, remote file system, and local mount point.

Review your selection on the summary page and make any necessary changes. Then click Install. If you are installing via a CD, the first installation CD performs the following actions

• Installs the OS.
• Reboots the system.
• Logs into the Common Desktop Environment.
• Prompts you to load discs 2, 3 and 4, respectively.

9. Set Up Access to All Three Operating Systems

If you install the Solaris 10 3/05 release, your system is set to boot all three operating systems. If you are using the Solaris 10 1/06 OS, you will be able to access the Solaris OS and Windows only at this point.

To set up access to your Linux OS from Solaris GRUB, do the following

• Boot the Solaris OS.
• Navigate to /boot/grub/menu.lst.
• Add the three lines you copied from Linux menu.lst in Section 7 above.

That's it The next time you restart your system, you'll have the option to boot all three operating systems.

Notebooks can come with generally have a hard disk and optical drives. Floppies are pretty much nonexistent in the portable market now. Sometimes when reading the specifications or ads for a notebook you may see a reference to spindles. Each drive in a notebook constitutes a spindle. Thus a system with a floppy, hard drive and CDRom drive would have 3 spindles. But what do you need to know when reading the specifications for a notebook computer

Hard Drives

The first factor is the speed of the hard drive. In most cases, notebook hard drives spin at a 4,200rpm speed. Some higher performance systems and desktop replacements will feature 5,400rpm drives. The high spin rate allows for better performance but also uses up more battery life when not plugged into an outlet.

Notebook drives are typically 2.5 in size and can range from 20 up to 160 GB in size.

Most systems will have between 40 and 80 GB of data size that is more than enough for the standard notebook system. If you are looking at a desktop replacement class notebook to be a primary system, look at getting a 60GB or larger hard drive with the computer. Some of the ultraportable systems use the newer 1.8 PC card style hard drives. These range in size from about 10 to 60 GB.

Drive accessibility matters in case you plan to upgrade your hard drive or to replace a damaged hard drive. Many notebooks available in the retail channels have the hard drives installed internally. This means that only an authorized technician will be able to open up the computer to either repair or replace a damaged hard drive. This generally isn't a problem for many people, but in a corporate environment it can cause increased down time for a worker. Notebooks that have drive bays that are accessible or swappable have the advantage of easy and quick access for upgrade or replacements.

Optical Drives

The optical drives are the key drive choice to make when purchasing a notebook system. How the system is to be used is key to the selection of the proper optical drive for the system. It is pretty much a requirement to have an optical drive either in the computer or attached externally. Without an optical drive it will not be possible to install new software onto the system. So if you are looking at an ultraportable, make sure to get an external drive or docking station with an optical drive or you will run into problems.

But what type of drive should you get Whatever type you do get, it really should be compatible with DVDs. One of the great advantages to notebook computers is their ability to be used as portable DVD players. Anyone who flies regularly has seen at least one person pull out a notebook and start watching a movie during the flight. A basic CDROM drive will be sufficient for loading applications and playing audio CDs, but why loose the functional of a movie player.

It's easy to be intimidated by all the laptop models on the market today. There are literally dozens and dozens in every price range.

The key to finding the right one for you is to step back and consider exactly how you plan to use your laptop.   When you define what you need before you go shopping, buying the right machine becomes much easier.

Here are 5 basic factors to consider

1. Size

In the world of mobile computing, size definitely matters. The size of a laptop affects two key areas portability and display size.

If you're always on the go and will be using your computer only in short bursts, a socalled ultralight will save you some shoulder strain.

On the other hand, if you're going to spend hours in front of your laptop, a larger display may be in order.

Today, some laptop displays exceed 17 inches, rivaling the display size of many desktop systems. The down side is that these monsters can easily weigh three times as much as an ultralight.

2. Hard Drive

Speaking of size, what about the size of the hard drive One way to approach this issue is to ask yourself the following question

Will this be my primary computer, or will it supplement my desktop system

If the former, you should look for a bigger hard drive 60 GB or more.

If the latter, you may be able to make it with a 2030 GB hard drive.

But even this isn't absolute.

If, for example, you plan to copy a huge MP3 library from your desktop system to your laptop to make your music library portable, you'd be well advised to err on the side of too big.

3. Memory

In determining the right amount of system memory, or RAM, take a look at the ways in which you intend to use your laptop

If your needs are somewhat mundane email, spreadsheets, word processing, etc. 256 MB of RAM should be plenty. This is a common configuration for many laptops, so it means you probably won't need to spend extra for more RAM.

On the flip side, if you're an aspiring mobile digital photographer or videographer, you should stuff your laptop with as much RAM as it can hold.

In fact, exactly how much RAM your laptop can hold may in part drive your purchase decision. Applications for editing and manipulating multimedia content are notorious resource hogs.

4. Network Connections

Thanks in no small part to the Internet, computing in the 21st century relies heavily on being connected

Connected to the Internet, connected to a corporate network, connected to a wireless network, connected to a home network, connected to an online service.

Your life will be easier if you buy a laptop that includes builtin means to connect to them all.

5. Price

If you're considering a laptop, you're probably wondering how much money you'll need to spend.

A few years ago, you'd be hardpressed to find one for under 2,000. Today, there are plenty of laptops to be had for under 1,000.

What's more, most of the major manufacturers offer a variety of financing options.

Laptop prices have come down, to be sure. However, a laptop still represents a fairly major purchase for most people.

If you take the time to search for a laptop that meets your specific needs, you should get many years of use and enjoyment from this important investment.

  You may be wondering what's the difference between a notebook and a laptop computer The answer depends on who makes it. Some Original Equipment Manufacturers OEM's call their mobile computers laptops and some call them notebooks. The terms are often used interchangeably. Lately, an new breed of terms have been popping up. Terms like deskbooks and Tablet PC's.

My personal distinction between a laptop and a notebook is this

Laptop computers somewhat larger than notebooks and will accommodate a builtin disk drive unit and; optionally, a floppy drive unit. That is, a CD ROM drive is either built into the unit or the unit has a builtin bay that will accommodate a removable CD ROM drive.

Notebook computers will allow you to attach, via a cable, a CD ROM drive. Since the drive is not built into the unit, notebooks are smaller and lighter than laptops.

Deskbook computers often refer to mobile computers that can be considered as desktop replacement units. Deskbooks tend to be larger and heavier than average notebook/laptop computers. Generally the display units are 15 inches or larger. They tend to draw down battery power relatively quickly due to their powerful, but powerhungry, processors. If you are looking for the power of a desktop unit, with the freedom of mobility, then a deskbook may fit the bill.

Tablet PCs allow you to capture handwriting on your PC. Being a tablet means that it is much more mobile than laptops or desktops. You can do the things you do with a PC read, web surf, email, etc. in more situations sitting without a desk, standing, etc.

Processor types play a major role in the type of mobile computer used. The grid below will help you discern the differences. Note that the processor names are closely named and are easily confused.

Type	Processor
Laptop	Pentium III ProcessorM, Pentium 4 ProcessorM
Notebook	Pentium III ProcessorM
Deskbook	Pentium 4 ProcessorM, Pentium 4 Processor
Tablet PC	Pentium 4 ProcessorM, PentiumM

Dual touch screen laptop technology no longer sounds like concept device. An Italian company actually already released something similar in the Canova, a full dualtouch screen device, but we couldn't call it a laptop in its first generation form. The next product in line is predicted by some industry experts to be released in 2010, but the company behind the revolutionary product, V12 Design, is being tight lip about specifics over the dual touch screen laptop. The company has paired with an unnamed U.S. based laptop manufacturer in developing the laptop.

Features that are have been mentioned by the CEO of V12 as well as speculated by outsiders really sound like taking the best of today's smart phone technology, the computing power of today's laptops, and rolling it into a machine that will balance usability and mobility. There are promises that the new laptop, if we can call it that, will do things no one has ever seen a laptop do before. There will be support for multitouch input and an onscreen software keyboard when applicable. There seems to be speculation that unlike other onscreen keyboards, such as the Apple iPhone and similar touch screen smart phones, the keyboard will use a special haptic feedback technology to give users better comfort and feel closer to a traditional keyboard.

As such, the software running on the new machine will be designed for minimal use of keyboarding and there will definitely be a built in microphone with voice recognition technology to a major degree. With the advancement in voice recognition technology, as well as dual touch screen, laptops of this design are expected to utilize voice activated commands much more than we're used to today.

With this must viewing surface you can imagine the possibilities laptop manufacturers can cram into these mobile computing machines. Expect the functionality from the first generation Canova to carry over. These would be the drawing and writing pad which is a pretty standard feature of most touch screen laptops. In addition to allowing for artistic expression, the new laptop will also transform into an ebook reader and the touch screen will allow for page flipping like a traditional book. Speaking of which, this is not the only dual touch screen notebook set to release. At about the same time, OLPC is promising to have realized its' concept laptop; looks like we have an exciting upcoming year.

The purpose of touch screen technology is to give its users an interface that is both effective and intuitive. There are two tools in the world that we rely on most for the manipulation of our environment, the expression of our creative minds, and any matter in between. This is why everyone got so excited with the emergence of multitouch technology. But when it comes to touch screen laptops, this feature is only available with very select highend models. That is, until NTrig released the DuoSense, the only digitizer in the market that recognizes the pen, touch, and multitouch.

The product fits over any laptop screen to convert your regular nontouch screen laptop into a fully functioning pen, touch, and multitouch enabled screen. The product is very well designed noninvasive thin screen that fits over the laptop nicely. It can be held into place with air gap bonding, PSA, or direct bonding and uses a gel to minimize reflecting glare. That allows the user to function perfectly unaffected by the brightness when outdoors.

The pen itself is quite the work of wonder. It has an electricmagnetic charge in itself that interacts with the screen without the need for an external power source. The pressure sensitive tip recognizes the difference in the strokes and taps of the user. During artistic functions, heavy and light strokes are digitized on screen in a manner that intuitively mimics a pen or brush stroke. It even has eraser capabilities when used in drawing or writing programs. Outside of drawing programs the stylus serves well in navigating. The DuoSense allows the use of the pen in much the same way as a computer mouse with right click capabilities.

The touch technology uses fractional pixel recognition for the most pinpoint accuracy in touch response. The capacitive design of the touch screen eliminates the use of traditional touch screen spacer dots that compromises the accuracy of the pen. It offers the fastest response time in the history of touch screen technology and there are no accidental drops with the click and drag function and the touch pad comes with what the company terms the palm rejection feature. It recognizes the difference between intentional and accidental touches.

The DuoSense is light and thin for easy integration over a regular laptop screen as well as clear to allow for much of the screens brightness to shine through. Most touch screens suffer from degradation of the monitor's true brightness but the DuoSense engineers made sure to minimize that effect while still providing advanced touch screen laptop functionality.

Many notebook users neglect one of the most important aspects of using the gadget, i.e, protecting it from overheating. Maintaining the temperature of the laptop computers is another way of enhancing its performance. The user should know and understand the safest operating temperature for a notebook.

How to find the temperature

The temperature of the laptop can affect the performance of the device. But, the prime aspect of consideration is to find the notebook temperature. Here are some of the useful ways how you find the notebook temperature so that you can avoid the causes responsible for overheat of the machine.

Usually the notebooks come with software to keep track of the temperature. While purchasing notebook, look for the utility software meant to find the notebook temperature. Generally, the software is not a part of the Operating System of the computer, but a part of software provided by the manufacturer.

Apart from the preinstalled software you can download free software from the Internet. They are available with instructions of using them and help you find the temperature of your laptop. Few laptop users with technical mind use thermal sensor to keep track of the temperature of their machines.

How to keep your notebook from overheat

Now that you are able to find the temperature of your notebook, you have to take necessary steps to maintain the temperature and protect the machine from overheating to keep the machine cool. In fact, it is an effective and costeffective way of increasing the notebook performance.

If you feel that your notebook is getting too hot, it is high time it needs a break. Shut down the machine and allow it to cool. Also, try to place your notebook on a flat surface. You can find rubber feet that allow airflow to the lower side of the notebook. When you are using the machine placing it on a bed or any other such surfaces chances are there your laptop may not get enough air.

Alternatively, you can work with your laptop placing it on your lap if want to work away from the desk to allow proper airflow. You can also place a towel underneath to avoid the heat. Also, try to raise your notebook from the surface allowing increase of airflow to the lower surface. You can even use a laptop stand to rest your laptop on it.

Many people keep their laptop on even after placing them inside the laptop case as it is convenient to take the machine out of the bag, open the screen and work immediately. But, the environment inside the notebook case is generally warm and it can get warmer with the already switchedon computer. It can cause harm to the hardware of your laptop. It is better to shutdown the notebook before placing it in the notebook case.

It is common among the laptop users to keep the computer plugged in throughout the working hours. The constant flow of electricity will not only reduce the performance of the battery but also increase the heat of the battery. It will eventually overheat the laptop. It is very essential to charge your computer as long as necessary, otherwise unplug the charger once the battery is full.

Another way you can keep your laptop from overheat is by buying a laptop cooler. Of course it is a pricey choice, but it can provide cool air to the underside of the notebook. Now, enhancing the performance of your notebook is in your hand. While using your notebook, make sure that it does not get overheat.

The Apple iPhone can find a comfortable home in the enterprise, a new report from Forrester Research suggests. The RIM BlackBerry is still a superior messaging and calendar device, eWEEK is told, but with the iPhone 3.0 addressing many oftenvoiced security concerns, for contentcentric applications, the iPhone is becoming the sanctioned enterprise device of choice.

Few disagree that, with the iPhone, Apple changed users expectations of devices and how they interact with themin short, mobility. Whether the iPhone is a fit for the enterprise, however, is a topic that provokes debate.

 
Forrester Research released a report on April 10, Making iPhone Work in the Enterprise Early Lessons Learned, in which report author Ted Schadler offers the experiences of three enterprisesKraft Foods, Oracle and a Californiabased pharmaceuticals companythat have adopted iPhones.

 
Each example offers the pros and cons of the experience, but the reportwhich points out challenges to avoid, as well as advice for properly planning cultural, support and provisioning changesis in favor of iPhone adoption within enterprises.

Ultimately, Schadler suggests that the security concerns that prevented adoption are no longer valid for some companies, particularly with the iPhone 3.0 addressing many of the remaining concerns, such as forcing a user to sign into the VPN each time, instead of automatically signing her in.

 
The IT staff at Kraft Foods saw iPhone adoption as a way of proving to its work force that it was serious about introducing new tools and technologies in support of them, and in April 2008 it became a part of Apples iPhone Enterprise Beta program.
 
Every time Apple puts out a new release on the consumer side, theyre very private about it, explained Schadler. On the software side theyve been much more open. The way companies work is, they want to know whats going on and want to be part of a vetting program.

 
The Enterprise Beta program, Schadler said, is a way of addressing this.

 
Enterprises want to see themselves as partners, they want to be involved, Schadler added. IBM, Microsoft and Oracle, for example, have become much more open about sharing the next version and what its going to happen.

 
Apple, he said, began to do this with the iPhone 2.0.

As of this past January, almost half of Kraft Foods mobile team were using iPhonesa number Schadler pointed out is significant, given that mobile adoption at that stage is generally 10 percent, with 20 percent being the higher endand about 400 new iPhones are being ordered each month.

Apple leads and Dell lags, was the summary of an April 17 Customer Experience Index CxPi 2008 Snapshot from Forrester Research.

The Snapshot took a took a closer look at how five PC makersApple, Compaq, Dell, Gateway and HewlettPackardfared within its CxPi, which polled 4,600 consumers about their interactions with various companies across 12 industries, gauging usefulness, usability and how pleasant the interactions were.

Forresters overall verdict for the PC makers Poor.

While customer experience is important for PC makers to cultivate loyal customers, they arent doing a very good job, wrote Forrester analyst Bruce D. Temkin.

As a group, these firms received a poor rating for their customer experience, coming in ahead of only ISPs, TV service providers and health plans.

 
On individual ratings, Apple scored a Good rating of 80 percent. Under the Okay category, Gateway was next in line, with 66 percent, following by HP with 64 percent and Compaq with 63 percent. Dell, with a 58 percent rating, fell under the Poor category.

Across all three areas studied by Forrester, Apple led its competitors with doubledigit gaps, the largest of these being the easy to use category, in which Apple rated 17 points higher than Gateway and 28 points higher than Dell.

Our research shows that good customer experience correlates with customer loyalty for PC manufacturers, writes Temkin. PC shipment numbers in the U.S. reported by IDC on April 14 and Gartner on April 15, however, both counted HP in first place, followed by Dell. Acer was third in the United States, with Apple and Toshiba behind it.

Temkin went on to write, though, that current economic conditions make it difficult to know what the business impacts of customer experience improvements will be.

Temkin and his coauthors, William Chu and Steven Geller, offer four pieces of advice for PC manufacturers thinking about customer experience in these turbulent times.

Good word of mouth can help. The analysts say that while there may not be many growth opportunities, customer experience improvements can certainly cut down on losses. The old adage of the restaurant business applies here A good experience is shared with one friend, but a bad one is told to 10.

Dont give customers a reason to regret their purchase and share those thoughts with their friends, states the report.

Remember that its a journey. PC manufacturers need to think of their customers' experience as a longterm asset. To build momentum in an economic downturn, the report suggests, focus on several areas, including prioritizing moments of truth, seeking usability improvements and increasing communications with employees.

Maintain an outsidein approach. The analysts recommend manufacturers get to know their customers better and better incorporate their voices into future planning.

Keep an eye on the long term. To maintain a longterm road map toward what Forrester calls ExperienceBased Differentiation, or EBD, PC makers should obsess about customer needs, reinforce their brand with every interaction and treat customer experiences as a competence, not a function.

As a whole, the PC manufacturing industry received a score of 64 percent on the Forrester CxPi, with credit card providers scoring 68 percent and even airlines 65 percent ranking ahead of them. Consumers rated their interactions with retailers most favorably, with an average score of 81 percent, followed by hotels 79 percent and insurance providers 73 percent.

It is a good idea to exercise any replacement laptop batteries at least once every two to three weeks. Exercising a laptop computer battery means using the battery and not leaving it dormant for extended periods of time. If the laptop battery is not used for extended periods of time it is highly recommended to exercise it inbetween down times. This will prevent significant battery capacity loss. By following this simple step your laptop battery will be able to store more of a charge than if otherwise left alone. If you do not use the laptop battery frequently then you should exercise it before attempting to use it regularly.

If you are using an AC Adapter to power your computer then it is advisable to remove the good battery from your notebook and replace it with an old, short runtime battery. This is a good practice as the battery in the laptop will continuously be charged and discharged rendering the battery life shorter than ever expected. Excessive charging and recharging of batteries drastically shortens battery life. Thus, it is a good idea to remove that brand new battery from your laptop when it is being powered through the AC Adapter.

Utilizing your laptops power management features prior to use can extend the life of your battery. Defragmenting your laptop is beneficial to your computers performance along with its battery life. Having a clean, defragmented notebook ensures that the laptop will run in an efficient manner. Having a laptop computer run efficiently will increase the batteries life span, by not draining it trying to reach programs. All these simple tips can ensure that your replacement laptop computer battery will have an extended lifespan

The Sigma is powered by a 400MHz Celeron processor, and uses the Intel 430BX chipset. This entrylevel model is equipped with 32MB of memory and a 4.3GB EIDE hard drive, while other options include 96MB of memory and a 6GB drive. Opening the case reveals a 14.1inch XGA screen with a native resolution of 1024 x 768 which is driven by an ATI Rage LT Pro graphics chip. This graphics controller is equipped with 8MB of video memory, which is more than sufficient to drive the bright, clear screen at its top resolution in 16.7 million colours 24bit. Some 3D acceleration features are present too, although this is not really a games machine.

Located underneath the screen is a comfortable keyboard, most of whose keys are fullsized. There's a trackpad pointing device with mouse buttons set into the generous wristrest, while a pair of speakers at the front of the case is powered by a Crystal FM sound chip. In addition to the two Type II PC Card PCMCIA slots, there's the usual array of ports built into the Sigma's case, with the addition of an integrated WinModem.

Rock Sigma features Verdict

Although quite big and heavy, the Sigma justifies its size by having both floppy and CD drives built in. Its stylish casing conceals these components along with other useful gadgets such as the modem very tidily, and the Sigma looks and feels considerably more durable than many notebook PCs on the market. If you're looking for something different to the usual clone laptops, but still want to pay for the equipment rather than the name, then the Sigma is worth consideration.

Rock Sigma price

1,099 VAT

Just as before, the accent is on cuteness. Straight out of the box the Vaio draws admiration; it's thinner than a VHS video tape when closed, with the battery pack cleverly doubling as a hinge bar, and it weighs just 1.2kg. The 10.4inch TFT screen will feel pretty small if you're more familiar with the 14 or even 15inch screens seen on larger desktop replacement notebooks, but it's quite usable at its top resolution of 1024 x 768. Despite the compact size, the notebook feels strong and reliable; another apparently exceptionally wellmade product with the only niggling concern being the usability of the small keyboard.

Powered by a 333MHz Intel Celeron processor, the PCGN505X/LT has 64MB of memory as standard, along with a 6.4GB hard drive. Sony is keen on digital video, and the Vaio PCGN505X/LT ships with an i.Link port, otherwise known as FireWire or IEEE1394. On this machine, this is primarily for importing images and video clips from DV cameras Sony's, of course, and there's a suite of video editing tools installed on the machine as standard.

The new Vaio lacks the usual array of serial, parallel and VGA ports, but these can be added using the supplied slimline 'docking station' that can easily be carried in a briefcase with the Vaio if necessary. Also included in the box with our review machine was a USBconnected floppy drive, plus a CDROM drive that connects via the machine's own PC Card slot.

Sony Vaio PCGN505X/LT features Verdict

This is yet another cute gadget from Sony. By the time you've connected the floppy and CDROM drive, you might as well have bought a fullsized notebook; this is not the most practical of devices. But it is more usable than most of its ilk, and very few people will outpose you on the train home if you whip out one of these machines.

Sony Vaio PCGN505X/LT price

1,449 VAT

Sony 0990 424 424

The new Lifebook looks a little odd to begin with, since the lid doesn't completely cover the front of the case, leaving the two speakers and the rather unusual array of extra buttons exposed at the front, like a Bang & Olufsen stereo. The extra buttons, set into the wrist rest, act as CD audio control buttons and double up as application shortcuts to the installed email program, Web browser and two other, userdefinable, applications.

The Lifebook's display is pretty bright, and available with a range of sizes from 12.1inch to 14.1inch. All are powered by ATI's Rage Mobility chipset, and are pretty good, with just a hint of contrast variation near the edges of the screen. The keyboard is a joy to use; it's nicely positioned, with a light yet positive action and mostly fullsized keys.

In general, the notebook's functionality is outstanding too, with the unit having a builtin CDROM drive, floppy drive and V90 modem, so there's no need to lug around all sorts of additional clutter. Even the mains adapter is relatively small. A full range of ports is supplied at the rear, so this really is a desktop replacement in every sense of the word. The allimportant internal components include a choice of either Celeron or Pentium II, both running at 366MHz, with the standard memory configuration being 64MB.

The notebook we looked at included a 4.3GB hard drive, and the LiIon battery's life seems to be pretty good, considering the size and functionality of the machine. Fujitsu Siemens supplies plenty of useful utility CDs with the Lifebook, along with Microsoft Office 2000, but there's no carry case that's an optional extra.

Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook C6310 features Verdict

Looking rather clunky alongside some of the latest sleek devices from Sony and the like, the new lifebook nevertheless has real potential as a durable workhorse. It's no great looker, but with all the necessary features CD, modem, etc. built in, it will become a longterm favourite with true roadwarriors.

Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook C6310 price

1,655 VAT

Fujitsu Siemens Computers Ltd 01344 475000

For example, although there's just a single drive bay to hold either the floppy or CDROM drive, a cable plugging into a special port at the back of the machine enables you to use the floppy even if the CDROM drive is in place. If you want to travel without either, a special blanking plate is supplied to fill the drive bay, thus reducing weight. Elsewhere, another special cable plugs into the back and allows both modem and 10/100Mbps Ethernet connections. Again, all this provides maximum usage from the machine but doesn't sacrifice weight or size.

Another surprise is the 13.3inch TFT screen, which stretches to the corners of the lid. This panel is larger than average for a unit of this size, and proved very bright indeed in our tests. We were quite surprised to find a note in the box warning the user again placing anything heavier than 1.5kg on the closed lid, for fear of damaging the screen. As the note points out, 1.5kg is around the weight of three thick magazines. This is an interesting move on behalf of HiGrade, because virtually all notebook lids are very sensitive to damage.

However, such an admission was barely necessary with this notebook because the lid resisted pressure very well in our tests. This is thanks to a case that's constructed entirely from magnesium alloy, meaning that the notebook has a stunningly wellbuilt feel. The screen opens and shuts with a firm and reassuring pressure, for example, and the whole thing has a roadready appeal.

Inside the machine is a Pentium III 500MHz processor alongside 128MB of RAM and a 11GB hard disk. These components gave rise to a good turn of speed which will certainly not disappoint now or in the near future. Battery life was very impressive and we managed just under three and a half hours in our tests. This is around a third more than the average, and is something to be commended.

So what's to criticise Well, the keyboard had little depth depression, making for what we felt was a disappointing typing experience. The touchpad was also a little too far to the left of the machine for our liking, causing us to accidentally touch it with our palm whilst typing thus sending the mouse wild. A certain degree of care needs to be adopted when typing. But in most other respects, there's nothing to complain about.

HiGrade Ultinote AS8300 features Verdict

Perhaps the worst concession to the shrunken down size of this notebook is the single PC Card slot, but in all other respects it's an outstanding piece of kit. The price is by no means cheap, but this is a quality and reliable notebook through and through. If you have the money we reckon you'll have trouble finding a better machine for working on the move.

HiGrade Ultinote AS8300 price

1,499 VAT

HiGrade 0800 0740 402

Our review system was fitted with 128MB of PC100 memory which can be expanded to a maximum of 256MB. The hard drive is certainly the main limiting factor as far as performance is concerned; it's a 12GB Fujitsu device with a 4200rpm spin speed and 1MB buffer. Most desktops with similar specifications will be running 5400/7200rpm drives and if the AJP were fitted with a faster drive IBM produce 5400rpm notebook drives it would certainly gain the extra edge it needs to bring its performance into line with desktops. The security conscious among you will be pleased to hear that the hard drive can be flipped out without a screwdriver, making it easy to secure your data when the laptop is not in use.

To a lesser extent the graphics subsystem also holds back system performance, but not by much. The system uses an ATI Rage LT Pro AGP2x chip with 8MB of video memory and while this offers enough 2D performance to match desktops, the 3D acceleration is virtually nonexistent. But we're particularly impressed by the 14.1inch TFT screen which offers an extremely bright image.

Although there's no builtin modem, our system was bundled with a 56Kbps PC Card device which is included in the price. And while the AJP is far from featherlight, at 3.3kg it doesn't really qualify as overweight when compared to more conventional high end notebooks.

AJP 3300C features Verdict

As mentioned above, this notebook's performance is only slightly lower than that of similarly specified desktop machines, and this can be attributed almost entirely to the hard drive. However, it is worth noting that the gap between desktop and mobile processors is closing all the time. Systems based on new mobile Pentium processors don't lag that far behind this machine and offer superior battery life, lower weight and often lower prices. Just as notebook manufacturers have successfully put a desktop processor into a laptop machine, mobile processor manufacturers may have made it pointless to do so.

AJP 3300C price

1,674 VAT

DVD has been eschewed in favour of a plain 24speed TEAC CDROM drive, which is fair enough for a machine like this, and you get a basic 13.3inch XGA resolution TFT screen. While all this is acceptable as it stands with the possible exception of the amount of RAM what pulled us up short was the price. Toshiba wants 1,995 exVAT for the Tecra, which on the face of it is rather a lot for a relatively basic system.

We turned to the build quality, wondering perhaps if the explanation lay there, but while the casing of the machine is fairly solid, and there were sensible design touches like an impact shield above the hard disk compartment and a sliding cover for the exposed power stud, there wasn't anything obvious to justify the cost.

In fact although the Tecra has a grainy silver finish to its lid this only masked ordinary plastic, not the more expensive magnesium alloy, and worse, the lid surface tended to yield under pressure and may not protect the screen below if the notebook is squeezed or bashed during transport.

This notebook is a twospindle design i.e. the CDROM and floppy drives are interchangeable modules, with the option of running the floppy drive module externally, from a dedicated port, when something else is in the main bay. You can't hotplug the floppy drive, but you can hotswap modules in the bay using a simple software utility.

With its CDROM drive installed the machine weighs a realistic 2.7kg, but this will rise to 3.55kg with the floppy drive and power supply along for the ride, which is comparable to many threespindle machines, so unless you leave the floppy module at home the weight saving isn't actually that great in real terms. The Tecra does come with two useful features, though; an internal V.90 fax modem and a composite video output which can be used to connect to a TV set this is potentially handy for giving presentations.

We found the screen acceptable, but not quite as easy on the eye as a larger panel would have been over prolonged periods. The keyboard was definitely a hit though, thanks to a spacious and logical layout. The only sticking point for some will be the studtype pointing device set into the keyboard itself, which many people find less usable than a mouse pad.

Overall performance was slightly above average for a PIII/500, so adding a bit more memory in the spare SODIMM socket under the base should get you a moderately fast machine. What really impressed us about the Tecra though was its battery life, which seemed to be close on four hours under continuous light use. This is commendable, but there are cheaper, good quality competitors out there which can match it, so even this doesn't really justify the price in the final analysis.

Toshiba Tecra 8100 features Verdict

The Tecra is reasonably portable and pleasant enough to use, but despite above average battery life it remains rather expensive for what it actually is; a generalpurpose notebook for the corporate bulkbuying IT purchaser.

Toshiba Tecra 8100 price

1,995 VAT

Toshiba 01932 828 828

The big question of course is 'How did they do it', to which the first part of the answer is 'By not giving large amounts of money to Intel'. The Actionbook is, in fact, the proud owner of an AMD K62/450 processor, which sits on one of those equally inexpensive motherboards that shares main system memory with the graphics chipset, saving more money in the process. This means that the integrated Trident CyberBlade graphics accelerator nabs 4MB from the 64MB of base RAM, so we'd be tempted to add another 32MB module right at the outset just to keep everything running smoothly.

The rest of the spec is perfectly reasonable considering the price, with a 6GB Hitachi hard disk and 24speed TEAC CDROM in the moving parts department, and an integrated V.90 fax modem just to prove that Umax hasn't cut to the bone to get the cost down.

The machine weighs 3.1kg, which isn't bad considering that it's an allinone design, but it does look a bit chunky at 44mm thick with the lid shut. Some of the weight saving might be down to the fact that the case wasn't terribly robust, but at least the plastic lid surface stood up to pressure reasonably well, which will help prevent damage to the screen when the machine is packed away for travel.

Keyboards can be problematic even on more expensive notebooks, but we were pleased to find that the Actionbook's was neither too crowded for comfort nor badly laid out. The Spacebar, Enter and Backspace keys were all a reasonable size too, which greatly facilitates fast, accurate typing.

We weren't really expecting to find a TFT screen on a notebook this inexpensive, and so we weren't put out to find that it did in fact come with a 'high performance' dualscan panel. This had a 12.1inch diagonal which was well suited to its native 800 x 600 resolution, and as dualscan screens go, it went pretty well. The picture was quite brightly lit, and didn't suffer too much from the blotchiness and ghost lines that sometimes mar DSTN panels.

Price and performance often tend to go hand in hand, but the Actionbook turned out to be somewhat above average for its class, with no bottlenecks in the disk and graphics subsystems pulling overall speed down. This was encouraging, but we have to say that battery life from the NiMH pack wasn't great at just under two hours, and the battery will need periodic conditioning to avoid memory effect too, unlike the newer LiIon type.

Umax Actionbook 345T features Verdict

On the whole, there's no doubt that the Actionbook stands up reasonably well considering its price. It's not without its flaws, but performance and ergonomics are up to scratch and the Actionbook is a viable prospect if you want a really lowcost notebook. It might be just the thing for doing a bit of work at home, or for a student needing a compact system that doesn't cost the earth.

Umax Actionbook 345T price

799 VAT

Umax UK 01344 871329

Physically, the Precedent is quite imposing, with a moderately large footprint necessary to accommodate its 15inch screen. The body of the machine is soundly constructed and doesn't flex or deform unduly under pressure, and you get the benefit of a magnesium alloy lid as well, ensuring the longevity of the screen. The build quality and the fact that the Precedent is an allinone design could have had an unfortunate effect on the weight, but the engineers have actually managed to keep this down to 3.4kg, which isn't bad for a wellmade desktop replacement notebook.

Judging from the spec, this machine is intended to be taken seriously, with 128MB of SDRAM and a 12GB Toshiba hard disk backing up the processor, plus a 6speed Toshiba DVDROM drive in a special bay which can also be used for options like an LS120 Superdisk or a second battery pack.

The Precedent comes as standard with an internal V.90 Lucent fax modem, so its two Type II PC Card slots remain free for other uses, such as network adapters. The ports at the rear include both USB and an Svideo output for use with a television set, giving the machine the potential for use as a DVD movie player. There's a connector for an optional port replicator or docking station as well.

One of the things that we particularly liked about this notebook was its keyboard, which proved to be large enough to be used in comfort for prolonged periods. It avoided irritants like nonstandard functiondoubling to save space, and the Enter and Backspace keys were pleasingly large and easy to hit.

Users needing to get serious work done will also appreciate the 15inch TFT screen, which is large enough to produce a really readable Windows workspace at XGA resolution 1024 x 768. The panel was also reasonably brightly illuminated, which is another point in its favour.

Performance isn't a problem with this machine, so buyers wanting a business system with some punch shouldn't be disappointed. The battery life wasn't outstanding, seeming to average out at a little under the three hour mark, but we'd still class this as acceptable for a power portable. With any luck, ACI will introduce faster versions based on Speedstep processors, and edge the running time up over three hours.

ACI Precedent features Verdict

The Precedent is a decent piece of kit, and for what it is, the price is fair. There are still far too many overpriced PIII notebooks out there, and it's encouraging to find machines like this at a more sensible price. Strong on ergonomics and build quality, it's a powerful, good value system that's worth taking seriously.

ACI Precedent price

1,899 VAT

ACI 0818 830 1958

This is an allinone build, but the main bay can be used for a variety of options such as a CDROM, LS120 or second battery pack. Also, the hard disk is removable and there's a spare memory socket for upgrades which should make for troublefree basic maintenance, which in turn helps to keep the cost of ownership down.

We took an instant liking to the spacious keyboard with its desktoplike layout, large keys and firm, quiet action. There's no doubt that the keyboard benefits from the Inspiron's larger than average footprint, but intelligent design and quality of manufacture have also played a key part pardon the pun in elevating it above the average. The screen is also a pleasure to use thanks both to its large 15inch diagonal which improves readability, and to the relatively bright backlight, often a weakness of notebook displays.

Overall performance was impressive, and not far off what you can get from a businessorientated PIII/600 office system. The desktoplevel performance and large screen didn't kill the battery as we'd feared in fact the Inspiron will run for around 3.5 hours with SpeedStep enabled. Once again however, we noticed that turning SpeedStep off only extended the running time by about 20 minutes.

This is an impressive mix of performance, features and battery life that shows what can be done when manufacturers try hard to create a decent desktop replacement. It's a heavy machine, as you'd expect, but definitely one of the gems in this roundup.

Dell Inspiron 5000 G650LT price

1,899 VAT

Dell 01344 720000

The construction was reasonably solid throughout except for the use of flimsy plastic port covers, and the latest model has a magnesium alloy lid surface to protect the large diagonal screen properly. Comms are provided as part of the standard spec, which includes an internal fax modem, so both PC Card slots remain free for other uses such as networking or perhaps in this case a hardware DVD decoder card.

In addition to the usual ports the Solo has an S/PDIF digital audio output which can be used with a 5.1 speaker set and AC3 decoder to reproduce surround sound effects from DVD films. Composite video I/O gives you a means of connecting to a TV set, and a set of play controls on the front edge of the case mean that you could stow the closed notebook under the telly and use it as a DVD player. An expensive one, but nevertheless...

Like the Dell, the Solo has a big 15inch TFT screen, but this time it runs at 1280 x 1024 resolution rather than the normal 1024 x 768 XGA. This boosts the available workspace, which is a definite benefit, although everything does of course get smaller at the same time. The crystalline clarity afforded by TFT stops this from making the screen too hard to read, however, and on the whole we felt the screen represented an improvement over the standard 15inch XGA panel.

The keyboard was a good size with large Enter, Spacebar and Backspace keys, which along with a generally intuitive layout and a moderately positive action made for fast, comfortable typing.

Apart from its screen, the Solo also stood out from the rest in terms of battery life and performance. With SpeedStep enabled it ran for a laudable 4 hours, and it proved to be very fast indeed, making it entirely capable of replacing a business desktop if that's what is required of it.

A powerful desktop replacement system, this machine from Gateway is a veritable powerhouse, with impressive multimedia options, a good spec and good overall build quality. Little touches like the composite video output and DVD controls set it apart from the crowd.

Gateway Solo 9300 price

2,199 VAT

Gateway 0800 462000

In order to do this the designers have gone for a onespindle design with an external floppy drive module. Irritatingly, HP charges 192 extra for the CDROM drive, but you might prefer to opt for a DVDROM player instead, as well as one or more of the other drive options which include a ZIP 100, an LS120 and a second hard disk.

We noticed some flex in the body of the case, some give in the lid surface and a loose battery retaining panel, all of which placed a question mark over how robust this machine will actually prove to be on the road.

The other niggle was the spec that you get for the price for such a large fist full of cash there's not only the lack of a CDROM to contend with, but there's also no modem and only 64MB RAM as standard, which makes this an expensive system, the 12GB IBM Travelstar hard disk notwithstanding.

Despite the reduced overall size the Omnibook retains reasonable ergonomics thanks to a 13.3inch screen which delivers adequately readable XGA, and a keyboard that is properly laid out and big enough to be easily usable. You even get a combo pointing device giving you the choice between mouse pad or fingerjoystick.

With SpeedStep enabled and running at 500MHz the battery should last around 2.5 hours, but we noticed that even with SpeedStep off and running at full speed the running time only fell by about 20 minutes, which might be good news if you really need the extra power, but as we've said, it doesn't do much for Intel's claims over the efficacy of SpeedStep as a powersaving technology.

Performance fell some way short of most fullsized 650MHz systems but the Omnibook is still very fast for a subnotebook and ought to eat up the typically undemanding tasks for which most people use machines like this.

Hewlett Packard Omnibook 900B price

2,540 VAT

Hewlett Packard 0990 474747

The Sigma weighs 3.35kg, which is about right for a threespindle notebook, but we did notice a degree of flex in the case body which suggested that better design and thicker mouldings might not have gone amiss here. That said, the plastic lid surface did resist pressure pretty well, and should protect the screen from damage when the machine is closed for transport.

The screen itself is a 14inch TFT panel running at the nowusual 1024 x 768 XGA resolution, and while it would have benefitted from slightly brighter backlighting, it was otherwise fine. We also quite liked the keyboard, which wasn't cramped and had the advantage of decently large keys where they are needed, specifically the Spacebar and the Enter and Backspace keys.

Performance was fine for a PIII/600, with the 128MB of memory and a reasonable 8MB ATI Rage Pro LT graphics chipset helping things along, and as we've said, even the 600MHz SpeedStep is breaking new ground relative to previous notebook processors when it comes to performance.

We were less happy about battery life though, which proved to be the Sigma's weak spot. Everything went dark after a little less than two hours, and we're really looking for rather more than that in our ideal notebook.

Despite the battery life, if you want a notebook at home or in the office rather than out on the road, the Rock is one of the most affordable SpeedSteps around at the moment.

Rock Sigma 600 DVD price

1,599 VAT

The Vaio does have its peculiarities however, most obviously an arrangement Sony calls the Intercooler Flap. When you open the machine, a section of the base hinges down and admits a flow of cool air directly on to the processor heatsink. At the same time, the open flap acts as a stand, tilting the notebook and making prolonged typing more comfortable.

There's also the Jog Dial, a thumbwheel to the right of the keyboard which you use with a programmable popup menu for fast access to a wide range of features from application shortcuts to power management and other system settings. It's potentially quite handy, but only if you are prepared to spend the time setting it up so that it does what you want.

The notebook is fairly portable at 3.1kg, but the case body was a little on the insubstantial side, which we weren't too happy about, and the screen lid was plastic, not alloy. You might reasonably expect better general construction quality for this sort of money.

Possibly in order to accommodate the works of the Intercooler Flap, a number of essential ports have been omitted from the notebook itself and transferred to a rather bulky port replicator which will add 700g to the load if you need to take it with you on your travels. While a port replicator is undoubtedly an asset wherever your peripherals are kept, not everybody will be comfortable with the idea of a notebook dependent on one for its parallel, serial and even PS/2 ports.

Sony has equipped the Vaio with a 13.3inch XGA screen which worked well enough, and we liked the special antiglare, antireflective panel mounted over it, although you do have to be careful not to smudge the thing, especially while colleagues are admiring it. Nevertheless, given the price of this notebook, we felt that the screen was too small.

The Vaio's keyboard was spacious and pleasant to use, and the machine turned out not just to be fast, but fast by the standards of PIII/650s in general. This was all to the good, but the somewhat average battery life of around 2 hours 20 minutes didn't compare so well with the likes of the Gateway and the Dell, and once again, it raised the key question of just what you are getting for all this money.

Sony has built the Vaio brand well over the last few years, but branding alone can't justify the price tag of this machine. The Vaio Note PCGX18 is undoubtedly fast, but other SpeedStep machines around at the moment offer a better spec for the cash.

Sony Vaio Note PCGX18 price

3,149 VAT

Sony UK 0990 424424

Although the Inspiron isn't especially compact, or particularly light at 3.15kg, it's actually a twospindle notebook with a multifunction bay at the front which can be used either for the 6speed Toshiba DVDROM player or the floppy drive. As usual, the floppy drive can be plugged in via the parallel port when there's something else in the bay, and there are optional modules available including CDRW, ZIP 100, LS120 and a second battery pack. With an eye to convenience, Dell includes a simple software utility that lets you hotswap drives.

The 12GB IBM TravelStar hard disk is removable, and the memory sockets are readily accessible beneath a panel in the base, but we did notice that the 128MB supplied occupied both sockets, so if you need to upgrade you will lose a 64MB module. The existing memory count should be sufficient for most users, though.

There was some flex in the body of the case, particularly where the battery and drive bay cutouts weakened the middle of the palm rest, and the lid surface moulding was thin and gave way under pressure. In order to preserve the screen Dell has simply made the whole lid thicker, leaving more air between the back of the screen and the inside of the lid as a buffer, but we'd have much preferred to see the whole arrangement toughened up somewhat.

This model comes with a 14.1inch XGA TFT screen which was reasonably bright and easy enough to read, and you get the very real benefit of one of Dell's excellent keyboards as well. This approaches the size and relative key proportions of a desktop keyboard, and is a pleasure to use.

Performance is solid there are some faster PIII/700 SpeedSteps out there, but the Dell is quick enough in its own right to keep most of us happy for the time being. We were even more pleased to discover that it will run for a good 3.5 hours on a full charge, which is a reasonable result for a 700MHz portable. It's true that the build wasn't quite all it could be, but on balance, the Inspiron's many good points carry the day.

Dell Inspiron 3800 G700GT features Verdict

The Dell machine offers a good keyboard, good battery life and plenty of power and features for an attractive price. The only downside is the construction of the case, which we'd like to see toughened up a bit.

Dell Inspiron 3800 G700GT price

1,599 VAT

Dell 01344 720000

The A20m isn't at the top of the new range, but it's still fairly potent, with a 700MHz Pentium III SpeedStep processor cracking the whip over the show, although the standard 64MB helping of SDRAM is typically on the thin side, but this is true of virtually all corporate notebooks.

The removable hard disk is one of IBM's own Travelstar series, and gives you a healthy 12GB to play with, but it's possible that some buyers will want to opt for DVD or CDRW rather than the 24speed LG CDROM supplied as standard with this model. The CDROM drive is removable, so exchanging it for other drives will be simple and quick, and the list of available options goes on to include LS120, a second battery pack or a second hard disk. System expansion is provided by the usual pair of PC Card slots, but the ThinkPad is fitted with a miniPCI combo card providing both V.90 modem and 10/100 Ethernet functions, so the slots might not see that much use.

Despite its 3spindle design and reasonably solid construction, the ThinkPad isn't overly heavy, tipping the scales at a reasonable 3.05kg. This makes it a feasible candidate for the traveller who wants more power and better ergonomics than those offered by a typical subnotebook for example.

The keyboard is up to IBM's normal high standard, with a spacious, logical layout quite similar to that of a conventional keyboard. The relative sizes of the keys are also preserved, which makes typing that bit easier and faster, and overall the ThinkPad is much easier and more pleasant to use than many notebooks.

The screen is a normal 14inch XGA resolution TFT panel, but it's brightly lit by its sidelights and more legible in sunnier conditions as a result. If you are working in a dark environment, there's a tiny light just under the top edge of the screen which shines down onto the keyboard to help you see what you are doing, which is a nice touch.

Performance is fine, although as ever, we'd suggest adding at least another 64MB of memory to get the best out of the machine, and battery life proved to be a reasonable 2 hours 50 minutes under light but continuous use.

IBM ThinkPad A20m features Verdict

The new ThinkPad is fairly powerful, pleasant to use, modular and well made, and after dealer discounting it shouldn't be too expensive for a brand name corporate notebook either.

IBM ThinkPad A20m price

1,895 VAT

IBM 0870 010 2512

The most obvious enhancement, however, is the screen, which has had its resolution boosted up from the usual 1024 x 768 XGA to an impressive 1400 x 1050, bettering the usable performance range of most desktop CRTs.

The Inspiron is best viewed as a desktop replacement rather than a fulltime travelling companion, since it's a fairly large machine and it weighs a noticeable 3.6kg. The build is solid throughout, including a moderately pressureresistant screen lid to protect the delicate panel during transport, although we'd still have preferred magnesium alloy to plastic here.

The threespindle design is also modular, and you can swap the existing 8speed Toshiba DVDROM drive for a CDRW or an LS120, or if running time is the key issue, a second battery pack.

The Inspiron is well supplied with ports, including the essential connector for a port replicator or docking station, plus USB and a video output for use with a TV set. It comes as standard with an internal V.90 modem based on the popular Lucent chipset, and Dell sweetens the deal with a copy of Works Suite 2000, so you could treat this notebook as a readytogo home office in a box.

This notebook benefits greatly from a sensibly designed keyboard which is both a decent size and has large keys where you want them, notably for functions like Enter, Shift, Backspace and Tab. This means that you can do real work on the Inspiron, which is a serious consideration if it's to be bought as an alternative to a desktop PC.

The very high resolution of the screen means that text and icons are quite small on the 15inch panel, but not so small as to be a problem to most users. The increased workspace is a definite advantage over XGA screens, and it looks likely that higher resolution panels will quickly become standard on large, highend portables like this.

Performance is impressive, and helped by the fact that Dell provides 128MB of memory as standard, so your 2D and business apps will fly. But as ever, 3D performance from the 16MB ATI Rage Mobility128 graphics chipset is a long way short of desktop levels, and you still can't really use even this notebook as a games platform.

Battery life is about three hours in normal use, which is fine for a brute like this, especially since it's probably not going to be used on the move all that often as it's rather hefty to be carrying around regularly.

Dell Inspiron 5000e G750VT features Verdict

An impressive spec plus a good keyboard and a highresolution screen make the Inspiron one to buy if you want a power notebook, especially since it isn't excessively expensive for what you get.

Dell Inspiron 5000e G750VT price

1,979 VAT

Dell 01344 720000

Its proposed solution is the Chroma, which is effectively the guts of a typical, moderately powerful business portable wrapped in chic clothing and garnished with some fancy extras to tempt the wavering punter across the threshold.

Visually, the Chroma is undeniably striking. It's trapezoidal in plan, with the shorter of the parallel sides forming the rear, and the tapering spaces this creates either side of the screen and keyboard are emphasised by wedges of exotic bluish panelling. This looks good against the silver matte of the rest of the casing, not to mention the semitransparent keyboard, but also provides camouflage for no less than six speakers tweeter, midrange and bass down each side.

These, and a set of dedicated play controls just above the keyboard, are supposed to be used with the builtin Panasonic 6speed DVDROM drive to turn the Chroma into a portable DVD player as well as a notebook. This works up to a point, as the sound quality is better than usual for a notebook, but of course you'll need external speakers to get anything like the best out of a film soundtrack.

The good news here though is that the notebook has an S/PDIF audio output, so you can hook it up to an AC3 decoder and 5.1 speaker system if you so choose. There are also composite RCA and svideo outputs for hooking up to a TV to complete the home cinema setup, not to mention a Firewire port IEEE1394 which can be used to import clips from a digital video camera for editing, or to hook up a scanner if it has a suitable port.

Graphics are handled by an ATI Rage MobilityM accelerator with 8MB of local memory which drives a 15in TFT screen at 1024 x 768 XGA resolution. The screen is bright and readable, and will do for normal work, but as ever the Rage chip isn't going to deliver the 3D performance needed to keep gamers happy you still very much need a desktop PC for that.

The Chroma has an integrated V.90 modem for comms whether at home or on the go, but as noted earlier, this very large, very heavy 4.2kg notebook really isn't designed to travel, just to be relatively discreet and compact in a domestic setting. Compounding this, the battery life isn't great either, averaging about 2 hours 40 minutes of continuous use on a full charge.

Interestingly, performance wasn't especially impressive for a PIII/700 SpeedStepbased portable, especially not given the standard issue of 128MB of RAM. There's plenty of room in the 20MB hard disk, but for this kind of serious money, more raw power would have been nice.

And that's the crux of it the Chroma is really quite expensive, but when you look past the style, it doesn't really deliver enough substance to justify its price.

Packard Bell NEC Chroma features Verdict

The Chroma is a classy looking desktop replacement notebook aimed mainly at the consumer, but aside from aesthetics and beefed up audio, it doesn't really offer enough extra to justify its rather steep price.

Packard Bell NEC Chroma price

2,382 VAT

Packard Bell NEC 01628 508200

Despite its relatively modest size, this notebook manages to pack in a fair number of features, including an 8speed removable DVDROM drive in the option bay. It also contains a 12GB removable hard drive, which can be upgraded to 20GB. The beauty of a removable drive such as this is that it makes replacement very easy. The notebook also offers optional support for an LS120 drive for backup, via the option bay.

The GT8650XT comes with a mobile Pentium III processor incorporating SpeedStep technology and a 650MHz clock speed. The processor can be installed or removed by lifting the keyboard, which can prove awkward, but then it's not something that the end user should really be doing we were just curious... The notebook comes with 128MB of RAM, an integrated 56Kbps internal modem and combined 10/100 Ethernet card, which is convenient for corporate networking.

Samsung has clearly thought about the servicing and upgrading of this notebook. The miniPCI slot, along with the additional SODIMM socket, can be accessed via a plate in the notebook's base. This foresight applies to the whole of the model, with userfriendly PC Card eject buttons and two keys situated above the keyboard for Internet access.

The graphics are of a respectable quality, with the help of an 8MB S3 Savage IX 64bit AGP chip supporting a resolution of 1024 x 768 in 32bit colour, along with motion compensation for DVD playback. Sound is supported by a 16bit SoundBlaster adapter via the integrated ESS 1980 PCI chipset.

The I/O options include a 4Mbps infrared port, composite video connector and interfaces for an external mouse. The unit also comes with a 160pin docking station connector and a VGA monitor port for connecting the laptop to an external monitor. The built in scroll mouse buttons and ergonomic rubber palmrests are a nice touch, and mean that the notebook can be used comfortably for long periods of time.

Samsung claims to be the largest TFT panel manufacturer in the world, so it is not surprising to find that the GT8650XT contains one of the company's own XGA colour TFT screens. The screen has excellent brightness, control and contrast and is a fair size for working on text or graphics or for viewing films.

Overall performance was good for a 650MHz Pentium III, and battery life was also respectable, expiring around the three and a half hours mark. The unit is backed by a oneyear FastGuard warranty.

Samsung GT8650XT features Verdict

The GT8650XT is an ergonomic, respectably powerful notebook with a quality TFT screen. It's good to see that Samsung has made it easy to upgrade virtually any of the unit's component, helping to stave off the inevitable day of obsolescence.

Samsung GT8650XT price

2,099 VAT

Samsung 020 8391 0168

But the TravelMate 351TEV really stands out when it comes to connectivity. Not only is there an integrated V.90 modem and 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet module, but there is also an IEEE1394 FireWire/iLink port, plus Acer's integrated InvLink IEEE 802.11b wireless LAN solution, and the TravelMate also has Bluetooth capability already built in. That's a very impressive comms spec.

The Acer EasyLink module included with our review system had a floppy drive and the optional 8speed DVDROM drive installed, the other option being a 24speed CDROM drive. The 13.1inch screen is bright and clear, and has a native resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels, powered by the Trident CyberBlade 8MB graphics chipset.

With the loss/theft of notebooks regularly in the news, the TravelMate has another advantage; it comes with an integrated Smart Card reader, with PlatinumSecret Smart Card software and Smart Card, giving users the chance to lock the system against unauthorised entry.

The keyboard feels well built and is positive to the touch, and a novel design feature is that the keyboard is actually curved, supposedly to make it efficient and easy to use; it certainly feels comfortable. There are five programmable quick launch buttons and a large LEDequipped button informs you when you have email. Quite surprisingly, the TravelMate 351TEV we reviewed came with Windows ME preinstalled.

The Acer TravelMate 351TEV is one of the stars of this group of notebooks. Performing well and with a stunning host of connectivity options, it represents good vale for money.

Acer TravelMate 351TEV price

1,749 VAT

Acer 0870 9002237

Despite the price, the M772 has an excellent, crystal clear 12.1inch TFT screen, powered by a 4MB ATI Rage Mobility chip, which gives the display a native resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. You also get a 12GB hard disk; a 56Kbps modem and Ethernet adapter built in, while proprietary and USB connectors are used for the 24speed CDROM drive and the floppy drive respectively.

But what lets the M722 down is its keyboard. It doesn't seem to be particularly well built; the whole of the keyboard deck has a lot of flex and isn't particularly responsive. On the plus side, the backspace key is a decent size, and there are five programmable 'Easy Start' keys placed above the keyboard. Windows 2000 Professional is installed by default, and you also get a copy of Microsoft Works 2000 preinstalled.

The AJP M722 comes with a highcapacity battery, which gives it a very respectable working time of nearly three and a half hours. This larger battery does, however, increase the weight of the system, taking it up to the 2kg mark. This is a small sacrifice compared to the gain in battery life, though.

Despite its poor keyboard, the M722's processing power and battery life make it worthy of serious consideration at this price.

AJP M722 price

1,585 VAT

Users needing a floppy disk or DVD/CDROM drive the standard unit has neither can buy either dedicated external units or Compaq's Mobile Expansion Unit MEU, which when docked forms a twoslice, threespindle system. Even this combined unit is only 5cm high, with a total weight of around 2.5kg.

The standard fourcell battery gives a pitiful life of just over one and a half hours, although a useful charge meter is incorporated into the battery. A longer life battery is available as an option and it's one we'd recommend. The cylindrical battery pack attaches below and to the rear of the top slice, and can also be used to provide a different keyboard angle if rotated downwards to rest on a flat surface.

The M300 we reviewed had a 12GB hard disk and an 11.3inch TFT screen driven by a 4MB ATI Rage LT Pro. A V.90 modem/NIC combination MiniPCI card is installed, freeing up the single Type II PC Card slot for other uses, and there are the usual ports, including linein/lineout jacks, parallel, serial, videoout and USB ports.

These ports are duplicated on the MEU, with the exception of the modem/LAN ports, plus there are dedicated PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports on this expansion pack. The MEU that came with the M300 reviewed was supplied with a standard floppy drive and a Compaq 24speed CDROM drive.

Although a little slow compared to the other systems here only the standard 64MB of memory was fitted this is a welldesigned and useable platform. Definitely go for the bigger battery, though.

Compaq Armada M300 price

1,855 VAT includes the MEU

Compaq 0845 2704002

www.compaq.co.uk

It performs well as it should, being powered by a 750MHz Intel Mobile Pentium III chip, backed up by 128MB of main memory. The single spindle in the chassis is used by the 20GB hard disk, while the docking station has the 24speed CDROM and floppy drives installed.

The 13.3inch TFT screen is clear and bright, and powered by the onboard 8MB ATI Rage Mobility chipset, and both network connectivity and modem are built into the Piranha Pro. Networking is controlled by an Intelbased 10/100Mbps NIC, while the modem is a 56Kbps LT Win modem.

The rear panel of the chassis contains all the usual I/O ports; serial and parallel ports, VGA and an IR port. A single PS/2 port, a single Type II PCCard slot and a USB port are housed on the side of the chassis. Two audio ports for headphones and microphone are built into the front of the unit and there is a proprietary port for an external drive.

The system reviewed came with Window 2000 preinstalled, but without any software bundle. Microsoft Office 2000 is offered at extra cost.

One of the more powerful systems in this group, the Elonex Piranha Pro is a fast and wellequipped subnotebook.

Elonex Piranha Pro price

1,999 VAT

Elonex 020 84522444

Because of its small size, the problem of where to put the I/O ports has been solved by the inclusion of a tiny, 125g port replicator, which is included as a standard part of the package. This provides parallel and ninepin serial ports, along with a pair of PS/2 ports for a mouse and keyboard, and it also provides you with the only means of hooking up the external floppy drive module, since this cannot be plugged directly into the notebook. The external CDROM drive connects via a PC Card, which fits into the machine's single Type II slot.

The 10.4inch touch screen is intended for use with the supplied stylus, which clips neatly and securely into a recess in the screen surround. The screen itself is powered by a 2.5MB Trident Cyber 95225DVD chip that gives the screen a lowly 800 x 600 pixels resolution.

Powered by a Celeron 450MHz chip and coming with the standard base memory of 64MB of RAM, performance is fairly average, as you would expect, but still good enough for most of today's business applications. The 6GB hard disk comes with Windows 2000 preinstalled and you get MS Works 2000 as the bundled software package.

Although performance isn't its strong point, the LifeBook B2154's weight and size make it a useful tool for people constantly on the move.

Fujitsu Siemens LifeBook B2154 price

1,538 VAT

Fujitsu Siemens 01344 475555

The keyboard has been well built and comfortably positioned, and both the mouse buttons and the trackpoint are easy to use and have a positive feel. However, one of the drawbacks of the 3480CT's thin design is the lack of builtin ports. There is only room for a VGA port, a single USB port, the proprietary port for either the I/O adapter or the Media Docker, two audio ports, an infrared port and a port for the V.90 builtin modem.

To get around this Toshiba includes a compact, lightweight LAN I/O adapter with the system. This provides serial, parallel and VGA ports, as well as an audio port and single USB and PS/2 ports, plus the LAN port. A USB floppy drive and PC Cardbased 24speed CDROM drive were also part of the review package.

The rearmounted 3000maH lithium ion battery offers a battery life of two and three quarter hours, and a second battery can be fitted on to the underside of the 3480CT. Toshiba's Power Saver is installed to help you configure the correct power settings for your user profile. Our review machine came with Windows 98 installed, but no bundled application software

The Portg 3480CT is a wellbuilt system that is easy to use and has a fairly good battery life. But you need to carry the LAN I/O adapter with you to get the most out of it.

Toshiba Portg 3480CT price

1,814 VAT

Toshiba 01932 841600

The look of the thing is stripped down, angular and faintly militaristic, which should appeal to the serious business user both for its conservatism and distant whiff of the battlefield. The build is good, with a solid, inflexible case body and a magnesium alloy lid to protect the screen, so it should stand up to a moderate amount of real world abuse without coming over all faint.

It weighs 3.45kg, which is noticeable if you have to cart it around for any distance, but if you are going any further than from the lift to the Merc, there's always luggage trolleys. The weight is partly accounted for by the fact that this is a threespindle machine, so apart from the power supply, there's nothing else to add to the payload.

The 8speed DVDROM drive and floppy drive supplied with the review sample are both removable, so you can tweak the specification without needing to open the case up. The options on offer include an LS120 drive, plain CDROM, and a second battery pack if you need a longer running time.

You can also remove the 20GB IBM TravelStar hard disk quickly and easily, and there's a spare memory socket under the keyboard, so basic repairs and upgrades will be simple enough to carry out inhouse if desired.

The same applies to the internal V.90 modem and 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet adapter, which are combined on a MiniPCI card. This is vastly easier to remove and replace than many proprietary components, and of course there's a wider choice of available parts if you need to upgrade in the future.

The Armada has a nice, spacious keyboard which makes typing relatively straightforward, and Compaq has gone beyond the standard XGA screen and fitted this notebook with a 15inch panel that runs in SXGA, which is 1400 x 1050 in dots and lines. This means much more workspace to play with, and is another plus for the machine in general.

Used continuously, the Armada should keep going for up to 3.5 hours, which is reasonable for a powerful system like this, and performance was excellent thanks to a balanced configuration with no bottlenecks, which let the CPU do its stuff. Pricey, but impressive all the same, and with the Compaq name on the badge, this is likely to do well despite the cost.

Compaq Armada E500 P3850 features Verdict

This machine is probably not ideal for the typical private buyer or small business, but is likely to appeal to corporates looking for a seriously powerful notebook. Regrettably expensive, but very nicely done all the same.

Compaq Armada E500 P3850 price

2,770 VAT

Compaq 0845 2704000

The MediaBook 1000's main headlinegrabber is its 1,000MHz, or 1GHz, Pentium III CPU. But you can also add to that a Trident CyberBlade i1 3D graphics chipset for fully hardwareaccelerated 3D graphics, and an 8speed DVD ROM drive, which complements the CyberBlade's built in hardware DVDassist for glitchfree movie watching using the supplied software. Always nice for long i.e. all train journeys.

There's also a 20GB UDMA33 hard disk, 128MB of system memory of which 8MB is shared with the graphics system, a 14.1inch active matrix screen, plus a Lithium Ion battery rated for 3 hours typical life between charges. On the software side you get Microsoft Windows 98 ME, plus Works 2001. Importantly, this includes Word 2000 and you also get Autoroute 2000, among other things. Tiny targets less technically savvy customers and bundles some handy Windows tutorial software.

At the time of writing, the fastest low voltage SpeedStep Mobile Pentium III CPU available from Intel was rated at 850MHz. Tiny has managed to hit that magic 1,000MHz figure by using a desktop version of the Pentium III mated to a VIA chipset instead of Intel's more familiar MX solution.

This is an old trick from some notebook makers that keeps costs down, but has usually been at the cost of battery life. Excessive heat has also been a problem with some models in the past. Happily, we can report that the MediaBook 1000 is a relatively cool operator thanks to its generous cooling vents and fan. The only downside is that when triggered, the fan can be quite noisy. We couldn't match Tiny's claims for 3 hour battery life, but our experience of just over 2 hours isn't too bad.

While the MediaBook 1000 has an impressive hardware specification up to a point, it doesn't have an extended range of features to classify it as a premium notebook. There is no optional portreplicator or docking station option. The DVD and floppy drives are not part of an interchangeable parts arrangement, so you can't doubleup the batteries, for example. There is no wireless IrDA port, no integrated LAN port, nor an IEEE1394 Firewire port. However, an Svideo out port for connection to a TV, maybe for presentations, and a V.90 data/fax modem are provided.

The styling of the MediaBook 1000 is pleasant, with a combination of dark grey and silver. The keyboard is good, although the positioning of the Del key is not ideal. The 1024 x 768 screen is bright, but illumination into the bottom corners isn't even. At 3.2kg, this isn't a featherweight laptop, but neither is it a backbreaker.

Performancewise, the MediaBook 1000 was slightly disappointing. Our benchmarks indicated that hard disk and overall system performance was significantly below that of typical desktop systems touting a similar specification. In fact we'd expect some better examples of Intel MX/Mobile Pentium 850MHz based notebooks to marginally outperform the MediaBook 1000 in an overall system benchmark. But for all that, the MediaBook is fast by general comparative notebook standards and you can watch DVDs and even play 3D games satisfactorily.

Tiny Computers MediaBook 1000 features Verdict

In the end you have to evaluate a product like the MediaBook 1000 on its price as well as performance. It's a wellpackaged and very good value allrounder that's unlikely to be rendered useless through obsolescence as quickly as some less powerful alternatives.

Tiny Computers MediaBook 1000 price

1,399 inc. VAT

Tiny Computers 0800 783 9812

From the outside, the 1000UT looks like any other 8000 in the Inspiron range, but internally it's a different story. Powering the 1000UT is Intel's new 1GHz Mobile Pentium III SpeedStep processor which clocks down to 700MHz under battery power to save energy, backed up by 128MB of SDRAM. Then there is the screen a massive 15inch, 1600 x 1200 pixel TFT unit.

However, most important of all, the 1000UT features the new Nvidia GeForce2 Go graphics chipset. Based upon Nvidia's GeForce2 PC boards, the Geforce2 Go is the first mobile GPU Graphics Processing Unit and it takes notebook graphics to a new level. With 32MB of DDR Double Data Rate memory installed and AGP 4X support, it is claimed to deliver up to three times the 3D performance of the standard ATI Mobility M4 found in the previous range of Inspiron 8000 models.

One of the other features of the threespindle 1000UT is its support for two optical drives, so you can record from optical disk to optical disk without using the hard drive. The factory configured optical bay has a Toshiba 8speed DVDROM installed, while the modular drive bay on the front of the unit can support a CDRW the review system had a Sony 8x/4x/24x supplied which is an extra 250 VAT, a floppy drive supplied, a second hard drive, a Zip 100 unit or a second battery unit.

An IBM 32GB ATA/66 hard drive provides storage, so there's plenty of room for all your applications and, of course, games. A second bay in the front of the unit houses the battery, in this case a 3,800mAh unit, which gives the 1000UT a battery life of around two and a half hours. Not great, but then with a system weighing in at 3.8kg it doesn't lend itself to being carried around, so much of its life would be spent on a desk connected to the mains anyway.

Both LAN and modem sockets are provided by the 3Com combination mini PCI card. An alternative option is replace this card with Dell's TrueMobile 1150 802.11b wireless network setup, making wireless LAN configuration relatively painless.

The keyboard is well built and responsive, as are the trackpad and the mouse buttons. Above the keyboard are four AccessDirect buttons to allow rapid access to the Web and applications, and these also double up as controls for the DVD or CD player.

Along with the CPU and powerful graphics subsystem, what adds to the DVD playback experience is the ESS Maestro 3 audio system, which outputs to a good set of built in Harmon/Kardon Odyssey II Speakers. A good design feature is that these are side mounted in the chassis, so they are not obstructed when typing.

Dell provided the reviewed 1000UT with Windows ME as the operating system although Windows 2000 is available as an option and bundles Worksuite 2000 as the software package. Software for the optical devices comes in the form of Intervideo WinDVD and Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4. The 1000UT comes with a year's Europewide collect and return warranty as standard.

Dell Inspiron 8000 1000UT features Verdict

The Dell Inspiron 8000 1000UT is a powerful and wellequipped desktop replacement notebook. Although the CPU's performance is not much better than an 850MHz Mobile Pentium III, and its battery life is a little disappointing, the stunning graphics performance will make up for that, especially for the increasingly large number of business users who enjoy a little fragging in their spare time.

Dell Inspiron 8000 1000UT price

1,950 VAT

Dell 0870 152 4644

From the outside, the 1000UT looks like any other 8000 in the Inspiron range, but internally it's a different story. Powering the 1000UT is Intel's new 1GHz Mobile Pentium III SpeedStep processor which clocks down to 700MHz under battery power to save energy, backed up by 128MB of SDRAM. Then there is the screen a massive 15inch, 1600 x 1200 pixel TFT unit.

However, most important of all, the 1000UT features the new Nvidia GeForce2 Go graphics chipset. Based upon Nvidia's GeForce2 PC boards, the Geforce2 Go is the first mobile GPU Graphics Processing Unit and it takes notebook graphics to a new level. With 32MB of DDR Double Data Rate memory installed and AGP 4X support, it is claimed to deliver up to three times the 3D performance of the standard ATI Mobility M4 found in the previous range of Inspiron 8000 models.

One of the other features of the threespindle 1000UT is its support for two optical drives, so you can record from optical disk to optical disk without using the hard drive. The factory configured optical bay has a Toshiba 8speed DVDROM installed, while the modular drive bay on the front of the unit can support a CDRW the review system had a Sony 8x/4x/24x supplied which is an extra 250 VAT, a floppy drive supplied, a second hard drive, a Zip 100 unit or a second battery unit.

An IBM 32GB ATA/66 hard drive provides storage, so there's plenty of room for all your applications and, of course, games. A second bay in the front of the unit houses the battery, in this case a 3,800mAh unit, which gives the 1000UT a battery life of around two and a half hours. Not great, but then with a system weighing in at 3.8kg it doesn't lend itself to being carried around, so much of its life would be spent on a desk connected to the mains anyway.

Both LAN and modem sockets are provided by the 3Com combination mini PCI card. An alternative option is replace this card with Dell's TrueMobile 1150 802.11b wireless network setup, making wireless LAN configuration relatively painless.

The keyboard is well built and responsive, as are the trackpad and the mouse buttons. Above the keyboard are four AccessDirect buttons to allow rapid access to the Web and applications, and these also double up as controls for the DVD or CD player.

Along with the CPU and powerful graphics subsystem, what adds to the DVD playback experience is the ESS Maestro 3 audio system, which outputs to a good set of built in Harmon/Kardon Odyssey II Speakers. A good design feature is that these are side mounted in the chassis, so they are not obstructed when typing.

Dell provided the reviewed 1000UT with Windows ME as the operating system although Windows 2000 is available as an option and bundles Worksuite 2000 as the software package. Software for the optical devices comes in the form of Intervideo WinDVD and Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4. The 1000UT comes with a year's Europewide collect and return warranty as standard.

Dell Inspiron 8000 1000UT features Verdict

The Dell Inspiron 8000 1000UT is a powerful and wellequipped desktop replacement notebook. Although the CPU's performance is not much better than an 850MHz Mobile Pentium III, and its battery life is a little disappointing, the stunning graphics performance will make up for that, especially for the increasingly large number of business users who enjoy a little fragging in their spare time.

Dell Inspiron 8000 1000UT price

1,950 VAT

Dell 0870 152 4644

The case and lid surface are made from plastic, which is slightly disappointing given the significantly greater durability of magnesium alloy, but the actual quality of fit and finish is up to Toshiba's usual standards.

As you'd expect with a relatively small machine like this, there's only room for one drive in addition to the 10GB Fujitsu hard disk. Toshiba takes the usual approach to the problem and provides a module bay which can be used either for the 8speed Toshiba DVDROM or the floppy drive. We were a little disappointed to find that the bay did not support hotswapping between modules, and also noticed that you don't get a cable for running the floppy drive externally; both features that we'd have expected on a Toshiba.

The Satellite has a full complement of ports, including parallel, PS/2, USB, VGA and even IEEE1394 for fast transfer of fat video clips or big image files; only a conventional these days 'legacy' serial port is absent. You also get the standard stacked pair of Type II PC Cards and both 10/100 networking and V.90 comms are included as part of the basic package, on an upgradeable MiniPCI combo card.

The keyboard is sensibly organised and large enough to be usable without endless frustration, but the 12.1inch XGA TFT screen turned out to be somewhat on the dull side, which will be a disadvantage in bright ambient light.

Battery life was good by the standards of smaller portables, with running times stretching above three hours, but the choice of processor will tend to restrict this model to relatively undemanding tasks, although this is the usual way with small portables anyway. To help the 500MHz Mobile Celeron do a decent job, Toshiba supplies 128MB of SDRAM as standard, so while the Satellite lacks brute power, it still handles standard business apps tolerably smoothly.

Toshiba Satellite S35DVD features Verdict

Compact, lightweight and capable of decent battery life, but not without niggles like a rather dull screen and the lack of hotswap support for the drive bay. Quite a nice, compact portable on the whole, but not a Toshiba classic.

Toshiba Satellite S35DVD price

1,299 VAT

Toshiba 01932 828828

This is odd because, upon entering the notebook market just a few years ago, Sony built up a reputation for almost iBooklike design innovation gone were the dark grey and black case plastics and in their place came hideously bright blues and silvers. Not only that but Sony concentrated on the smallersized notebook market, making extremely desirable and almost pocketable machines like the one reviewed here, for example.

In contrast, the PCGFX101 is very dark blue. It's also approximately the same depth and width of any other notebook, although to give Sony credit, at 48mm it is thinner than many machines.

Inside the case, however, there's more distinctive Sony handiwork. Like virtually all Sony models, this is a multimedia notebook at heart and the principle selling point is the iLink IEEE1394 port built into the side. This is designed to take digital video DV cameras and compatible MiniDisc players, although it's entirely possible to plug hard drives and other peripherals in there too.

You also get a host of preinstalled Sony multimedia software, including video players, video editors, image editors, and MiniDisc editors, all of which might cost hundreds of pounds if bought separately.

Once you've got over the multimedia thrill, though, you're left with a surprisingly standard notebook. It's powered by a Mobile Celeron 600MHz processor along with a stingy 64MB of SDRAM there's space for 512MB more, care of a SODIMM socket. The hard disk is reasonable at 10GB and you get a 24speed CDROM drive. The TFT screen is quite a nice 13.3inch one and extra expansion is provided by the usual USB, PCMCIA type II 1 type III, serial, parallel and VGA sockets. There's also a builtin V.90 modem and the LithiumIon battery is quoted as lasting 1.5 hours in normal usage.

Notably missing, however, is a floppy drive. The multimedia credentials are also chipped away by that fact there's no DVDROM drive. But it's the lack of a floppy drive that, at the very least, makes getting files off or onto the notebook an utter pain.

Otherwise, this is a fairly competent, although not exceptional, notebook. The screen doesn't smudge much when playing video, for example, and colours are fairly strong. The builtin stereo speakers are weak but do the job you can't expect much more from a notebook, while performance measured in our tests is average for a 600MHz Celeron machine with just 64MB of memory.

We noticed a little jumpiness when streaming an AVI video from a CD, but once the file was copied to the hard disk then everything worked fine. The case is flexible and made out of a softergrade plastic but this should still protect the machine well.

Sony Vaio PCGFX101 features Verdict

At the end of the day, the FX101 falls flat on its face because of what it doesn't have no floppy drive, a meagre 64MB of memory, and no DVDROM or even CDR/RW drive for getting those hefty video files off the machine. Although the price sounds reasonable, you'd have to spend some money expanding it pretty early on.

Sony Vaio PCGFX101 price

935 VAT

Sony 08705 424424

Despite all this, NEC has gamely joined the market with this latest Versa. While not quite as compact as some of the models in Sony's Vaio lineup, this is certainly a small, slim machine, and will doubtless draw plenty of envious looks on the train or 'plane.

On first inspection, the inevitable compromises aren't too obvious. The keyboard is, of course, squeezed into a smaller than normal space, but it's still usable and has a light, responsive action. Some of the keys are really too small the tab key and the left Control key, for example but nothing too damning. The trackpad is of a reasonable size, too.

However, there are other omissions. There are no built in drives at all, apart from the modest 10GB hard drive. Both the floppy drive and the CDROM drive are supplied as plugin extras, using USB connectors. Fortunately the Versa UltraLite has two USB ports, so you can have both drives, which are themselves rather slim and stylish, connected at the same time. The notebook also has a builtin V.90 modem, an Intel Pro/100 network adapter, a single PC Card slot and the usual audio ports. If you want to connect an external monitor, you can, thanks to the supplied adapter cable, but forget about any serial or parallel devices this machine has no 'legacy' ports at all, so you're limited to printing via infrared if your printer doesn't have a USB port.

The screen is, inevitably, not huge. It's a 10.4inch TFT panel with a backlight that performs well enough in office lighting, but really isn't powerful enough to cope with even modestly bright daylight, so you're left squinting, especially as the screen's native resolution is 1024 x 768. This panel is driven by an ATI Rage MobilityM graphics chip, which shares some of its memory with the main processor, so usually you'll have about 112MB of the 128MB available for your work; more than sufficient for office work, really.

One feature that really does set this machine apart from the crowd is its processor; a 600MHz Transmeta Crusoe TM5600. Although initial reports of the battery life available from Transmeta's low power Crusoe chip were perhaps exaggerated, this new competitor to Intel and AMD does have something to offer.

Transmeta's technology, which is aimed at devices where low power consumption is important, has found its way into a couple of laptop PCs like this one. The Crusoe chip, designed to be x86 compatible with a reduced instruction set performing many tasks in software that other chips would handle in hardware won't win any out and out performance prizes. But that was never its goal. Instead, the whole point of this chip is to draw the minimum amount of power while still providing sufficient processing capability for the most common office tasks, such as wordprocessing, spreadsheet manipulation, emailing, Web browsing and so on.

On the basis of this machine, it seems to work pretty well. The notebook runs very cool, seems powerful enough for most office tasks but dogslow in benchmarks and the battery life is certainly impressive. We managed a shade over four hours in our tests, and given that many notebooks struggle to reach the two and a half hour mark, that's pretty good going. It's even more impressive considering the size of the Lithium Ion battery, which fits neatly into the hinge space between the keyboard and screen. It certainly wouldn't be a strain to carry around an extra battery or two, giving plenty of work time.

The mains power supply unit is, like the other components, quite slim and compact, and the whole ensemble would fit into quite a small carry case, if one were provided. It's not, but perhaps NEC believes this machine is small enough to fit into a briefcase along with documents, a mobile phone and the morning paper. In all honesty, it is, but some kind of extra protection would still have been nice.

NEC Versa UltraLite features Verdict

Like any other subnotebook, the Versa UltraLite has its fair share of design compromises, but the battery life available from this Crusoepowered machine is impressive, and it should appeal to the mobile professional. Once again, though, miniaturisation comes at a price.

NEC Versa UltraLite price

1,399 VAT

NEC 0870 010 6321

A removable 20GB IBM Travelstar hard disk provides a sensible amount of storage and the system is shipped with the choice of either an 8speed Toshiba DVDROM drive or a CDRW drive in its multipurpose bay. You don't get a floppy drive as standard though an externalonly USB module is available for 79 plus VAT, adding some 350g to the overall carrying weight.

Like most of the brandname notebook manufacturers, Acer has devoted some energy to the design aesthetics of its products, and the TravelMate is both distinctive and attractive to look at. Its signature feature is the curved layout of the keyboard; this, if anything, slightly improves the ergonomics, which are fairly good anyway thanks to a sensible layout that makes use of large keys where they are needed.

This notebook is also solidly put together, and incorporates sensible features for a travelling machine like shock shielding over the hard disk compartment and a metal alloy lid to protect the screen.

The TravelMate lacks parallel and serial ports, but both are supplied on a short adapter cable that plugs in to an expansion bus. This can also be used with the optional port replicator. You don't get Firewire, but the machine does have two USB ports, plus a standard PS/2 input for an external mouse or keyboard, and a single Type II PC Card slot for expansion. It's unlikely that you'll notice the lack of a second PC Card slot as both a V.90 Lucent modem and an Intel Pro/100 VE 10/100 network adapter are built in.

The motherboard is based around Intel's 815EM chipset, which incorporates a graphics processing element and, in this case, 4MB of dedicated display cache memory. It also borrows from main system memory like other members of the i815 family, but the presence of dedicated memory boosts graphics performance measurably. Although it's a fairly compact machine the designers have managed to squeeze in a 14.1inch TFT display, which proved to be bright and comfortably readable running in its native 1024 x 768 resolution.

But the most unusual feature of this notebook has to be its smart card security system, which can be configured to provide several layers of protection against unauthorised use. You can implement a BIOS lock which will not allow the machine to boot at all unless the correct card is inserted in the slot in the left side of the case, and you can follow up with a Windows login password, again requiring the presence of the correct card for it to work.

It's also possible to encrypt files and folders, with the smart card and password required to unlock them, so all in all there's enough to keep data safe from all but the most determined corporate or political espionage agents.

Battery life seems to average about two hours, which is a little less than ideal, but overall performance is quite good for a PIII/800 notebook. Since the price isn't by any means wildly inflated by the standards of corporate notebooks, the pieces all fall into place rather nicely. The TravelMate 610 is well worth a closer look if you are trying to find a lighter notebook for travelling use. And if security features are a concern, it really should be on your shortlist.

Acer TravelMate 610 features Verdict

The inclusion of smart card security makes an already good notebook even better, particularly for business use. High overall quality, manageable weight and dimensions, and an international one year warranty are among the TravelMate 610's other notable features.

Acer TravelMate 610 price

1,349 VAT

Acer UK 0870 900 2237

In fact, several of this notebook's components are more suited to the larger office environment, such as the standard spec of 128MB of RAM, the 10GB hard drive and the CDRW drive. This latter is built in rather than modular, as is the floppy drive, and even the Lithium Ion battery pack can only be removed by the use of a screwdriver.

Continuing the corporate theme, the 2200C has a builtin 10/100Mbps NIC, with just a single Type II PC Card slot for plugin modules. You do get a range of ports including USB but not serial but these are tucked out of the way on the back panel, to minimise desktop clutter.

Ergonomically this is quite a comfortable machine, with a good keyboard layout and accessible mouse trackpad, although there are no feet so the actual angle of the keyboard can't be changed. The 14.1inch SVGA TFT screen is reasonable and gives plenty of workspace, but with rather more brightness variation across the screen than we'd have liked.

Plastic, rather than alloy, has been used for most of the case construction of this notebook, and that means the screen backing is prone to flexing under pressure. Despite this, the construction quality seems good enough to survive a few knocks and bumps, as long as it isn't treated too roughly.

There's a Kensington lock slot and software/BIOS security to help deter intruders, and a one year RTB warranty is provided as standard, which may not be enough for companies looking to keep potential downtime to a minimum. Onsite repairs would generally be preferable, but that's probably our biggest complaint about this machine, which otherwise appears to be a dependable workhorse.

AJP 2200C features Verdict

A sensible if unexciting notebook, the AJP 2200C could be a good bulkbuy for corporates looking for ultrafast, semiportable machines for their workforce. It's uninspiring, but it does the job.

AJP 2200C price

1,300 VAT

Powered by a 700MHz Mobile Pentium III processor and 128MB of SDRAM memory, the X21 performs well enough and its 20GB hard drive provides plenty of storage space. To keep the weight and dimensions to a minimum, several features have been omitted from the notebook itself and are built into the media slice. For example, there are no serial or parallel ports built in, nor any way of using a PS/2 mouse or keyboard.

On the plus side you do get a single PC Card slot, a CompactFlash Type II slot ideal for IBM's range of Microdrives, two audio ports mic and headphones and a VGA socket for an external monitor, but there's no infrared port. For connectivity the Thinkpad X21 we reviewed came with a combined 3Com miniPCI card containing a 56Kbps modem and a 10/100Mbps network adapter.

As mentioned above, most of the drives are built into the optional media slice. The UltraBase X2 adds another 1kg to the overall weight, but has an integrated Ultrabay 2000 media bay, which allows for the swapping of optional media and storage devices. The one supplied with our review machine came with a 6speed DVDROM drive installed. The UltraBase X2 also provides a floppy drive, serial and parallel ports, a PS/2 port and two speakers.

The notebook's 12.1inch TFT screen is powered by a 4MB ATI Rage Mobility M graphics chip, which allows for a maximum native resolution of 1,024 pixels by 768 pixels. The keyboard is well built and laid out, and feels secure when in use, while above the keyboard are the volume buttons and the ThinkPad button, which opens the useful online help and information centre.

One aspect of the Thinkpad X21 that is particularly impressive is the life of its 3,600mAh LiIon battery; under test it gave an excellent three and a half hours of use.

IBM Thinkpad X21 features Verdict

The ThinkPad X21, although expensive, is a wellbuilt and surprisingly solid machine. It's easy to use and has excellent battery life and good connectivity, which many systems in this market segment fail to achieve.

IBM Thinkpad X21 price

1,807 VAT, UltraBase X2 149 VAT

IBM 01256 344 3002

To get to such a thin design the PCUM10 is just 20mm thick at its thickest point a lot of connectivity has had to be sacrificed. There are no builtin Bluetooth wireless, infrared or serial ports but you do get an integrated LAN and a modem port. To aid in its thin design the keyboard has been engineered so that it rises out of the system body when the lid is opened, but this does affect the feel of the keyboard in use; it's a little vague at times.

Powered by a 600MHz ultralowvoltage Mobile Pentium III processor, dropping to 300MHz on battery power under SpeedStep power management, the PCUM10 comes with 128MB of memory, which unfortunately cannot be upgraded. When running at 300MHz the PCUM10 gives a respectable tested battery life of just under three hours, despite the relatively small size of the standard battery pack. A larger battery pack, capable of holding three times as much charge, is also available.

Storage is provided by a Hitachi 20GB hard disk, while the graphics are powered by a 4MB ATI Rage MobilityM PCI chipset, which drives the 12.1inch TFT display giving a maximum resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels with 32bit colour depth. This display gives good contrast thanks to it's 'black panel' design.

Because the PCUM10 is legacyfree due to its thinness, the floppy and CDROM drives are optional units costing 71 VAT and 153 VAT respectively. There is an optional docking bar available that adds serial and parallel ports, a VGA port and two USB ports for an additional 94 VAT. One other slot that is missing is a Kensington lock slot for security.

Ports that are provided include one USB port, microphone and earphone sockets and a single Type II PC Card slot. Sharp says that it was too early to integrate Bluetooth capability into the PCUM10, but that this would appear in later versions of the notebook.

The only features on the system body besides the keyboard and the Trackpad are the on/off button and the system LEDs, which gives the notebook a clean and uncluttered feel. The underside of the system features a hard reset switch. Our review model came with Windows 2000 with service pack 2 preinstalled but no software bundle was preloaded.

Sharp PCUM10 Muramasa features Verdict

The Sharp PCUM10 Muramasa certainly is the thinnest and one of the lightest notebooks around at the moment. It performs adequately and has a very reasonable battery life, but the lack of connectivity due to the thinness of the design and the additional cost of the floppy and CDROM drives may put some people off.

Sharp PCUM10 Muramasa price

1,599 VAT

Sharp 0800 138 8879

That's not to say that this Acclaim is the perfect laptop it's not but it certainly offers most of the features that you'd want in a package that can easily slip into a briefcase. The dimensions are respectable for a start 269 x 242 x 25mm and the machine weighs in at 1.9kg. It's a tough piece of kit, too, with a magnesium alloy casing that gives it good torsional strength and hopefully some protection against knocks.

Inside the case of our test machine was a 1GHz Pentium III processor, but slower options down to 700MHz Celeron are also available. 64MB is the standard memory count, but our test machine had 192MB, of which 8MB was used by the onboard graphics adapter so don't expect massive 3D gaming power here. The potential maximum of 576MB of system memory is worth considering, though, as many ultraportable machines have limited expansion options in this area.

The display itself is a 12.1inch TFT panel running at 1024 x 768. It's a good quality screen with bright colours and sharp detail. There's a spacious 20GB hard drive, too, with options ranging from 10GB up to 30GB. Surprisingly for a machine of this size, the CDROM drive is builtin, but the floppy drive is external, plugging in via one of the unit's three USB ports.

Yes, three of them. Connectivity is definitely a plus point with this machine. You also have an IEEE1394 FireWire connector, a 56kbps internal modem and a 10/100Mbps Ethernet socket, plus builtin 802.11b wireless networking capability. There's no docking station supplied as standard, but ACi can provide one to match specific requirements i.e. serial and parallel ports for 129 VAT.

Couple that lot with a battery that lasts around two and a half hours and a lifetime RTB warranty labour only parts cover is for the first 12 months, and this becomes an appealing proposition.

ACi Acclaim features Verdict

There's not a lot wrong with this machine. It would make an excellent business laptop, combining portability with power, features and robust build quality. The only thing that slightly lets it down is the price similar machines are available from other companies for less. However, you should compare warranty and option details before deciding that one machine is cheaper than another for your specific needs.

ACi Acclaim price

1,399 VAT DVD upgrade 199 VAT, CDRW upgrade 179 VAT

ACi Ltd 020 8830 1958

The core specification is fairly predictable; 1GHz Flip Chip Pentium III, 192MB of SDRAM and a 20GB hard disk, while the graphics memory is sequestered from the main system. The actual graphics chip is S3's Twister.

Both the 14.1inch XGA TFT screen and the keyboard are of a good standard, the former pleasingly bright and the latter roomy and easy to get used to thanks to large keys and a fairly logical layout.

Probably on the basis of price, this model is equipped with a straight 8speed DVDROM rather than a combo drive, and like the floppy drive it is fixed, not modular.

As with the Rock Sigma, also reviewed here, there's no serial port on this machine, although it does have a conventional parallel port as well as two USB ports. It also sports a FireWire interface and the obligatory modem, plus an integrated 10/100BaseTX LAN adapter.

Battery life was fairly good at about 2 hours 20 minutes under continuous use, which should mean that you can get a meaningful amount of work done before the shutters come down.

A one year collect and return warranty rounds the Perfecta off nicely, and left us with the feeling that it represented better than average value for money.

ACi Perfecta price

999.00 VAT

ACi 020 8830 1958

The Voyager 5500A wins the prize for having the most memory installed in this group, with a whopping 384MB, which should even be enough to cope with the next version of Windows after XP. The hard disk is also larger than average at 30GB, but the optical drive proved to be a standard 8speed DVDROM rather than a fancy combo unit.

The overall build is similar to machines like the NEC Versa and the Rock Sigma, also in this group test, which is to say it's acceptable without really standing out. As with all the portables here except the Toshiba, the Evesham Voyager 5500A is a classic threespindle design with fixed rather than modular drives.

Like the ACi Perfecta, the Evesham Voyager 5500A has an S3 Twister graphics processor which appropriates memory from the admittedly abundant 384MB of main system RAM. With four out of six machines reviewed here using it, it's clear that shared memory architecture SMA, with its attendant costsavings, is a popular approach with suppliers.

Evesham has seen the wisdom of not turning its back on 'legacy' peripherals in too much of a hurry, and the Voyager 5500A has both parallel and serial ports as well as a pair of USB connectors. It's also kitted out with an internal modem and 10/100BaseTX LAN adapter, not to mention two possibly redundant Type II PC Card slots.

The keyboard is acceptable though not quite as nice as the Toshiba's, but the necessary keys are large enough and there's just about enough room for everything. The screen is unsurprising with its 14.1inch diagonal and native XGA resolution, but that's what you get for about 1,000. What matters here is that it's reasonably bright and free from any obvious manufacturing defects.

The low power consumption of the Mobile Athlon processor helped spare the batteries and we managed to keep going for around 2 hours 45 minutes in one session. This, along with the generous allocation of RAM, the relatively fast Athlon CPU and a really good warranty giving you two years onsite cover and a third year return to base parts and labour keep the Evesham Voyager 5500A in the running.

Evesham.com Voyager 5500A price

1,099.00 VAT

The design is typical threespindle, with all drives fixed in place, so you can't just whip out the supplied 8speed DVDROM and slap in a CDRW as the fancy takes you. You can fiddle about with the graphics memory though, since it is borrowed from the 128MB of main system memory. This approach, sometimes called SMA for shared memory architecture, is cheaper to make but graphics performance even in 2D mode is never very impressive.

The NEC Versa Premium comes equipped with the standardissue XGA resolution 14.1inch screen which is exactly what you'd expect, and we had no complaints about it since it avoided the common pitfall of being too dull.

The keyboard stands comparison with the one on the Sony Vaio, also reviewed here, in that it is reasonably spacious, makes use of large keys where they are an asset, and follows a fairly logical layout.

You get a full set of ports with this machine, so if you need parallel or serial as well as USB you won't be disappointed. There were some omissions though, namely the lack of a networking adapter and no provision for using a port replicator. Either of the two PC Card slots will cure the absence of a LAN adapter, but the port replicator problem is more intractable if it's something you want.

Given the price, the 1GHz Pentium III and 20GB hard disk seem reasonable choices, but the use of a Flip Chip processor means a noisy cooling fan and soso battery life of about 1 hour 45 minutes. Still, the NEC Versa Premium is not bad value at all for 899.

NEC Versa Premium price

899.00 VAT

NEC 0870 010 6322

For a start, the Rock Sigma Si is based on a 1.2GHz Pentium III, although it is a general purpose Flip Chip rather than the notebookspecific Mobile processor, so it runs hotter and uses more battery power.

Deferring to the truth about Windows XP, Rock sensibly supplies 256MB of memory as standard, rather than last year's basic helping of 128MB. The big numbers also make it down into the hard disk department, where you will find a capacious 30GB of storage awaiting your data.

The largesse extends to the optical drive, which turned out to be a combo unit providing 8x DVD playback and 20x/4x/4x CDRW from a single tray. Once again, the drives are fixed, not removable, but the dual functionality on offer means there's less potential need for modularity.

Things go off the boil slightly when you get to the graphics, which are powered by an SiS 630 accelerator integrated into the motherboard chipset just like the one used on the NEC Versa Premium. It too grabs a chunk of memory from the main system, but with 256MB to start with the loss is not going to cause any problems.

The expected 14.1inch XGA TFT screen puts in an appearance, but once again it turned out to be reasonably bright and so drew no criticism. Extras in the Rock Sigma Si include a 10/100BaseTX networking adapter and a modem, both integrated, plus a FireWire port, a copy of Windows XP Professional and one year's collect and return warranty.

Omissions which might cause the odd headache are the lack of a serial port you do get parallel and two USB though and no expansion bus for a port replicator. We also felt that the 1 hour 30 minutes or so of battery life was somewhat on the low side.

The keyboard on the Rock Sigma Si wasn't one of the best, with rather undersized Enter and Backspace keys, and once again you get a plastic lid so you will need to be careful about screen damage if you travel with the machine regularly.

These are all niggles rather than catastrophic failures, but added up they do rob the Rock Sigma Si of the clearcut edge it could have had.

Rock Sigma Si price

1,249.00 VAT

Rock 08709 909090

The optical drive is a nice bonus, combining 8speed DVD and 24x/8x/8x CDRW in a single unit. It's fixed, not modular, but you can remove the floppy drive and replace it with a second battery.

You might consider this in the light of the fairly feeble battery life of a little over an hour, but beware the weight the chunky, 49mm thick machine already tips the scales at 3.3kg and another battery is going to make it seriously hefty.

The screen on the Sony Vaio PCGFX405 is a little larger than average at 15 inches, but still works in the usual 1024 x 768 XGA resolution. The result is a pleasure to behold all the same; large, readable and bright. The keyboard is equally agreeable thanks to large keys where they are needed notably Enter, Backspace and Spacebar and a sensible layout that places everything where you'd expect it to be.

As is true of many notebooks, the graphics subsystem of the Sony Vaio PCG405 is fine for running 2D business applications but is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a replacement for a desktop 3D card. The Vaio is fitted with an 8MB ATI Rage MobilityM1 chip, a nofrills but perfectly adequate choice which is much the sort of thing you'd expect on an entrylevel notebook like this.

Networking capability as well as a modem seems to be a standard feature on most notebooks, so the Vaio scores a point for having both. This probably removes the need for the pair of PC Card slots, but they are there if you need them.

The traditional parallel and serial ports are present alongside a pair of USB sockets, so you will have no trouble hooking up existing peripherals. There's also an expansion bus so you could opt for the additional convenience of a port replicator. Digital photography enthusiasts might well find a use for the Firewire IEEE1394 port as a means of importing pictures for editing or output to the CDRW.

Overall, there is much to like, but the Sony Vaio PCGFX405 is not without its imperfections. There's the battery life, of course, and we weren't too keen on the rather flimsy construction of the lid either. The machine would have been more appealing if it were a little thinner and it has to be said perhaps a bit cheaper too.

Sony Vaio PCGFX405 price

1,364.00 VAT

Sony 0990 424424

Powered by Intel's new Mobile Pentium 4 ProcessorM, rated at 1.7GHz, combined with Intel's new 845MP mobile chipset and a massive 512MB PC2100 DDR memory, the performance of the GRX316SP when tested using mainstream business applications is actually not particularly impressive. However, like its desktop cousin, the Mobile P4 ProcessorM's performance improves when tested using more demanding applications such as video editing tools.

Disappointingly for a desktop replacement notebook, there is only one modular drive bay and that's used by the optical drive so there isn't room for a builtin floppy drive. The optical drive is a Sony DVD/CDRW combo drive with 8speed DVD read, 24speed CDROM read, 16speed CDR write and 10speed CDRW rewrite speed. For internal storage there is a 40GB Toshiba 4,200rpm hard drive. Although there isn't a floppy drive, there is a MagicGate Memory Stick slot.

The massive screen has a native resolution of 1,600 by 1,200 pixels UXGA, and is powered not by the most obvious choice Nvidia's GeForce4 Go but by an ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 chipset, with 32MB of DDR SDRAM. This is not quite as powerful as the Nvidia product, but still a very capable 2D/3D accelerator.

The Vaio GRX316SP's battery life of two and a quarter hours is pretty poor, but then at 3.75kg it's not likely to get carried around much anyway. But if you are feeling strong enough, the modular bay will accept a second battery.

Sony has tried to make the Vaio GRX316SP as legacyfree as possible when it comes to the I/O ports; there are no serial, PS/2 or infrared ports for example. What you get are parallel and VGA ports, three USB ports one on each side and one at the back, an iLINK IEEE 1394 port and a videoout port. There's also integrated Ethernet and a software modem but strangely and disappointingly for a notebook that costs this much, no built in wireless networking. Instead, one of the two PC Card slots will have to be used if you want this function.

As with most of Sony's high end notebooks there's a huge range of software bundled with the Vaio GRX316SP, including DVGate, PictureGear, WinDVD, PictureToy, Digital Print, ArcSoft Panorama Maker, Visual Flow, Smart Capture, MovieShaker, SonicStage, Real Jukebox / RealPlayer, Acrobat Reader, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Beatnik Plugin, Adobe Premiere 6.1LE, Quicktime 5.0, Norton AntiVirus and more. The notebook comes with a year's warranty.

Sony Vaio GRX316SP features Verdict

The Sony Vaio GRX316SP is an expensive general office desktop replacement notebook, especially when you can get better performance at a lower cost. But it is perfect if you need huge amounts of screen space for tasks such as video editing, something to which its combination of power and graphics performance is ideally suited.

Sony Vaio GRX316SP price

2,299 VAT

Sony 0990 424424

Powered by Intel's new Mobile Pentium 4 ProcessorM, rated at 1.7GHz, combined with Intel's new 845MP mobile chipset and a massive 512MB PC2100 DDR memory, the performance of the GRX316SP when tested using mainstream business applications is actually not particularly impressive. However, like its desktop cousin, the Mobile P4 ProcessorM's performance improves when tested using more demanding applications such as video editing tools.

Disappointingly for a desktop replacement notebook, there is only one modular drive bay and that's used by the optical drive so there isn't room for a builtin floppy drive. The optical drive is a Sony DVD/CDRW combo drive with 8speed DVD read, 24speed CDROM read, 16speed CDR write and 10speed CDRW rewrite speed. For internal storage there is a 40GB Toshiba 4,200rpm hard drive. Although there isn't a floppy drive, there is a MagicGate Memory Stick slot.

The massive screen has a native resolution of 1,600 by 1,200 pixels UXGA, and is powered not by the most obvious choice Nvidia's GeForce4 Go but by an ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 chipset, with 32MB of DDR SDRAM. This is not quite as powerful as the Nvidia product, but still a very capable 2D/3D accelerator.

The Vaio GRX316SP's battery life of two and a quarter hours is pretty poor, but then at 3.75kg it's not likely to get carried around much anyway. But if you are feeling strong enough, the modular bay will accept a second battery.

Sony has tried to make the Vaio GRX316SP as legacyfree as possible when it comes to the I/O ports; there are no serial, PS/2 or infrared ports for example. What you get are parallel and VGA ports, three USB ports one on each side and one at the back, an iLINK IEEE 1394 port and a videoout port. There's also integrated Ethernet and a software modem but strangely and disappointingly for a notebook that costs this much, no built in wireless networking. Instead, one of the two PC Card slots will have to be used if you want this function.

As with most of Sony's high end notebooks there's a huge range of software bundled with the Vaio GRX316SP, including DVGate, PictureGear, WinDVD, PictureToy, Digital Print, ArcSoft Panorama Maker, Visual Flow, Smart Capture, MovieShaker, SonicStage, Real Jukebox / RealPlayer, Acrobat Reader, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Beatnik Plugin, Adobe Premiere 6.1LE, Quicktime 5.0, Norton AntiVirus and more. The notebook comes with a year's warranty.

Sony Vaio GRX316SP features Verdict

The Sony Vaio GRX316SP is an expensive general office desktop replacement notebook, especially when you can get better performance at a lower cost. But it is perfect if you need huge amounts of screen space for tasks such as video editing, something to which its combination of power and graphics performance is ideally suited.

Sony Vaio GRX316SP price

2,299 VAT

Sony 0990 424424

Stylingwise this machine isn't anything special, but it's not too overthetop and quite discreet. Most of the casing is made from plastic, but it's thick enough to survive a few knocks and drops and there's sufficient screen support to prevent any serious flexing. The 1400 x 1050 pixel resolution LCD display, which is 15.1 inches in size, is sharp and bright and gives plenty of work space. This screen is powered by the ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 in 32MB guise and there's the option of sending the display output to either the VGA DSub port at the rear or the Svideo port, i.e. to an external monitor or television set respectively.

Aside from the 30GB hard drive, there's also a floppy drive and an 8speed DVDROM drive. The latter is modular and can be swapped with other factory options, such as a CDRW drive or a combo CDRW/DVDROM drive. The floppy drive is integrated into the lefthand side of the case and cannot be swapped. The notebook has 256MB of DDR memory, which can be upgraded to a maximum of 1GB via SODIMM sockets in the base of the unit.

The Asus L3C has both a 56Kbps modem and a 10/100Mbps network adapter built in and there's also a brace of IEEE 1394 FireWire ports provided for digital video editing or the connection of external hard drives and other highbandwidth peripherals. There's also the usual audio and USB connectivity. An 802.11b wireless network adapter is available as an optional extra, as is a Bluetooth module and GPRS modem. The notebook has a fullfeatured keyboard and trackpad mouse with extra scroll buttons, and comes with Windows XP installed.

This machine is best used as a desktop replacement; quite apart from its power, the cooling fans push out warm air underneath the machine, so the space provided by the raised rear feet is essential to allow the internal components to be properly cooled.

Asus L3C features Verdict

The Asus L3C is a fast machine with pretty good battery life given its power about two and a quarter hours and a comprehensive range of features. The screen, storage, keyboard and general design are all good. One of the first Mobile Pentium 4 notebooks to be launched in the UK, the Asus L3C is a worthy desktop replacement notebook.

Asus L3C price

1,850 VAT

Asustek 886 2 2894 3447

Stylish, in a silver and slate grey chassis, the E7010 we looked at used a 1.7GHz CPU which drops to 1.2GHz when running under battery power, but it is also available with 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz versions of the same chip.

The reviewed system came with 256MB of 266MHz PC2100 DDR memory, but if this isn't enough for your requirements the motherboard can support up to 1GB through two SODIMM slots, access to which is easily obtained through a panel in the base of the chassis.

One of the drawbacks with the E7010 is that all the indicators for battery charging, battery level, hard disk activity, etc. are graphically shown in a panel at the top of the keyboard, which obviously can't be seen when the lid is shut; not ideal when you're running an external monitor and keyboard.

The keyboard itself has large keys which are easy to use, and it is mounted far enough up the chassis to make typing comfortable. But although wellbuilt, the whole keyboard does flex a considerable amount in use. The E7010 uses a trackpad for the pointing device and this is accompanied by three mouse buttons.

The 14inch TFT screen is driven by a powerful ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics chip using 32MB of memory, which supports the screen in its native resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels at a maximum refresh rate of 200Hz with 32bit colour depth. The graphics adapter can also support external monitors up to a resolution of 1600 x 1280 pixels, at a refresh rate of 85Hz.

Featurewise, the E7010 is well served. There is a 40GB hard drive, an 8speed DVDROM drive and both integrated LAN and Wireless LAN, along with an integrated 56Kbps modem. All the major input/output ports are present on the back panel; serial, parallel, VGA, infrared, single PS/2, SVideo out, LAN and two USB ports. The lefthand side of the chassis contains the wireless LAN, modem ports, Kensington Lock slot and two PC Card slots, one of which was occupied in our review system by a Smart Card holder.

The Lifebook E7010 is a powerful notebook, and weighing just 2.2Kg it's equally at home on the desktop or on the road. If you do use it on the road, it gives a reasonable two and half hours of battery life on a single 3,800mAh battery.

FujitsuSiemens Lifebook E7010 features Verdict

The tweaks made to the Lifebook range appear to have been worthwhile. This notebook has all the features and performance you'd need in a package that leaves little room for improvement. We'd like to see a less flexible keyboard and perhaps the status LEDs moved to a more prominent position, but other than that this is a solid workhorse.

FujitsuSiemens Lifebook E7010 price

1,440 VAT

FujitsuSiemens 01344 475 555

Powered by a 1.7GHz Intel Pentium 4M SpeedStep processor, along with 256MB of 266MHz DDR memory, the Satellite Pro 6100 has plenty of power to get the job done. If you need more memory the two SODIMM slots allow for a maximum of 1GB of RAM to be fitted.

The screen is neatly hinged in the middle of the chassis, allowing the speakers to be built into the hinge housing. The screen itself is a 15inch TFT unit. The thin lid does allow for a degree of flex in the display, so you'll have to be gentle when adjusting it. Powering the display is one of Nvidia's latest mobile graphics chipsets, the GeForce4 420 Go. Powered by 32MB of memory, it can handle resolutions up to 1200 x 1600 pixels.

For storage, Toshiba equips the Satellite Pro 6100 with a 40GB, 5,400rpm hard drive, more than enough for everyday business use. In the modular bay in the review system there was an 8speed DVDROM and 8/8/24speed CDRW combo drive. This can be replaced by a second hard drive or a second battery as optional extras.

Connectivity wise, the Satellite Pro 6100 is well served. Behind a dropdown panel in the rear of the notebook there are serial, parallel and VGA ports along with ports for the integrated modem and LAN. For networking duties, in addition to the integrated Intel PRO/100 VE Ethernet adapter, there is also a wireless LAN module built in. Rounding up the ports there are two USB and a single PS/2 port, plus videoout, infrared, two PC Card slots and a Secure Digital slot.

Despite the small 3,600mAh battery supplied, the Satellite Pro 6100 manages a battery life of just under two hours, which isn't bad when you consider that the processor drops down to a stillrespectable 1.2GHz when off the mains. If you are using the Satellite Pro 6100 on the road, then it's well worth sacrificing the optical drive for a second battery, bearing in mind that this will add to the 3.1kg that the notebook weighs in standard trim.

Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100 features Verdict

The Satellite Pro 6100 is a capable desktop replacement, full of features and connectivity, which can be used at a pinch on the road if you go for the additional battery pack. It's best suited to life near a mains supply, though, where its processor power and disk drives can be used to full effect.

Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100 price

1,799 VAT

Toshiba 01932 828 828

Under the bonnet beats a lowvoltage 800MHz Mobile Intel Pentium III CPU, mated to 256MB of PC100 memory. When running on batteries, the CPU automatically throttles back to a 500MHz maximum clock rate. Intel's nextgeneration 'deepsleep' SpeedStep powersaving technology is used to good effect and we achieved just over four hours of continuous use. A larger battery is available that can almost double the uptime.

As standard you get Sony's implementation of Bluetooth, plus an integrated WLAN 802.11b wireless networking port. Sony's i.Link version of FireWire IEEE1394 is also provided with proprietary power out connector, plus a single USB1.1 port. There are 3.5mm stereo headphone and mic sockets plus stereo speakers.

The SRX41P is legacyfree, so there are no conventional serial or parallel ports, no infra red and not even PS/2 mouse/keyboard ports or a conventional external monitor port. Instead there is a mini connector that accommodates a monitor adapter lead.

There is one Type I/II CardBus PCMCIA slot and a Sony Magic Gate Memory Stick slot. You will also find neat, if rather flimsy, doors protecting a PSTN RJ11 modem port and a 10/100 Ethernet RJ45 port.

A 10.4inch TFT panel hosts an SVGA resolution 1024 x 768 screen. With barely more than half the area of a 14.1inch screen, anyone with uncorrected sight will have problems, though this bespectacled reviewer found the screen adequate, especially as it has a wide viewing angle. One complaint is that when running on batteries the screen backlight is automatically dimmed considerably, making the screen difficult to read in anything but shady conditions. And 3D games don't run well on the SRX41P's simple video hardware.

The SRX41P keyboard takes some getting used to. It's a couple of centimetres narrower than a typical desktop replacement laptop keyboard, but the biggest problem is the arrangement of the right hand shift and arrow keys. As the arrow key cluster has not been relocated to make room for the shift key, it's only a single keytop width and it's too easy to hit the up arrow key instead. Home, Page Up/Down and End functions are doubled up on the arrow keys. There is no trackpoint control, but if you like touch pads, the SRX41P is a good example. It also features an integrated jog/dial style control which links to a Sony utility.

The only drive you'll find inside the SRX41P is its 30GB hard disk. The thin case means its clicking and clunking can be surprisingly loud when the surroundings are quiet. The screen backlight also buzzes noticeably. A neat 16speed PCMCIA interfaced external CD ROM drive is available but only as a 188 VAT option, as is an external floppy unit for 59VAT. You can also opt for a 335 VAT DVD/CD i.Link combo unit, which is also available bundled with a slightly different version of this computer, called the SRX51P.

While a 800MHz Pentium III is no longer considered racy, it's adequate for most typical office and productivity applications. Sony supplies the SRX41P loaded with Windows XP Professional, but there is no additional software bundle apart from a collection of Sony multimedia and digital music apps. Some of these apps can remotely control some Sony camcorders via i.Link.

Sony Vaio PCGSRX41P features Verdict

Despite the screen size, legacy freedom constraints and keyboard compromises, the SRX41P is actually a marvellous little beast. Its lightness and battery thrift are a delight and overall performance is more than adequate. On top of that, the SRX41P is stylish and practical. For anyone who needs to travel with a laptop frequently, the SRX41P has to be considered, despite its relatively high cost.

Sony Vaio PCGSRX41P price

1,430 VAT

Sony 0990 424424

Housed in the familiar black, composite, titanium chassis, the Thinkpad A30P is powered by a 1.6GHz P4M backed by 256MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM. It can accommodate up to a maximum of 1GB of memory through two DIMM slots. The CPU speed drops to 1.2GHz when running under battery power and the 4,000mAh battery gives a reasonable life of two and a half hours.

The Thinkpad A30P comes with two modular drive bays; an Ultrabay and an Ultrabay Plus. Both of these can accept a number of other drives as well a second battery, but the Ultrabay Plus has the added advantage that it can also accept either a Workpad Palm cradle or a numeric keypad.

Only the basic Ultrabay was used in the review system, occupied by a DVD/CDRW 8x/8x/24x/8x combo drive. For internal storage there is 40GB IBM hard drive, so working with large amounts of data shouldn't pose too much of a problem. There are also two Type II PC Card slots, which are stacked so they can also take a Type III card.

The 1400 x 1050 pixel TFT screen is driven by a 32MB ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics adapter. This is an AGP 4X chipset that uses DDR memory, which gives the Thinkpad A30P true 3D performance maybe not enough to run the more powerhungry 3D games, but at least you can play some of them and that's a rarity in a notebook.

One of the Thinkpad A30P's strongest points is its connectivity; in addition to an Intel Pro/100VE network adapter and a 56Kbps, V.92capable modem, it also comes with wireless networking, so there should be no problem connecting the Thinkpad A30P with the outside world.

All the usual I/O connectors are on the rear panel; serial, parallel, VGA, two USB, modem, LAN and SVideo, while the sides of the chassis house the three audio ports and infrared port, but strangely no FireWire port.

The keyboard is well positioned and the whole unit has a high degree of build quality; the keys are responsive, as is the trackpoint and the three mouse buttons. Situated on the left hand side of the keyboard are six Internet navigation buttons; mail, home, search, favourites, reload and stop, the first three of which can be userconfigured. Above the keyboard are the volume controls and a button to access the online Thinkpad help software.

IBM Thinkpad A30P features Verdict

The IBM Thinkpad A30P is a powerful, wellspecified but pricey addition to the Thinkpad range of desktop replacement laptops. It combines good performance with an outstanding array of connectivity features.

IBM Thinkpad A30P price

2,470 VAT

IBM 0800 169 1458

The model reviewed here is one of the more powerful, with a 1.7GHz CPU, and Dell has taken the sensible step of leveraging Pentium 4 performance with PC2100 DDR SDRAM. Better still, you get a realistic 256MB of this memory as standard, along with a plentifully capacious 30GB hard disk.

There's a choice of optical drives, so you could save some money by opting for a plain CDROM, but the review sample came with a CDRW/DVD combination drive which plays CDs at 24speed, DVDs at 8speed, and carries out writes and rewrites at 8speed. The floppy and optical drives are fixed in place, so there's an argument for getting the most versatile at the outset, especially if the machine is being bought for the home.

An internal V.92 fax modem comes as standard, and you can opt for an internal 10/100BaseTX internal LAN if you need it. The review machine came with one installed which made it slightly more expensive.

Graphics are provided by Nvidia's GeForce2 Go 100 accelerator, which was fitted with 16MB of DDR memory. This is an appropriate choice of GPU for a system like this, since it offers good 2D performance for general Windows use plus a moderate amount of 3D acceleration, which comes in handy for the occasional spot of gaming. The Nvidia adapter does the job, but it's probably a good idea to keep your games' resolution, colour depth and detail levels at middling settings for smoothest play.

The screen has recently been upgraded, and the 15inch panel now runs in SXGA 1400 x 1050 rather than straight XGA. This gives you quite a bit more desktop and workspace area, but of course the size of text and screen objects is much reduced. If you don't get on with highresolution notebook panels for this reason, you could save some cash by specifying the 14.1inch XGA panel as an alternative.

You don't get a TV output, nor is there an IEEE1394 interface. The serial port has also disappeared, to be replaced by a pair of USB ports, but both the parallel port and a PS/2 connector for an external keyboard remain.

You might well not need the latter since the Inspiron's own keyboard is entirely usable, thanks in part to the machine's overall size. Its 328 x 274mm footprint makes for comfortable typing, but this is not a notebook for the regular traveller, since its dimensions contribute to its weight; a fairly substantial 3.65kg.

Build quality is generally fairly good, and the main body of the notebook feels solid and well put together. The screen lid is plastic, and relies on a generous clearance between itself and the actual screen to absorb the force of any impacts. This is an effective enough tactic, but in a perfect world, magnesium or titanium alloy would be preferable.

Despite its inbuilt powersaving routines, the Pentium 4M is still relatively thirsty and battery life will tend to average at around the two hour mark. This is acceptable for a fast notebook, but obviously it isn't going to let you work away from the mains all afternoon.

Overall performance is fairly good, thanks to the combination of P4 power with fast DDR memory and a reasonably responsive hard disk. The supplied copy of Office XP Home ran happily, and so should anything else within the normal range of business software.

The basic warranty gives you the benefit of collect and return cover, although Dell quotes a six day collection period. Faster onsite cover is available, but of course it costs more 199 buys three years' worth of next day onsite maintenance.

On balance the Inspiron is a product that works you get the features that you need, wrapped up in a well designed package which doesn't cost the earth.

Dell Inspiron 2650 features Verdict

The new Dell Inspiron 2650 offers a good allround specification for the price, coupled with reasonable overall build quality and ergonomics. Its size and weight make it unsuitable for the frequent traveller, but it's certainly worth consideration by those seeking a competent home or business notebook that doesn't cost a fortune.

Dell Inspiron 2650 price

1,471 VAT

Dell 0870 152 4699

An upgrade of the C1MGP model introduced in the spring, the Vaio C1MHP gets an increase in speed for its Transmeta Crusoe processor to 867MHz, plus an extra 128MB of system memory to take the total to 256MB. Half of this is higher speed DDR RAM to maximise the performancecritical function of the Crusoe processor's 'code morphing' engine, which claims 20MB. The single changeable 128MB microDIMM can be swapped for a 256MB unit, making a total of 384MB.

Microsoft Windows XP Professional is now standard, as is a 30GB hard disk. Sony's slimline external PCGACRWD2 i.Link FireWire IEEE1394 combo 8X DVD player and 24x24x10 CDRW burner is part of the package. At half a kilo, the drive complements the 1kg C1MHP well and no external power supply is required. A sideways mount detachable base is also supplied, but no floppy drive is included.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the C1MHP is its UWSXGA screen, sporting an amazing horizontal 1,280 pixel count, with 600 vertically. That's a remarkable 160 dots per inch physical resolution around four times as many pixels per square inch compared with most conventional 14 or 15inch notebook displays. The viewing angle range is excellent and despite the screen's size it's not too difficult to read.

DVDs play well on the Vaio C1MHP. An ATI Radeon mobile 7500 video subsystem, addressing 8MB of video memory, makes the C1MHP capable of running 3D games tolerably, if not speedily. Dual monitor support is also included.

Another notable feature of the Vaio C1MHP is its hardware MPEG2 encoder/decoder. This theoretically makes the Vaio C1MHP a makeshift digital video recorder, though you can only record composite video signals using the supplied port replicator. This also provides a single 10/100 network socket, a second USB1.1 port and a 15way Dsub monitor port. You can also record low resolution still images, plus video, using the builtin 'Motion Eye' camera. Basic digital video editing and capture software is bundled.

Bluetooth 1.1 wireless connectivity is integrated and the quoted range is up to 100 metres. The accompanying Bluespace control software is very snazzy, complete with radar animations and sound effects. Wifi is not built in and would have to occupy the sole Type I/II PCMCIA slot. Wired network support is only provided by the port replicator. There is one Sony Memory Stick slot.

The keyboard is tightly packed and it's all too easy to miss the miniscule right hand shift key and annoyingly hit the up arrow key instead. Even so, the keys have good feel and touchtyping is not a problem after a short period of adaptation. There is no room for a touch pad, but the trackpoint style nipple is quite serviceable.

A single lightweight lithiumion battery pack is built into the cylindrical spindle that separates the screen from the keyboard. It's good for about 2.5 hours of word processing, but only about an hour and ten minutes when watching a DVD. Double and quad capacity packs are available, but they are disappointingly expensive.

After prolonged use of the Vaio C1MHP, undoubtedly its biggest problem is its lack of sheer grunt. We found that an ageing Pentium III 450 desktop can sometimes outrun the 867MHz Crusoepowered C1MHP. Our C1MHP failed to record video from the Motion Eye camera smoothly. The hard disk subsystem keeps very busy, indicating that memory resources are tested. The upgrade to 384MB is, it seems, a vital one. A potential intermediate solution is to prune the many Sony applets that load by default, while removing the 2MB desktop background helped a bit.

Sony Vaio C1MHP Picturebook features Verdict

Overall, the Sony Vaio PCGC1MHP Picturebook is a very portable, coollooking and innovative notebook. But its performance could be a serious concern, and it remains to be seen whether the extra memory will make a dramatic difference.

Sony Vaio C1MHP Picturebook price

1,499 VAT

Sony 0990 424424

There are two varieties of Tablet PC; those which are entirely dependent on pen input and those with a keyboard like a conventional notebook. The Portg 3500 is of the second type, in fact it bears a very close resemblance to the Portg 2000 on which it is clearly based.

Some see this as a strength, others as the first problem. On the positive side, the fact that the Portg is a 'convertible' means that you have full conventional notebook functionality cleverly paired with pen input. On the negative, the 3500 is significantly more expensive than a comparably specified nopen alternative. You are clearly expected to pay a premium for Tablet technology.

So what exactly do you get that's different Well, the short answer in hardware terms is not actually all that much.

Everything hinges, if you'll pardon the pun, on the way the lid is attached. You can open it up and work on the keyboard as per a normal clamshell notebook, or you can pivot the screen around 180 degrees until it faces away from you, then close the lid. Now you have a tablet, writing surface uppermost, ready for pen input.

An icon on the Taskbar lets you walk the screen orientation round in 90 degree steps, giving you the choice of two portrait and two landscape display alignments. You will probably find yourself making use of this feature even if you simply want the default landscape view you get by rotating and closing the lid.

When you first do this, the image on the screen is upsidedown, so you turn the notebooknowtablet around. It's then that you realise that the machine itself is wedgeshaped in profile, because now the screen tilts away from you.

This is bad for the viewing angle, never mind the ergonomics of actually writing, so you need to flip the image around 180 degrees rather than the notebook in order to get everything the way it should be. By this time, you might be getting just a little frustrated, and the software controlling the screen orientation doesn't let you store your preferred settings, so you have to repeat the process every time.

If you need to carry the Portg around as you work, which seems likely given the natural synergy between pen input and vertical markets from stock control to medicine, you may start to tire of it after a while. On the face of it, the 1.85kg it weighs doesn't seem much, but try carrying it around in the crook of your arm for several hours and see if it feels as light as when you started.

The machine would have been heavier if it had either a floppy or an optical drive, but it has neither. Both are options 59 and 165 for a floppy and a CDROM respectively, and both must be connected externally.

This drew our attention to the fact that the Portg is light on ports. You get two USB, VGA and a combo modem/LAN jack, and that's the lot. Apparently a USB port replicator is in the pipeline, but for now you have to make do with what you get.

When it comes to actually using the pen interface, the results are mixed. On the one hand you have to admire the way the handwriting recognition can handle cursive script written at any angle, on the other you curse its insistent misinterpretations of a carefully rewritten word. Like all handwriting recognition software, the XP Tablet extensions are imperfect, though still impressive on occasion.

On the hardware side, the way the pen activates the cursor before the nib actually touches the screen takes some adapting to although this is written into Microsoft's Tablet PC specification, so it's a feature not a bug. Also, the hard, slippery surface of the screen makes neat, consistent handwriting hard to achieve.

The relatively modest 12.1inch screen is coupled with a native resolution of 1024 x 768. This makes everything fairly small and harder to hit accurately with that rather lively cursor, which tends to start moving just before you expect it to. That said, custom applications designed for tasks like data collection will almost certainly work well on the Tablet PC platform, which means that where there's a need, there should be a market for the concept.

On batteries the Portg runs for around 2.5 hours, which is important since this is a machine designed to be used on the go. With this in mind we can live with the figure, although something closer to 3.5 hours would have been much better.

The machine is based on a 1.33GHz Pentium IIIM backed up by 256MB of PC133 SDRAM and a 5,400 rpm 40GB IBM TravelStar hard disk. Graphics get the treatment from a basic Trident CyberAladdinT GPU which grabs 16MB of memory from the main system for its own use.

The result is solid, middleoftheroad performance which will answer the needs of the typical Tablet PC user wanting to run Windows applications with some degree of pen input and customisation.

When you step back from the Portg, it's overall high standard of build and essentially quite clever design screen orientation niggles aside are clearly evident. Ponder a while longer and the relative lack of ports and the absence of either a floppy or optical drive may begin to rankle, especially if you are already gritting your teeth at the premium you are paying for Tablet technology.

It really remains to be seen how strong the demand will be for convertible Tablet PCs like this. Plain, penonly Tablet PCs are lighter to carry and cheaper to buy, so each approach has its advantages, and will probably find its own market. While there will certainly be a demand for the Tablet PC concept, it is safe to say that the world will not be converting wholesale overnight, whatever Microsoft might have us think.

Toshiba Portg 3500 Tablet PC features Verdict

Toshiba has essentially got it right with its 'convertible' design, and there's no doubt that the Portg 3500 is a quality product. It's also relatively expensive, especially when you consider that the floppy and optical drives are charged as extras. A good start to the Table PC era, but there's still work to be done.

Toshiba Portg 3500 Tablet PC price

1,799 VAT

Toshiba 01932 828828

This is not as leftfield as it might seem. Both companies advance cautiously, making relatively small, incremental changes to tried and tested designs. Both have ended up with a deserved reputation for quality and a number of products which are manifestly superior to much of the competition. Great bursts of creative fireworks might be relatively infrequent, but there's absolutely no doubt that this approach delivers results.

In this case, it has delivered the Thinkpad X30, which for want of a better term, is a subnotebook. In other words, it's smaller than the vaguely A4 format common to most portables and as a result it's much more suitable for the regular traveller. The 273mm x 223mm W x D footprint makes this Thinkpad one of those machines that could, at a pinch, fit inside a briefcase. At 1.65kg, it is also light enough to be carried in this way, so you could potentially dispense with that annoying second piece of cabin luggage; the bulky computer shoulder bag with 'mug me' written across it in neon lettering.

As usual, this combination of size and weight has come at the cost of internal floppy and optical drives. These are available as external units, and as usual, you get to pay extra for them 49 for the floppy drive and a stern 293 for a DVD/CDRW combo.

A travelling notebook must be durable, or it will soon die, so we were happy to find that the Thinkpad X30 is largely encased in titanium alloy, including the vital, screensaving lid surface. Pick it up and you can instantly tell that you are holding a decent piece of workmanship. The machine isn't just tough, it's also well thought out. The core specification makes sense for a portable, generalpurpose business machine 1.2GHz Pentium IIIM at the helm fast enough but not so hot as a P4M, 256MB of PC133 SDRAM memory and a 40GB hard disk.

If you want to upgrade the memory, there's an empty SODIMM socket readily accessible under a plate in the base. If the hard disk needs to come out for replacement, removing it is the work of a moment.

Some subnotebooks are a Faustian bargain between size and usability, but not this one. There's enough room for the keyboard to have the right proportions, including sensiblysized Spacebar and Enter keys. This means you can actually type on it at a reasonable pace, and your hands won't fall of after half an hour. You might prefer a touchpad to the keyboardstud pointing device IBM is so fond of, but this is the only niggle here.

The screen is as large as it reasonably can be in the circumstances, which gives it a 12.1inch diagonal. The 1024 x 768 native resolution means small text and screen objects, but most people manage quite happily with this combination. The TFT panel itself is brightly lit, generates vivid colours, and has a reasonably wide range of viewing angles.

Behind the scenes is a somewhat unglamorous but perfectly adequate Intel 830 graphics controller. This is basically part of the motherboard chipset, and like most such integrated GPUs it borrows 16MB of memory from the main system. If we have a gripe here it's really that a machine as expensive as this ought to offer something a bit more sophisticated than i830 and shared memory architecture.

IBM has wisely kitted the Thinkpad X30 out with plenty of ports, so you don't need to carry a docking base around with you everywhere just in case. The lineup includes two USB sockets, FireWire, VGA, a Type II PC Card slot and a CompactFlash memory card slot, plus a parallel port. Comms are provided by the usual combination of an internal 56K modem and 10/100BaseTX LAN adapter, but you also get 802.11b wireless networking, and of course this being IBM Bluetooth.

Subnotebooks need decent battery life or there's no point to them, so the spectacle of the Thinkpad X30 running quite happily for 3.5 hours was just what we were hoping to see. If you are serious about working on the go, you can clap a secondary battery under the base and boost the running time to nearly 7 hours yes, we did test this. The battery costs an extra 140, and brings the weight up to 2.1kg, but when DC running time is paramount this will prove an acceptable price to pay.

We weren't expecting particularly great things out of the Thinkpad when it came to performance, so we were pleasantly surprised here too. In fact it turned out to be respectably fast for its class, especially considering that smaller notebooks often don't run as fast as their larger counterparts. The final dollop of icing on the cake comes in the form of a generous three year international carryin warranty, something you should never leave home without.

So do you go out and buy this notebook Well, yes, if you can afford it. Like a certain brand of wristwatch, the Thinkpad doesn't come cheap at, although the price is only a recommended one and there will be some dealer discounting.

The fact that you have to pay extra for the drives and extra for the neat little docking base 149, thank you means that if you want the full package, you are going to have to pay handsomely for it. On the other hand, the same rules apply everywhere if you want something demonstrably superior, you are going to have to dig that bit deeper in your pockets. On balance, we'd say it was worth it.

IBM Thinkpad X30 features Verdict

The IBM Thinkpad X30 is an excellent subA4 notebook offering speed, great battery life and good ergonomics in a light, robust and compact package. It doesn't come cheap, of course, and you have to fork out more for the floppy and optical drives and docking base, but there's no doubt that the Thinkpad X30 is a cut above.

IBM Thinkpad X30 price

1,780 VAT

IBM UK 0800 169 1458

The list of things that can go wrong includes everything from basic build quality through to ergonomics, specifications, available ports, weight and battery life. Basically, nothing is safe.

This is why we tend to look long and hard at relatively inexpensive machines like the Acer TravelMate 273X, expecting them to disappoint somewhere along the line. When they fail to do so or even more surprisingly when they actually impress, we take notice.

Normally, you can tell a relatively cheap notebook just by handling it. The major mouldings forming the case will be too thin and feel insubstantial and the machine as a whole is likely to be bulky and none too pretty.

Pick up the Acer TravelMate 273X and you immediately feel the solidity of the build; there is no impression of cheapness at all. True, the lid surface is plastic not alloy, but it isn't too flexible and should still protect the screen from damage under normal conditions.

The design is restrained but still a little out of the ordinary. Corners are rounded and even the keyboard is gently curved toward the user, which breaks up the usual array of straight lines that define many notebooks. Without being at all loud, the TravelMate 273X manages to stand out from the crowd.

The machine weighs 3kg, partly because it isn't built out of model aircraft material and partly because it incorporates both a floppy and an optical drive. The drives are fixed rather than modular and the TravelMate 273X offers a basic 24speed CDROM rather than anything more exotic, but it's all there, with no need for any extras. DVD and DVD/CDRW combo versions are available as well.

All three models that presently make up the 270 series are powered by a 1.7GHz Pentium 4M processor and they all come with 256MB of PC2100 SDRAM as standard, expandable to 1GB. They also share the same 20GB UltraDMA/100 hard disk, in this case an IBM TravelStar.

The screen is a standard 14.1inch diagonal, 1024 x 768 resolution TFT panel. It's reasonably bright and even, and doesn't suffer from excessively narrow viewing angles. The graphics engine behind it is integrated into the SiS 650 motherboard chipset and uses 16MB of the main system memory, like a lot of cheaper notebook GPUs.

It's basic, but efficient enough in 2D and to be fair on the TravelMate 273X, which is not trying to be anything other than an affordable general purpose business notebook, this is probably enough graphics power for most users' needs.

The usual V.90 modem and 10/100BaseTX Ethernet adaptors are tucked away inside the case and the notebook sports a pair of Type II PC Card slots for further expansion as necessary.

If you prefer your notebooks with more than just a couple of USB ports to their name, then you'll probably bond well with the Acer TravelMate 273X. It has a parallel port, a serial port, even a PS/2 port, plus Firewire, three USB, Svideo TVout and audio I/O. The only things missing are infrared and an expansion bus and an optional port replicator to go with it.

The keyboard is very usable thanks to a sane layout that preserves much of the standard size ratios of the keys and the 4way scroll button below the touch pad is a welcome additional piece of functionality. It's one of those simple ideas that once you try you find hard to do without.

Battery life is about average for this kind of notebook, with a typical running time of about 2.5 hours from a full charge. You can get better, but this is good enough at this price. Performance proved to be solid across the board, thanks to sound supporting acts from the hard disk and graphics, and plenty of fast memory to complement the raw power of the CPU.

When you take into account the twoyear collect and return warranty which includes one year's international cover alongside the price and overall quality of the TravelMate, it's hard not to be impressed.

Acer TravelMate 273X features Verdict

The Acer TravelMate 273X offers freat value for money when you consider what you get. Nice design, sound build quality, plenty of features, a decent keyboard, solid performance and a twoyear warranty are among the high points.

Acer TravelMate 273X price

849 VAT

Acer UK 0870 900 2237

So when we picked the Versa C150 up and found ourselves thinking 'good, rounded corners and bevelled edges, intelligent design, very bashresistant,' we weren't really expecting the next reaction. Which was that we rather liked the look and feel of the thing and hadn't even opened the lid yet.

When we did, we were treated to the rest of the design, which is modern, eyecatching and practical all at once. The case is finished in a harmonious mix of metallic grey and silver and most of the upper surface is covered by a solid layer of transparent plastic several millimetres thick.

It's this top layer that gives the notebook much of its individualistic appearance. The majority of Versa C150s might be destined for fairly mundane working lives, but NEC has still gone to the trouble of making it stand out from the pack, which deserves praise.

Like most general purpose portables, the Versa is manageable, but not particularly light. It weighs in at 3.15kg, but you get everything in one box. The Versa has a fixed floppy drive and comes with a choice of fixed optical drives, in this case the top of the line CDRW/DVD combo unit which plays CDs and DVDs at 24x and 8x respectively, and delivers the R/RW bit at 16x/10x.

Despite the threespindle design it's not an especially large machine, with a fairly typical 330mm x 270mm footprint, and a lidshut thickness of 36mm, comfortably under the 40mm crossover point into slab land.

Overall, the build quality is good. In addition to the aforementioned rounded edges and corners, the case is free of any obvious weak spots, and although the lid is plastic rather than metal it is tolerably pressure resistant and should help protect the screen.

The Versa C150 doesn't have an expansion bus dedicated for use with a port replicator, but it has pretty well everything else, including parallel and serial 1 x 9pin, three USB connectors, Svideo TV output and FireWire.

An internal 56Kbps modem and 10/100BaseTX LAN adaptor are standard and there's an empty MiniPCI card slot next to the memory modules which can be used to upgrade to WLAN if required. The usual pair of Type II PC Card slots is also there to provide additional expansion potential.

Sitting down to write this review, we were pleased to find the Versa's keyboard logical and easy to adapt to. Large Enter, Spacebar and Backspace keys helped and the baseplate didn't flap about during typing as sometimes happens. To top this off, NEC has remembered to fit tilt feet under the back of the case, so if you are in for a long typing session you can improve the typing angle and take a bit of the strain off your forearms.

The screen isn't designed to impress it simply does the job. It operates at 1024 x 768 on the standard 14.1inch diagonal, so it's easy to read, and the sidelights illuminate the image well.

Much the same could be said of the ATI Radeon IGP 320M graphics chip. This enlists the help of 32MB of system memory and uses it to deliver perfectly sound 2D performance. It will do 3D acceleration too, but at a rather moderate pace according to our bench tests. Nevertheless, this is a general business machine and for now 3D performance remains largely irrelevant in that market.

The review sample came fitted with 384MB of PC2100 DDR memory and even with 32MB of that nabbed by the graphics, it still gave the mobile AMD Athlon XP1900 processor plenty of room to stretch its legs. This inherently fast combination was well supported by the responsive 40GB Toshiba hard disk, and the net result is a very rapid notebook. Especially for the price, which reflects the relatively high specification of the review unit.

When we managed to get nearly 3 hours and 20 minutes of continuous use out of the Versa C150 running on its 4,000mAh LiIon battery, our initially positive first impression had been completely confirmed this is a decent piece of kit.

NEC throws in Windows XP Professional or Home if required, Word, Money and Norton Antivirus, and the hardware is covered by a one year collect and return warranty.
So there it is fast, handsome, affordable, big brand and able to deliver when it comes to running on batteries. A strong hand.

NEC Versa C150 features Verdict

It's rare for us to wax so lyrical about any product, but the NEC Versa C150 makes its case persuasively. It offers plenty of power, good battery life and a decent specification for the price. It's also well made and noticeably better looking than the typical corporate notebook.

NEC Versa C150 price

1,179 VAT

NEC Computers 0870 010 63222

Admittedly, the review sample is a topoftherange model, from its 2.4GHz Pentium 4M CPU to its CDRW/DVD combo drive, but we feel that the price tag is still somewhat on the steep side. It's a conventional size 37mm thick; 325mm x 273mm W x D footprint, and weighs 2.95kg, which is about par for the course.

The specification is what you'd expect from a power notebook, but nothing out of the ordinary. You get 256MB of PC2100 DDR memory, a 40GB hard disk and 802.11b WLAN as standard, but FujitsuSiemens hasn't exactly gone overboard here or elsewhere.

The screen, for example, is a standard 14.1inch XGA panel; perfectly good quality and brightly lit, but still basic. The GPU behind it falls into the same bracket, being an ATI Radeon IGP 340M, silicon which betrays its lowcost leanings by going the shared memory route rather than sporting any memory of its own.

The CDRW/DVD combo sits in a multipurpose bay which can alternatively play host to a second battery pack or a less capable optical drive. The hard disk is also removable although this appears to be intended more to make maintenance easier than to encourage daily extraction for data security. The floppy drive is entirely absent, and if you want one it's 31 exVAT extra for the external USB unit.

We know ports can be a dull subject, but not having the right one is a serious matter, so please bear with us here. In fact the Lifebook does pretty well in this respect, with both parallel and a 9pin serial port present as well as Svideo TV output, infrared, twin USB connectors and an expansion bus. This last gives you the convenience of a port replicator if you need to move the machine about regularly. Naturally enough, the replicator is an extra rather than part of the package, and will set you back a further 69 before VAT.

Like any selfrespecting notebook these days, the Lifebook comes with both an integrated 56Kbps modem and builtin 10/100BaseTX networking. Further goodies may be added via a stacked pair of Type II PC Card slots.

The machine has a quality look to it which mainly derives from a tasteful combination of metallic silver and grey, although the overall design of the case is successful and appealing. The lid surface is made from a nice, solid layer of magnesium alloy to protect the screen during transport, and the general standard of construction was high.

The keyboard layout made sense and the designers have done a fairly good job with the relative sizes of the keys, so it wasn't an uphill struggle getting used to it. We also liked the scroll button below the touchpad, which is one of those features that has taken an inexplicably long time to appear. Hopefully every new notebook will have one by the end of the year.

If you use the notebook on battery power, expect something around 2 hours 20 minutes of continuous light use. We would have been happier with more, really, but this just about scrapes by.

Performance is solid, to say the least, although the Radeon IGP was very leaden in 3D mode, not that this is a serious drawback to a business machine. That aside, it will cope very happily with the usual array of business applications, but it's worth noting in passing that some other notebooks are every bit as pokey and considerably cheaper.

The standard warranty covers the hardware for an encouraging three years, and better still, it's collect and return. This undeniably adds value, though we're not sure it entirely justifies the asking price.

FujitsuSiemens Lifebook E2010 features Verdict

There's really nothing wrong with this notebook, and it has plenty of good points, but in order to really appeal we'd need so see a fair bit of discounting when the deal was being done. Ultimately, this is a wellengineered and fairly powerful corporate notebook, slightly hampered by its high price.

FujitsuSiemens Lifebook E2010 price

1,819 VAT

FujitsuSiemens UK 0800 004 003

It has in fact done this before, although the original Toughbook really was tough, in a tattooed biceps sort of way, while the CFR1 is an altogether lighter and leaner affair, more of a fencer than a bareknuckle boxer like its predecessor.

This is simply because it is aimed at a different market. While the first Toughbooks were fully ruggedised no, we didn't make that word up and designed to withstand serious mistreatment in the great outdoors, the CFR1 is very much for offices and airliners.

This is blindingly obvious from the outset. The CFR1 is highly compact and positively pretty, whereas the original looked like one of those photographer's cases with corner protectors much beloved of screen villains. You half expected to open it up and find a Mac 10 inside nestling in neatly cut foam padding. The CFR1 looks more like it might pop open to reveal blusher and brushes.

That is part of its appeal though, since it is in fact deserving of its name, if not quite so literally as its ancestors. The case is largely built out of a particularly lightweight magnesium alloy and feels very solid. The lid is actually plastic, but cleverly strengthened by a raised area across the middle which prevented it from sagging, even under quite a bit of pressure. This bodes well, since it means that the lid will protect the screen from impacts when the machine is closed.

Even the hinges are beefed up, formed from strips of metal which run down the sides of the lid and bolt securely onto the corners of the main body. Despite all this, the Toughbook weighs a mere 990g, and you can carry it easily in one hand.

Should you manage to drop it see above, it might well survive. Panasonic states that it will withstand a fall onto a hard surface from a height of 30cm 12 inches, which isn't like chucking it off the Eiffel tower, but it could make all the difference. Reassuringly, the first year of the generous threeyear warranty covers the machine against accidental damage.

As is invariably the case, reducing a proper computer down to something only slightly larger than a big paperback involves a few compromises. The usual things to go are drives and ports, and the Toughbook is no exception.

Neither optical nor floppy drives are supplied as standard, so you will be obliged to pay extra if you need them to the tune of 280 for a USB DVD/CDRW combo and 99 for a USB floppy drive.

Using the Toughbook with peripherals is feasible, but will be fiddly because there is no optional port replicator, which seems to us to be a bit of an oversight. All you get are two USB connectors and a proprietary VGA output which needs an adapter optional, naturally. Of course, you're fine if all your peripherals are USB and you have a powered hub, but things could get tricky otherwise.

We also noticed another little potential snag when we were looking at memory expansion. The machine comes with 128MB as standard, which is a little light these days, but to upgrade to the 256MB maximum, you will have to find another 135. The reason Panasonic has used a proprietary memory module format, and that's what it charges for a 128MB part.

When you want to talk to the world you have the usual choice of internal 56K modem and 10/100 BaseTX LAN adapter, but you don't get integrated 802.11b wireless networking. This is arguably something of an omission for a machine which is so squarely aimed at the business traveller.

There's a Type II PC Card slot, so WiFi capability can be added easily enough if you need it, but again, it's an extra, and an inelegant one at that compared to an integrated solution. There is a Secure Digital SD flash memory card holder, which could come in handy on occasion.

Some subA4 notebook designs get around the problem of cramming a keyboard into the available space by opting for a fingerstud pointing device and reducing the palmrest down to a strip below the spacebar. Panasonic has gone for an unusual round touchpad and enough palmrest to put it on, but this means compressing the keyboard vertically to fit in into the remaining space. The result is, unfortunately, a rather cramped keypad with keys wider than they are deep. We didn't really bond with it while we were testing the machine, and unless you have small hands, we suspect you might not either.

The screen was fine, however. It produced a bright, workable image combining 1024 x 768 resolution with a 10.4inch diagonal, which meant small text and screen objects, but not so small that it became a problem.

Quite reasonably, Panasonic hasn't tried to supercharge the Toughbook's graphics, or anything else come to that. The point of tiny portables like this is to do the job, not break performance records. So, you get a 4MB Silicon Motion Lynx3DM GPU, which is enough to keep Windows on the move at an acceptable pace.

The same can be said of the 800MHz Pentium IIIM processor, but enough is enough if all you are doing is word processing, some spreadsheet tinkering, email and web browsing. We'd have liked 256MB of SDRAM as standard rather than 128MB, but the 20GB Toshiba hard disk is plenty big enough for a machine like this.

What matters a whole lot more than performance with a travelling portable is battery life. Essentially, it lives or dies by it, in both senses. So we were impressed when we got past the four hour mark with the Toughbook we're talking light, continuous use.

This is very much a feather in the Toughbook's cap, and was another reason why we found it quite hard to arrive at a definitive judgment about it. There's no doubt that this is an exemplary piece of engineering, but much depends on what you think of the keyboard, and what ports you need. With these caveats in mind, and a careful eye on the cost of any extras you have to add, you will ultimately have to decide for yourself. Try before you buy.

Panasonic Toughbook CFR1 features Verdict

The Panasonic Toughbook CFR1 is a successful fusion of discreet armour and good looks, further blessed with excellent battery life. The Toughbook is also compact and highly portable, but as ever, this has come at a certain cost the keyboard is squeezed, there are few ports and no port replicator option, and the only drive you get as standard is the hard disk.

Panasonic Toughbook CFR1 price

1,319 VAT

Panasonic 08700 100 464

In fact it's obvious from the weight and size of the machine 355 x 292 x 39.5mm that Sony doesn't seriously intend for anyone to carry it around too much. Rather, it's positioned as a serious desktop replacement aimed at the top end of the business market.

Affluent home users need not feel left out though; there's a consumer version, catchily named the PCGGRV616S, which has even faster graphics, less memory and a lower resolution screen than its corporate sibling. Perhaps predictably, the consumer machine also has the more powerful processor, a 2.6GHz Pentium 4M compared to the 2.4GHz P4M found in the GRX616SP.

It's also less expensive we won't say cheaper than the corporate model, at 1,959 exVAT compared to 2,554 exVAT. Either way, these are significant amounts of money, and beg the obvious question what do you get for it

The short answer is lots, particularly where the GRX616SP is concerned. On top of the 2.4GHz P4M, Sony has happily piled up an entire gigabyte of PC2100 SDRAM, and down in the basement there is a cavernous 60GB Hitachi DK23EA hard drive. Graphics are handled by an ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 with 32MB of DDR memory, and fed to a huge 16.1inch TFT screen running at 1600 x 1200 UXGA resolution.

This is impressive enough, but the Vaio also boasts a unique Sony DVD writer which can read, write and rewrite in both DVDR/RW and DVDR/RW formats. Sony reasonably enough terms the drive a DVDRW, and clearly hopes that its ability to deal with both standards will be a major attractant for some potential buyers.

When recording or rewriting, this drive it runs at 1x and reads at 2x in both modes. CDR/RW operations are carried out at 16x/10x R/RW, and it plays DVDROMs and CDROMs at 5x and 24x respectively.

We'd expected a notebook as big as the Vaio to be a threespindle design, but in fact it is only two. If you need a floppy drive, an external USB unit is available for 59. The optical drive is removable, so you have the option of replacing it with things like a second battery or a second hard disk. This sort of thing can come in handy, but may be of less relevance than the mundane but essential tally of ports.

Fortunately, Sony has taken this side of things seriously and you get a fair amount of range. There's a parallel port and three USB, though no serial, PS/2 or infrared, but you do get composite TVout and FireWire IEEE 1394 in addition to the standard VGA output.

There's also an expansion bus for use with an optional port replicator 139 including VAT, something no serious desktop replacement laptop should be without. These days you could arguably say the same about 802.11b wireless networking, and the Vaio has this too, although not invisibly integrated as you might expect but in the form of a PC Card.

Everything else is in place 56K internal modem and integrated 10/100BaseTX NIC; twin PC Card slots; even a MagicGate MG Memory Stick slot to provide yet more versatility when it comes to getting data in and out.

So there are the facts, now on to what the Vaio was like to use Size has its benefits where notebooks are concerned, so long as you don't need to carry the machine around too often. In this case the roomy footprint means that the Vaio sports a comfortably spacious keyboard and plenty of palmrest, so typing is a pleasant enough experience.

The vast screen performs flawlessly and generated a bright, even image with a reasonable range of viewing angles, but we weren't entirely happy with it all the same. The problem is that the quest for everhigher resolution on notebook displays is outrunning the limits set by the size of the screen itself. Even the 16.1inch diagonal on offer isn't enough to cope with 1600 x 1200 ergonomically. Everything is just that bit too small, hard to read or hard to hit with the mouse. For our money, the ideal combination here is 1280 x 1024 on the same diagonal, which is in fact what you get on the consumer model.

In the hands the notebook feels like quality, with a solid, inflexible body and a proper magnesium alloy lid which will help protect the screen from damage while the machine is being transported.

It also rapidly became apparent that the Vaio was well crafted on the inside, which was reflected in impressively lively allround performance. The term 'desktop replacement' can be used here with full justification; even 3D graphics performance was fairly solid 3DMark 2001 returned a result of 5008 in 32bit XGA, so the notebook should hold its own under any normal circumstances.

Battery life was less remarkable, with a realistic limit of about two hours continuous light use. As we've said, this isn't really a travelling machine, so this will probably do, but it has to be said that rather average battery life is a feature of many Sony notebooks.

The final view on this machine is going to be heavily coloured by the needs of the buyer. If you really, really want a portable with both real sinew and the ability to burn DVDs in both of the existing formats, then you might well be prepared to pony up the cash for the Vaio. If not, then you are left looking at a very impressive and capable machine which costs rather a lot and probably isn't really what you need, so you won't be stepping forward with the company cheque book.

We suspect that Sony is fully aware of this and quite happy to have things this way, and on balance it's encouraging to see that manufacturers feel it worthwhile to produce something like this rather than just churning out business workhorses by the million.

Sony Vaio PCGGRX616SP features Verdict

The Sony Vaio PCGGRX616SP is hugely powerful and unique in having a dualmode DVDRW drive, which will be enough to sell it to a certain number of users. The rest of us may find the merits of the UXGA screen debatable, and the price offputting, but there's no denying that the Vaio is an impressive, ambitious machine.

Sony Vaio PCGGRX616SP price

2,554 VAT

Sony UK 0990 424424

The twinspindle design of this notebook provides a good combination of weight and features, making it an suitable tool for those on the move. Powered by a 1.6GHz PentiumM processor backed by 256MB of DDR memory, the TravelMate 803LCi certainly performs well, with the added advantage that you can play some serious games on this notebook. Because of the Centrino technology, you get decent battery life too. Carrying it shouldn't present major problems as it weighs a reasonable 2.7kg; no lightweight, but not as lardy as some.

As with most Acer notebooks, the first thing that strikes you when you open the case is the FineTouch keyboard with its five degree curve. This is placed high enough up the panel to allow your wrists to lay flat when typing, and there is no fear of obstructing the speakers as they are built into the front panel of the notebook.

Above the keyboard are the power switch and four quick start buttons, two of which are set up for accessing the Internet and email, the other two being userprogrammable. In between the speakers are the indicator LEDs for power, battery condition/charge and two buttons which turn the Bluetooth and wireless functions on and off.

Along with the Centrino technology, the other thing that makes this notebook stand out is the graphics adapter. With a 64MB Mobility Radeon 9000, the graphics performance is impressive for a notebook. The Mobility Radeon 9000 is targeted at highend mobile gaming, based around its desktop cousin, the Radeon 9000. It features most of the desktop card's capabilities, including DirectX 8 support, with the addition of powersaving circuitry. Output from this chip is displayed on the 15inch SXGA screen.

The TravelMate 803LCi comes with a 40GB, 5,400rpm, ATA/100 hard drive and has an AcerMedia Bay solution for other drives. This bay can be used for a range of options such as DVDRW drive, CDRW drive, second hard drive or even a second battery. In the review model's bay was a 24x/10x/24x CDRW and 8x DVD combo drive.

For connecting to the outside world the TravelMate 803LCi has more features than some desktop replacement systems. In addition to wireless and Bluetooth connectivity, there is an integrated LAN adapter, a V.92 modem, four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, a single Type II PC Card slot and a SmartCard slot. The back panel contains the usual I/O ports; parallel, VGA and SVideo, but unfortunately no PS/2 ports. The three audio ports microphone, headphone and line in are mounted in one side of the chassis.

When tested with industry standard benchmarks, the benefit of Centrino and the 4,400mAh battery became apparent. The 'productivity' benchmark returned a battery life of 4hrs 50mins, rising to 5hrs 40mins under the 'reader' benchmark. Install a second battery in the Media Bay and you can add approximately 3 hours to both times.

Acer TravelMate 803LCi features Verdict

The Acer TravelMate 803LCi is close to being the ideal allround notebook, combining good performance with great graphics, plenty of storage and connectivity together with a long lasting battery life. It's not as svelte as some, but it will do pretty much everything you'll require straight out of the box.

Acer TravelMate 803LCi price

1,199 VAT

Acer UK 0870 900 2237

Properly integrated wireless networking, significantly improved power management and battery life, and real increases in raw processing power are, after all, not things to be sniffed at. No surprise then that manufacturers the world over have taken up Centrino with enthusiasm. This includes UK players like Rock Direct, which has just added a selection of Centrino models to its range.

You get a choice of processor speeds from the slowest 1.3GHz to the current 1.6GHz ceiling for the new PentiumM mobile CPU which lies at the heart of the Centrino specification. The review system was based on a 1.5GHz processor backed by 512MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM and a 40GB hard disk, so you're looking at a solid platform for the business user.

PentiumM processors run much cooler than previous mobile Pentiums, so Centrino notebooks tend to be nice and slim. The Pegasus CT is no exception, measuring just 31mm at its thickest lid closed, and less at the front. This helps keep the weight down to a manageable 2.7kg 2.95kg including the power supply, lending plausibility to the positioning of the Pegasus as a tool for the travelling business user.

If you like to watch a film while you're doing your business travelling, you might find the Pegasus CT's external play controls and combo DVD/CDRW drive handy. The controls run along the front edge of the case, and can be toggled between CD/DVD playback and five programmable shortcuts, which is a clever touch. The QSI combo drive is modular and hotswappable, and delivers 24x CD play, 8x DVD play, a fast 24x CDR and respectable CDRW. As is now increasingly common, there is no floppy drive, but if you want one, Rock Direct sells an external USB unit for 49.

There's no parallel, serial or PS/2 ports, with primary I/O left to three USB connectors, the integrated 56K modem and 10/100 BaseTX LAN adaptor, and the Intel 802.11b wireless LAN. This last is on a miniPCI card, as it should be, so it can be upgraded when faster, dualband WLAN standards are ratified later this year.

There's also no expansion bus, but Rock Direct offers a USB port replicator which has a LAN jack, parallel, serial and PS/2 ports on it, so you could use the Pegasus CT as a fussfree desktop replacement.

The Pegasus CT has another unusual and potentially useful feature in the form of its 4in1 flash card slot. This can read Memory Stick, Smart Media, Secure Digital and Multi Media Card formats, and may be a further incentive to use the notebook for nonbusiness purposes.

In use, the Pegasus CT is respectably fast, although we noticed that the integrated graphics forming part of the i855GM motherboard chipset were lacklustre when it came to 3D work. Clearly Intel envisions the i885GM as primarily a business platform chipset, and in this light it manages perfectly well, although it's far from pushing the envelope of 2D performance either.

The screen is reasonably bright, and its native XGA resolution is easily readable on the panel's 14inch diagonal. Superhigh resolution notebook screens are all very well, but the designers sometimes seem to lose track of the fact that it's no good if everything's so small you can barely make it out.

There's nothing particularly distinguishing about the keyboard, which simply does its job adequately, but we did like the horizontal/vertical scroll button below the touch pad. Notebooks have been needing a feature like this for years.

Centrino has moved the goalposts somewhat when it comes to battery life, which is slightly to the Pegasus CT's disadvantage. Until recently, running times close to 3.5 hours, of which is what this notebook is capable, were considered fairly good, but Centrino has raised expectations to 4 or even 5 hours, leaving the Pegasus CT lagging behind.

It makes up some ground when it comes to the warranty end of things though, since it is backed by a 3 year, collect and return, parts and labour warranty, which is more than you get with much of the competition.

We'd have liked to see a more robust lid, preferably made of alloy not plastic, as this is key to protecting the screen during transport, but otherwise the Pegasus CT is reasonably well made and an undeniably nice looking machine. It could, perhaps, do with being about 150 or so cheaper, based on the pricing of some of its competitors, but on the whole, as a first outing for a new technology, it stands up fairly well.

Rock Direct Pegasus CT features Verdict

The Rock Direct Pegasus CT is visually appealing and light enough for the business traveller, with the benefit of a builtin 4in1 flash card reader on top of Centrino wireless networking. There are things that could be improved, but no fatal flaws, and the generous warranty is a definite point in its favour.

Rock Direct Pegasus CT price

1,399 VAT

Rock Direct 08709 909090

JVC's second generation Mobile Mini Note PCs the MPXP7230 and the MPXP5230 are designed with these factors firmly in mind. For a start they're A5 in size and JVC happily boasts that they are the smallest PCs in the world to incorporate the Ultra Low Voltage Mobile Intel Pentium III Processor 933MHzM as the CPU.

The daddy of the two, the MPXP7230, weighs in at 905g the MPXP5230 is 880g although the additional external battery that comes with the package will just tip you over the 1kg barrier. Working in powersave mode, the two batteries give you a possible nine hours of typing time, which should be more than enough for most journeys. It certainly wouldn't be worth relying on the builtin battery alone, though, unless you're only on a short trip; it ran out after about an hour and a half in our tests.

The MPXP7230 is equipped with an internal wireless LAN module, which means no more fruitless sitting around in airport terminals unable to log on to the Internet. As long as there's a 'hot spot' access within reach you should have no problem checking your emails. Windows XP Professional comes preinstalled and there's 30GB of storage space on the hard drive.

In the same box is a separate CDROM drive which is attached via PC Card, but there's no floppy drive. It's curious that a system that's designed to be compact doesn't make use of either of the two USB 2.0 ports which are excellent for highspeed data transfer to connect to the CDROM, as the other one would be perfectly adequate for digital cameras, MP3 players, removable storage drives, etc.

JVC has boosted the sound quality in its 'CC Converter' Beethoven's 9th Symphony had a particularly satisfying bass response but like most notebooks, you don't buy them principally for their sound reproduction while on the road. The 8.9inch widescreen SVGA display 1024 x 600 dots, 16 million colours, on the other hand, is impressive, with crisply defined icons and colours video playback is especially good.

Despite its size, the keyboard handles pretty well after some practice but one main complaint is with the tracking mouse pointer, which needs to be elevated further above the keyboard to avoid striking keys by accident. That aside, it's hard not be generally impressed with the amount of useful hardware and software that has been squeezed into such a small space.

JVC Mobile MiniNote PC MPXP7230 features Verdict

If you're searching for a lightweight notebook that will let you keep in touch with your office and the Net while on the move and sneakily watch a CDbased video or your holiday movies on the way, you can do a lot worse than this little pocket wonder from JVC. But if you plan to be away for more than an hour or two, the extra battery pack is a must.

JVC Mobile MiniNote PC MPXP7230 price

1,200 VAT

JVC 0870 330 5000

For starters, the X05 XTC 1500 is a sexy slip of a thing, under 30mm thick when closed and weighing in at a fraction over 2kg. This rises by 300g when you add what is possibly the most fashionconscious power supply we've yet seen. With its rounded ends and silvergrey finish it looks more like a fancy sunglasses case than a mains voltage transformer, and we're all for that.

Like most slimline notebooks, the X05 XTC 1500 is a twospindle design, with the floppy drive sold separately as a 32 extra which plugs in via a USB port. The guts of the machine consist of a PentiumM processor clocked at 1.5GHz, 512MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM and a 40GB Fujitsu hard disk. This is a Centrino notebook, so you also get the benefit of 802.11b wireless networking on an upgradeable miniPCI card. The 1,099 version has a 1.4GHz CPU, 256MB of RAM and a 30GB hard disk, but is otherwise the same, down to the fixed DVD/CDRW combo drive and integrated Intel Extreme Graphics.

It's difficult to make a notebook that's only 27mm thick really robust, but Samsung has had the good sense to equip it with a metal lid to protect the screen properly, and it's just up to you not to lean too heavily on the palmrest. It would also be a good idea not to drop it, particularly if it's fitted with the longlife 6cell LiION battery like the review sample. This sticks out a couple of centimetres at the back, and in the way of such things, it's vulnerable to a good bash. There is a 3cell battery option 49, which should yield about 2 hours of running time and which does not project from the case, but we'd probably be inclined to go for the longerlife one and just take care with the notebook generally.

When it comes to ports, the X05 XTC 1500 is mystifyingly well equipped in some areas and rather barren in others. For example, you not only get linelevel audio I/O but also an optical S/PDIF digital surround output that can be used with a 5.1 speaker array. But there's no parallel port, just two USB sockets, VGA and Svideo TVout. You do get FireWire and there's an almost invisibly discreet slot at the front which will take flash memory cards in SD, Memory Stick and MMC flavours. There is, of course, an integrated modem, and also 10/100BaseTX Ethernet, plus a single Type II PC Card slot in case you discover that you need something else, like GPS.

The Intel Extreme Graphics 2 controller forming part of the i855GM motherboard chipset borrows memory from the rest of the system, but it also hands it back when it doesn't need it any more. At any given time it will hold somewhere between 8MB and 64MB back for itself, but with 512MB in the kitty, you are unlikely to notice. The screen is your basic 14.1inch TFT panel running at 1024 x 768 resolution, which is perfectly acceptable given the cost of the X05 XTC 1500, but we did notice that the sidelighting could have been a bit brighter.

The keyboard was fine, with large keys where they are supposed to be, and no confusing unorthodox twist in the layout or the key functions. Even the touchpad scored an extra point for having a vertical scroll wheel, which always makes life that bit easier.

Once we started using the Samsung X05 XTC 1500 it became apparent that it was seriously fast. We'd hoped it would be, what with the PentiumM, the 512MB of DDR memory and the zippy Fujitsu hard disk, and we weren't disappointed. You won't get too exited by the 3D acceleration on offer by the Intel Extreme Graphics adapter, but this is essentially a business notebook, and as such it stands up very well indeed. We half expected battery life to trip the Samsung up, but in the event it ran quite happily for over 3.5 hours, which isn't the stuff of new records, but is certainly enough to keep us happy.

The one year, collectandreturn warranty is good in all major European cities, and Samsung says it tries for a 72hour turnaround, so if the worst does happen while you're travelling, you might be able to get fixed wherever you are, although obviously it all depends on what's gone wrong.

As we said at the start, this is a notebook with few faults and many good points. When you consider the price, particularly that of the cheaper XTC 1400 model, it's also good value for money, and we'd certainly recommend it for a closer look.

Samsung X05 XTC 1500 features Verdict

With the X05 XTC 1500, Samsung has picked up the Centrino ball and run with it, as they say. All the advantages that should derive from Centrino are there the speed, the slimmer, lighter case, the battery life, wireless and all at a sensible price too.

Samsung X05 XTC 1500 price

1,399 VAT

Samsung UK 0800 521 652

www.samsungelectronics.co.uk

So, lets start with the important bits. The Centurion uses a 1.5GHz processor which varies in speed depending on whether the mains power is connected and depending on the amount of work currently being done by the machine. This is coupled to 512MB of DDR memory and a 60GB hard drive, so there are unlikely to be any problems with storage or lack of memory. 1.5GHz doesn't sound fast by desktop standards, but the Centurion whizzed along quite happily in our tests. There aren't too many mainstream applications that require much more in the way of processing power, leaving aside some demanding games titles.

Now, to the display. This notebook has a 15inch LCD panel with a resolution of 1,400 x 1,050 pixels or SXGA, as ACi calls it. This means that you can fit a lot on the bright, sharp screen, as long as your eyes can cope with the relatively small pixels. Our nearmiddleaged eyes had no problem; your mileage may vary, as they say. The screen is driven by a dedicated graphics processor no shared architecture here. It's an ATi Mobility Radeon chipset, so there's a good chunk of 3D performance for gamers as well as the requisite 2D capabilities for everyone else.

The ACi Centurion has a modular design, which means that the DVDROM/CDRW combo drive in the front panel can be removed and swapped with something else if required. The battery is also removable expect around 2.5 hours use per charge, as is the hard drive, although wisely there's a screw securing the latter so that you don't accidentally remove it. As well as the wireless networking adapter, the laptop also has a modem and standard wired 10/100Mbps adapter in the rear panel, alongside an IEEE1394 FireWire port, a VGA connector, a parallel printer connector and a socket for an SVideotoTV cable. There's also a single PC Card slot with an SD memory card reader/writer underneath, plus three USB ports.

In use, the Centurion is comfortable and fairly ergonomic. The keyboard in particular is nicely made with a light action; it seems to have been designed with touchtypists in mind. There's the usual trackpad and two buttons, with speakers in the side panels. The laptop isn't very noisy in operation because the processor is lowpower and there's a chunky heatsink in there, so the fan doesn't have to go mad to keep it all cool.

ACi includes copies of Windows XP Pro, Works 7 and various utilities with the Centurion. There's also a slim carry case in the box.

ACi Centurion features Verdict

This laptop feels well made, tough and durable. The ACi Centurion is not hugely stylish, but not clunky either; the blue LEDs will impress the easilyimpressed such as us. It has all the performance that most people are likely to need, plenty of connectivity, a decent screen and powersaving features that make it properly usable while on the move.

ACi Centurion price

1,299 VAT

ACi 020 8830 1958

One of if not the biggest selling points for Centrino, though, is the prolonged battery life you get out of it. For once, this isn't just manufacturer's claims, as there's genuine substance to back this up. Standard battery life out of our nonCentrino test machine struggled to reach 100 minutes. The Starbook 750 was giving us in excess of three and a half hours off a single charge although, naturally enough, this fell when watching a DVD movie, but then at least we got to see the end credits. The other big selling point for Centrino is wireless, and support for that is incorporated into the Starbook 750 as standard as well. Your sole input is to tap into the details for your own wireless network and it should work from there.

These advances delivered by Centrino do come at a small price, however; the processor speeds have taken a hit. This unit, for instance, features a PentiumM 1.5GHz processor. Whilst this chip is a dedicated mobile processor, with all the advantages that brings, it won't escape everyone's notice that for a similar price you can buy a portable machine with a 2.4GHz desktop P4 in it. While opting for the faster beast will leave you with reduced battery life and a noisier unit, for those spending more time with the machine plugged into the mains, it's certainly a consideration. Realistically, the 1.5GHz chip is perfectly sufficient for the majority of users, and in conjunction with 512MB of DDR 266 RAM, and 60GB hard drive, the machine threw up a respectable PC Mark 2002 score of 4,874. Other benchmarks performed well too; there's nothing here to throw up any concerns.

The Starbook 750's 14.1inch XGA TFT screen was crisp, only occasionally blurring with the obligatory DVD movie, but overall really quite strong. Interesting choices are apparent in the software selection, as Iridium has opted to include Ability Office 2002. Clearly this cuts the costs over using the Microsoft equivalent, and it's an able suite of applications, albeit cutting some corners that may frustrate more advanced MS Office users. Bundled in too is Panda AntiVirus, Windows XP Pro, Nero 5.5 and Win DVD 4.0.

Before jumping towards the conclusion, a quick note about the Starbook 750's stylish housing. It's a slimline, very lightweight and carefully modeled machine, that's as portable as most laptops we've used, weighing in at 2.4kg. The casing comes with easy access buttons as well as connectors at the rear for the likes of USB 2.0, FireWire and TVOut, and in use, the keyboard is perfectly comfortable and functional.

Iridium Starbook 750 features Verdict

The Iridium Starbook 750 is a professional and very able laptop that best suits those who work away from a power supply on a regular basis. It lags behind some conventional laptops in terms of its performance, but the quality of build and the long battery life lead us to conclude that you'll be getting your money's worth.

Iridium Starbook 750 price

1,099 VAT

Iridium 0870 066 0222

Back in the day, the usual motive for using desktop silicon in a mobile was speed. Mobilespecific CPUs were invariably slow because high clock speeds generated more heat and sucked up battery power, but this didn't deter some people from using a desktop processor then claiming to have the fastest notebook on the market. That it ran for about 25 minutes on DC power and could easily bake your privates if you had it on your lap was conveniently overlooked in the excitement over those extra megahertz.

Of course now we live in more enlightened times, and we have extremely fast notebookspecific processors like the PentiumM and its predecessors, the Pentium IIIM and 4M. We don't need desktop chips for speed so why did IBM stick one inside the G40

The simple answer is money. PentiumM series chips are great, but they cost, and that premium is reflected in the price of the notebook. IBM has taken stock of the market and decided that what it needs is a decent but affordable portable which can act as a desktop replacement. How to do this Simple stick in a desktop CPU bags of power for way less money than PentiumM.

This had us eyeing the G40 with some scepticism. After all, we remembered the days of joke battery life and singed boxers when desktop CPUs took the stage, and we were a bit dubious. We need not have worried. The G40 really is a desktop replacement in the sense that it's too big and hefty to carry around much. It measures roughly 33cm x 28cm W x H, and it's a real tombstone 5cm thick at the back tapering down to 4cm at the front. The scales tipped at a shoulderpopping 3.9kg which rises to 4.5kg when you add in the breeze block of a power supply.

The size and bulk are not gratuitous; highspeed CPUs need efficient cooling, and IBM has made sure that there's plenty of room inside for big heatsinks and lots of airflow. There's a whopping great fan in there as well to keep the air moving, but on the odd occasions when it activated it ran very quietly. Big notebooks might not be much use to the dedicated traveller, but ergonomically they tend to run rings round smaller machines. This is certainly the case here, what with the 15inch TFT screen and the large, almost desktopsized keyboard.

The screen runs at 1024 x 768 resolution, which is very readable and practically sized on the 15inch diagonal, and the spacious keypad incorporates large keys where you would expect them and is very easy to adapt to. The keyboard is also angled down towards the user because of the notebook's wedgeshaped profile, which greatly improves the typing angle and reduces strain on the wrists and forearms. In short, this is a notebook you can do real work on, which is a vital consideration if it is to stand up as a true desktop replacement.

There's plenty of connectivity on offer, although the Thinkpad lacks a dedicated interface for a docking station, which is a shame given how useful they are, but not the end of the world. Still, you get a generous four USB ports, a parallel port and even a PS/2 port for a mouse, now something of a rarity.

You can add one PC Card to the system, and the doubleheight slot means that you can use a Type III removable hard disk card as well as normal Type II cards. Communicating with the rest of the world is accomplished via the integrated V.92 modem, which sits alongside a 10/100Mbps LAN adapter.

There's no infrared, no TV output and 802.11b wireless networking is an option on some models, though not this one. Again, none of this is likely to scupper the G40 unless you have very specific requirements. The floppy and 8speed DVDROM drives are built in, so you won't be able to swap them out for fancier alternatives as you can with some notebooks, but an external CDRW, for example, could be hooked up easily enough if needed.

The core specification is about what you'd expect for the price 256MB of PC2100 DDR memory backing up the 2.4GHz Pentium 4, a 20GB, ATA100, 4,200rpm Hitachi hard disk, and graphics courtesy of the Intel 855 motherboard chipset. The graphics subsystem borrows memory but at least it only grabs as much as it needs, on a sliding scale between 8MB and 64MB. We weren't expecting too much from the chipset in 3D mode, and although it works, it certainly isn't the avid gamer's dream. You'll be fine if you stick to 2D and business applications, which is after all what this notebook is meant for.

Speedwise, you are looking at a notebook that's fast enough for normal everyday work rather than a new standard by which others are judged. We'd hoped to see a bit more fire and smoke from the processor not literally, but we still felt that the machine is more than up to the job for which it was intended.

This is the crux of it really, this matter of being fit for the job. The G40 may not be especially glamorous, and it doesn't have Centrino technology or any unnecessary frills, but this doesn't mean it's not a good product. On the contrary, it seems to have been painstakingly designed to work with a desktop processor inside, with cooling and even battery life issues carefully resolved. In fact we ran it on DC for over 3.5 hours nonstop, which is really very good going for something this powerhungry.

So long as the G40 is what you want a quality, branded desktop replacement for work rather than play then you will probably be very happy with it. Especially if you thought you were going to have to spend 1,500plus on a notebook.

IBM Thinkpad G40 features Verdict

The IBM Thinkpad G40 is a really rather good desktop replacement with the ergonomics you need for doing proper work rather than just pecking away for an hour or so. A notebookspecific processor has been sacrificed to keep the price down, but in our view this is a price well worth paying.

IBM Thinkpad G40 price

889 VAT

IBM UK 0800 169 1458

This strangelynamed company has just launched a brand new range of notebooks, with the Joybook 8000 currently the flagship model. A twin spindle design, it has the look and feel of a Powerbook G4, but it doesn't end there. Benq is marketing the Joybook along the same lines that Apple uses with the G4 it's not the hardware that counts but rather what you can do with it.

This doesn't mean that Benq has taken its eye off the ball, though; the Joybook 8000 is as a well specified as any other notebook out there. Powered by a 2GHz Pentium 4M processor backed by 256MB of PC2100 memory, this notebook has plenty of performance and is upgradeable too you can install up to 1GB of memory if needed.

Leaving aside the specification for a moment, the first thing you notice about this laptop is the screen. The 15.2inch wide screen, with its 1510 aspect ratio, is crystal clear and has a native resolution of 1,280 pixels by 854 pixels, so it's great for watching DVDs. It's not a bad notebook to play games on, either, as it uses a 32MB nVidia GeForce4 GO chip. This may not be as swift as the current mobile Radeon solutions, but it does a reasonable job of 2D and 3D graphics. It also provides support for the VGA and SVideo out ports.

The Joybook 8000 comes with a 30GB hard drive, which is about average for notebooks nowadays, while the optical drive is a useful 8speed DVD/CDRW combo drive. The keyboard and touchpad are well built, solid to the touch and responsive, and are positioned in such a way as to make typing easier and less tiring than it is with some other laptops.

Benq has designed the Joybook 8000 to allow fussfree connection to various types of digital equipment, and it has as many ports as a standard desktop PC if not more in order to achieve this. Not only are there two Firewire ports, but also you get four USB 2.0 ports and an SPDIF port as well. Getting connected to the outside world shouldn't prove a problem, either, as the notebook comes with integrated 10/100Mbps Ethernet and a 56kbps modem. Somewhat surprisingly, though, wireless LAN is only offered as an option, although there's a Type II PC Card slot that you can use for this purpose too.

Battery life for the Joybook 8000 is a reasonable three and a half hours, but weighing in at 3.3kg, it's not a notebook you'd want to be carrying around all the time. Benq preinstalls Windows XP Home on the Joybook 8000 and bundles CyberLink PowerDVD and PowerDirector, Ulead Photo Explorer, PC Cillin, QMusic and QMedia. The laptop is supplied with a oneyear warranty.

Benq Joybook 8000 features Verdict

Benq's first solo venture into the notebook market is a stylish, fast performing, wellspecified laptop that offers something a little different from the plethora of businessstyle notebooks out there. The Joybook 8000 is fast and has an interesting screen format, but it's quite a heavy machine by today's standards.

Benq Joybook 8000 price

1,099 inc. VAT

Benq 01442 301 000

We're looking at one of the more well appointed notebooks in the range, with a 1.6GHz processor, 512MB DDR memory, a 60GB hard drive and a combo optical drive. All the Satellite Pros are intended for business use so they come loaded with Windows XP Professional. There are no applications installed, apart from WinDVD 2000, although Toshiba does include a series of utilities to manage the hardware, including the various connections, and to get the maximum life from the battery.

This is a fairly heavy notebook at 3.3kg, and its 15inch screen means that the chassis has to be fairly large too. At 334mm wide, 293mm deep and 41.4mm high it's quite substantial, but the shiny finish to the lid and the styling reduce the impact and make it rather attractive despite its bulk.

There's a lot of hardware in the chassis, in addition to the Centrino parts, with the emphasis on connectivity. That's a horrid word, but essentially it means you should be able to connect this Toshiba to the outside world with the minimum of hassle. In addition to the Intel 802.11b wireless LAN, there is Intel Pro100VE wired LAN, Bluetooth, a 56K modem and infrared. Toshiba has fitted a neat slider switch to the front of the chassis to enable or disable the wireless features. This is good for security and also for situations like working in an aircraft or a hospital where the use of wireless is often forbidden.

In addition, the chassis has enough ports to keep most users happy. There's a pair of USB 2.0, a coaxial TVout, VGA Out, a parallel printer port, a mini FireWire, two type II PC card slots, an SD card slot, a headphone mini jack and a microphone mini jack. Our only complaint is that there isn't a USB port on the side to make it easier to connect up a mouse. If you choose, you can eject the 24x/10x/24x/8x combo drive and then fill the SelectBay with a supplied weight saver. The external floppy drive is a USB unit.

The letter 'M' in the M10 model name stands for Multimedia, so the graphics and audio are quite acceptable, with a GeForce4 420 Go chip and 32MB of dedicated memory powering the 1,600 x 1,200 screen. It's a sharp, clear unit that looks good, and the HarmonKardon speakers at the back of the notebook are well positioned to give of their best.

The keyboard has a good solid feel, however the Windows key is positioned to the top right corner and there are keys outboard of the Return key, so there is room for improvement here.

Toshiba Satellite Pro M10 features Verdict

Centrino is getting more impressive as the processor gets faster, and it definitely helps the life of the LiIon battery in this Toshiba. This is a wellbalanced notebook that has all the features we could ask for at a very reasonable price. To cap it all it looks stylish and is well made.

Toshiba Satellite Pro M10 price

1399 VAT

Toshiba 0870 444 8944

The Latitude D series is the top of the range, with the D600 positioned by Dell as offering a balance between mobility and performance. The new range use Dell's TriMetal chassis design using aluminum, magnesium alloy and steel, to make the latest Latitudes lighter and thinner than previous models. Measuring 31.5cm x 25.6cm x 3.1cm and weighing in at 2.12kg, it also achieves its mobility goal.

Throughout the range you have a choice between pure Centrino technology or swapping the Intel Pro Wireless PCI card for one of Dell's own TrueMobile solutions, either the 1300 with 802.11b/g or the 1400 which supports 802.11a, b and g. The review model was a true Centrino unit using the Intel solution.

Powered by a 1.4GHz version of Intel's Pentium M Processor, using Intel's 855PM chipset and backed by 256MB of 266MHz PC2100 DDR memory, the performance was good without being sensational, but more than enough to handle today's business applications.

One area of the D600's performance which does shine is its graphics subsystem. Powered by a 32MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 chip, it's quick enough to cope with a good number of the games currently available. Hardcore gamers may not be impressed, but then the Latitude is a corporate animal not a games machine.

The output from the graphics chipset drives a 14.1inch SXGA screen which has a native resolution of 1,400 x 1,050 pixels. Also available as a cheaper option is a 1,024 x 768 pixel, 14.1inch XGA screen.

The reviewed D600 came with the standard 30GB hard drive but bigger options are available 40GB add 40 VAT and 60GB add 110 VAT while sitting in the single modular bay was a 24x/10x/24x CDRW drive. This modular bay can house a number of different drives, but if you are upgrading from a previous Latitude model, you have to buy new modular drives as your old ones won't fit the new D series.

For connecting to the outside world, you have a number of choices with the D600. Aside from the Wireless PCI card, it also comes with integrated Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000Mbps, integrated 56Kbps modem and an option to fit an internal BlueTooth card add 19 VAT.

On the opposite side of the chassis to the modular bay, there is a single Type II card slot and the slot for the integrated Smart Card reader. Joining these are the two audio ports and the IR port. The rear panel holds all the remaining ports; two USB 2.0, single LAN, modem, parallel, serial and VGA ports and an SVideo port. As there are no PS/2 ports, if you want to use an external mouse and keyboard, these will have to be USB items.

The D600's keyboard is well positioned and feels solid to the touch, and has a pointing stick in the middle of it. If you don't like using this, then a traditional touchpad is also built in. The four mouse buttons two below the space bar and two below the touchpad are like the keyboard; well built and responsive. To the left hand corner of the keyboard are the volume buttons.

The 4,400mAh battery combined with the Centrino technology gives the D600 a respectable battery life of around four hours.

Dell Latitude D600 features Verdict

The Latitude D600 is a worthy successor to the previous range of Latitudes, with good performance and battery life. The one slightly annoying thing about it is that it doesn't accept the previous version's modular drives, so there's no upgrade path if you're an existing Dell customer.

Dell Latitude D600 price

1,099 VAT

Dell 0870 907 4155

But there's a lot more to this PowerBook than the attractive exterior. The first thing that hits you when you open the cover is the massive size of the display, with its pinsharp 1,440 x 900 pixel resolution. As you can imagine, playing DVD movies is almost like having a mini home cinema, especially as the images are complemented by two decent sized speakers that are beside the keyboard rather than by the hinges.

And talking of DVDs, this notebook comes with SuperDrive for DVDR and CDRW. Use the loaded iDVD software to burn your DVDs reading at 8x and writing at 2x, iTunes to compose your music CDs and the Disc Burner in Mac OS X for data CDs.

Another thoughtful feature is the backlit keyboard which has sensors that automatically adjust the illumination and the screen's brightness according to the ambient light in the room an extremely helpful addition when you're in a darkened environment.

The basic specs include a 1GHz processor, a minimum of 512MB of DDRAM, hard disk space of 60GB and the excellent Nvidia GeForce4 440 Go 3D graphics card with 64MB of DDR SDRAM, which is more than enough to play decent firstperson shooter games in your spare time.

In terms of its inputs and outputs, there are two USB ports though unfortunately they are both USB 1.1 rather than 2.0, a standard 56Kbps modem and the usual audio out and headphone jacks. There are also two FireWire ports; one is the regular FireWire 400 and the second is a FireWire 800 for the next generation of peripherals, thus effectively doubling the transfer rate.

If you are doing a lot of travelling especially by air and you want to be able to log on to the Web wirelessly, included in the package is the 802.11g AirPort Extreme. At 54Mbps, it's the fastest wireless connection on a Mac and is backwards compatible with the 802.11b networks. If you prefer to use Bluetooth technology perhaps to connect via your mobile or PDA, then iSynch is also included to let you do just that.

With further support for DVI, VGA, Svideo and composite video signals and bundled software such as iChat, iCal to plan your calendars, iPhoto and iMovie, you may decide that the PowerBook is suitable for use as a desktop computer and a notebook especially if you're still saving up for the G5.

Apple 17inch PowerBook G4 features Verdict

Absolutely gorgeous to look at and sleek to the touch, the 17inch PowerBook G4 has virtually everything you'd ask from a desktop Mac contained in a 1inch thick laptop. It's only the size that might cause some hesitation for those on the move; the doubters might opt for the 12inch model instead.

Apple 17inch PowerBook G4 price

2,642 inc. VAT

Apple Computer Inc 0800 783 4846

With this in mind, the HP Compaq NX9005 makes a great deal of sense. Viewed in the hard light of business reality, conservative suddenly looks prudent, and dull morphs into reassuring.

Take the threespindle design for example. The obvious drawbacks are size and weight, which in this case run to 330mm x 273mm x 40mm W x H x D and 3.3kg respectively. Neither is excessive by comparison to other allinone notebooks, but this is clearly not a machine designed with total portability as the overriding consideration.

The upside of the threespindle approach is twofold. First, everything's there when you need it, including a floppy drive, and second, there are no cables to lose and connectors to damage and no modules to drop and break. Nor is there the issue of purchasing drives as expensive 'extras' alongside the notebook itself.

With the industry still in a transition between the old and the new where connectivity is concerned, more is more. HP Compaq has wisely steered clear of the modishly sparse, 'legacyfree' back panel, and gone for the kitchen sink approach instead. You get it all, from parallel, serial and PS/2 to a pair of USB connectors, Firewire IEEE1394 and Svideo TVout. Oh, and there's an expansion bus too, for use with a 75 port replicator option.

Obviously, ports alone do not make a notebook, but the NX9005 gives a pretty good account of itself when it comes to the rest of its specs. The core of the machine is a mobile AMD Athlon XP 2400, which refers, of course, to what AMD claims is equivalent performance from Intel silicon. So, the CPU actually runs at 1.8GHz rather than 2.4GHz, for what it's worth.

The processor is flanked by 256MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM and a 40GB Travelstar hard disk manufactured under licence by Hitachi. This is about what we'd expect as a realistic basis to a general purpose business notebook, and also chimes well with the overall price.

And there's more. You get a fairly quiet combo DVD/CDRW drive by Optiplex, which can manage DVD and CD play at 8x and 24x respectively, CDR at 24x and CDRW at 10x. The TFT screen is a very readable combination of XGA resolution and a 15.1inch diagonal, although the graphics subsystem borrows memory from the main system, and is predictably average in performance terms. Not that you'll actually notice so long as you stick within the 2D world of Windows, which the ATI Radeon IGP 320M GPU copes with perfectly well.

10/100 BaseTX networking and a 56Kbps, V.92 modem are both built in, but this model stops short of any wireless technology. We noticed an empty miniPCI slot in the base and there are two Type II PC Card slots as well, so adding Bluetooth or WiFi is possible if you need it.

The NX9005 is clearly assembled and finished to a fairly high standard, but the actual mouldings could have been a mite thicker. This is mainly an aesthetic drawback thin mouldings feel cheap but the lid surface can play a crucial role in protecting the screen, and to our mind, it wasn't solid enough for comfort.

In use, the large, legible screen is a plus, and the reasonably roomy keyboard soon starts to feel familiar. We also warmed to the onoff button that disables the touch pad if you've ever triggered some action inadvertently by brushing the pad as you type, you'll appreciate how useful this can be.

Despite the PowerNow technology built into the CPU AMD's answer to Intel's SpeedStep, the notebook drained its 4,400mAH LiION battery in slightly under 3 hours. Perhaps more conditioning would have got this up to 3 hours dead, but even so, we'd have liked to see a little more life under DC power.

In relative terms, this isn't a particularly fast notebook, but when you are running applications rather than benchmarks, the fastfasterfastest distinctions become somewhat academic. It is powerful enough, as it stands, to run business applications and Windows XP at a realistic and usable pace, and that's fast enough, at least for the next year or two.

On the whole, we liked the NX9005 more than we expected to, not because it wowed us with hidden depths, but because it does what it sets out to, and well. It's affordable and for what you get which includes a oneyear, worldwide, carryin, parts and labour warranty the price is fair.

HP Compaq NX9005 features Verdict

The NX9005 sticks to a tried and tested format, which is a wise approach when it comes to designing a general purpose business notebook. The odd deficiencies like the plastic lid and modest battery life are held in balance by plenty of pros, including the wide array of ports, good overall ergonomics and sensible price.

HP Compaq NX9005 price

769 VAT

HP Compaq 0845 270 4222

With this in mind, the HP Compaq NX9005 makes a great deal of sense. Viewed in the hard light of business reality, conservative suddenly looks prudent, and dull morphs into reassuring.

Take the threespindle design for example. The obvious drawbacks are size and weight, which in this case run to 330mm x 273mm x 40mm W x H x D and 3.3kg respectively. Neither is excessive by comparison to other allinone notebooks, but this is clearly not a machine designed with total portability as the overriding consideration.

The upside of the threespindle approach is twofold. First, everything's there when you need it, including a floppy drive, and second, there are no cables to lose and connectors to damage and no modules to drop and break. Nor is there the issue of purchasing drives as expensive 'extras' alongside the notebook itself.

With the industry still in a transition between the old and the new where connectivity is concerned, more is more. HP Compaq has wisely steered clear of the modishly sparse, 'legacyfree' back panel, and gone for the kitchen sink approach instead. You get it all, from parallel, serial and PS/2 to a pair of USB connectors, Firewire IEEE1394 and Svideo TVout. Oh, and there's an expansion bus too, for use with a 75 port replicator option.

Obviously, ports alone do not make a notebook, but the NX9005 gives a pretty good account of itself when it comes to the rest of its specs. The core of the machine is a mobile AMD Athlon XP 2400, which refers, of course, to what AMD claims is equivalent performance from Intel silicon. So, the CPU actually runs at 1.8GHz rather than 2.4GHz, for what it's worth.

The processor is flanked by 256MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM and a 40GB Travelstar hard disk manufactured under licence by Hitachi. This is about what we'd expect as a realistic basis to a general purpose business notebook, and also chimes well with the overall price.

And there's more. You get a fairly quiet combo DVD/CDRW drive by Optiplex, which can manage DVD and CD play at 8x and 24x respectively, CDR at 24x and CDRW at 10x. The TFT screen is a very readable combination of XGA resolution and a 15.1inch diagonal, although the graphics subsystem borrows memory from the main system, and is predictably average in performance terms. Not that you'll actually notice so long as you stick within the 2D world of Windows, which the ATI Radeon IGP 320M GPU copes with perfectly well.

10/100 BaseTX networking and a 56Kbps, V.92 modem are both built in, but this model stops short of any wireless technology. We noticed an empty miniPCI slot in the base and there are two Type II PC Card slots as well, so adding Bluetooth or WiFi is possible if you need it.

The NX9005 is clearly assembled and finished to a fairly high standard, but the actual mouldings could have been a mite thicker. This is mainly an aesthetic drawback thin mouldings feel cheap but the lid surface can play a crucial role in protecting the screen, and to our mind, it wasn't solid enough for comfort.

In use, the large, legible screen is a plus, and the reasonably roomy keyboard soon starts to feel familiar. We also warmed to the onoff button that disables the touch pad if you've ever triggered some action inadvertently by brushing the pad as you type, you'll appreciate how useful this can be.

Despite the PowerNow technology built into the CPU AMD's answer to Intel's SpeedStep, the notebook drained its 4,400mAH LiION battery in slightly under 3 hours. Perhaps more conditioning would have got this up to 3 hours dead, but even so, we'd have liked to see a little more life under DC power.

In relative terms, this isn't a particularly fast notebook, but when you are running applications rather than benchmarks, the fastfasterfastest distinctions become somewhat academic. It is powerful enough, as it stands, to run business applications and Windows XP at a realistic and usable pace, and that's fast enough, at least for the next year or two.

On the whole, we liked the NX9005 more than we expected to, not because it wowed us with hidden depths, but because it does what it sets out to, and well. It's affordable and for what you get which includes a oneyear, worldwide, carryin, parts and labour warranty the price is fair.

HP Compaq NX9005 features Verdict

The NX9005 sticks to a tried and tested format, which is a wise approach when it comes to designing a general purpose business notebook. The odd deficiencies like the plastic lid and modest battery life are held in balance by plenty of pros, including the wide array of ports, good overall ergonomics and sensible price.

HP Compaq NX9005 price

769 VAT

HP Compaq 0845 270 4222

Once the Sharp Actius MV1214 emerged from its packing, it was immediately clear that physically it was very much one of the gang. It actually weighs 1.9kg, rising to 2.15kg when you add in the power supply, and it's a classic subnote design. As usual, the floppy drive has been turfed out for want of space, so you get a 40GB hard disk actually a Fujitsu MHT2040AT, a 4,200 rpm ATA100 drive that's a bit faster than average, and a removable optical drive in a bay in the right side of the case.

This Matsushita Panasonic OEM unit does the DVD/CDRW combo trick, which is an obvious plus, and delivers 24x CDR/RW, 8x DVD play and 24x CD play. Sharp doesn't make a floppy drive for this model, either internal or external, but there are plenty of affordable thirdparty external USB drives around if you want one.

The Actius is put together from a mix of plastic and magnesium alloy, with alloy pressings used for the base and for the lid surface, effectively sealing everything away in a metal sandwich when the lid is closed. As well as protecting the more delicate components, the metal pressings help radiate away excess heat generated by the processor. The process is fairly even, so although the bottom of the notebook gets warm, it never crosses the line into hot.

As usual, a number of ports have gone in the name of progress. You are left with two USB connectors, a VGA output for an external monitor, FireWire, audio I/O and a little proprietary connector. This turned out to be in effect a third USB 2.0 connection, specifically for connecting to another PC. The idea is that you use the cable and software provided to synchronise selected files and folders with another machine, and even access the Actius's hard disk directly from the host. This should fit in quite well with the way many people use subnotes as an adjunct to a desktop PC.

This is a Centrino notebook, so 802.11b WiFi comes as part of the deal, along with the usual 10/100 BaseTX networking, but for some reason the 56Kbps modem comes as a PC Card rather than being integrated into the motherboard. If you use the modem, it sits in the notebook's single Type II PC Card slot, so a few potential buyers with a need for this slot might have a problem here.

Like the notional majority of subnotes we mentioned at the beginning, the Sharp has a 12.1inch TFT screen, which operates at 1024 x 768 resolution. This results in smallish text, but everything's still reasonably readable and the screen itself is fairly bright. It's powered by an integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 GPU part of the i855GM motherboard chipset, which means a shared memory architecture and lacklustre 3D performance. With 256MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM to start with, you won't notice the few megabytes the GPU appropriates, and while decent 3D performance would be nice, it's not essential on a business tool.

While we were using the Actius, we came to the conclusion that the keyboard would have been easier if it was a little larger overall. It isn't disastrously undersized, but it does feel slightly packed in, and it also suffers from the curse of the relegated functions. In other words, if you want PgUp, PgDn, Home or End, you have to remember to hold down the Fn key first. While we're having a grumble, we also felt the lack of a scroll button on the touchpad; there hasn't been much innovation in this area for a while except for the introduction of this feature, and it's definitely worth having.

The Actius quickly made up for its slight ergonomic shortcomings when in use. First, it's really quite fast, small footprint notwithstanding. The Centrino motherboard and PentiumM combination clearly does its stuff, and the fast Fujitsu hard disk oils the wheels. Second, there's the battery life. The pack doesn't offer huge capacity it's rated at 3,600mAh but it keeps the notebook going for a good four hours of continuous use. If even this isn't enough, Sharp will be offering a supplementary battery which clips onto the base, but unfortunately, none were available in the UK when we reviewed the machine.

So far the Actius has fallen in quite neatly with the profile we suggested for the typical subnote, leaving only the matter of price to be considered. To be fair, the VATinclusive 1,299 you will pay for it isn't by any means outrageous, but it's still a premium compared to a similarly specified A4 format portable. If Sharp could see its way clear to edging the price nearer to 1,000, it would make all the difference.

Sharp Actius MV1214 features Verdict

The Actius M1214 is small but quite tough, and both reasonably fast and blessed with decent battery life. Even so, Sharp needs to get the detail of the ergonomics dead right to ensure that the Actius stands out from some strong competition in this sector of the market.

Sharp Actius MV1214 price

1,105 VAT

PC World 0870 242 0444

The Pegasus DTS notebook is a smart silver and slategrey machine, based around a Pentium M processor running at speeds up to 1.7GHz. The unit reviewed here runs at a clock rate of 1.4GHz and comes with 256MB of memory and a 30GB hard drive. So far so good, as these three core components give a good turn of speed for its class.

However, the system also uses an Intel 855GM graphics processor, which nicks 8MB of main memory to use for video. Although widely used in notebooks, this technique limits the graphics performance of the system, so it's never going to excel at, for example, 3D action games.

The notebook uses a widescreen TFT display with a 15.4inch diagonal, offering a maximum resolution of 1,280 by 800 pixels. This is ideal for viewing DVD movies and the Pegasus DTS comes with a CDRW/DVD combo drive, which plays them cleanly and without any breakup. Unusually, a miniature camera module is fitted just about the LCD display, so the notebook is also wellequipped for videoconferencing.

The unit also has all the connectors you would expect, with two USB 2 ports, a miniature FireWire socket and connectors for modem and 10/100Mbps Ethernet. There are sockets for an external monitor and an SVideo port for a TV connection, with Intelbased wireless LAN as an alternative to a wired link.

The audio system is quite special, as in addition to the small speakers at the base of the hinged lid, two panels either side of the keyboard provide extra audio output. The sound is good for a notebook, but you still shouldn't expect much in the way of bass output.

Under test, the Pegasus DTS produced an acceptable Windows applications performance result, given the specification of the laptop. The result from the 3D graphics test was less inspiring, though. This could restrict the games you can play, and is a result of the memoryborrowing graphics controller mentioned above.

Rock rounds the whole system off with a three year collect and return warranty well above average cover and copies of Ability Office and Panda AntiVirus. There's a useful, leatherlook carrying case in the box and the laptop has a battery life of up to 4.5 hours, thanks to the Centrino chipset.

Rock Pegasus DTS features Verdict

The Pegasus DTS notebook is a wellappointed machine, suitable for application work on the move, wireless Internet and videoconferencing and for some entertainment uses, though not necessarily the latest games. It's a high value, portable workhorse from an established supplier.

Rock Pegasus DTS price

999 VAT

Rock Direct 08709 909090

Still, if performance and functionality are what you crave, size is no bad thing. Just don't expect to lug its 4kg weight further than the car and back, or carry the equally hefty power supply about with you all day.

No, with plenty of space inside its shiny silver plastic case, the Sovereign Pro is very much a desktop PC alternative, with lots of features that suit it to the role. These start with the screen, a delightfully bright and clear 15inch flat panel, with an impressive 1,400 x 1,050 pixel resolution to enable you to display whole pages at a time and still read the contents.

More than that, the supporting ATI Mobility Radeon controller comes with 128MB of dedicated video memory with drivers to handle multiple monitors, including TV output. It also offers a scrollable virtual desktop, plus it's responsive and well specified, putting ticks in all the right boxes for both graphics professionals and games players.

The processor is fast too, with a choice of Pentium 4 chips clocked at up to 3.4Ghz, the review system shipping with a 2.8GHz implementation accompanied by 512MB of DDR memory. And that memory can be doubled if you need it, with the 400MHz SODIMM slots located underneath the keyboard, which simply lifts out for access.

On the storage front our notebook had a 60GB fixed disk, plus floppy and combination DVDROM and CDRW drive. However, if space is an issue you can choose an 80GB disk instead, while the floppy or optical drive can be replaced with a second hard disk to further increase capacity. Alternatively, the same storage bays can accommodate a DVDRW drive, a card reader or an additional LithiumIon battery.

A 10/100Mbps network interface comes as standard, along with an impressive set of four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire connector and internal V.90/92 modem. In addition, you can specify either 802.11b or Bluetooth wireless connectivity, the review notebook shipping with an 11Mbps wireless Ethernet card, fitted inside the case so as to leave the single PC Card slot free for other purposes.

Windows XP Professional is preinstalled and usefully this comes ready configured to use both the fixed and wireless networking interfaces, as well as the modem and writeable storage devices.

On the downside, we're not sure of the value of having hardware buttons for playing CDs when not using the notebook as a computer. However, some users may see this as a plus, and everyone will like the fullsize keyboard, which gives a good positive feedback.

There's also a very usable mouse pad complete with scroll buttons in a comfortable wrist rest which, together with the large display, make the Sovereign Pro a very nice notebook to work on.

On top of which, it's both powerful and quiet and doesn't get anywhere near as hot as some notebooks we've tried. At around a couple of hours of fulltime use, battery life isn't that impressive but, as with most desktop replacements, you'll be connected to the mains most of the time anyway, so it's not a major issue.

Build quality is excellent, there's lifetime labour warranty and technical support and the accompanying manual is well written, leaving only the application software to gripe about.

Here, Microsoft Works is all you get, when on a notebook in this bracket we'd expect the Office suite. But, that apart, we liked the Sovereign Pro, which more than makes up for a lack of portability with the performance and functionality it has to offer.

ACI Sovereign Pro features Verdict

This hefty notebook features a large, high resolution display coupled with a fullsize keyboard and mouse pad. A fast Pentium 4 processor and 512MB of memory provide more than ample performance with lots of storage and networking options. Not for the road warrior, but well built and good value as a desktop replacement.

ACI Sovereign Pro price

1,299 VAT

ACI 020 8830 1958

Back in the day, the usual motive for using desktop silicon in a mobile was speed. Mobilespecific CPUs were invariably slow because high clock speeds generated more heat and sucked up battery power, but this didn't deter some people from using a desktop processor then claiming to have the fastest notebook on the market. That it ran for about 25 minutes on DC power and could easily bake your privates if you had it on your lap was conveniently overlooked in the excitement over those extra megahertz.

Of course now we live in more enlightened times, and we have extremely fast notebookspecific processors like the PentiumM and its predecessors, the Pentium IIIM and 4M. We don't need desktop chips for speed so why did IBM stick one inside the G40

The simple answer is money. PentiumM series chips are great, but they cost, and that premium is reflected in the price of the notebook. IBM has taken stock of the market and decided that what it needs is a decent but affordable portable which can act as a desktop replacement. How to do this Simple stick in a desktop CPU bags of power for way less money than PentiumM.

This had us eyeing the G40 with some scepticism. After all, we remembered the days of joke battery life and singed boxers when desktop CPUs took the stage, and we were a bit dubious. We need not have worried. The G40 really is a desktop replacement in the sense that it's too big and hefty to carry around much. It measures roughly 33cm x 28cm W x H, and it's a real tombstone 5cm thick at the back tapering down to 4cm at the front. The scales tipped at a shoulderpopping 3.9kg which rises to 4.5kg when you add in the breeze block of a power supply.

The size and bulk are not gratuitous; highspeed CPUs need efficient cooling, and IBM has made sure that there's plenty of room inside for big heatsinks and lots of airflow. There's a whopping great fan in there as well to keep the air moving, but on the odd occasions when it activated it ran very quietly. Big notebooks might not be much use to the dedicated traveller, but ergonomically they tend to run rings round smaller machines. This is certainly the case here, what with the 15inch TFT screen and the large, almost desktopsized keyboard.

The screen runs at 1024 x 768 resolution, which is very readable and practically sized on the 15inch diagonal, and the spacious keypad incorporates large keys where you would expect them and is very easy to adapt to. The keyboard is also angled down towards the user because of the notebook's wedgeshaped profile, which greatly improves the typing angle and reduces strain on the wrists and forearms. In short, this is a notebook you can do real work on, which is a vital consideration if it is to stand up as a true desktop replacement.

There's plenty of connectivity on offer, although the Thinkpad lacks a dedicated interface for a docking station, which is a shame given how useful they are, but not the end of the world. Still, you get a generous four USB ports, a parallel port and even a PS/2 port for a mouse, now something of a rarity.

You can add one PC Card to the system, and the doubleheight slot means that you can use a Type III removable hard disk card as well as normal Type II cards. Communicating with the rest of the world is accomplished via the integrated V.92 modem, which sits alongside a 10/100Mbps LAN adapter.

There's no infrared, no TV output and 802.11b wireless networking is an option on some models, though not this one. Again, none of this is likely to scupper the G40 unless you have very specific requirements. The floppy and 8speed DVDROM drives are built in, so you won't be able to swap them out for fancier alternatives as you can with some notebooks, but an external CDRW, for example, could be hooked up easily enough if needed.

The core specification is about what you'd expect for the price 256MB of PC2100 DDR memory backing up the 2.4GHz Pentium 4, a 20GB, ATA100, 4,200rpm Hitachi hard disk, and graphics courtesy of the Intel 855 motherboard chipset. The graphics subsystem borrows memory but at least it only grabs as much as it needs, on a sliding scale between 8MB and 64MB. We weren't expecting too much from the chipset in 3D mode, and although it works, it certainly isn't the avid gamer's dream. You'll be fine if you stick to 2D and business applications, which is after all what this notebook is meant for.

Speedwise, you are looking at a notebook that's fast enough for normal everyday work rather than a new standard by which others are judged. We'd hoped to see a bit more fire and smoke from the processor not literally, but we still felt that the machine is more than up to the job for which it was intended.

This is the crux of it really, this matter of being fit for the job. The G40 may not be especially glamorous, and it doesn't have Centrino technology or any unnecessary frills, but this doesn't mean it's not a good product. On the contrary, it seems to have been painstakingly designed to work with a desktop processor inside, with cooling and even battery life issues carefully resolved. In fact we ran it on DC for over 3.5 hours nonstop, which is really very good going for something this powerhungry.

So long as the G40 is what you want a quality, branded desktop replacement for work rather than play then you will probably be very happy with it. Especially if you thought you were going to have to spend 1,500plus on a notebook.

IBM Thinkpad G40 features Verdict

The IBM Thinkpad G40 is a really rather good desktop replacement with the ergonomics you need for doing proper work rather than just pecking away for an hour or so. A notebookspecific processor has been sacrificed to keep the price down, but in our view this is a price well worth paying.

IBM Thinkpad G40 price

889 VAT

IBM UK 0800 169 1458

This strangelynamed company has just launched a brand new range of notebooks, with the Joybook 8000 currently the flagship model. A twin spindle design, it has the look and feel of a Powerbook G4, but it doesn't end there. Benq is marketing the Joybook along the same lines that Apple uses with the G4 it's not the hardware that counts but rather what you can do with it.

This doesn't mean that Benq has taken its eye off the ball, though; the Joybook 8000 is as a well specified as any other notebook out there. Powered by a 2GHz Pentium 4M processor backed by 256MB of PC2100 memory, this notebook has plenty of performance and is upgradeable too you can install up to 1GB of memory if needed.

Leaving aside the specification for a moment, the first thing you notice about this laptop is the screen. The 15.2inch wide screen, with its 1510 aspect ratio, is crystal clear and has a native resolution of 1,280 pixels by 854 pixels, so it's great for watching DVDs. It's not a bad notebook to play games on, either, as it uses a 32MB nVidia GeForce4 GO chip. This may not be as swift as the current mobile Radeon solutions, but it does a reasonable job of 2D and 3D graphics. It also provides support for the VGA and SVideo out ports.

The Joybook 8000 comes with a 30GB hard drive, which is about average for notebooks nowadays, while the optical drive is a useful 8speed DVD/CDRW combo drive. The keyboard and touchpad are well built, solid to the touch and responsive, and are positioned in such a way as to make typing easier and less tiring than it is with some other laptops.

Benq has designed the Joybook 8000 to allow fussfree connection to various types of digital equipment, and it has as many ports as a standard desktop PC if not more in order to achieve this. Not only are there two Firewire ports, but also you get four USB 2.0 ports and an SPDIF port as well. Getting connected to the outside world shouldn't prove a problem, either, as the notebook comes with integrated 10/100Mbps Ethernet and a 56kbps modem. Somewhat surprisingly, though, wireless LAN is only offered as an option, although there's a Type II PC Card slot that you can use for this purpose too.

Battery life for the Joybook 8000 is a reasonable three and a half hours, but weighing in at 3.3kg, it's not a notebook you'd want to be carrying around all the time. Benq preinstalls Windows XP Home on the Joybook 8000 and bundles CyberLink PowerDVD and PowerDirector, Ulead Photo Explorer, PC Cillin, QMusic and QMedia. The laptop is supplied with a oneyear warranty.

Benq Joybook 8000 features Verdict

Benq's first solo venture into the notebook market is a stylish, fast performing, wellspecified laptop that offers something a little different from the plethora of businessstyle notebooks out there. The Joybook 8000 is fast and has an interesting screen format, but it's quite a heavy machine by today's standards.

Benq Joybook 8000 price

1,099 inc. VAT

Benq 01442 301 000

We're looking at one of the more well appointed notebooks in the range, with a 1.6GHz processor, 512MB DDR memory, a 60GB hard drive and a combo optical drive. All the Satellite Pros are intended for business use so they come loaded with Windows XP Professional. There are no applications installed, apart from WinDVD 2000, although Toshiba does include a series of utilities to manage the hardware, including the various connections, and to get the maximum life from the battery.

This is a fairly heavy notebook at 3.3kg, and its 15inch screen means that the chassis has to be fairly large too. At 334mm wide, 293mm deep and 41.4mm high it's quite substantial, but the shiny finish to the lid and the styling reduce the impact and make it rather attractive despite its bulk.

There's a lot of hardware in the chassis, in addition to the Centrino parts, with the emphasis on connectivity. That's a horrid word, but essentially it means you should be able to connect this Toshiba to the outside world with the minimum of hassle. In addition to the Intel 802.11b wireless LAN, there is Intel Pro100VE wired LAN, Bluetooth, a 56K modem and infrared. Toshiba has fitted a neat slider switch to the front of the chassis to enable or disable the wireless features. This is good for security and also for situations like working in an aircraft or a hospital where the use of wireless is often forbidden.

In addition, the chassis has enough ports to keep most users happy. There's a pair of USB 2.0, a coaxial TVout, VGA Out, a parallel printer port, a mini FireWire, two type II PC card slots, an SD card slot, a headphone mini jack and a microphone mini jack. Our only complaint is that there isn't a USB port on the side to make it easier to connect up a mouse. If you choose, you can eject the 24x/10x/24x/8x combo drive and then fill the SelectBay with a supplied weight saver. The external floppy drive is a USB unit.

The letter 'M' in the M10 model name stands for Multimedia, so the graphics and audio are quite acceptable, with a GeForce4 420 Go chip and 32MB of dedicated memory powering the 1,600 x 1,200 screen. It's a sharp, clear unit that looks good, and the HarmonKardon speakers at the back of the notebook are well positioned to give of their best.

The keyboard has a good solid feel, however the Windows key is positioned to the top right corner and there are keys outboard of the Return key, so there is room for improvement here.

Toshiba Satellite Pro M10 features Verdict

Centrino is getting more impressive as the processor gets faster, and it definitely helps the life of the LiIon battery in this Toshiba. This is a wellbalanced notebook that has all the features we could ask for at a very reasonable price. To cap it all it looks stylish and is well made.

Toshiba Satellite Pro M10 price

1399 VAT

Toshiba 0870 444 8944

The Latitude D series is the top of the range, with the D600 positioned by Dell as offering a balance between mobility and performance. The new range use Dell's TriMetal chassis design using aluminum, magnesium alloy and steel, to make the latest Latitudes lighter and thinner than previous models. Measuring 31.5cm x 25.6cm x 3.1cm and weighing in at 2.12kg, it also achieves its mobility goal.

Throughout the range you have a choice between pure Centrino technology or swapping the Intel Pro Wireless PCI card for one of Dell's own TrueMobile solutions, either the 1300 with 802.11b/g or the 1400 which supports 802.11a, b and g. The review model was a true Centrino unit using the Intel solution.

Powered by a 1.4GHz version of Intel's Pentium M Processor, using Intel's 855PM chipset and backed by 256MB of 266MHz PC2100 DDR memory, the performance was good without being sensational, but more than enough to handle today's business applications.

One area of the D600's performance which does shine is its graphics subsystem. Powered by a 32MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 chip, it's quick enough to cope with a good number of the games currently available. Hardcore gamers may not be impressed, but then the Latitude is a corporate animal not a games machine.

The output from the graphics chipset drives a 14.1inch SXGA screen which has a native resolution of 1,400 x 1,050 pixels. Also available as a cheaper option is a 1,024 x 768 pixel, 14.1inch XGA screen.

The reviewed D600 came with the standard 30GB hard drive but bigger options are available 40GB add 40 VAT and 60GB add 110 VAT while sitting in the single modular bay was a 24x/10x/24x CDRW drive. This modular bay can house a number of different drives, but if you are upgrading from a previous Latitude model, you have to buy new modular drives as your old ones won't fit the new D series.

For connecting to the outside world, you have a number of choices with the D600. Aside from the Wireless PCI card, it also comes with integrated Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000Mbps, integrated 56Kbps modem and an option to fit an internal BlueTooth card add 19 VAT.

On the opposite side of the chassis to the modular bay, there is a single Type II card slot and the slot for the integrated Smart Card reader. Joining these are the two audio ports and the IR port. The rear panel holds all the remaining ports; two USB 2.0, single LAN, modem, parallel, serial and VGA ports and an SVideo port. As there are no PS/2 ports, if you want to use an external mouse and keyboard, these will have to be USB items.

The D600's keyboard is well positioned and feels solid to the touch, and has a pointing stick in the middle of it. If you don't like using this, then a traditional touchpad is also built in. The four mouse buttons two below the space bar and two below the touchpad are like the keyboard; well built and responsive. To the left hand corner of the keyboard are the volume buttons.

The 4,400mAh battery combined with the Centrino technology gives the D600 a respectable battery life of around four hours.

Dell Latitude D600 features Verdict

The Latitude D600 is a worthy successor to the previous range of Latitudes, with good performance and battery life. The one slightly annoying thing about it is that it doesn't accept the previous version's modular drives, so there's no upgrade path if you're an existing Dell customer.

Dell Latitude D600 price

1,099 VAT

Dell 0870 907 4155

But there's a lot more to this PowerBook than the attractive exterior. The first thing that hits you when you open the cover is the massive size of the display, with its pinsharp 1,440 x 900 pixel resolution. As you can imagine, playing DVD movies is almost like having a mini home cinema, especially as the images are complemented by two decent sized speakers that are beside the keyboard rather than by the hinges.

And talking of DVDs, this notebook comes with SuperDrive for DVDR and CDRW. Use the loaded iDVD software to burn your DVDs reading at 8x and writing at 2x, iTunes to compose your music CDs and the Disc Burner in Mac OS X for data CDs.

Another thoughtful feature is the backlit keyboard which has sensors that automatically adjust the illumination and the screen's brightness according to the ambient light in the room an extremely helpful addition when you're in a darkened environment.

The basic specs include a 1GHz processor, a minimum of 512MB of DDRAM, hard disk space of 60GB and the excellent Nvidia GeForce4 440 Go 3D graphics card with 64MB of DDR SDRAM, which is more than enough to play decent firstperson shooter games in your spare time.

In terms of its inputs and outputs, there are two USB ports though unfortunately they are both USB 1.1 rather than 2.0, a standard 56Kbps modem and the usual audio out and headphone jacks. There are also two FireWire ports; one is the regular FireWire 400 and the second is a FireWire 800 for the next generation of peripherals, thus effectively doubling the transfer rate.

If you are doing a lot of travelling especially by air and you want to be able to log on to the Web wirelessly, included in the package is the 802.11g AirPort Extreme. At 54Mbps, it's the fastest wireless connection on a Mac and is backwards compatible with the 802.11b networks. If you prefer to use Bluetooth technology perhaps to connect via your mobile or PDA, then iSynch is also included to let you do just that.

With further support for DVI, VGA, Svideo and composite video signals and bundled software such as iChat, iCal to plan your calendars, iPhoto and iMovie, you may decide that the PowerBook is suitable for use as a desktop computer and a notebook especially if you're still saving up for the G5.

Apple 17inch PowerBook G4 features Verdict

Absolutely gorgeous to look at and sleek to the touch, the 17inch PowerBook G4 has virtually everything you'd ask from a desktop Mac contained in a 1inch thick laptop. It's only the size that might cause some hesitation for those on the move; the doubters might opt for the 12inch model instead.

Apple 17inch PowerBook G4 price

2,642 inc. VAT

Apple Computer Inc 0800 783 4846

With this in mind, the HP Compaq NX9005 makes a great deal of sense. Viewed in the hard light of business reality, conservative suddenly looks prudent, and dull morphs into reassuring.

Take the threespindle design for example. The obvious drawbacks are size and weight, which in this case run to 330mm x 273mm x 40mm W x H x D and 3.3kg respectively. Neither is excessive by comparison to other allinone notebooks, but this is clearly not a machine designed with total portability as the overriding consideration.

The upside of the threespindle approach is twofold. First, everything's there when you need it, including a floppy drive, and second, there are no cables to lose and connectors to damage and no modules to drop and break. Nor is there the issue of purchasing drives as expensive 'extras' alongside the notebook itself.

With the industry still in a transition between the old and the new where connectivity is concerned, more is more. HP Compaq has wisely steered clear of the modishly sparse, 'legacyfree' back panel, and gone for the kitchen sink approach instead. You get it all, from parallel, serial and PS/2 to a pair of USB connectors, Firewire IEEE1394 and Svideo TVout. Oh, and there's an expansion bus too, for use with a 75 port replicator option.

Obviously, ports alone do not make a notebook, but the NX9005 gives a pretty good account of itself when it comes to the rest of its specs. The core of the machine is a mobile AMD Athlon XP 2400, which refers, of course, to what AMD claims is equivalent performance from Intel silicon. So, the CPU actually runs at 1.8GHz rather than 2.4GHz, for what it's worth.

The processor is flanked by 256MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM and a 40GB Travelstar hard disk manufactured under licence by Hitachi. This is about what we'd expect as a realistic basis to a general purpose business notebook, and also chimes well with the overall price.

And there's more. You get a fairly quiet combo DVD/CDRW drive by Optiplex, which can manage DVD and CD play at 8x and 24x respectively, CDR at 24x and CDRW at 10x. The TFT screen is a very readable combination of XGA resolution and a 15.1inch diagonal, although the graphics subsystem borrows memory from the main system, and is predictably average in performance terms. Not that you'll actually notice so long as you stick within the 2D world of Windows, which the ATI Radeon IGP 320M GPU copes with perfectly well.

10/100 BaseTX networking and a 56Kbps, V.92 modem are both built in, but this model stops short of any wireless technology. We noticed an empty miniPCI slot in the base and there are two Type II PC Card slots as well, so adding Bluetooth or WiFi is possible if you need it.

The NX9005 is clearly assembled and finished to a fairly high standard, but the actual mouldings could have been a mite thicker. This is mainly an aesthetic drawback thin mouldings feel cheap but the lid surface can play a crucial role in protecting the screen, and to our mind, it wasn't solid enough for comfort.

In use, the large, legible screen is a plus, and the reasonably roomy keyboard soon starts to feel familiar. We also warmed to the onoff button that disables the touch pad if you've ever triggered some action inadvertently by brushing the pad as you type, you'll appreciate how useful this can be.

Despite the PowerNow technology built into the CPU AMD's answer to Intel's SpeedStep, the notebook drained its 4,400mAH LiION battery in slightly under 3 hours. Perhaps more conditioning would have got this up to 3 hours dead, but even so, we'd have liked to see a little more life under DC power.

In relative terms, this isn't a particularly fast notebook, but when you are running applications rather than benchmarks, the fastfasterfastest distinctions become somewhat academic. It is powerful enough, as it stands, to run business applications and Windows XP at a realistic and usable pace, and that's fast enough, at least for the next year or two.

On the whole, we liked the NX9005 more than we expected to, not because it wowed us with hidden depths, but because it does what it sets out to, and well. It's affordable and for what you get which includes a oneyear, worldwide, carryin, parts and labour warranty the price is fair.

HP Compaq NX9005 features Verdict

The NX9005 sticks to a tried and tested format, which is a wise approach when it comes to designing a general purpose business notebook. The odd deficiencies like the plastic lid and modest battery life are held in balance by plenty of pros, including the wide array of ports, good overall ergonomics and sensible price.

HP Compaq NX9005 price

769 VAT

HP Compaq 0845 270 4222

Once the Sharp Actius MV1214 emerged from its packing, it was immediately clear that physically it was very much one of the gang. It actually weighs 1.9kg, rising to 2.15kg when you add in the power supply, and it's a classic subnote design. As usual, the floppy drive has been turfed out for want of space, so you get a 40GB hard disk actually a Fujitsu MHT2040AT, a 4,200 rpm ATA100 drive that's a bit faster than average, and a removable optical drive in a bay in the right side of the case.

This Matsushita Panasonic OEM unit does the DVD/CDRW combo trick, which is an obvious plus, and delivers 24x CDR/RW, 8x DVD play and 24x CD play. Sharp doesn't make a floppy drive for this model, either internal or external, but there are plenty of affordable thirdparty external USB drives around if you want one.

The Actius is put together from a mix of plastic and magnesium alloy, with alloy pressings used for the base and for the lid surface, effectively sealing everything away in a metal sandwich when the lid is closed. As well as protecting the more delicate components, the metal pressings help radiate away excess heat generated by the processor. The process is fairly even, so although the bottom of the notebook gets warm, it never crosses the line into hot.

As usual, a number of ports have gone in the name of progress. You are left with two USB connectors, a VGA output for an external monitor, FireWire, audio I/O and a little proprietary connector. This turned out to be in effect a third USB 2.0 connection, specifically for connecting to another PC. The idea is that you use the cable and software provided to synchronise selected files and folders with another machine, and even access the Actius's hard disk directly from the host. This should fit in quite well with the way many people use subnotes as an adjunct to a desktop PC.

This is a Centrino notebook, so 802.11b WiFi comes as part of the deal, along with the usual 10/100 BaseTX networking, but for some reason the 56Kbps modem comes as a PC Card rather than being integrated into the motherboard. If you use the modem, it sits in the notebook's single Type II PC Card slot, so a few potential buyers with a need for this slot might have a problem here.

Like the notional majority of subnotes we mentioned at the beginning, the Sharp has a 12.1inch TFT screen, which operates at 1024 x 768 resolution. This results in smallish text, but everything's still reasonably readable and the screen itself is fairly bright. It's powered by an integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 GPU part of the i855GM motherboard chipset, which means a shared memory architecture and lacklustre 3D performance. With 256MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM to start with, you won't notice the few megabytes the GPU appropriates, and while decent 3D performance would be nice, it's not essential on a business tool.

While we were using the Actius, we came to the conclusion that the keyboard would have been easier if it was a little larger overall. It isn't disastrously undersized, but it does feel slightly packed in, and it also suffers from the curse of the relegated functions. In other words, if you want PgUp, PgDn, Home or End, you have to remember to hold down the Fn key first. While we're having a grumble, we also felt the lack of a scroll button on the touchpad; there hasn't been much innovation in this area for a while except for the introduction of this feature, and it's definitely worth having.

The Actius quickly made up for its slight ergonomic shortcomings when in use. First, it's really quite fast, small footprint notwithstanding. The Centrino motherboard and PentiumM combination clearly does its stuff, and the fast Fujitsu hard disk oils the wheels. Second, there's the battery life. The pack doesn't offer huge capacity it's rated at 3,600mAh but it keeps the notebook going for a good four hours of continuous use. If even this isn't enough, Sharp will be offering a supplementary battery which clips onto the base, but unfortunately, none were available in the UK when we reviewed the machine.

So far the Actius has fallen in quite neatly with the profile we suggested for the typical subnote, leaving only the matter of price to be considered. To be fair, the VATinclusive 1,299 you will pay for it isn't by any means outrageous, but it's still a premium compared to a similarly specified A4 format portable. If Sharp could see its way clear to edging the price nearer to 1,000, it would make all the difference.

Sharp Actius MV1214 features Verdict

The Actius M1214 is small but quite tough, and both reasonably fast and blessed with decent battery life. Even so, Sharp needs to get the detail of the ergonomics dead right to ensure that the Actius stands out from some strong competition in this sector of the market.

Sharp Actius MV1214 price

1,105 VAT

PC World 0870 242 0444

The Pegasus DTS notebook is a smart silver and slategrey machine, based around a Pentium M processor running at speeds up to 1.7GHz. The unit reviewed here runs at a clock rate of 1.4GHz and comes with 256MB of memory and a 30GB hard drive. So far so good, as these three core components give a good turn of speed for its class.

However, the system also uses an Intel 855GM graphics processor, which nicks 8MB of main memory to use for video. Although widely used in notebooks, this technique limits the graphics performance of the system, so it's never going to excel at, for example, 3D action games.

The notebook uses a widescreen TFT display with a 15.4inch diagonal, offering a maximum resolution of 1,280 by 800 pixels. This is ideal for viewing DVD movies and the Pegasus DTS comes with a CDRW/DVD combo drive, which plays them cleanly and without any breakup. Unusually, a miniature camera module is fitted just about the LCD display, so the notebook is also wellequipped for videoconferencing.

The unit also has all the connectors you would expect, with two USB 2 ports, a miniature FireWire socket and connectors for modem and 10/100Mbps Ethernet. There are sockets for an external monitor and an SVideo port for a TV connection, with Intelbased wireless LAN as an alternative to a wired link.

The audio system is quite special, as in addition to the small speakers at the base of the hinged lid, two panels either side of the keyboard provide extra audio output. The sound is good for a notebook, but you still shouldn't expect much in the way of bass output.

Under test, the Pegasus DTS produced an acceptable Windows applications performance result, given the specification of the laptop. The result from the 3D graphics test was less inspiring, though. This could restrict the games you can play, and is a result of the memoryborrowing graphics controller mentioned above.

Rock rounds the whole system off with a three year collect and return warranty well above average cover and copies of Ability Office and Panda AntiVirus. There's a useful, leatherlook carrying case in the box and the laptop has a battery life of up to 4.5 hours, thanks to the Centrino chipset.

Rock Pegasus DTS features Verdict

The Pegasus DTS notebook is a wellappointed machine, suitable for application work on the move, wireless Internet and videoconferencing and for some entertainment uses, though not necessarily the latest games. It's a high value, portable workhorse from an established supplier.

Rock Pegasus DTS price

999 VAT

Rock Direct 08709 909090

There are some obvious changes and improvements over its predecessors but also a few nagging problems that have been inherited as well. The first positive enhancement is the CPU, which is now the Ultra Low Voltage 1GHz Intel Pentium M Processor, replacing the former Pentium III M Processor that ran at 933MHz.

JVC's new laptop remains the same weight as the MPXP7230 905g, excluding the additional external battery that comes with the package. Depending on how fullon your usage is and how bright your screen setting, you can expect a minimum battery life of one hour and thirtyseven minutes with just the internal battery and up to four and a half hours with the external battery fitted.

This is the first time the Mini Note series has thrown its weight behind Intel Centrino mobile technology so the wireless connectivity to the Internet or office LAN is spot on. As before, Windows XP Professional comes as standard but the hard drive has been boosted from 30GB to 40GB not a huge amount if you have loads of presentations or anything that is seriously graphicshungry, yet certainly sufficient for most needs.

Much is made in the publicity material about the multimedia options it has i.LINK, two USB 2.0 ports and loads of bundled software like Pinnacle Studio 8 SE we've reviewed version 9 here plus ImageMixer and Windows Movie Maker 2 but a word of warning if you want to play games. Because of the letterboxlike appearance of the 8.9inch screen, the demo version of Unreal Tournament 2003 which is provided could only operate in portrait mode i.e. we had to turn the notebook sideways which makes operating the direction keys a peculiar challenge

It is of course highly unlikely that you'd want to use this ultraportable as a desktop substitute in this way, but the above average sound quality of the CC Converter remains a strong attraction during any kind of video/audio playback.

One gremlin that still hasn't been fixed, though, is the stick mouse pointer which still barely rises above the surrounding keys and makes the chances of accidental striking it high. The necessarily cutdown size of the keyboard is also likely to prove a steep learning curve if you're used to something more manageable.

Additional hardware is supplied in the form of a combined DVD and CDRW drive, a USB port replicator and a USB SD card reader/writer. The combo drive is especially slim and elegant but because both this and the USB port replicator need separate power supplies, you're going to need a much bigger carrier to transport your notebook than you'd expect, as well as some form of multiplug adapter. Rather defeats the point of being super portable, that.

JVC Mobile Mini Note PC MPXP731 features Verdict

If you already have the MPXP7230 then you may not need to upgrade, but if you are new to the game, need a lightweight mobile computer with some reasonable power under the bonnet and are willing to pay the rather steep asking price, this could be a sleek and effective business tool.

JVC Mobile Mini Note PC MPXP731 price

1,400 VAT

JVC 0870 330 5000

Still, if performance and functionality are what you crave, size is no bad thing. Just don't expect to lug its 4kg weight further than the car and back, or carry the equally hefty power supply about with you all day.

No, with plenty of space inside its shiny silver plastic case, the Sovereign Pro is very much a desktop PC alternative, with lots of features that suit it to the role. These start with the screen, a delightfully bright and clear 15inch flat panel, with an impressive 1,400 x 1,050 pixel resolution to enable you to display whole pages at a time and still read the contents.

More than that, the supporting ATI Mobility Radeon controller comes with 128MB of dedicated video memory with drivers to handle multiple monitors, including TV output. It also offers a scrollable virtual desktop, plus it's responsive and well specified, putting ticks in all the right boxes for both graphics professionals and games players.

The processor is fast too, with a choice of Pentium 4 chips clocked at up to 3.4Ghz, the review system shipping with a 2.8GHz implementation accompanied by 512MB of DDR memory. And that memory can be doubled if you need it, with the 400MHz SODIMM slots located underneath the keyboard, which simply lifts out for access.

On the storage front our notebook had a 60GB fixed disk, plus floppy and combination DVDROM and CDRW drive. However, if space is an issue you can choose an 80GB disk instead, while the floppy or optical drive can be replaced with a second hard disk to further increase capacity. Alternatively, the same storage bays can accommodate a DVDRW drive, a card reader or an additional LithiumIon battery.

A 10/100Mbps network interface comes as standard, along with an impressive set of four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire connector and internal V.90/92 modem. In addition, you can specify either 802.11b or Bluetooth wireless connectivity, the review notebook shipping with an 11Mbps wireless Ethernet card, fitted inside the case so as to leave the single PC Card slot free for other purposes.

Windows XP Professional is preinstalled and usefully this comes ready configured to use both the fixed and wireless networking interfaces, as well as the modem and writeable storage devices.

On the downside, we're not sure of the value of having hardware buttons for playing CDs when not using the notebook as a computer. However, some users may see this as a plus, and everyone will like the fullsize keyboard, which gives a good positive feedback.

There's also a very usable mouse pad complete with scroll buttons in a comfortable wrist rest which, together with the large display, make the Sovereign Pro a very nice notebook to work on.

On top of which, it's both powerful and quiet and doesn't get anywhere near as hot as some notebooks we've tried. At around a couple of hours of fulltime use, battery life isn't that impressive but, as with most desktop replacements, you'll be connected to the mains most of the time anyway, so it's not a major issue.

Build quality is excellent, there's lifetime labour warranty and technical support and the accompanying manual is well written, leaving only the application software to gripe about.

Here, Microsoft Works is all you get, when on a notebook in this bracket we'd expect the Office suite. But, that apart, we liked the Sovereign Pro, which more than makes up for a lack of portability with the performance and functionality it has to offer.

ACI Sovereign Pro features Verdict

This hefty notebook features a large, high resolution display coupled with a fullsize keyboard and mouse pad. A fast Pentium 4 processor and 512MB of memory provide more than ample performance with lots of storage and networking options. Not for the road warrior, but well built and good value as a desktop replacement.

ACI Sovereign Pro price

1,299 VAT

ACI 020 8830 1958

As with most modern Thinkpads, it's what you don't see that is sometimes more impressive than what you do, and the Thinkpad T41 has a gem of a hidden surprise intelligent hard drive protection. Or, as IBM calls it, Active Protection System.

A very clever feature, this detects when the notebook is falling and automatically stops the hard drive to prevent damaging the disk platters. The even more clever part is that the system adjusts itself when it monitors repetitive vibration such as you get from a train or car journey, so allowing you to carry on working as normal.

IBM offers the Thinkpad T41 in a range of options, with processors ranging from a 1.7GHz Pentium M down to the 1.4GHz Pentium M that powered our review sample. This is supported by a disappointing 256MB of PC2700 memory 333MHz DDR. 512MB is nearer the norm for a notebook these days, but there is an additional SODIMM slot should you need more, up to a maximum of 2GB.

The graphics are a little surprising, in that they are of a standard above what your normal corporate user requires. ATI's Mobility Radeon 7500 chip provides the horsepower for the graphics and while the Thinkpad T41 certainly isn't a gaming notebook, the graphics controller lets you have a stab at all but the most recent games.

This controller sends its output to a 14.1inch TFT screen which has a 1,024 x 768 pixel native resolution. In today's market this is soso; there are plenty of notebooks out there with the same size screens offering resolutions of 1,400 x 1, 050 pixels. Having said that, the screen is clear and bright with good viewing angles.

Storage is provided by a 5,400rpm, 40GB hard drive, backed by a 16x/10x/24x/8x CDRW and DVD combo optical drive. Should you need extra external storage then there are two Type II PC Card slots.

A full Centrino model, the Thinkpad T41 comes with Intel PRO 802.11b wireless LAN. It also has Bluetooth, an Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit Ethernet card and a 56Kbps, V.92 modem built in. There are also two USB 2.0 ports.

As with all Thinkpads, the keyboard is a joy to use and its positioning is spot on. It comes with both a Trackpoint and a Trackpad, so it should suit everyone, and has mouse buttons for both options.

The Centrino technology helps to get the best out of the Lithium Ion battery, with a very respectable battery life of four hours and fifteen minutes in our tests; among the best in its class.

IBM has equipped the Thinkpad T41 with the full suite of ThinkVantage technology. An IT manager's dream, this is based around Access IBM, a collection of tools to help to keep the notebook secure and running properly, as well as helping to bring the system back to life should it be attacked by viruses or other malware. Access Conections is a tool which allows easy shifting between all forms of Network connection through a single interface.

IBM Thinkpad T41 features Verdict

IBM's Thinkpad T41 is a worthy addition to a line that has been the mainstay of most businesses since the notebook's birth. The only real gripe is the screen's relatively low resolution, but that apart, the Thinkpad T41 is a superbly built and well featured corporate laptop.

IBM Thinkpad T41 price

1,430 VAT

IBM 0800 169 1458

Nowadays, although some hardnut models remain, there's a new style of Toughbook which has come a long way from the toolbox aesthetics of the originals. And one shouldn't sneer it's far dafter to wear a 300 metre dive watch to the office than to opt for a notebook which is simply designed to withstand moderate abuse.

At heart, the Toughbook is a fairly straightforward proposition; a 900MHz PentiumM processor not the ultralow voltage version either, 256MB of PC2100 266MHz double data rate memory, and a sensible enough 40GB of disk storage. A pretty typical subnotebook, really, right down to the fairly basic integrated Intel 855GM graphics component built into the motherboard chipset.

What first gets the attention is the apparent discrepancy between the Toughbook name and the exceedingly light machine sitting on the bench. Reviewers are paid to be sceptical and many enjoy it, too, so the merest hint that Panasonic might have overreached itself was an instant attentiongetter.

The fact is, the Toughbook weighs a very travelfriendly 1.27kg, which chimes well enough with its pleasingly compact 268 x 210 x 35mm W x D x H dimensions. It just doesn't feel tough. Then the battery was removed, and the weight dropped to a feathery 990g. Toss and catch in one hand, but please don't drop or it will clearly shatter.

Or will it Not according to Panasonic, which points out that the Toughbook is capable of withstanding moderately severe vibration and shock, including a 30cm drop onto a hard surface. In fact the Toughbook isn't light because it's flimsy, but because it has been very carefully designed, and because it's built from fancy magnesium alloy that weighs next to nothing.

The lid, for example, which plays a crucial role by protecting the screen when the machine is closed up for transport, is a neat piece of engineering. The notsothick sheet of alloy is stamped with ribbing that greatly increases its rigidity without adding to the weight. The main body turned out also to be mostly made from alloy rather than plastic, and proved to be inflexible and clearly robust, just disarmingly light.

The best part is that there were more surprises to come. The 280g battery wasn't unduly large or heavy, but tiny numbers on the label told an interesting tale. An average A4size notebook will have a 4,400mAh battery, so to discover a subnote powered by a 6,600mAh sets one to wondering how long it might actually run for on DC.

The answer is between 5 and 7 hours, depending on how hard you push it. This genuinely impressive figure is exactly what a travelling notebook needs to make it really worth a second look. To apportion credit where it's due, the Toughbook's Intel Centrino certification means that it is cunningly designed for optimum power conservation, but some Centrino kit is more equal than others.

Centrino also confirms the otherwise hidden presence of wireless networking, although in the Toughbook's case it's the older 802.11b standard, not the zippy new 802.11g which is five times faster. Newflavour Centrino is still relatively recent, so no doubt the next model Toughbook CF series will be kitted out with 802.11g.

The discovery of WiFi on any notebook is hardly a matter for a stoppress these days, but the Toughbook's final secret is much more unusual. A trawl around the outside edges revealed the usual run of ports 2 x USB 2.0, VGA, V.92 modem, 10/100Mbps fast Ethernet, even a Type II PC Card and a Secure Digital flash memory card reader that might come in handy.

There was also a mystery sliding catch, which to general amazement caused the left half of the palmrest to pop up, revealing a perfectly concealed optical drive somehow squeezed into a space other subnote manufacturers clearly overlooked.

The drive turned out to be a Panasonic UJDA747 CDRW/DVDROM combo capable of 24x CD play, 8x DVD play, and 16x/10x CDR/RW. In other words a properly capable optical drive. Having this actually inside the case and not as an external module sets the Toughbook still further apart from the runofthemill.

And the downside is... well, actually there isn't that much wrong with the Toughbook CFW2, although it is not perfect. The 12.1inch XGA screen is bright, and large enough for the 1024 x 768 Windows Desktop to be displayed at a readable, usable size. The integrated graphics is best kept to 2D work, but this is a subnote, not a desktopPentiumpowered mobile games platform, so that's fine too.

We were a bit unhappy with the proprietary memory module format, which means that if you upgrade to 512MB you will have to pay Panasonic's elevated price, but many users will be fine with 256MB for the lifetime of the machine. Again, not a serious issue.

The only thing that might prove a problem is the keyboard, which suffers from being rather squashed toptobottom. This means the keys forming the main pad aren't full height, and some users are likely to find the pad cramped. Subnote keyboards are rarely the source of wild praise, it's true, but this one could have been better although then there would have been problems with access to the optical drive. A classic tradeoff, and one which only potential buyers can really evaluate properly.

On balance, this is a winner, what with the light but durable build, the inboard optical drive and the huge battery life.

Panasonic Toughbook CFW2 features Verdict

This laptop is full of surprises, from the deceptively tough alloy construction which somehow weighs next to nothing to the artfully concealed optical drive, not to mention the heroic battery life. Not everyone will bond with the keyboard, but for those that do, here's one for the shortlist.

Panasonic Toughbook CFW2 price

1,649 VAT

Panasonic 0870 010 0464

It's big very big, actually and it's a rather nice shade of red somewhere between burgundy and pillar box. Arresting, but not actually garish, if you see what we mean. There's no need to pick it up to know that this is no travelling machine 418mm wide compared to about 310mm for a normal notebook, although the rest of the dimensions 292mm x 43mm; depth x height aren't uncommon at the chunkier end of the standard scale.

Sure it's big and heavy, but it's also palpably well made, with a solidity and permanence entirely appropriate to a real desktop replacement. Removable modules like the optical drive and battery lock solidly into place, and while the brushed metal palmrest may be a bit chilly it certainly doesn't sag or creak. It also looks rather good, as does the unorthodox white border around the keyboard.

The keyboard is as good, though perhaps not as sprawlingly spacious, as one might expect, given the almost unlimited room at the designers' disposal. The action is firm and fairly quiet, and there's no soggy bounce in the base plate. The touch pad also worked well, so actually getting to grips with the Satellite P20 didn't throw up any nasty surprises.

Apart from a serial port, the Satellite P20 has all the connectors a desktop PC would offer and more besides. There's parallel, four USB, VGA, Svideo TVout, 10/100Mbps fast Ethernet, V.90 56K modem, audio I/O, and even Firewire IEEE1394, 400Mbps making a speedy pipe to scanners and digital camcorders. On top of this lot, there's a Secure Digital flash memory card reader and twin Type II PC Card slots, stacked so a single Type III removable hard disk can go in their place if desired.

Moving inward, the core of the system is a 3.2GHz desktop Pentium 4 processor flanked by 512MB of PC2100 266MHz double data rate memory and a cavernous 80GB hard disk. The processor can walk the walk thanks to its 800MHz frontside bus FSB, and data is lashed around the motherboard by Intel's i865 Springdale chipset, fully optimised to make the most of the extra megahertz proffered by the FSB. So plenty of power there, then.

The vast, 17inch diagonal screen is a broad hint that something a little special lurks behind the scenes where graphics are concerned. What you get is an AGP 8x Nvidia GeForce FX Go 5200, which when asked to prove its worth delivered a score of 7,097 using the 3DMark 2001 SE performance benchmark.

This means power to spare, enough even for proper gaming with smooth frame rates and convincingly realised special effects. Yes, compared to a desktop there's an upgrade path problem, but let's face it, where games are concerned, any system is going to be looking tired in a couple of years, regardless of what GPU it's running.

The screen itself is outstanding. It operates at widescreen 1440 x 900 resolution, so it looks fabulous whether you are watching a DVD movie, playing a game or working on the Windows Desktop. The size of the diagonal keeps everything large enough to be practical, and the unusually wide range of viewing angles make this one of the most watchable notebook screens we've ever seen. It's not quite as good as a decent desktop LCD display, but it's not too far off.

The review sample was supplied with a TVtuner module which swaps with the battery pack and, once connected to an external signal source, lets you watch television. This model comes with Windows XP Media Centre Edition too, so you have a centralised application for TV, video playback and DVD playback, along with the necessary software for timeshifting during recordings.

Basically, this means you can pause live TV which starts recording to disk in the background, go away and answer the phone, then come back and resume watching where you left off. All that actually happens is that the recording and the playback can be done simultaneously, but the effect is pleasing. Perhaps less pleasing is the fact that you can only record the channel you are actually watching, but this limitation applies to PCTV in general, much as it does when you record from a dedicated digital TV.

Like any desktop replacement worth its salt, the Satellite has a DVD burner capable of 2x DVDR and 1x DVDRW. Perhaps a dualformat DualRW drive capable of DVDR/RW as well as DVDR/RW would have been even better, but at least you can still burn your own DVDs without needing to buy an external drive.

When it comes to watching DVD movies or plain old audio CD playback, life is made a little easier by a set of physical play controls set into the front edge of the case. As a general rule, these are easier to get to grips with than fiddling about in software, especially if you are happily settled into fullscreen DVD mode and just want to pause the player.

Sound quality is never a notebook's strongest point, simply because the physics of small speakers is their undoing. The branded Harman/Kardon speakers set into the sides of the palmrest are actually better than most, which is to say they will do for TV and at a pinch DVD playback, but if you really want to hear the soundtrack or actually listen to music, you need to plug in an external array.

Finally, the Satellite has both 802.11b wireless networking and Bluetooth. WiFi, even the slower 'bstandard' version, could be a musthave if you want to set up a wireless network in the home. In particular, think cablefree Internet access, printing, and fileswapping with other PCs. Bluetooth can be the very thing for synchronising with a handheld or a mobile handset, and in each case, the Tosh has it covered, although presumably an upgraded 802.11g model is just around the corner.

As a parting shot, a word about battery life. This clearly is not a notebook designed with either portability or battery operation uppermost in mind. You can move it easily enough, but that's probably about the long and short of it. Even so, when we put it to the test, the Satellite kept going for two hours of continuous use, which isn't bad going for a behemoth like this.

Toshiba Satellite P20 features Verdict

An outstanding wide screen and a great deal of power, including respectable 3D graphics handling, make the Satellite a distinctly superior desktop replacement. Its real strength is that it was designed as such, rather than being a repurposed business machine. Naturally, you pay for the privilege, but the Satellite is well made and bursting with features too, so it's arguably worth it if you've got the budget.

Toshiba Satellite P20 price

1,957 VAT

Toshiba 0870 787 3761

There are some obvious changes and improvements over its predecessors but also a few nagging problems that have been inherited as well. The first positive enhancement is the CPU, which is now the Ultra Low Voltage 1GHz Intel Pentium M Processor, replacing the former Pentium III M Processor that ran at 933MHz.

JVC's new laptop remains the same weight as the MPXP7230 905g, excluding the additional external battery that comes with the package. Depending on how fullon your usage is and how bright your screen setting, you can expect a minimum battery life of one hour and thirtyseven minutes with just the internal battery and up to four and a half hours with the external battery fitted.

This is the first time the Mini Note series has thrown its weight behind Intel Centrino mobile technology so the wireless connectivity to the Internet or office LAN is spot on. As before, Windows XP Professional comes as standard but the hard drive has been boosted from 30GB to 40GB not a huge amount if you have loads of presentations or anything that is seriously graphicshungry, yet certainly sufficient for most needs.

Much is made in the publicity material about the multimedia options it has i.LINK, two USB 2.0 ports and loads of bundled software like Pinnacle Studio 8 SE we've reviewed version 9 here plus ImageMixer and Windows Movie Maker 2 but a word of warning if you want to play games. Because of the letterboxlike appearance of the 8.9inch screen, the demo version of Unreal Tournament 2003 which is provided could only operate in portrait mode i.e. we had to turn the notebook sideways which makes operating the direction keys a peculiar challenge

It is of course highly unlikely that you'd want to use this ultraportable as a desktop substitute in this way, but the above average sound quality of the CC Converter remains a strong attraction during any kind of video/audio playback.

One gremlin that still hasn't been fixed, though, is the stick mouse pointer which still barely rises above the surrounding keys and makes the chances of accidental striking it high. The necessarily cutdown size of the keyboard is also likely to prove a steep learning curve if you're used to something more manageable.

Additional hardware is supplied in the form of a combined DVD and CDRW drive, a USB port replicator and a USB SD card reader/writer. The combo drive is especially slim and elegant but because both this and the USB port replicator need separate power supplies, you're going to need a much bigger carrier to transport your notebook than you'd expect, as well as some form of multiplug adapter. Rather defeats the point of being super portable, that.

JVC Mobile Mini Note PC MPXP731 features Verdict

If you already have the MPXP7230 then you may not need to upgrade, but if you are new to the game, need a lightweight mobile computer with some reasonable power under the bonnet and are willing to pay the rather steep asking price, this could be a sleek and effective business tool.

JVC Mobile Mini Note PC MPXP731 price

1,400 VAT

JVC 0870 330 5000

Recently though, a new trick has been added to the repertoire. Now, the choice has been extended from Big desktop replacement and Small subnotebook, to include a third option Big Screen. Yup, those folks back at head office haven't rested working on this one.

The relatively few widescreen notebooks around share one characteristic, namely bulk. They tend to make even the more substantial desktop replacement shoulderpoppers look portable by comparison. So, in the ceaseless quest for something new, Samsung has come up with the latest refinement, exemplified by the X30.

What makes the Samsung X30 different is that although it is unquestionably a widescreen notebook, with a 15.4inch viewable diagonal to prove it, it is surprisingly light. In fact it weighs about 2.5kg, which puts it on a par with many conventional A4 portables, and makes it a deal lighter than some.

This has been achieved by taking the Centrino path rather than opting for a whopping desktop Pentium 4 processor and all the attendant heating problems. The 1.7GHz PentiumM CPU inside the Samsung is more than fast enough, but since it doesn't produce enough waste heat to run a small town, the casing can be slimmer and needs to house rather fewer fans than infest desktoppowered portables.

The X30 might be considerably slimmer and lighter than the widescreen competition, but is it really that much more portable For our part, we weren't convinced. Yes, it only measures 28mm thick when closed, but it's still 362mm wide and 266mm deep. This means that it's an armful, and it won't slip conveniently into a briefcase or anything else come to that. Think aeroplane seats, think train tables; think again.

Aesthetically though, the Samsung X30 works a treat. It looks rather swish thanks to a whitesilver finish on the lid, and the slim profile is exaggerated by the overall size of the footprint. Better still, it's very nicely built, and the base and lid surface are done in magnesium alloy, so it's pretty tough into the bargain.

The keyboard is fairly spacious and has big keys where you want them, but what we really liked about it was its positive, mechanicalfeeling action, which is a major improvement over many notebook keyboards.

Between the buttons below the touch pad is the X30's other unusual feature. Instead of the expected scroll button, there's a little window, which is the visible face of the X30's impressive security system. Once you have established your fingerprint as the master key, you can lock the machine at boot and again at Windows login, and you can encrypt and lock individual files against unauthorised access. Some of Samsung's corporate notebooks already have this feature, but it's odd to find such thorough gatekeeping on what is essentially a consumer machine.

And it is a consumer machine, or else why the widescreen display, which begs to be allowed to do more than simply provide more workspace for applications under Windows It does this very well, what with a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 as opposed to 1024 x 768 standard XGA, but it really comes into its own when viewing widescreen DVD formats.

Games look good too, and the 64MB Nvidia GeForce FX Go 5200 graphics processor makes sure that everything goes with a swing. Only consumers really need this level of 3D performance 3DMark2001 SE returned a very healthy score of 7,795, so business buyers are unlikely to want to pay a premium for it; ditto the widescreen display.

This highlights a possible deficiency in the Samsung X30, namely its lack of a DVD burner. It can do CDR/RW, but that's it on the burning side, which leaves it at a disadvantage compared to other highend consumer notebooks, most of which now come with DVDR/RW if not dualformat DVDRW.

We also noticed that while the X30 has wireless networking again, surely more of a corporate feature, like the security, it is 802.11b rather than the much faster and more recent 802.11g standard. This was slightly puzzling given the overall deluxe positioning of the notebook not to mention the price tag to match.

Although this is a Centrino system, with all the powersaving efficiency that that implies, you don't get Atlanticcrossing battery life out of it. Given that it isn't the most practical choice as a travelling companion, this isn't a problem, and anyway, the battery will keep you going for nearly three hours under continuous light use.

Another odd thing is that despite intensive battery use on the road being unlikely for the X30, somebody has gone to the trouble of fitting it with an internal secondary battery so you that can warmswap the main pack with the system in standby mode. This is the sort of feature that should be compulsory on all ultraportables, but it's puzzling to find it here.

On the face of it, ports aren't the most exciting part of a review, but they are crucial none the less. The X30 takes the modern approach three USB 2.0 connectors but no 'legacy' parallel, serial or PS/2 interfaces. Whether this bothers you will depend on how many 'legacy' peripherals you may want to connect, especially if this is to be a full desktop replacement.

There are some other goodies though, in the form of conventional VGA but why, with that wide screen, SVideo TVout, S/PDIF digital audio handy for surround sound DVD playback if you have the necessary 5.1 speaker array, and Firewire. Digital photography enthusiasts and owners of MP3 music players can also make use of the Memory Stick flash card slot, assuming that their camera/player is MSequipped too.

Whatever you do with the Samsung, you are going to be on sound foundations thanks to the highend spec. The potency of the 1.7GHz PentiumM is already a matter of public record, but here it's backed up by 512MB of zippy PC2700 333MHz DDR memory and an 80GB hard disk. Taken along with the steroidal graphics chip, this makes for impressive performance across the board.

This is an unusual machine that doesn't fit neatly into any particular niche. It doesn't quite match up to the array of features offered by something like the Toshiba Satellite P20, which could be seen as direct competition, but neither is it small enough to make it travelfriendly.

At the same time, it's a really nice piece of engineering, and it's both fast and pleasant to use. Regrettably, it's also rather expensive, which is perhaps the nub. If you are going to part with this sort of sum, you are bound to be looking at other options, and deciding between design elegance or actual features that you will use.

Samsung X30 HWC 1700 features Verdict

This laptop is powerful, wellengineered and visually appealing, but neither a fullon desktop replacement nor a travelling machine. This would matter less if it were cheaper, but at this price point the question of what you are actually getting and what it is for becomes increasingly pressing.

Note tests were performed without independent verification by the 3DMark Licensor, and the Licensor makes no representations or warranties as to the result of the test. 3DMark is a trademark of Madonion.com Ltd. in the US and other countries.

Samsung X30 HWC 1700 price

1,899 VAT

Samsung 01932 455 000

One of the latest to hit the shelves is the Amilo D8830 from Fujitsu Siemens, powered almost unbelievably by a 3.06GHz Pentium 4, complete with Hyper Threading support. This is the top of the range offering, but there are less powerful options available with 2.4, 2.66 and 2.8GHz Pentium 4 versions also available. With the processor being a desktop model, it comes as no surprise that the chipset is too; Intel's familiar i845PE Nortbridge, ICH4 Southbridge combination.

Backing up the processor is 512MB of DDR333 PC2700 memory; pretty much the standard amount in notebooks these days, but interestingly, because of the size of the Amilo D8830, Fujitsu Siemens has used two standard 184pin DIMM memory modules. If this isn't enough memory for your needs then the two DIMM slots can support up to 2GB.

Fujitsu Siemens hasn't stinted on the size of the hard drive; 60GB should be enough for most people, but if this isn't sufficient there is an 80GB model available. Backing this up is a DVDRW drive which writes DVDs at 2.4X, as well as CDRs at 16X and CDRW at 8X.

A little surprising is the exclusion of a floppy drive, but with five USB 2.0 ports, the thinking is you can use a USB flash memory drive, which is fast overtaking the floppy as the portable storage option of choice. Complementing the USB ports is a fourpin FireWire port. The rest of the I/O ports consist of single PS/2, VGA, parallel and SVideo output, plus headphone and mic ports.

The screen is a 15inch SXGA unit which has a native resolution of 1,400 pixels by 1,050 pixels and is powered by a 64MB ATi Radeon 9000 Mobility graphics card. This is a step up from the usual poor performing notebook graphics subsystem, but it's still doesn't make this a hardcore gaming notebook.

As far as connecting to the outside world is concerned, the Amilo D8830 is a little disappointing. You get an integrated 10/100Mbps LAN adapter and a V.90, 56Kbps modem, but what you don't get is Wireless or Bluetooth. Still, as the laptop has a single Type I/II PC card slot all is not lost; you could plug in the necessary adapter.

Battery life is just under two hours, but with a desktop replacement notebook battery life is largely academic anyway as they are normally just too heavy to cart around much, and instead spend their lives plugged into the mains. The Amilo D8830 doesn't stray from this path, weighing a whopping 3.5kg, but that does include the huge AC adapter that's needed because of the power requirements of the desktop CPU.

Fujitsu Siemens preinstalls Windows XP Home on the Amilo D8830 and includes a limited software bundle comprising Works Suite 2003 including Word 2002, Adobe Photoshop Elements and Norton Antivirus. The company also provides a year's collect and return warranty.

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo D8830 features Verdict

This is a powerful desktop replacement laptop, more than a match for a lot of desktop PCs. As with most notebooks its only real Achilles heel is the graphics subsystem, but while the Amilo D8830 isn't up to playing the latest 3D games, it's more than adequate for today's business applications as well as most home users' software.

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo D8830 price

1,129.99 inc. VAT

FujitsuSiemens 01344 475 000

Powered by one of Intel's 1.7GHz PentiumM processors, you can either have the Inspiron 510M as a fullblown Centrino model with Intel's 855GME chipset and Pro/Wireless Network or, as in this case, as a nonCentrino model, the only difference being that the Intel wireless setup has been replaced by Dell's own TrueMobile 1400, 802.11a/b/g miniPCI wireless card.

The laptop comes with 512MB of DDR333 memory, which is rapidly becoming the standard fit for today's notebooks. If this isn't enough then the two SODIMM slots accept up to 2GB of memory.

As the Inspiron 510M is aimed at the corporate user it comes as no surprise that the worst part of the package is its graphics performance. It uses Intel's integrated Extreme graphics controller, which shares up to 64MB of system memory, so this is one notebook you won't be using for the latest 3D games. But if all you want to use it for is normal, everyday, runofthemill office applications then it's more than enough. And the 15inch SVGA panel, which has a native resolution of 1,400 pixels by 1,050 pixels, is sharp and clear.

One of the two spindles referred to above is inside the 5,400rpm Hitachi 60GB hard drive, while the other is used by the Modular Bay, which can hold a variety of optical drives; DVDROM, DVDRW or, as in this case, an 8x/24x DVD/CDRW combo drive. The bay could otherwise hold a floppy drive, a second hard drive or an extra battery. There's also a Type I/II PC card slot.

As well as the wireless networking, you can also connect to the outside world via the integrated 10/100Mbps Ethernet connection or by the integrated V.92 modem. The keyboard is of the usual Dell quality and feels responsive to the touch. It is accompanied by a Touchpad and two mouse buttons, and with the two speakers on the front edge you don't have the worry about blocking them as you type.

With the standard 4cell battery we got around two hours and 45 minutes of battery life, which isn't too bad for this type of notebook. For longer life there is a 6cell battery available.

Dell supplied the Inspiron 510M with Windows XP Home, but you can order it with XP Professional add on 50 VAT, with MS Works 7.0 as the bundled software package.

Dell Inspiron 510M features Verdict

It may be a bit too heavy to be truly mobile, but the Inspiron 510M is a well featured, well built notebook with lots of connectivity options. At the moment Dell is offering all sorts of deals on the Inspiron range, so if you are thinking about a new notebook, now might be the time to buy.

Dell Inspiron 510M price

1,315.11 VAT spec as reviewed

Dell 0870 907 5039

It's a stylish beast finished in what Sony describes as a polarised pearl finish body and a twotone silver and grey chassis. It needs to look vaguely attractive, as weighing in at around 4kg this is one notebook that's defiantly deskbound.

Powering the PCGK115S is a 2.8GHz Pentium 4 desktop CPU backed up by 512MB of DDR266 memory, although this can be upgraded to 1GB through two SODIMM slots, so it's got plenty of power for all your applications. It's got plenty of space for all your applications, too, as it comes with a 60GB hard drive as standard. There's also a Type I/II PC Card slot and, as you might expect from Sony, a Memory Stick slot.

Two of the features that really stand out on the PCGK115S are the optical drive and the graphics subsystem. The optical drive is a dualformat DVD/RW drive, allowing you to read, write and rewrite DVDs and CDs regardless of format. ATI provides the graphics subsystem, in the form of a Mobility Radeon 9200 chipset which uses its own 64MB of memory. This will allow you to play most of the current 3D games and should please all but the most pernickety gamers out there.

To connect the PCGK115S to the outside world, Sony has provided an integrated V.92 modem, 10/100Mbps Ethernet adapter and 802.11g Wireless networking. The PCGK115S also has an iLink a.k.a. FireWire port and three USB 2.0 ports.

The 15inch screen is a joy to use. One of Sony's ultrabright XBrite XGA screens, it is sharp and clear and the screen coating reduces reflection. The only downside is that its native resolution is just 1,078 pixels by 768 pixels; there are plenty of notebooks out there with 15inch screens and more agreeable 1,400 pixels by 1,050 pixels resolutions.

Battery life is somewhat irrelevant on this type of deskbound notebook, but under test the PCGK115S managed two hours and fifteen minutes on the standard LithiumIon battery.

Sony preinstalls Windows XP Home as the operating system and, as is the norm with any Sony PC, this laptop comes with a whole raft of useful software; you get Adobe's PhotoShop Album SE and PhotoShop Elements, plus PictureGear's Studio, to take care of any imaging jobs. To help you create your own movies there is Adobe's Premiere LE, Dvgate and WinDVD, while to burn these onto a DVD there is Click to DVD and Drag n Drop CD DVD. Among the rest of the software titles are SonicStage, Moodlogic and Microsoft Works.

The PCGK115S comes with a one year warranty which can be extended to three years with the optional Warranty Pack.

Sony Vaio PCGK115S features Verdict

Sony's PCGK115S is a featurerich desktop replacement notebook with plenty of performance and connectivity tools. In includes a useful bundle of software to help you get started, too, all for a fairly reasonable price.

Sony Vaio PCGK115S price

1,299 inc. VAT

Sony 08705 111 999

Yet the logic always goes that if the High Street stores are asking for that much, then some smart shopping through more specialised suppliers will reap a better deal. True. The latest evidence for this is the ECS A535, a 600 machine that offers enough to keep the majority of users happy.

Let's deal with the downsides first, though. For that kind of money, you could assume that you're not going to get the most powerful beast of a machine, and you'd be absolutely right. A 1GHz mobile Athlon processor is ample to cover office tasks, Internet browsing, email and the odd bit of DVD playback, but you're unlikely to get too far if you push it much further.

Also, many of the unit's component parts veer more towards workable than desirable. While the keyboard and screen are perfectly competent, for instance, they won't be challenging for the endofyear awards. And if you choose the 128MB RAM version, you're likely to find it fairly restrictive.

Yet all that's missing the point slightly. The idea behind the A535 is to provide enough functionality at an affordable price. It's mission accomplished, then. Bundled with a copy of Windows XP, the unit supports LAN and wifi, has a builtin dialup modem and USB 2.0. Plus it comes with a capable DVD/CDRW combo drive and a 20GB hard drive as standard. Upgrade options allow the boosting of these specs slightly.

In operation, the benchmark scores generated by the A535 were predictably not that great, but proved perfectly adequate for the tasks that such a machine is likely to take on. It was quieter than we expected in operation, too, and unlike many modern laptops, didn't seem keen to burn a hole in the surface it was rested on.

Where the machine really scores is with that price. A year or two ago, the idea of 599 for a laptop computer as capable as this one was laughable. Here, ECS has packed together a decent enough box of tricks that represents tremendous value for money; even more so when you consider it includes a full copy of Windows XP too.

ECS A535 features Verdict

While it may be bereft of the frills, bells and whistles of the machines that those High Street stores are ohsohappy to sell you, the ECS A535 proves itself to be a more than capable tool for the majority of jobs.

ECS A535 price

599 inc. VAT

ECS 0870 240 8312

Our test machine came with a capable 1500 mobile Athlon processor, 256MB of memory, a 40GB hard drive and an S3 Graphics Pro Savage graphics solution inside. These are, by cutting edge standards, quite modest specifications, but they do have the desired effect of keeping the end price comparably slim.

What's more, the machine itself is perfectly able, with just one or two minor niggles. You'd guess that a unit such as the Starbook 212 will predominantly be put to office and Internet based tasks, which throughout the duration of our review it handled with ease. Its absolute silence of operation is to be commended, too, with the exception of when the optical drive, a DVDROM/CDRW combo, was called into action. Even then, the Starbook 212's operational volume was no issue.

Included in the package is a copy of Windows XP Home, and Iridium also bundles the basic edition of Easy CD Creator 5, a copy of PowerDVD and the Ability Office 2002 office suite. These are capable applications, and while Easy CD Creator has long since been superseded, and Ability Office is about to be, they give you the basics to be able to start working with the computer straight out of the box.

Let's touch on those niggles, though. The compact keyboard, while very comfortable to type on, has made one or two concessions to keep things trim. As such, there's a real clutter of keys on the right of the keyboard, and anyone with digits sized over the norm is likely to hit more than one key on numerous occasions.

Second, the performance, while capable, legislates against 3D gaming and intensive graphical work certainly our Sandra and PC Mark tests produced little to scream about, although, conversely, not much to mutter about either. Given the target audience of the machine, that's not likely to be a big problem, but it's worth knowing. It's possible too that the screen, crisp as it is, may be a little too small for some to work with.

Yet our conclusions are otherwise positive. This is a sleek, well packaged unit that's clearly enjoyed some thought at the design stage. For instance, there are connections mounted on the front for headphones and mic, along with a volume control. Three USB ports are conveniently located on the right face, although locating the VGA out port on the left face leaves it very close to the edge of the keyboard. There are no connections on the back of the Starbook 212 at all.

Supplied with a good carry case, the Starbook 212 will suit someone looking for a slim, light and easy to carry machine. It will do the kind of everyday tasks the majority use their machines for, and not make a racket in the process.

Iridium Starbook 212 features Verdict

Built to apparently high standards, the Starbook 212 is worthy solution for those after a good, portable, workhorse machine. Its performance, deliberately, won't trouble the higher end laptops, but this really scores where value for money is concerned.

Iridium Starbook 212 price

725 inc. VAT

Iridium 0870 066 0222

Instead of being 20mm thick, the A100 measures 35mm with the lid shut, which is much the same as many A4 format notebooks. Yet it is small enough to be classed as a subnotebook, with a 288mm x 238mm W x D footprint, and it weighs 2.2kg which compares favourably with the 3kgplus of most fullsized machines.

The advantage of this tactic is that the Portg A100 is more or less entire unto itself, unlike most subnotebooks which need to be accompanied by various plugin modules if you want full functionality out of them.

The Portg has an integral optical drive for example, and also a decent complement of ports, so it doesn't rely on an external replicator for connectivity. If you like all your notebook in one box, but still small enough to carry around with you, the Portg A100 might be what you are looking for.

It's quite a nice looking machine, with a sort of pearlescent finish to the lid and a silvergrey body and white keyboard. This all works together surprisingly well, and there are pleasing touches like the brushed metal mouse buttons and the illuminated power stud. Open the lid and it lights up helpfully; when the machine suspends or goes into hibernation, the colour of the light changes to indicate what state the system is in.

On a strictly practical level though, we were disappointed to find that the lid was plastic, inevitably less durable and effective at protecting the screen from travel damage than metal alloy. Otherwise the build quality is fairly good, if not quite up to the standard set by Toshiba's more expensive notebooks.

The screen and keyboard are above average by subnotebook standards. The screen's strengths are a sensible combination of 12.1inch diagonal and 1024 x 768 XGA resolution, which is readable despite the modest overall size, plus good brightness and a wide viewing angle. The keyboard has usablesized keys, a logical enough layout and a pleasant feel.

The Portg doesn't stretch to a parallel port, but you do get four USB 2.0 connectors, FireWire, an RCA jack TV output, VGAout for an external monitor and a Secure Digital SD flash memory card slot. This might be a bonus if you have a camera or PDA which also uses SD. Conventional expansion is possible by way of twin Type II PC Card slots, stacked so you can get a single Type III hard disk in there if you prefer.

The notebook has both standard 10/100Mbps wired networking and 802.11b WiFi hidden away inside. This has the respectability conferred by a Centrino certification in other words it should actually work most of the time, but we were disappointed at the lack of 802.11g support. After all, this is the current standard, and it's five times faster than the original, so why not put it in

The optical drive turned out to be a Matsushita Panasonic CDRW/DVDROM combo. It does all that one would expect, from 8x/24x DVD/CD play to 24x/24x CDR/RW. DVD playback was of acceptable quality, but headphones will be an improvement over the typically tinny integrated speakers.

Subnotebooks are not generally designed with power as the primary consideration, so we didn't expect wonders from the Portg when it came to speed. Even so, it proved to be slower than we would have liked, to the point of feeling subjectively sluggish on occasions. It was hard to know why. The 1.4GHz Pentium M processor is snappy enough, boosted by its 1MB ondie Level 2 cache, and the 256MB of memory was fast 333MHz PC2700 DDR. Perhaps 512MB would have helped things along.

The graphics subsystem is contained within the Intel 855GM motherboard chipset and is fine for 2D work but really not at all suitable for 3D. It also operates on a shared memory architecture with the main system, which might be another reason to consider a RAM upgrade at the outset.

Battery life was acceptable but not at the upper end of what Centrino systems can deliver. You should get a good three hours from a full charge, and possibly more, but it won't see you from London to New York, as it were.

Which brings us to the end, once again. The bottom line here really is that the Portg A100 is a good idea which isn't quite perfectly implemented. This in turn made it look just a little pricey compared to some of the competition when launched, although Toshiba appears to have quickly realised that and cut the price by over 150 to what you see below. If Toshiba could just straighten out the performance and add a feature or two, it would change the picture completely.

Toshiba Portg A100 features Verdict

This is a sensible compromise between weight and functionality, but slightly let down by unexceptional performance and a couple of missing features.

Toshiba Portg A100 price

799 VAT

Toshiba UK 0870 787 3761

The Rock Quaddra Ti 3.4 is, frankly, a luxurious piece of kit. Even before you turn it on, you can't help but admire the large, widescreen display, the stylish case, the plethora of connections and the generous, fullsized keyboard. And when you press that 'on' button and it whirrs into life, it just gets more impressive.

The machine we reviewed featured a spec that would put many desktop machines to shame. There's a 3.4GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor, an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics solution, 1GB of RAM and a slotloading DVD burner.

You'll also find DVI output, an inbuilt card reader, onboard wireless functionality 802.11g and convenientlylocated USB 2.0 ports. It's got an impressive, builtin, DTS surround sound system too, which puts the tinny speakers we're used to seeing and hearing in laptops very much to shame.

One thing to note, mind, and that's that the processor isn't a laptopoptimised chip. So battery life takes a hit and the amount of heat the machine generates is quite high. Also, given the amount of heat inside the case, unsurprisingly there are some comparably noisy fans at work when the machine is undertaking intensive work. It's not incredibly rowdy, but it's still something to be aware of.

When it comes to performance, though, it's hard to quibble. That onboard 256MB graphics solution makes this a viable portable gaming system, which tore through Unreal Tournament 2004 when we loaded it up. It also fired back a healthy 3D Mark 2003 score of 3,275 and 11,315 at 3D Mark 01SE. That's not going to beat a properlyoptimised desktop machine, but leaves the overwhelming majority of laptops a long way back.

A special mention, too, for that 17inch WXGA screen, which we found to be of exceptional quality. The wide viewing area was helpful, and even when we loaded up the aforementioned UT 2004, we could find few signs of ghosting.

A machine such as this is best suited as a desktop replacement rather than a portable device more so when you factor in its comparable weight and bulkiness, and certainly we expect some who are in the market for a laptop to favour a smaller machine.

But let's take this for what it is. Aimed at a mixture of power users, gamers and affluent people, the Quaddra Ti is an exceptionally strong machine, where you get what you pay for. Dripping with thought, quality and style, it may be a bit of luxury, but it's a mighty fine one.

Rock Quaddra Ti 3.4 features Verdict

A premium laptop at a premium price. With a spec that rivals the majority of topend desktop PCs, this is a capable machine that's likely to please those who can afford it.

Rock Quaddra Ti 3.4 price

1,699 VAT

This is important as it seems to be aimed at the consumer and not the business user, so it is likely to see service as a games platform, a DVD player, possibly an image or videoediting tool, and no doubt other things besides.

Of course the CPU doesn't do all this on its own, which is where another of the Voyager's strengths becomes apparent. The core specification is relatively generous 512MB of PC2700 333MHz DDR SDRAM; 60GB of storage on a fast 7,200rpm Hitachi hard disk and, best of all, 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics.

This is a sizzler of a GPU, and turns the Voyager into a games platform that really works. Only the most recent and most graphically complex titles are going to slow it down; everything else will fly along. It also makes light work of DVD playback, so films run smoothly and cleanly.

Movie playback gets a further visual boost from the Voyager's wideformat 15.4inch diagonal screen. This has a native resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels, which means you see a large, widescreen image with much less of a letterbox effect than with conventional screens. The panel is also bright and offers a reasonably wide range of viewing angles, so the machine really does quite well on the visuals front.

By the standards of notebook audio it manages pretty well, too. The integrated speakers provide a welldefined stereo picture, and the woofer set into the base adds a fraction more bottom end. External speakers are still a must for anything serious, but you can at least live with the inboard ones when you need them. Movie lovers note there's a SPDIF digital audio output for hooking up to a 5.1channel speaker array for proper digital surround effects.

The optical drive provides a combination of CDR/RW 16x/8x and DVDR/RW 2x/1X, but doesn't do DVDRW, so you can't do things like multisession backups onto a single disc. The drive itself is one of those trayless affairs, so you just slip the disk into the side of the machine and it disappears, which is actually an improvement over the conventional type.

The Voyager has all the comms hardware you'd expect 56Kbps modem, 10/100Mbps LAN and some that's still a bonus, like 54Mbps 802.11b/g wireless and a 3in1 flash card reader. When it comes to ports, it's a modernist, with three USB 2.0 connectors for the major stuff, but no parallel, serial or PS/2 ports. You do get VGA, Svideo TVout and Firewire, though, not to mention a Type II PC Card slot for expansion.

Widescreen notebooks aren't really made for carrying around, but it has to be said that the Voyager is lighter and more compact than many. It has a 35.5cm x 25.2cm W x D footprint, measures a modest 32mm thick, and weighs 2.8kg. You'd still be better off looking at a sub2kg, smallformat machine if travel is what you have in mind, though.

Build quality is good, resulting in a machine that feels solid in the hands. The lid surface is plastic rather than alloy, but at least it's reasonably pressureresistant, and you can't have everything, not for this price. We were happy enough with the keyboard, which was comfortable enough and didn't bounce too horribly during typing, and the large touchpad is a plus point.

Battery life from the 4,400mAh LiION pack is soso a little over 2 hours of continuous use, less if you are doing something powerhungry like watching a DVD. Ideally, we'd like to see enough staying power to get you through a 2.5hour film on DVD in a single sitting, and the Voyager doesn't quite make the grade, but this is its only real shortcoming, and may not matter much if you are using it around the house anyway.

What with the screen, the excellent ATI 3D graphics, the DVD burner and the Dothan CPU not to mention 802.11g wireless, the Voyager is a package to be reckoned with. Throw in a copy of Microsoft Works and a threeyear warranty year 1 onsite, years 2 and 3 return to base, and you have worthwhile added value. Slap on a 1,299 VATinclusive price tag, and it's a bargain.

Evesham Voyager X5 PM17 features Verdict

This is an ideal desktop replacement/alternative for the home user, with strong multimedia features, good allround performance and a decent specification for the money.

Evesham Voyager X5 PM17 price

1,106 VAT

Likewise, the gadgetminded businessman who'd like to own a notebook that's a cut above the legion of silverandblack would normally be on a hopeless quest. But now, thanks to a unique partnership between Acer and Scuderia Ferrari, you can own a bit of gleaming scarlet technology that will impress your friends.

One glance at the highly polished red cover with the embossed Ferrari logo tells you that this is going to be one sophisticated piece of machinery, with the same colour extending down the sides and to the bespoke USB optical mouse. This is the second incarnation of the Acer/Ferrari partnership following the earlier 3000 model, but the difference is all about the power under the elegant lid.

The 3000LMi had a mobile Athlon XPM 2500 processor, whereas its successor has the lowpower mobile Athlon 64 2800 processor, which not only delivers leadingedge 32bit ability but is ready to showcase 64bit technology that is still under development.

Graphics needs are also taken seriously, using the heavyweight ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 128MB dedicated video RAM; more than sufficient to play memoryhungry games and prepare complicated presentations. The base system has 512MB DDR RAM, which can be extended to 2GB, plus an 80GB hard drive.

Users will also appreciate the clarity and brightness of the 15inch TFT display, while the DVDSuper Multi optical drive allows you to both play and record DVDR, DVDRW, DVDR, DVDRW and DVDRAM and play DVDROM, of course which is a boon in an industry that still hasn't decided on a single agreed format.

Similarly, a 4in1 card reader allows access to any files that use MultiMediaCard MMC, Secure Digital SD, SmartMedia or Memory Stick. Data transfer is via FireWire IEEE 1394 and four USB 2.0 ports. In addition there's a PC Card Type II slot, a parallel port, DC in, Svideo TV out, FIR fast infrared and support for simultaneous display on LCD and external monitor.

There's the usual wireless LAN 802.11g connection plus a Bluetooth option, and the standard email, Internet and two programmable buttons that come as standard on Acer notebooks. On average there's about three hours of battery life a halfhour improvement on the 3000 model and the keyboard is the distinctive FineTouch style with a five degree curve.

With an acceptable weight of 3.0 kg, you won't be rubbing your shoulder too raw as you carry this aesthetically sculpted laptop to your next meeting.

Acer Ferrari 3200 features Verdict

Gorgeous to look at and packing a powerful punch under the bonnet although similar specs can be found elsewhere, this is one of the rare occasions where a notebook lives up to its elegant name.

Acer Ferrari 3200 price

1,235 VAT

Acer 0870 900 2237

This nononsense focus on the things that matter seems to underpin the NEC Versa M340 at every level. Right away, you look at it and think dull but workmanlike. It's an offthepeg suit; dark, unshowy and capable of fitting in anywhere.

The Versa isn't a small machine. You are looking at 32.9cm x 26.8cm x 3.6cm W x D x H, in part to accommodate the 15inch diagonal of the screen. It weighs 2.8kg, which isn't punitive, but neither is it one for the long march. The general standard of construction is good, resulting in a reasonably solid overall feel. The lid is plastic rather than alloy, which will afford less protection to the screen when the notebook is closed for transport, but there's a limit to what you can get for 799.

The core spec is fair for the price 1.5GHz Pentium M not the new Dothan, although a 1.7GHz Dothan model is available; 256MB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM, and a 4,200rpm, 60GB Hitachi hard disk.

Legacy ports PS/2, parallel, serial have been ditched in favour of three USB 2.0 connectors and Firewire IEEE1394, and you get a single Type II PC Card slot for expansion. This is a Centrino system, so wireless networking the newer, faster 54Mbps 802.11b/g standard is part of the package too. The floppy drive has also gone add 64 for an external USB option, leaving only an optical drive. On the review model this was a straightforward combo DVDROM/CDRW Matsushita UJDA 760e, capable of 8x/24x play DVD/CDROM and 24x/16x CDR/RW.

To keep costs down and because business machines don't need soupedup 3D acceleration NEC has gone for a motherboard based on Intel's 855GME chipset, which includes a graphics processor. This does the job just fine where 2D Windows applications are concerned, but it isn't designed for highend stuff like video editing or 3D gaming.

The screen itself is a reasonably bright 15inch panel with a good, open range of viewing angles. It runs in XGA 1024 x 768 which looks good on the large diagonal very readable and easy on the eye.

We were also quite happy with the keyboard. It's not an outandout classic like, say, a good IBM Thinkpad keyboard, but it was still usable and comfortable enough for prolonged typing. Tilt feet under the base provide a blissfully simple and very effective improvement to the typing angle when you're working at a desk.

Performance was as we'd expected; plenty fast enough for office applications, but with the limitations of the i855GME graphics component becoming increasingly evident if tasked with strenuous 2D or 3D operations. This is perfectly acceptable in a relatively affordable business notebook.

What we weren't anticipating was the startlingly long battery life. NEC quotes up to 5.3 hours, which we assumed to be wildly optimistic, but testing with the MobileMark 2002 benchmark got us an impressive 5 hours 43 minutes. This is without optical drive activity, but gives a fair idea of what's possible in terms of light but continuous use on DC power. Be cautious and call it five hours, and it's still a very good result.

Overall then, a gratifyingly unpretentious and capable notebook, which is just what you need for a business workhorse. NEC provides a 1 year collect and return warranty, which is fair enough, and the HeathrowtoJFK battery life is an unexpected but very welcome bonus.

NEC Versa M340 features Verdict

This is a practical business notebook, both well designed and affordable. Performance is sufficient for typical office applications, but battery life is exceptional, indicating quality engineering at the system level.

NEC Versa M340 price

799 VAT

NEC 0870 010 63222

Likewise I can't see much benefit when editing documents or reading email, although widescreen does have its advantages when it comes to spreadsheets. Despite my personal reservations, though, widescreen notebooks are very popular and if you're after such a beast then the iSelect M4610 from NEC has a lot to offer.

There's the display of course a very crisp 15.4inch panel with a 610 aspect ratio, nestling inside a mock alloy i.e. silver plastic lid. This is powered by an ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 graphics controller with 64MB of dedicated memory. And that, in turn, means excellent 2D and 3D performance with a maximum resolution of 2,048 by 1,536 pixels.

Unfortunately the screen itself can't handle that many pixels, so unless you plug in an external monitor, you're stuck with a more modest 1,280 by 800. Still that's pretty usable, resulting in a good readable display even if, like me, you've mislaid your glasses, and it works well when watching DVDs.

Elsewhere the processor won't win any speed contests but it's no slouch, NEC opting for an Intel Pentium M processor 725 on this model. That's a 1.6GHz Mobile Pentium 4 in old language, accompanied by 512MB of memory which can, of course, be added to using familiar SODIMM technology, up to a maximum 1GB.

There's 40GB of storage on the hard disk and, although you don't get a floppy drive, a DVD/CDRW combo drive is built in as standard. Plus there's a 4in1 memory card reader able to handle Secure Digital, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro and Multimedia Card formats.

You also get an integrated dialup modem, 10/100Mbps Ethernet port and Intel Centrino wireless connectivity. Moreover, the wireless interface supports both oldstyle 11Mbps 802.11b and much faster 54Mbps 802.11g technology and worked seamlessly with both on our networks.

Three USB 2.0 ports are provided to add peripherals, together with a FireWire port and a PC Card slot. Audio is also integrated, with builtin speakers and microphone plus the usual jacks for external devices if you want a more cinemalike experience.

On the software front the iSelect M4610 comes with Windows XP Pro preinstalled, together with a factory install on a separate partition that can be recovered using a special NEC utility. You also get Microsoft Works Office is an optional extra plus Norton Antivirus and PowerDVD 5.0 applications.

A 6cell LiIon battery clips on at the back and can power the notebook for about an hour and a half. Your knees do get pretty warm, though, and the AC adapter isn't the smallest we've seen. A carry case is another optional extra.

The keyboard is large and nice to use and the Glide Pad mouse very effective. Indeed I quite liked using the iSelect M6410 while I had it and was sorry to see it go. It's competitively priced and I was able to use it both as a desktop replacement and for occasional forays into the outside world. At nearly 3kg it wouldn't be my first choice as a mobile workhorse, but it's a good compromise and very well made. I still don't get that widescreen thing, though.

NEC iSelect M4610 features Verdict

A well built widescreen notebook that can be used both as a desktop replacement and for occasional mobile use. Good basic specification with a DVD/CDRW combo drive as standard plus 54Mbps wireless networking. It has average battery life and is not as portable as a notebook with conventional format display, but it's competitively priced and is a good widescreen notebook for both home and professional use.

NEC iSelect M4610 price

799 VAT

NEC 0870 0101 6328

Mesh's Ultima Plus 3.4GHz is one of a new wave of desktopreplacement notebooks, with a 17.1inch widescreen TFT panel and size and weight to match. It comes with a vinyl carrying case and you'll need this to lug the 6.25kg with charger machine around. Don't expect too much from the batteries, either. With a desktopstyle processor and a lot of memory, it will keep your knees warm on cold days, but only for around two hours at a time away from the mains.

Graphics output comes from an ATi Radeon Mobility 9700 chip, which currently provides the best performance of any mobile graphics chip. Unusually, the Ultima Plus comes with DVI output as well as a standard analogue VGA connection.

When we ran our standard benchmarks, we saw a 3DMark index of 3,293, a fair result for a modest desktop and a very good one for a PC you can slip under one arm. While you might not get a very high frame rate from Doom 3, anything less taxing should be very playable. The multichannel sound, complete with socalled subwoofer, gives clear response in the treble frequencies and extends to the baritone, if not bass. Select 5.1 sound, though, not the default desktop stereo.

For more downto earth uses, the Ultima is wellequipped, with a DVD/CDRW combo a DVD rewriter is available as a 59 VAT upgrade and a 6way memory card reader, so you can plug camera or MP3 cards directly in for uploading and downloading. There's no floppy drive, but a good range of USB 2.0 and FireWire ports enables you to connect most external peripherals. There's a WebCam built into the lid, too.

If you have a Bluetooth printer or wireless hotspot, the Ultima can make use of both, with builtin Bluetooth and 801.11g WiFi. It picked up our wireless network automatically and was on the Internet without any configuration changes. Mesh bundles a copy of Microsoft Works 8 with the machine. If you need a portable PC instead of a desktop, the Ultima Plus offers a lot at a very attractive price.

Mesh Ultima Plus 3.4GHz features Verdict

One widescreen desktopreplacement notebook with all the trimmings, please. It looks good in all departments, but what would you expect all this leadingedge hardware to cost in a new notebook We were pleasantly surprised to see a price tag of under 1,300 including VAT on the Ultima Plus 3.4GHz. At that price, it's something of a bargain.

Mesh Ultima Plus 3.4GHz price

1,099 VAT

Mesh Computers 020 8208 4705

One of the best parts of this notebook is its bright, sharp, 15.4inch screen, which has a native resolution of 1,280 by 800 pixels. And despite its size, the Series 6210 weighs just 4kg including the power adapter. Because it has a wide body to accommodate the large screen, the keyboard is a good size and the 19.5mm keys make it easier to use than many notebook keyboards.

Featurewise you get four USB 2.0 ports, LAN and modem ports, SVideo out as well as VGA and audio. It is also wireless enabled with an 802.11g unit that can be switched off to prolong battery life. Unfortunately there is no FireWire connection which would aid things such as video transfers, nor is there any flash memory card reader.

In its DVD player guise, the Series 6210 plays CDs or DVDs through a quickload player without the need to be booted into Windows. It really is a quickload player, too; just 20 seconds after pressing the 'on' button on the front of the unit, the disk is playing.

Along with the on/off button there are buttons for stop, eject, pause, advance and rewind and the player accepts MP3 discs as well as audio CDs and DVDs. If you can't be bothered to press the buttons yourself the Series 6210 comes with a tiny remote control which is handily stored in the PC Card slot.

When used as a notebook, however, it's not helped by the choice of chipset and processor. AMD's XPM 2400 may run at 1.8GHz but it's no match for Intel's 1.8GHz Pentium M, especially as it's setup to achieve maximum battery life by clocking down to 400MHz in the case of our review unit, even when it was plugged into the mains. But the biggest problem comes with the graphics subsystem.

By using an SIS M741 integrated chipset you lose 32MB of the 512MB system memory to drive the graphics, which may be fine if you are going to use it in notebook mode purely for office work or Web surfing. But this is one notebook you are not going to be playing any of the current hot games on. Although the chipset is supposed to be DirectX 8.1 compliant, the system under test wouldn't load passed the first test DX7 in 3DMark 03 which accounts for its woeful score of just 80.

Averatec Series 6210 features Verdict

If you don't need a powerful notebook but rather just want the basics and the ability to play movies on the move then the Series 6210 is a good choice. It's not for gamers or serious business users, though.

Averatec Series 6210 price

765 inc. VAT

Averatec telephone number not supplied

It looks sleek and chic with its silver magnesium alloy casing which is both stylish and designed for durability and it's surprisingly light at a mere 2.1kg. The only design anomaly is the battery, which protrudes rather incongruously out of the back of the computer, but as you are officially getting four hours of life and unofficially a stillimpressive three out of it, one can't be too churlish.

In terms of the technical specs, it runs on an Intel Celeron M 1.5GHz processor upgradeable to Pentium M 2.0GHz with 256MB DDR RAM upgradeable to 1GB and with a 40GB hard drive which could be doubled in capacity on request. That is more than sufficient for most needs and there is the additional bonus of a builtin 1.3megapixel camera that can be swivelled 180degrees to show what's on the other side of the room. The quality of the image is more than adequate and it's a pleasure to find a camera that's almost on your eyeline rather than above it.

It's also one of the quietest and coolest operating laptops available, making it even more ideal for using on the move and on your lap. Although the screen is relatively small at 12.1 inches, it is widescreen which is perfect for playing DVDs via the supplied DVD/CDRW player. The DVD playback on the test movie was bright and the colours vibrant, although there was a slight deterioration on the darkest colours.

Bearing in mind there's no 3D graphics card there's 64MB of shared VRAM and therefore this is not a machine to recommend to gamers, there was still sufficient power to make a firstperson shooter like Star Wars Battlefront fit to play. Of much more practical use is the 4in1 card reader that will handily transfer SD, SDIO, MS or MS Pro cards from your digital camera or PDA to the computer.

The 802.11g WiFi antenna which is a total must these days gives instant access to the Internet and there are no fewer than three USB 2.0 ports for any peripherals. A FireWire port and a PC Card PCMCIA slot complete the package and the bundled software includes Nero Suite 3 for CD/DVD burning and the lesser known PANDA antivirus protection.

AJP G220 Traveller features Verdict

The G220 Traveller is in many ways the ideal travelling companion for business people on the move. It has a long battery life, it's quiet, it has a handy camera plus sufficient power and ports to do the job, all at a friendly price.

AJP G220 Traveller price

699 inc. VAT

This isn't a heavily cutdown notebook. It includes most of what you'd expect in a modern laptop, from a 15inch LCD display to a 40GB hard drive and a DVD/CDRW combo drive.

The Quest Explorer S26 is based on an AMD Sempron 2600 processor, running at 1.83GHz, with 256MB of memory, of which 64MB is taken by the VIA/S3G UniChrome Pro graphics chipset. This is a realistic specification for an entrylevel notebook and running mainstream applications like Works or Office won't cause it any stress.

Around the machine's edges are three USB ports, a Type II PC Card slot and a memory card slot for SecureDigital, MultiMedia and MemoryStick cards, with an irritating, untethered rubber plug which is almost certain to go missing immediately. At the front are jacks for headphones, microphone and line in. These would be better positioned at the side, where the plugs won't stick into you when you're using the Quest Explorer on your lap.

At the back are modem and 10/100Mbps Ethernet sockets for easy connection to the Internet or a local network, but as you'd expect in a machine at this price, there's no wireless networking built in. You do get single serial, parallel and external monitor sockets, though, and an external keyboard and mouse port.

The keyboard has a light, quiet action and a conventional layout for a notebook. The cursor key cluster is dropped forward of the main QWERTY pad, making it easier to use.

The PCMark 2004 benchmark produced an index of 2,451, which is a respectable result for a notebook in this class. Comparing it with other machines with similar processors and chipsets showed it well up the field. Running the MobileMark battery test produced a battery life figure of 187 minutes which, at over three hours, is a feather in the cap of the Sempron processor and its VIA chipset. Lack of performance certainly can't explain the Quest Explorer S26's low price.

Evesham Quest Explorer S26 features Verdict

So often, products offered at 'too good to be true' prices are just that. The Quest Explorer S26 isn't. It's a solid, wellconfigured mobile PC, capable of running daytoday applications without a hiccup and providing outstanding value for money. All it needs for true versatility is a wireless network card and a tether for its memory card plug.

Evesham Quest Explorer S26 price

The Mobeus AV is a laptop that doesn't lend itself to anyone with big hands. Its thumbpad lacks a ridged edge, meaning your fingers will frequently slip off it. It's not much cop if you want to play games and we also found the screen release catch a little fiddly.

But that's it. Our grumbles stop there, as for the purposes it's clearly intended for, the Mobeus AV is an excellent piece of kit. Aimed at both the mobile worker and someone looking for a portable entertainment centre, the Mobeus has two killer tricks, both activated by hitting the 'P' button on the top right of the keyboard.

That button, when the machine is off, instantly and we mean instantly takes you to a media centrestyle menu. Where it differs from many such media centre devices though is that you have hard drive access. This means that in addition to the usual CD and DVD playback options you'd expect, you can draw upon media files already resident on the machine, such as MP3 songs. CyberLink's PowerCinema software is the package behind the scenes that does all this, and it's intuitive to the point where you'd be hard pressed to spot that it wasn't a Windows application.

The other use for that 'P' button is when the machine is working as a PC. One tap of the 'P' and in kicks stealth mode, which clocks down the processor when its full power isn't required for instance when word processing and consequently saves on battery life. Employed properly, this mode can extend the already impressive three to four hour battery life to nearer five hours.

Its portability is aided considerably by the lightness of the unit and its slimline casing. Furthermore it has a minimal footprint, and while this does result in a slightly cramped keyboard, there's no denying just how easy it is to cart around.

The machine itself packs a Pentium M 1.6GHz processor, along with 512MB RAM, a 40GB hard drive, integrated 802.11g capabilities, a DVDROM/CDRW combo drive and an impressive 12.1inch wide aspect display. MV offers numerous upgrade options, but as it stands, for the price it's a punchy machine. It also, incidentally, comes with Ability Office, Panda AntiVirus and WinDVD, along with Windows XP.

The bottom line here is that for your money you're getting a versatile, extremely portable machine. It's as happy entertaining you as it is providing a vehicle for you to work with, and providing you never want to put a 3D game near it, it's a desirable little package.

MV Mobeus AV features Verdict

This is stylish and capable multimedia laptop, with above average battery life. A strong piece of kit with few downsides, but not one for the gamers.

MV Mobeus AV price

799 inc. VAT

Powered by an Intel Pentium M 765 processor available in speeds up to 2.10GHz with 1GB RAM and hard drive capacities from 4080GB, this laptop range has a 15.4inch TFT display. It comes with a builtin BisonCam and microphone to make instant contact as simple as falling off a log. Picture quality is remarkably sharp compared with others of the same range and will be the principal reason for buying this model.

There are no fewer than four USB 2.0 ports for peripherals and a DVD/CDRW drive for burning those crucial files or presentations. The stereo speakers produce audio clarity and separation of a high quality. Windows XP Pro is installed as standard and the bundled software includes Asus DVD, PowerDirect Po for video editing and MediShow to create, show and share multimedia presentations.

As is increasingly common these days, there are coloured hot keys to enable a range of quick functions, such as wireless activation for the PCI onboard LAN, brightness and sound variation and LCD/Monitor toggling some models have an optional TVout. There's also a set of CD player control buttons at the front of the base, though they could have been designed slightly further set back as there's a tendency to brush against them accidentally.

In addition, there are four launch keys for email, Internet, PadLock and power saving. The power saving key is especially useful for when the AC adaptor is unplugged. There are seven settings to enhance general performance as well as optimal DVD, gaming, presentation and audio listening. The main keyboard has decent sized keys on a standard layout and this is managed by having the number keys embedded in the centre.

There are separate MiniPCI and RAM compartments in the bottom of the unit so you can expand your memory and add other cards. One useful feature is the supplied Flash memory card reader that can read Secure Digital and MultiMedia Card as well as five types of Memory Stick. It's also faster than most memory cards because it uses the highbandwidth PCI bus.

There's no Bluetooth facility but there is a builtin infrared device and a supplied digital mouse. With a reasonable weight of 2.85kg 2.65kg for the 15.1inch display model, this should be an ideal choice for the modern exec.

Asus A6000 features Verdict

If you're the type who likes to work hard and play hard even when you're out on the road, the A6000 series deserves serious consideration. It's a powerful package at a friendly price.

Asus A6000 price

825 VAT

Asus 0870 120 8340

Acer's TravelMate 8104WLMi is the current flagship model of the 8100 series and manages to do both jobs. It's a powerful desktop replacement and it's a powerful tool for the mobile user, although weighing in at 2.85kg it takes a bit of lugging around. Either way it's a stylishlooking, slimline notebook, measuring 36.3cm by 26.5cm width by depth and a mere 3cm high with the lid closed, clothed in a metallic grey finish.

It runs on Intel's latest mobile technology, the second generation of Centrino, codenamed Sonoma, which, in case you get a question about it in the pub quiz, is named after a Californian winegrowing region. As with the previous version, only a notebook which has all three Intel elements Pentium M processor, 915 chipset and WLAN Wireless LAN can be labelled a Centrino product.

At the heart of the notebook sits an Intel Pentium M 760 which, for those not used to Intel's new numbering system, is a 2GHz Dothan Pentium M. The Dothan is the latest version of the Pentium M and comes with an increased FSB speed of 533MHz, 2MB of L2 cache and Enhanced Speedstep technology.

This is backed by an i915PM chipset and 512MB of DDRII memory running in dual channel operation, so the 8104WLMi is no slouch performancewise, as the Sysmark 04 score of 175 proves. If 512MB of memory isn't sufficient for your needs, then the two SODIMM slots can accept up to a maximum of 2GB.

The reason for the 8104WLMi's 36cm width soon becomes apparent when you open the lid. The screen is a 15.4inch WideScreen TFT panel with a native resolution of 1,680 by 1,050 pixels, just right for watching DVDs on. However you may be disappointed with the sound quality, which is a little tinny with hardly any bass response a familiar problem with notebooks, but to overcome this the 8104WLMi has Intel High Definition Audio and S/PDIF support, so you could output the audio to a 7.1channel speaker system, for example.

Graphics are provided by a 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X700, so this is one laptop you can play games on, especially if you reduce the resolution. When tested with FarCry, it gave a playable 32fps at 1,024 by 768 pixels, with all details set at maximum; pretty astonishing for a laptop. Not only does the 8104WLMi have the usual VGA output for an external monitor, there are also DVI/I and Svideo output ports.

While the battery life of one hour and 45 minutes seems disappointing, it was tested with all power conservation except SpeedStep turned off, so the figure is very much a worst case scenario. A more realistic figure would be somewhere around two and a half hours; still pretty low, but enough to get some work done on a train.

One of the best things about the TravelMate series is the FineTouch curved keyboard. Instead of the usual straight keyboard, the FineTouch has a 5degree curve which makes typing a joy, with the keys feeling nice and responsive to the touch.

To connect to the outside world, the 8104WLMi offers you a choice of Ethernet, modem or WLAN as well as builtin Bluetooth capability. The integrated Ethernet offers 10/100/1000Mbps support while the modem is a V92 unit. The integrated Intel PRO/Wireless networking supports 802.11a/b/g modes.

For storage there is a 100GB ATA/100 hard drive, while sitting in the Acer MediaBay is a Panasonic Dual Layer, Dual Format DVD burner. Housed in the front of the chassis is a 5in1 memory card reader which supports SD, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro and xDPicture Cards.

The software bundle includes Norton AntiVirus, Cyberlink's PowerDVD and PlatinumSecret suite for extra security, and Acer backs the 8104WLMi with year's warranty.

Acer TravelMate 8104WLMi features Verdict

It's not as cheap as some laptops, but there are good reasons for that. The wide screen, the comfortable keyboard and the Sonoma certification are probably the key points, although the battery life isn't as impressive as we would have liked. Still, it's a good allrounder for business and home users alike.

Acer TravelMate 8104WLMi price

1,290 VAT

Acer UK 01753 699 200

Thankfully those days are now gone and several of the current generation of desktop substitutes have been designed with gaming fans in mind. The D900T is likely to make Doom 3 fanatics weep with joy, as it packs more under the cover than many of its desktop cousins.

Apart from anything else, it looks slim, sexy and silver despite its hefty 5.2kg weight. When the cool blue light under the power switch and the front clock comes on, you know you're looking at something stylish. There's a fullsize keyboard and separate number pad plenty of room for such things with a 17inch TFT screen and the touchpad includes a scroll facility which can take a while to get used to.

Powered by a Pentium 4 550 processor with a speed of 3.6GHz and a PCI Express motherboard, this is one powerful machine, with 512MB of 533MHz DDR2 RAM. Worried about hard drive space Relax, not only does the basic model come with 80GB, but there's an additional bay for a second HDD option with RAID 0 and RAID 1 support, and all upgradeable to 200GB.

As for the allimportant graphics card, you're gifted with an Nvidia GeForce Go 6800 which is more than sufficient for the current generation of games. We tested it out with punishing waves of the undead in the demanding shooter Painkiller, and with all settings at maximum there wasn't a flicker, judder or flash to be seen.

As for ports, there are no fewer than four USB 2.0, two IEEE1394 Firewire, a TV/HDTVOut, Video In, Parallel, Serial, DVIOut, PS/2 and S/PDif output. In addition there's a builtin Wireless LAN 802.11b/g card, a 7in1 flash memory card reader, Bluetooth, a 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet LAN adapter, an optional TV Tuner and a Bison video camera with good clarity.

Want decent sound Well, you can either make do with the four builtin speakers and subwoofer or you can use the Intel Azalia High Definition Sound with Virtual 8 Channel output for the full surround sound experience. When you're not playing games you can also relax with the builtin Audio DJ CD player and MP3 player which is accessed from the front and can be operated with the main computer switched off.

The only gripe about the whole machine is the brightness level of the screen which, even at maximum, still appears relatively dull. Hopefully this will be corrected in the next update but in the meantime, play on.

AJP D900T features Verdict

Gamers of the world rejoice It's time to throw away your current laptop and grab the ultimate portable gaming machine, with all the extras you've dreamt of, for hours of fragging.

AJP D900T price

1,299 VAT

But with the increasing emergence of socalled 'desktop substitutes', Dell is now making a determined effort to try to offer the laptop generation people who like to play games and MP3s on the move as well as prepare presentations and keep up with office work a machine that will entertain as well as handle data.

Dell's Inspiron 6000 series was designed to meet this need and to start with its design is one of cool silver, although the white plastic surround is decidedly retro. The colours on the 15.4inch widescreen display, though, are crisp and sharp and do justice to the ATI Mobility Radeon X300 graphics card.

The keys are large and comfortable to use, although for some strange reason the 'Delete' key has been buried amongst the smaller command keys at the top of the keyboard. An optical mouse is included, although you can use the standard touch pad for scrolling and manoeuvring the cursor if you choose.

The reviewed model was powered by an Intel Pentium M 1.86GHz processor along with a 60GB hard drive and 512MB of memory, and the battery life was an impressive three hours of average usage. There are four USB 2.0 connections, TV out, a DVD writer, Ethernet and modem ports, a PC card and an SD card reader. It's also Bluetooth enabled and the wireless connection is via PRO/Wireless 2100 802.11b.

An attempt has been made to emulate Microsoft's Media Centre, with a Media Experience application that covers music, photos and movies, and there are external controls for this. Microsoft Works is included in the bundle, as is Paint Shop Pro Studio, Paint Shop Photo Album 4 and Sonic DigitalMedia LE.

If you do want to play games while on the move, the Radeon X300 coped comfortably with Doom 3 set at medium resolution, though how popular the 6000 series will prove may depend on whether you are happy to carry a wider than usual notebook that weighs a fairly hefty 3.3kg. However, having four speakers is a definite bonus and the overall sound quality is far superior to the usual tinny stereo we've come to expect from laptops.

Dell Inspiron 6000 features Verdict

Just as with Dell's desktop models, this is an efficient and impressive laptop with good gameplay performance, yet its size and weight could be an issue and it still lacks the sparkle and extra features that make some of the competition more compelling.

Dell Inspiron 6000 price

1,099 inc. VAT

Dell 0870 152 4699

So it is with the Area51m 7700, which for a start weighs a hefty 5.4kg 12lbs and is therefore more likely to be living on a solid flat surface. It has the trademark alien face with the ultracool glowing eyes and in many other respects it's a monster machine.

As soon as you open it up you're confronted with a 17inch widescreen LCD with a maximum resolution of 1,680 x 1,050 pixels, which provides brilliant detail and depth to the most hardcore shooting games, allied as it is to Nvidia's powerful GeForce Go 6800 graphics card with 256MB memory. It's powered by a Pentium 4 CPU with hyperthreading technology 3.0 3.8GHz, 1MB cache and up to 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 PC4200 533MHz memory.

All the hardware is seated in an Intel 915P motherboard that supports PCI Express and you can have dual disk drives 2 x 60GB, Hitachi 7,200rpm ATA100 drives in a RAID 0 array for socalled 'Extreme Performance'. There are dual optical drives as well so you can presumably burn or play CDs and DVDs while you're cracking on with your game.

Good graphics and frame rates are only part of the story when it comes to satisfying gaming; what about the sound Well, 7.1channel surround sound comes as standard, though only four speakers and a subwoofer are supplied, so you're encouraged to plug in to an external Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX system or go one further with a ZS PC Card. Even without the Audigy supplement though, most gamers will be reasonably satisfied with the quality of onboard audio.

As you'd expect, there's a healthy collection of peripherals in the shape of four USB 2.0 ports, Wireless 802.11b/g, two IEEE1394 ports, 56kbps modem and Ethernet connections, video in and out, PS2, LPT, DVI and COM Ports and a 7in1 memory card reader.

The AC adapter looks like a brick but it's another reason why you'll be less likely to balance this machine on your knees; the battery life is only around an hour and there's a notable drop in frame rate when you switch over from mains power.

Alienware Area51m 7700 features Verdict

It looks cool, it's too heavy to carry around, but it's a dream machine for serious gamers who want graphics, speed and performance cranked up to the max. You just have to be willing to pay the equally hefty price tag.

Alienware Area51m 7700 price

2,000 inc. VAT

Alienware 0800 279 9751

www.alienware.co.uk

Just like its desktop cousin, the Inspiron XPS Gen 2 comes with a fast processor, lots of memory and an impressive features list. Our review unit came with the fastest Intel Pentium M currently available the 770 2.13GHz but it is also available with the slower Pentium M 760 2GHz processor which saves you 141 over the 770. Backing up the processor is an Intel i915PM chipset and 1GB of PC4200 DDR2 memory running in Dual Channel configuration.

As the XPS sports a Centrino badge there is an Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG adapter installed, which supports 802.11b/g wifi standards. You also get integrated Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet and a V90 modem. Storage is provided by a fast Fujitsu MHU2100AT, 100GB hard drive and there's also a dual layer DVD burner installed, as well as an SD card reader.

As befits its gaming roots, the XPS looks like no other Dell notebook in appearance. Gone are the austere black and greys of the rest of the range; the XPS comes in a black and silver finish, with the lid finished in black and silver and a metallic ribbed centre section which incorporates the Dell logo. There are two XPS logos cut out of either side of the lid which are shock, horror backlit by LEDs; straight out the box these are set to Dell blue, of course, but the colour can be changed by the user. For lovers of lights with everything the XPS will not disappoint, since not only are the logos backlit but there are two lights on the front of the system and each of the two side heat grilles is backlit too.

Any gaming system is only as good as the graphics subsystem and Dell hasn't spared any expense with the XPS, as it uses the nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra Go chipset. This has its core running at 450MHz and 256MB of GDDR3 memory speeding along at 532MHz effective 1,064MHz. What that all means in real life is a staggering 3DMark 03 score of 11,198 and a 3DMark05 score of 4,899. At 1,024 by 768 resolution we got a Half Life 2 frame rate of 92.8fps without any Anti Aliasing or Anisotropic Filtering and pushing the resolution up to 1,600 by 1,200 it gives a more than impressive 67.9fps. You also get VGA, DVI/I and SVideo Out ports.

The screen is a stunner; 17 inches of widescreen display which has a high contrast coating, giving games and movies an extra edge. It has a native resolution of 1,920 by 1,200 pixels. To give you an idea what that means, to get the same resolution in a desktop display you would have to look at 23inch or larger displays.

As you might expect, the Inspiron XPS Gen 2 is a big beast, measuring 394 x 288 x 42.2mm W x D x H but unlike some of its competitors you can carry it, although weighing in at 3.9kg you won't want to carry it too far. Battery life is fairly good for a system that will spend most of its time plugged into the mains. Our worst case scenario test no power saving features turned on came back with a battery life of 1 hour and 22 minutes, so you should expect around 2 hours if you use it normally.

Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2 features Verdict

It may be expensive, but with the Inspiron XPS Gen 2, Dell has quite simply created the best gaming laptop currently available.

Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2 price

2,561 inc. VAT

Dell 0870 152 4699

This ultraportable subnotebook has bang uptodate technology incorporating a fast CPU, a serious amount of storage space, more than enough methods of communicating with the outside world and Windows XP as the Operating System.

While the original was powered by a 266MHz Pentium MMX and 64MB RAM, the new U100 comes with an Ultra Low Voltage Pentium M 753 1.2GHz with a 400MHz FSB speed and 2MB of L2 cache, i855GME chipset and 512MB of DDR400 memory, all of which means plenty of power for your applications while at the same time getting the most out of the 3,400mAh LiIon battery.

While the Libretto itself measures 21 x 16.5 x 3cm W x D x H and weighs a mere 0.98kg, adding the bundled SuperMulti Dock raises the weight to 1.43kg. The docking unit houses a DVD/RW drive complete with player controls which turn the Libretto into a perfect mobile DVD player; you don't even have to boot into Windows to use it.

The Libretto sports a 7.2inch Widescreen WXGA display with Toshiba's TruBrite technology, and its high 1,280 pixel by 768 pixel resolution is ideal for watching DVD movies on, but not so good for reading text at any reasonable distance from the screen.

With a notebook this small there has to be some compromise aside from the screen, and with the Libretto it's mainly the keyboard. At 75 percent as big as a fullsize keyboard and with 12mm spacing, it's not the easiest thing to type on, but having said that none of the other ultrasmall notebooks available offer much better typing experiences. The Libretto's pointing stick is positioned not in the middle of the keyboard as you might expect but in amongst the mouse buttons, which takes a bit of getting used to but is probably sensible.

For storage the Libretto U100 uses a 4,200rpm 60GB hard drive which comes with a crash prevention module; when it detects any sudden movement or vibration, it automatically parks the drive's heads in a safe position to prevent data loss. There are also PC card and SD card slots for additional storage, plus you get two USB 2.0 ports.

To connect to the outside world the Libretto is blessed with a number of options; 802.11b/g Wireless LAN, Bluetooth with EDR Enhanced Data Rate, 10/100Mbps Ethernet and a V.90 modem. What comes as a complete surprise is the Fingerprint reader for added security, and this is easy to set up and use too.

By virtue of its Ultra Low Voltage CPU, the Libretto has a very useful battery life of just over 4 hours, but you could probably get even more out of it by carefully finetuning the power save options. Toshiba supplies a 3 year warranty with the unit.

Toshiba Libretto U100 features Verdict

As with the original, the latest Libretto will make you think about the uses you could put it to, but perhaps the most limiting factor is the price.

Toshiba Libretto U100 price

1,250 VAT

Toshiba UK 0870 444 8944

uk.computers.toshibaeurope.com

Not so the Vaio VGNT2XP/S from Sony, a very small, fully functional notebook with a great screen, fully useable keyboard and even an integrated DVD burner. All this comes in a platform that measures just 20.5 x 2.5 x 27.2cm D x H x W and weighs a mere 1.38kg, including the battery and DVD drive.

You may think that something this small would be compromised in terms of the punch it can deliver, but you'd be wrong. Inside the Vaio VGNT2XP/S sits a 1.2GHz Pentium M ULV Ultra Low Voltage CPU backed by Intel's i855GME chipset and 512MB of DDR333 memory. The integrated graphics chip uses 8MB of this system memory and can be configured to use up to 64MB, but you'd be far better off leaving the memory for applications to use.

Battery life, which is of major importance on a system like this, is exceptional, mainly due to the ULV Pentium M processor. You can expect to get just under six hours of battery life out of the 7,200mAh LiIon battery.

The major stumbling block for the smaller ultraportable is the keyboard, but Sony has done a good job in producing a small but usable keyboard for the Vaio VGNT2XP/S, and although people with larger fingers may have a problem, the keys are much easier to use than those of, say, Toshiba's Libretto. Similarly, some thought has been put into the position of the touchpad; far enough away from the spacebar to prevent those annoying accidental curser movements, but still in a comfortable place to use.

When you turn the Vaio VGNT2XP/S on, the first thing that hits you is just how good the screen is. The 10.6inch widescreen display has Sony's Xblack coating, making watching DVD movies on the move a pleasure, and the 1,280 by 768 pixel resolution makes reading text a doddle.

For storage there is a 60GB hard disk, while the dual format DVD writer makes backing up your data as painless as possible. You also get Type II PC card and Memory Stick / Memory Stick Pro slots. To connect with the outside world, Sony includes a builtin 56Kbps modem, 10/100Mbps Ethernet, 802.11b/g wireless capability and integrated Bluetooth. You also get two USB 2.0 ports, a fourpin Firewire port, VGA port and two audio ports.

As with all Sony notebooks the bundled software package is superb; together with Windows XP Professional and the usual Sony utilities like DVGate, PictureGear Studio and SonicStage, you get Microsoft Works 8, Adobe Premier Standard, Photoshop Elements 2.0, Photoshop Album 2.0 Starter Edition and Acrobat Elements, WinDVD and Symantec Internet Security 2005 with 90 days of updates. Sony provide a year's warranty with this laptop.

Sony Vaio VGNT2XP/S features Verdict

Sony's Vaio VGNT2XP/S provides everything the road warrior could wish for in a small ultraportable package; good performance, superb battery life, a great screen and a useable keyboard. In short, it's probably the bestspecified ultraportable notebook currently available.

Sony Vaio VGNT2XP/S price

1,195 VAT

Sony 08705 424 424

Part of HP's Enterprise family of notebooks, the nc4200 range comes in three models with the review system, the PV983AW, being the flagship notebook.

The nc4200 PV983AW comes with the trio of Intel components that makes it a full blown Centrino notebook; Intel Pentium M 750 1.86GHz processor, i915GM Express chipset and, last but not least, an 802.11b/g Wireless LAN mini PCI card.

Backing up the CPU is 512MB of DDR2 memory and if this isn't enough for you, it's possible to fit up to 2GB of memory in the two SODIMM slots. The laptop's overall performance is quite lively, scoring 145 when benched with Sysmark04SE.

As it uses Intel's GMA900 integrated graphics solution, up to 128MB of the system memory can be used to help boost the graphics performance, but no matter how much memory you give to the graphics subsystem, this is one notebook you won't be playing any of the leading games on. It's strictly for office applications.

Although at first glance the nc4200 PV983AW may appear heavy, in fact it weighs just 1.8kg. The main reason for this is the lack of any builtin optical drive as standard, so you will have to buy one separately; something you will have to factor into your buying plans. For permanent storage there is a fast 5,400rpm 60GB hard drive.

The 12.1inch XGA screen has a 1,024 by 768 pixel resolution but unfortunately the screen is this laptop's Achilles heel; it never seems to get very bright, even after some time spent trying to adjust the brightness and contrast.

The keyboard, on the other hand, has a feel reminiscent of a Thinkpad and both the trackpad and pointstick are well positioned and easy to use. Bearing its target audience in mind, HP has fitted a presentation button to the nc4200 PV983AW, which can be set to instantly launch a Powerpoint slideshow.

Despite its small size 28.5 x 23.5 x 3.2cm width by depth by height it has a good number of ports placed around the chassis; three USB 2.0 sockets rear, left and right, integrated SD/MMC and PC Card slots, two audio ports and VGA and Svideo outputs. Besides the Wireless LAN you also get a 56Kbps modem, Bluetooth 1.2 and Gigabit Ethernet.

Although it doesn't use an ultra low voltage CPU, the nc4200 PV983AW has an impressive battery life. Even with no battery saving measures enabled and just the wireless turned off, it gave a shade over three hours of life. That's a worst case scenario, but tuning the system to conserve power should give you close to HP's claim of five hours.

As with most HP systems, this subnotebook comes with a wealth of software of which the most interesting is HP ProtectTools suite, which allows you to manage your passwords and networking needs. To help with security there is a Trusted Platform Module TPM chip.

HP Compaq nc4200 features Verdict

If HP doesn't know how to address the needs of the corporate market then nobody does. The nc4200 PV983AW is a great tool for the road warrior, if a little pricey, the only reservations being the lack of an optical drive and that nonetoobright screen.

HP Compaq nc4200 price

899 VAT

HP 0870 547 4747

The Voyager C720 is built around Nvidia's latest and most powerful mobile graphics GPU to date, the GeForce Go 7800GTX. This is a slightly downtuned version of its mighty desktop sibling, the GeForce 7800GTX. In fact the memory and core speeds are more akin to the reference desktop 7800GT; 400MHz core and 550MHz DDR effective 1,100MHz memory clock speeds. Just for comparison, the desktop 7800GTX runs 430MHz and 1,200MHz core and memory speeds respectively. The mobile chipset also keeps the 256MB of GDDR3 memory, 24 pixel pipelines and eight vertex shaders of the desktop architecture.

So what does all this mean Well, when tested at 1,024 by 768 resolution the Voyager C720 gave a 3Dmark05 score of 6,830, only dropping to 6,020 when tested at the screen's native 1,440 by 900 resolution. If this means nothing to you then how about an fps frames per second score of 70.15 at 1,024 x 768 when benched using Far Cry, dropping to 67.5fps at the native resolution. And remember, we're talking about a laptop here.

The rest of the system is equally impressive. Our review machine came with an Intel Pentium M 770 processor clocked at 2.13GHz although the basic C720 option is for a 2GHz Pentium M 760 which will save you 110 VAT, Intel's i915 chipset and a gigabyte of PC4200 DDR2 memory, so you have plenty of muscle to do other jobs as well as playing games.

If any thing lets the Voyager C720 down, it's the way it looks. Compared to Dell's Inspiron XPS Gen 2 for example, the Clevo chassis makes it look a bit of a Plain Jane, but on the other hand it's a lot thinner and sleeker than most of the opposition. Still, weighing in at 3.8kg, its not one you'll want to carry around with you.

The 17inch WXGA 1,440 x 900 pixel XBright screen is a joy to look at, but if that's not good enough for you, Evesham offers a 17inch WSXGA 1,680 x 1,050 pixel screen with builtin camera and Bluetooth for an extra 126.80 VAT and if your budget can stretch to it, it's a worthwhile investment. A real plus point is the inclusion of a DVI output port so you can connect to an external TFT for dual display or, as many gamers will do, to a larger monitor.

For storage the Voyager C720 comes with an 80GB, 5,400 rpm SATA hard drive, but again other options are available. You also get a Dual Layer DVDRW drive, builtin Flash card reader supporting MS, MS Pro, SD and MMC cards, and a PC Card slot. To connect to the outside world you have the choice between Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN or a V.90 modem, and four USB 2.0 ports are also provided.

The Voyager C720 comes with Microsoft Windows XP Home edition preinstalled, with the software bundle made up of Microsoft Works 8 and Roxio Easy Media Creator 7. Evesham backs the notebook with its Silver 3year Warranty; first year InHome service, second and third years ReturntoBase.

Evesham Voyager C720 features Verdict

This is a stunningly fast desktop replacement notebook which has graphics performance on par with the best desktop PCs. The price is equally stunning. This machine is only really let down by its appearance, and that's a minor issue.

Evesham Voyager C720 price

1,478.98 inc. VAT

Evesham 08707 299 785

A full Centrino product, the 8550GB is powered by an Intel Pentium M 740 1.73GHz, 533MHz FSB in old money backed by Intel's i915PM chipset and 1GB of PC4200 DDR2 memory, so if it's performance you're after then the 8550GB wont let you down, as proved by the SysMark04SE score of 151.

Slightly more disappointing is the choice of graphics subsystem. ATI's 128MB Mobility Radeon X700 isn't the fastest chip on the block and hardcore gamers won't give it a second glance. Although it will give you decent enough games performance, it will struggle with the toprated games if you play them at the screen's 1,440 x 900 native resolution with all the bells and whistles turned on. Having said all that, Gateway should be congratulated for not going down the integrated graphics route even with the competitive pricing of the 8550GB.

The screen itself carries on with what is quickly becoming the popular trend for notebooks, using a nonreflective coating, and the 17.1inch Ultrabright WXGA display doesn't disappoint, especially when it comes to watching DVDs.

Despite its chunky appearance, this laptop only weighs 3.5kg, although that's still a bit too much to lug around all day. The 8850GB has a chassis that doesn't creak or flex like some of its lighter competitors, and even the huge screen doesn't flex that much. But its size does have the advantage of allowing a fullsize numeric keypad to be added to the keyboard and, joy of joys, a sensibly sized Enter key.

The last of the trio of bits that makes this notebook a Centrino model the other two being the CPU and chipset is the Intel PRO/Wireless 802.11b/g LAN, which joins the integrated Gigabit Ethernet and the 56Kbps V.92 modem as ways of connecting the 8550GB to the outside world.

Gateway hasn't skimped on the storage, either, as the 8550GB comes with a whopping 100GB hard drive, an 8x DVD/RW Dual layer DVD burner and a 4in1 card reader.

We tested the battery life of the 8550GB, even though notebooks such as this one, in reality, rarely stray from the mains. When tested with MobileMark 05 it gave 250 minutes over four hours of battery life for the productivity test and 146 minutes nearly two and a half hours for the DVD playback.

The preinstalled OS is Windows XP Home SP2 and the software bundle includes Works 8.0, CyberLink PowerDVD, Nero 6 Suite and a 90day trial of McAfee VirusScan.

Gateway 8550GB features Verdict

The old black and white boxes are back. The 8550GB is quite some package, at a price that will make many of Gateway's competitors sit up and take notice.

Gateway 8550GB price

949 inc. VAT

Comet 08705 425 425

uk.gateway.com

The Pavilion ZV6179E is a sturdy and weighty, at 3.6kg, stylish machine with a 15.4inch widescreen 1,280x800 pixels display panel that uses BrightView technology for particularly vivid colours and crisp lines. It's ideal for watching DVDs while travelling, since it can be viewed in sunlight, and is also suitable for preparing graphics presentations.

Powered by a 2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 3500 processor and with 1GB of DDR PC2700 SODIMM memory, this notebook is powerful, too, and it benefits from Cool 'n' Quiet Technology for silently efficient running.

Gaming graphics look sharp thanks to the ATI Radeon XPRESS IGP 200M with its 128MB of dedicated memory, and the Altec Lansing builtin side speakers are compatible with 3D Sound Blaster Pro. The base is stuffed full of interfaces including four USB 2.0 ports, VGA, SVideo TVOut, a 6in1 Card Reader xD, SD, Smart Media, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Multimedia Card, a Type II PC Card Slot and an 8x DVDR/RW Dual Layer DVD writer.

Entertainment is also at the heart of the bundled software, which includes Apple iTunes for MP3 creations, Microsoft Picture It Photo Premium 10, Sonic Digital MediaPlus 7.0 and HP Image Zone Plus for organizing digital photos and videos.

Wireless Internet connection comes via the 54g 802.11b/g WLAN with 125HSM / SpeedBooster support and there are two Web links to additional information services should you run into any trouble. Especially helpful is the exclusive HP PC Security Centre site that deals with viruses via a Q & A or with live consultation. The preinstalled operating system is Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2.

The only annoyances with this notebook's design are as follows; the frequently observed tendency to push the keyboard far up the base to make way for a large touchpad, and the curious insistence on having the small delete key positioned at top right, i.e. in a highly inaccessible area. But if you can live with these, then this laptop is pretty impressive value for money.

HP Pavilion ZV6179AE features Verdict

If you're looking around for a powerful notebook with plenty of entertainment features that won't break the bank, this is an excellent place to start. But beware of the overblown prominence given to the touchpad.

HP Pavilion ZV6179AE price

766 inc. VAT

Hewlett Packard 0870 547 4747

Elonex's MediaStar 1541 is a high performance, stylish notebook, which offers a good balance between being a media centre PC and an everyday workhorse. Weighing just 3kg it's also portable at a pinch, but it's not without its problems.

Its good performance is due to the combination of a 2GHz Pentium M processor, Intel's featurerich 915 chipset and a gigabyte of PC2700 DDR333 memory, all of which gives it a SysMark04 SE score of 160, which is very good for a laptop.

One of the problems that faces the MediaStar 1541, though, is the size of the standard hard drive; just 80GB. This may sound huge for a notebook, but just you wait until you start recording programmes from the TV; you will soon be crying out for more space.

But to be fair to Elonex, it does provide a 120GB drive as an alternative for an additional 85 and you do get a dual layer, dual format DVD burner so that you can archive off your favourite media files.

The 15.4inch screen with its 1,280 x 800 native resolution is ideal for watching movies but its viewing angles are quite restrictive. If this becomes a problem you can use the Svideo output to connect to a TV, or if your TV has SCART you can get an SVideo to SCART converter for around a tenner.

Graphics are controlled by a 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X700 which won't be giving any true gamers much of a quiver, but at least it's a lot better than integrated graphics, and it will play the latest games at a reasonable frame rate as long as you back the detail settings right off.

Another of the disappointments is the inclusion of just a single TV tuner which is analogue and not digital. So not only can you not get the Freeview service, you can't get the best out of the screen either. Dual tuners which allow you to record two programmes at once or record one channel while watching another would have been nice to see.

The MediaStar 1541 comes with Gigabit Ethernet and there's also wireless support which offers 802.11a as well as the more common b and g standards. Although the supplied remote control is a lot smaller than normal desktop ones, it is surprisingly easy to use.

The battery life of the MediaStar 1541 is disappointing; MobileMark 05 DVD Playback test produced a score of 140 minutes and just 130 for the Productivity test, but maybe you shouldn't read too much into that, as this is one laptop that will probably spend most of its life plugged into the mains.

Elonex MediaStar 1541 features Verdict

Although it has some problems, the major one being the single TV tuner and an analogue one at that, the MediaStar 1541 is still a powerful all round media machine. Expect to see more laptops like this in the near future.

Elonex MediaStar 1541 price

1,398 inc. VAT

Elonex 0870 780 1010

As you'd expect, this machine's appearance is very sleek and silvery with the Rock logo embossed on the black lid and a waferthin base station. Weighing in at a comfortable 3.8kg, it boasts a fullsize keyboard although with a small, annoyingly positioned Delete key, a smoothscrolling touch pad and a CD control panel that can be operated when the lid is closed.

A gamer's first priority is high quality visuals and thanks to the 17inch WSXGA XGlass TFT screen with maximum resolution of 1,680 x 1,050, you'll be able to immerse yourself in the action like never before.

You have a choice of graphics card, both of which are at the top of the range for portable computers either the 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X800XT Platinum Edition or the 256MB Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 GTX. The result is astonishingly vivid colours and stark shadows, perfect for atmospheric firstperson shooters like F.E.A.R. or strategy games with large maps like Age of Empires III.

Powered by an Intel Pentium M Processor 780 2.26GHz with 2MB Level 2 Cache and up to 2GB of DDR2 533MHz RAM, we are talking serious power here, especially as even the 100GB hard drive model runs at 7,200rpm, which is much faster than the more usual 4,200rpm drives.

As for sound quality, there's plenty of volume to be gained through the stereo speakers which are fed by SRS WOW surround sound, although the best effects will be achieved by linking it to the 7.1channel surround sound output.

In addition there are four USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire port, Intel Pro 802.11a/b/g Integrated Wireless LAN, a 4in1 Card Reader plus a BisonCam NB Pro Webcam built into the lid and 8x Dual Layer / DVD Writer. Bluetooth and infrared technology are included as standard and you have an optional TV Tuner capability.

The only negative aspects are an irritatingly loud fan and a comparatively low battery life, although a second battery is provided free, together with a stylish carrying case. And we suspect that this laptop is likely to spend most of its life connected to mains power anyway.

Microsoft Windows XP Home is the installed operating system, along with Roxio Creator 7, Microsoft Works 8 and a 60 day trial version of Microsoft Office 2003. Rockdirect gets top marks for maintaining its three year Collect & Return warranty which takes the sting out of any technical problems.

Rockdirect Xtreme CT laptop features Verdict

A solid, stylish and extremely powerful portable gaming computer which should be a serious contender for gamers on the move, despite the loud fan and minor keyboard irritations.

Rockdirect Xtreme CT laptop price

1,750 inc. VAT

Rockdirect 08702 203 600

As with all Alienware products, the Area51 m5700 stands out in a crowd, although it doesn't shout look at me like many of the range, given its Xeno grey finish with contrasting dark grey rubberised grip areas. But you still get the glowing blue eyes on the Alienware alien head logo when you switch it on. Because it uses a mobile CPU with lower cooling requirements, the Area51 m5700 is a lot thinner than its vast m7700 sibling.

The system we looked at came with a Pentium M 770 2.13GHz 533MHz FSB processor but you can save money by going for a slower one; choosing the M 760 2.0GHz saves you 172. Supporting the CPU is Intel's fully featured mobile chipset, the i915PM, and 1GB of PC24200 DDR2 memory in two 512MB modules to take advantage of the dual channel memory controller. This combination gives the m5700 outstanding performance, as shown by the Sysmark04SE score of 168. Alienware offers a choice of memory configurations; up to 2GB or down to 512MB.

Lifting the lid reveals a 17inch WideXGA screen which is great for watching movies with its native 1,440 x 900 resolution. But to get the best out of any gaming experience it would be worth paying the extra 76 to go for the WideUXGA screen with its 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, as gaming is what the Area51 m5700 does best.

This is because the graphics are driven by Nvidia's GeForce Go 6800 chipset which, until the recent introduction of the Go 7800GTX, was the number one mobile graphics chipset.

With 256MB of GDDR1 memory clocked at 300MHz 600MHz effective and a core running at 324MHz, this is one laptop on which you can play most of today's games at high resolution, and with most of the detail settings on high. Running 3DMark05 at 1,024 x 768 resolution gave a score of 3,744, while FarCry at the same resolution ran at 60.6fps with all details set on very high.

To connect to an external monitor there is only a DVI port no VGA port so you will need an adapter if your monitor has no DVI socket. There's an SVideo port so you can connect to a TV. To go with the impressive graphics performance there is equally impressive audio performance thanks to the integrated Intel High Definition 24bit audio chip with its 7.1 surround sound support.

For storage Alienware provides a number of options single SATA drives from 60GB up to 120GB our sample had an 80GB, 5,400rpm drive and dual yes, if Sir wants two hard discs in his notebook he can have them, either in a pair of nonRAID 60GB or two RAID 0 arrayed 80GB drives. There's also a 4in1 Flash card reader and a new Express Card slot which is for the next generation of plugin cards; at the moment there's only a limited number of cards that fit this slot.

As you'd expect with a notebook like the Area51 m5700 there are several ways to connect it to the outside world; integrated V.92 modem, Gigabit Ethernet and Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 networking. Added to these are three USB 2.0 ports, three audio ports, a 4pin Firewire port and an S/PDIF port.

When tested with MobileMark05 the Area51 m5700 gave a battery life of 150 minutes for the Productivity test and 135 minutes for the DVD Playback test, which is about average for this class of notebook. Apart from the preinstalled Windows XP operating system, the only other software provided was a copy of the Battlefield 2 game, but the Alienware site provides plenty of other options.

Alienware Area51 m5700 features Verdict

More subdued to look at than some of its siblings, the Area51 m5700 is a highly specified but expensive mobile gaming platform which is just about light enough to carry around.

Alienware Area51 m5700 price

1,961 inc. VAT

Alienware 0800 279 9751

The 1050 certainly stands out amongst its brethren. The chassis comes in a smart white and silver finish which is countered by the dark burgundy lid. But while it looks good, the finish scratches easy, which isn't helped by the lack of a carrying case. It's as well made as it looks, with the exception of the flap covering the modem and LAN ports which feels like it would be the first casualty of any rough handling.

Powered by an Intel Pentium M 733 1.1GHz ULV Ultra Low Voltage processor you might expect the 1050 to have a decent battery life from its 4,000mAh battery. But 'decent' doesn't do the 1050 justice. When tested with MobileMark05 the Reader and Performance tests yielded 3 hours 12 minutes and an excellent 4 hours 10 minutes respectively, while with the DVD playback test the battery lasted for just under three hours, which is more than enough to watch a DVD film while on the move.

Unfortunately, while the battery life is outstanding, the overall performance suffers from the combination of older DDR333 memory 512MB of it and Intel's Extreme Graphics 2, which makes the 1050 good for standard office work and Web surfing but leaves insufficient grunt to perform video editing or other intensive applications.

As for the screen, the 1050 comes with a 10.6inch AverBrite widescreen display which has been specially treated to increase its contrast; again, great for watching DVD movies.

As with all ultraportables, compromises have been made to the keyboard. On this laptop it's small approximately 92 percent of full size and although it doesn't really lend itself to touch typing, the keys themselves are comfortable to use. As is the trackpad, although once again its small size takes some getting used to.

Despite its dimensions, Averatec has fitted the 1050 with an 80GB Toshiba hard drive and a DVD/CDR/RW combo drive. There's also a 4in1 card reader and a PC Card slot. To connect to the outside world the 1050 has plenty of options; integrated 802.11g Wireless LAN, 10/100Mbps Ethernet and a 56Kbps modem.

While it's aimed at the home user, the 1050 could be a good laptop for the mobile business traveller who places long battery life and portability above speed and performance.

Averatec 1050 features Verdict

A nononsense sub1,000 notebook which may not be the fastest around but compensates with a very good battery life.

Averatec 1050 price

949 inc. VAT

Averatec 00 49 89 20 60 2600

The ruggedness and waterproofing are builtin from scratch. The case and lid are made from magnesium alloy, which is claimed to be twenty times stronger than the ABS plastics used in regular laptops. Internally the hard drive is encased in rubberised foam and the screen is also surrounded by the same foam. It's supposedly strong enough to survive a drop of 29 inches, though we haven't tested that...

In addition the keyboard is resistant to spillages and conforms to European Ruggedised Equipment Standard IP31.3. However, if it does go wrong then as an extra precaution the Durabook comes as standard with a three year collect and return warranty covering both parts and labour.

The hardware specification should be more than enough for most business users. There's an excellent bright and sharp 15inch screen that is capable of 1,400 x 1,050 resolution, a 1.73GHz Pentium M740 processor, a 60GB hard drive and a DVD writer. In addition it has three USB 2.0 ports, a single miniFireWire port, SVideo output and single Type II PC Card slot. Connectivity includes builtin WiFi, a 56Kbps modem and Gigabit Ethernet. And it manages to fit all of that into a 330mm x 297mm x 40mm footprint weighing in at just 3.2Kg.

If you do drop it there's also a special lock on the DVD drive that stops the door shooting open and depositing your disc onto the floor. However it was never used in our tests, as the button to lock and release the drawer was so recessed that it was practically impossible to access. In addition, it was hard to locate the DVD eject button in lowlight conditions.

In use the Durabook was fairly good to work with. In tests the battery life came in at a very respectable five hours for basic reading, which translated into a good four hours when used actively. But the keyboard wasn't the best to type on, and the touchpad needed to be supplemented with an external mouse if you were going to get any real work done.

The only real downside, though, is the sound quality from the internal speakers, which was tinny, although there's a Vinyl Audio application that enhanced the sound a little. The software package includes Roxio Creator 7, Bullguard Antivirus software, and Microsoft Works 8.

Iridium Durabook R15D740 features Verdict

This is a solid, reliable laptop with a battery life that should keep you on the road and working for a good four hours at a time, plus the peace of mind of a three year collect and return warranty and a case, disk and screen that are built to survive drops and immersion.

Iridium Durabook R15D740 price

1,200 inc. VAT

Iridium 08702 20 22 20

Well, you wouldn't argue with the first point, as it is a very well made notebook, but far from having cutting edge performance it's more a case of average performance. And the power hungry part is certainly true, but not in a good way; the battery life of the Satellite Pro M70 is pretty poor for its class.

Battery life isn't the only restraint on using the Satellite Pro M70 as a laptop for the mobile business user. Weighing in at a hefty 2.9kg it's not a notebook you'd want to be carrying around all day.

Its not all doom and gloom, however. The Satellite Pro M70 does have some nice features, starting with its design. Stylishly finished in black and silver, it certainly looks the part, with the two touchpad buttons forming part of a black, rubberised detailing strip. The keyboard is well positioned while the keys themselves feel well made and responsive.

To the right of the keyboard sits a group of six buttons comprising one programmable button, a multimedia button which allows music or DVDs to be played without booting the notebook, and four audio/video control buttons. The screen's not bad either; a 15.4inch WXGA 'Trubrite' widescreen display, and with a native resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels, it's just the job for watching DVD movies on.

But you will have to choose shorter films rather than longer if you plan to watch them on the move, as the Satellite Pro M70 generated a MobileMark DVD playback time of just 110 minutes, which is a surprise considering the 4,000mAh capacity of the battery.

Powering the Satellite Pro M70 is a Intel Pentium M 740 1.73GHz processor backed by 512MB of PC4200 DDR2 memory which pushes the laptop to a Sysmark 2004SE score of 140 perfectly adequate for most office applications but far from cutting edge.

The same applies to the Satellite Pro M70's graphics subsystem, which uses ATI's Mobility Radeon X600SE and gave an unplayable FarCry score of 16fps. For storage Toshiba has given the M70 a 60GB hard drive and to backup your data there is a reasonably fast dual format, dual layer DVD drive.

Toshiba's new laptop certainly looks the part and you do get a well made notebook for your money, but its performance, especially its battery life, fails to do it justice. There's an awful lot of notebooks about in this price bracket which may not have the same build quality but leave the Satellite Pro M70 standing in the performance stakes.

Toshiba Satellite Pro M70 features Verdict

A smart looking, well built notebook, but the Satellite Pro M70 seems to be caught between two stools; it's a bit too heavy, its poor battery life compromises its mobility and it's not powerful enough to be called a true desktop replacement.

Toshiba Satellite Pro M70 price

850 inc. VAT

Toshiba 08702 202 202

That may sound like a significant breakthrough for AMD, but the Amilo A series has used Turion for some time now, and you could buy an S2110 under the Fujitsu brand in the US before Christmas, but all good things come to those who wait.

A professional laptop is all about mobile working so the 1.9kg weight is important, as it makes the S2110 highly portable. This is a true weight that includes a DVDRAM drive in the modular drive bay, but if you're desperate to shave off a few grams you could plug in a weightsaver instead of the optical drive.

It would probably be more practical to buy a second 3800mAh battery to go in the bay, though. While it will cost over 100 you can expect the second battery to increase the working time of the main 5200mAh battery from two and a half hours to closer to four and a half hours.

Weight is only part of the portability equation as we also have the dimensions to consider. These have been kept down to 293 x 236 x 33mm as the screen measures a relatively small 13.3inches on the diagonal. For those who would prefer to think in metric that's 338mm, and the consequence is that the resolution is restricted to 1,024 x 768 pixels, although you can increase it to 1,600 x 1,200 if you plug in an external monitor or projector.

The innards of the S2110 ought to be the most interesting part as the unique selling point is the Turion processor, but the ATi RS482 chipset and SB400 Southbridge simply do their job without drama, while the Radeon Xpress 200M graphics are the sort of thing you expect in a business notebook, i.e. of no interest to gamers.

But the processor merits a closer look, if only because Turions are relatively rare. This Turion 64 Mobile MT34 is a lidless Socket 754 processor from the Athlon 64 family that runs at 1.8GHz and has 1MB L2 cache. It supports 64bit software and has the hardware Enhanced Virus Protection feature that prevents buffer overflow attacks. Although the Thermal Design Power rating of 25W for the Turion is very low we noted that the section of the chassis that covers the processor got rather warm in use.

Add in 1GB of PC2700 memory in two 512MB modules and a 100GB hard drive and you've got a decent specification, although a Pentium M would certainly offer more performance. But the real strength of this notebook is its chassis and build quality. In particular the keyboard is well laid out with a good solid feel when you type, and above it is a row of dualfunction buttons with a single row LCD display that can be toggled between application mode and DVD playback mode.

One oddity is that all of the ports are arranged along the back, along with the wireless on/off switch, with the modular drive bay on the right and the single PC Card slot on the left. So there are no USB ports easily available when you want to plug in a mouse.

FujitsuSiemens LifeBook S2110 features Verdict

A neat and tidy AMD Turion notebook that has excellent build quality and superb battery life. The screen and keyboard are great for business users and the specification includes all the essentials you need to keep working on your travels.

FujitsuSiemens LifeBook S2110 price

1,399 inc. VAT

FujitsuSiemens 01344 475125

The first thing you notice about the Pegasus 650 is its appearance. Rock offers a number of painstakinglyapplied colour options for the lid. There are three metallic finish options black, red and blue as well as a nonmetallic pink yes really and an impressive blue/green metallic pearl finish. The latter is reminiscent of the pain on some TVR cars and costs an extra 50; well worth it if you want a laptop that stands out in a crowd. If none of these appeals then you can have the basic silver finish and save yourself a bit of cash.

Aside from the cool finish the lid also protects an excellent screen, a 15.4inch widescreen unit that has a high native resolution of 1,680 by 1,050 pixels. This resolution is just about ideal for a laptop screen of this size and gives you the same amount of screen space as a 19inch desktop monitor. The large screen accounts for the 326 x 278 x 31mm dimensions of the Pegasus 650 and also contributes to the shoulderbusting 3.9kg weight including the AC adapter.

Powering the Pegasus 650 is a CPU that is rapidly becoming the sweet spot in terms of price versus performance for laptops, judging by the number of vendors who use it Intel's Pentium M 750, which runs at 1.86GHz in our review machine. Backing this is 512MB of PC24200 DDR2 memory.

What makes the Pegasus 650 a bit special is, as noted above, the choice of graphics output. If you want to play games at decent frame rates and don't care too much about battery life then you can use the 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X700 2,240 3DMark05 score and 56.06fps in FarCry both at 1,024 x 768 resolution.

If, on the other hand, you just want to work with your standard office applications, then switching over to the integrated graphics will give you better battery life but a poorer gaming experience 1,274 3DMark05 score and 25.46fps in FarCry, both at 1,024 x 768 resolution.

Switching between modes is a simple case of using the button on the front panel of the notebook, but the downside is you have to reboot the machine each time you switch.

But a real difference can be seen in the battery life. When using the X700 graphics and under MobileMark05 test conditions, the Pegasus 650 gives a 110 minute battery life for the DVD playback test and 126 minutes for the Productivity test. Using the integrated graphics, the difference in battery life is startling; 158 minutes for DVD playback, an improvement of over 40 minutes, while you get just under an hour more battery life in the Productivity test.

Rock Direct Pegasus 650 features Verdict

Rock's Pegasus 650 is a well built, stylish looking notebook with a novel solution to the problem of battery life versus graphics performance. It's an intelligently designed piece of kit.

Rock Direct Pegasus 650 price

940 inc. VAT

Rock Direct 08709 909090

www.rockdirect.com

But there are two major problems with the TravelMate 3010; the Acer Empowering software and the screen. The Empowering technology sits on top of the normal system functions in the control panel and is designed to make setting up your power saving features, networking, performance and security options simple. For those used to the Windows Control Panel it just adds an extra level of complexity, and for everyone else it's just another tool that can be quite intrusive and a source of irritation.

And the screen is just not up to scratch. It's 12.1inches diagonally and boasts an impressive 1,280 x 800 pixel resolution, which is just wide enough to get two applications running side by side; potentially useful. However, in daylight conditions it never seems to be bright enough, and generally gives the appearance of being hidden behind a murky fog.

The power preservation software always seems to set the display at 70 percent brightness, so even when it's dark you find yourself hitting the brightness keys on the keyboard. To get the best results from the screen it needs to be tilted back past vertical, which is fine if it's sat on your lap, but it doesn't look good when it's resting on a seatback tray on a train or 'plane. Luckily the laptop is so small that it easily fits on your knee, and the new Intel processors run cool so it never gets anywhere near as hot as standard laptop.

Disappointingly, the Acer lacks thoughtful design; there are two microswitches on the front, controlling Bluetooth and Wifi, that are far too easy to switch on and off by accident. The headphone and microphone sockets also sit at the front and really should be to the side, especially if the laptop's sitting on your knee.

The main advantage of the Acer TravelMate 3010 is the dualcore processor which lets you do more, yet use less power. The 1GB of RAM and 1.6GHz processor seemed to cope with anything we put their way, running around 40 percent faster than an equivalent singlecore processor, plus we regularly got around three and a half hours out of the Acer's battery. However, the review model came with the optional larger battery pack and we couldn't test the basic specification model.

The TravelMate 3010 comes with an external DVD writer which plugs into the FireWire port and comes with NTI backup and DVD writing software preinstalled. There's also an Acer Bluetooth phone, which charges from the PC Card slot and uses a VoIP service to make calls.

Probably the only other plus point of the Acer TravelMate 3010 is the builtin 1.3megapixel camera that sits just above the screen and uses Acer's OrbiCam software to turn it from a stills camera to a video camera that can be used for onetoone videoconferencing.

For an ultraportable laptop the Acer is quite well connected. On the lefthand side of the TravelMate 3010 there are two USB ports, a network and modem port, plus a standard VGA port. To the front there's an IR port, builtin speakers and the aforementioned sockets and switches. On the right there's another USB port, FireWire, a Type II PC Card slot and an SD card slot, while to the rear there's a docking port. The Acer comes with Windows XP Pro as standard and has an 80GB SATA hard drive.

Acer TravelMate 3010 features Verdict

If all you're looking for is speed and a long battery life then the Acer is for you. But if you're looking for something with a little bit more then bide your time. The model we reviewed needs to have the rough edges taken off. If Acer manages to do that, this will hopefully become a killer laptop.

Acer TravelMate 3010 price

1,100 inc. VAT TBC

Acer 0870 167 0819

To its credit, Sony hasn't tinkered with the TX chassis for this latest version, and with good reason; it's pretty near perfect as it is. Weighing just 1.25kg including the DVD writer, rising to a mere 1.6kg with the power adapter, and measuring 273 x 195 x 29mm, it's the perfect tool for people attending lectures, trade shows and so on.

It also looks good; the version we reviewed had a dark blue lid Sony calls it Slate Blue but there is also a blacklidded version. Whichever colour you choose it is well matched by the silver keyboard and wrist rest.

The VGNTX2XP uses the same 11.1inch screen as its predecessor, with a 1,366 x 768 pixel native resolution and XBlack coating. You may feel that the screen is a bit small, but this resolution gives a true 169 aspect ratio, which is perfect for watching DVD movies. An added bonus is the use of LEDs as the backlight source, which gives an improved battery life.

As with its predecessor, the VGNTX2XP has a superb keyboard. If you have played around with a lot of notebooks of this size, you will know that for most their Achilles' heel is the keyboard, but not so this one. While the keys are on the small side, they are comfortable to use and once you get used to their size, there's no problem typing at full speed. Even the Enter, Backspace, Caps Lock, Tab and Shift keys are oversized, while the space bar is a good size and the touchpad is very responsive.

This machine also has Sony's AV mode, so you can play CDs and DVD's without having to boot the system into Windows; another power saving feature. Talking about power saving, battery life is the VGNTX2XP's trump card. When running Mobile Mark 05's DVD playback test the laptop managed a stunning five hours battery life, and just under seven hours in the Productivity test.

It's not all good news, however, as this fantastic battery life comes at a cost the VGNTX2XP's performance. Powered by a 1.2GHz ULV Pentium M 753, backed by 1GB of memory, the processor clocks down to 598MHz when unplugged from the mains, which is fine for office applications but a bit lacking in grunt for anything else.

As far as graphics are concerned, the VGNTX2XP is an improvement on the TX1XP, still using Intel integrated graphics but this time based on the i915GM chipset which can use up to 128MB of system memory. Even so, this is one notebook that you can forget about playing games on.

Storage is provided by an 80GB hard drive which has a chunk taken up by Windows XP Professional, Adobe Photoshop Elements 4, Premiere Elements 2, Microsoft Works 8 and a huge bundle of Sony utilities. Disappointingly, the VGNTX2XP comes with just a oneyear warranty.

Sony Vaio VGNTX2XP features Verdict

Without doubt one of the best small notebooks around, the Sony Vaio VGNTX2XP has stunning battery life, but that is traded off against performance. However, if you want a small, stylish notebook that you can use all day on batteries alone, you'll find it hard to beat. If Intel brings out a low voltage version of the Core Duo CPU and Sony fits it in the TX chassis, the result could be a nearperfect laptop.

Sony Vaio VGNTX2XP price

1,699 inc. VAT

Sony 020 7365 2947

The Aspire 1692WLMi isn't one of the company's lightest it weighs in at workable 3kg but it is a good indicator of where Acer is doing much of its business. For a price that comes in just shy of 670 which we found easily by shopping around, VAT and Windows XP included, you get a Pentium M 740 running at 1.73GHz, backed up by an 80GB hard disk drive, 1GB of DDR2 memory and a supercrisp, 15.4inch, WXGA, widescreen, TFT display.

On top of that, there's a better than average graphics solution too. The Mobility Radeon X800 with 128MB of memory isn't enough to get desktop PC owners sweating, but it'll do for some notquiteuptodate 3D gaming on the move.

And that latter point does sum up what this machine does well. It makes no real effort to be cutting edge. Instead, it happily sits a level or two below the topend technology. And because of those one or two compromises, its price tag jumps south but it still presents itself as a tool very much up to numerous jobs.

Thanks to Acer's flexible power management software, the battery life can touch the four hour mark if you're willing to reduce the processor speed and screen brightness which is hardly going to be a problem if you're word processing. And the performance is great across a range of tools and applications. Even video conversion work was handled with ease and speed.

It's not a perfect package, though. As this is a Centrino machine, it comes with 802.11g wireless support builtin, yet the Aspire 1692WLMi continually struggled to get a good signal off our wireless network, although the Bluetooth worked fine. We sat it next to an early Acer Centrino laptop, which had no trouble isolating an excellent quality linkup and getting down to business. We also found the display suffered a little from screen glare, although we accept that's the price you may have to pay for such a high quality display.

And yet, for the money, how can we really quibble with what you get here One wireless oddity aside, this is a quiet, capable and flexible laptop that happily settles for 'Very Good' rather than 'Excellent' when it comes to ticking off the various boxes. Yet it plays its trump card with its price, and that elevates the Aspire 1692WLMi to a machine very worthy of your interest.

Acer Aspire 1692WLMi features Verdict

A mighty fine portable computer that's comfortable to use, quiet in operation and powerful enough for the overwhelming majority of tasks you're likely to throw in its direction.

Acer Aspire 1692WLMi price

670 inc. VAT

Acer 0870 853 1005

It's not the lightest laptop either. Weighing in at a hefty 2.8kg, it's right on the edge of being comfortable to carry around all day. There are other 15inch screen notebooks in this market segment that are lighter. The screen on this particular machine has a native resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels and, although it doesn't have any form of special coating, seems brighter than other similarlysized standard panels.

At the heart of the Prowire 153 sits an Intel Pentium M 740 processor rated at 1.73GHz, allied to Intel's i915GM chipset and 1GB of DDR333 memory, helping it along to a Sysmark04SE score of 140. That's pretty good for this class of laptop, but as you might expect for a business machine, the graphics performance isn't going to get anyone excited, based as it is on Intel's GMA900 integrated solution that shares system memory.

The keyboard is well postioned and the large wrist rest areas allow for comfortable typing. Although the keys do feel a little vague at times, they shouldn't pose too many problems once you get used to them. The trackpad is responsive and good to use.

As you might expect, the Prowire 153 has all manner of ways to connect to the outside world 802.11a/b/g Wireless which can be switched on and off to save battery life, integrated 10/100Mbps Ethernet, 56Kbps V.92 modem and quite a rarity these days an IrDA port.

Elonex provides an 80GB hard drive for storage and a dual layer DVD drive for backing up data. There's also a 3in1 card reader that supports MMC Multimedia Card, SD Secure Digital and Memory Stick formats, plus a PC Card slot. Along with the four USB 2 ports, there is a FireWire port and, rather surprisingly, an S/PDIF socket.

Elonex equips the Prowire 153 with an 8cell battery which, when tested with the MobileMark 05 DVD playback test, gave two hours and 40 minutes of use. The Productivity test squeezed three hours and 35 minutes out of it. And should you want to carry around a spare battery, Elonex will sell you one for just 35 plus VAT.

Windows XP is installed, along with WinDVD 4 and a collection of Nero applications for multimedia work and disc burning. A carry case is included in the price but there's only a oneyear RTB Return to Base warranty.

Elonex Prowire 153 features Verdict

It's not stylish or light, but where it's postioned that doesn't pose a problem. The Prowire 153 is a straightforward, no frills, corporate laptop with enough power and battery life to maintain the mobile user.

Elonex Prowire 153 price

785 VAT

Elonex 0870 780 1010

Helping to keep the price down is HP's choice of processor. Inside the Compaq nx6125 you will find not the usual Intel CPU, but instead one of AMD's Turion64 processors, in this case an ML32. Rated at 1.8GHz, the ML32 is draws 35W of power, so helping conserve battery life, and is backed by 512MB of memory which is fast becoming the standard amount on business notebooks. It provides enough grunt to power everyday office applications, as proved by the Sysmark04SE score of 121.

Even with a 15inch XGA screen, the Compaq nx6125 weighs 2.7kg, so it's perfectly luggable. The screen has a 1,024 x 768 pixel native resolution and is powered by the integrated graphics solution. As this laptop uses ATI's Radeon Xpress 200M chipset, the graphics are controlled by a Mobility Radeon X300 which uses 128MB of system memory; nothing to impress gamers but perfectly adequate for general use, and better than most graphics solutions in this market segment.

As mentioned above, the Compaq nx6125 comes with an integrated fingerprint reader, and is the first HP laptop to do so. The device works with HP's own ProtectTools software that comes preinstalled, but it doesn't have the TPM Trusted Platform Mobile built in like some of its more expensive siblings.

For storage the Compaq nx6125 comes with a 60GB, 4,200rpm hard drive, along with a dual layer DVD writer so you can offload files to disc and backup your drive. Plus you get a 6in1 memory card reader and PC Card slot for good measure. For a bit of futureproofing there is also a Express card slot. Cards to fit in this slot are rather thin on the ground at the moment, but lots of options are promised for the coming months.

As it's a business notebook you would expect the Compaq nx6125 to have plenty of options to connect to the outside world, and it doesn't disappoint. 802.11b/g wireless, Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet and a 56Kbps modem are all built in. There are also three USB 2 ports along with a FireWire port.

HP preinstalls Windows XP Professional and a wealth of ownbranded software including HP OneTouch Button Software, the HP Wireless Assistant, HP Local Recovery and various other tools. The latter include Sonic Recordnow, Intervideo WinDVD player and Norton Antivirus. There's also a software CD with Intervideo WinDVD Creator for basic DVD authoring. As standard this laptop comes with just a oneyear parts and labour warranty.

HP Compaq nx6125 features Verdict

A well priced, well featured, no nonsense business laptop that provides enough performance for most road warriors' requirements, with the benefit of additional security through the fingerprint reader.

HP Compaq nx6125 price

700.99 inc. VAT

HP 0845 270 4222

Weighing in at a respectable 1.9kg even with its 13.3inch, 1,280 by 800 pixel resolution, WXGA display the Vaio VGNSZ1M/B represents a great balance between portability, performance and battery life, with the added benefit of that large screen.

Sony labels the Vaio VGNSZ1M/B as the consumer model of the SZ range, but nothing is lacking in the build quality, with a magnesium alloy chassis and lid and a brushed aluminium wrist rest.

Powering the Vaio VGNSZ1M/B is a T2300 Intel Core Duo rated at 1.66GHz, backed by 512MB of PC24200 DDR2 memory, but if you need more memory there is a spare slot which is easy to get at. Even with the standard 512MB it gives a very decent SYSmark04SE score of 175.

As with some other notebooks doing the rounds, the Vaio VGNSZ1M/B has switchable graphics. A sliding switch located above the keyboard allows you to alternate between the integrated Intel GMA950 graphics with battery conservation in mind and, if you're in the mind to start playing games, to the Nvidia GeForce GO 7400 chipset.

Unfortunately you can't do this on the fly; you have to reboot each time, but at least Sony provides a light to let you know which graphics subsystem you are using. The difference between the two can be seen from the 3DMark05 scores; the GMA950 produces a measly 432 while the GO 7400 reaches 1,825 not stunning, but enough to play newer games if you turn all the detail tweaks off.

Battery life is pretty good too; 210 minutes when tested with MobileMark05's Productivity suite and 170 minutes of life under the DVD Playback test. For storage there is an 80GB hard drive and to help offload data as backups there is a builtin, dual layer DVD burner. You also get a 7in1 card reader and single PC and Express card slots for good measure.

To keep the price down there is no Bluetooth, but you do get 802.11a/b/g WiFi, 10/100Mbps Ethernet and a V.92 modem, so contacting the outside world with the Vaio VGNSZ1M poses few problems.

The small size of this laptop limits the number of ports available; just two USB 2.0 and a mini FireWire, with no SVideo or DVI ports. If you want more then there is an optional docking station 135 plus VAT.

As with all Vaio laptops there is a huge bundle of software and utilities included on the Vaio VGNSZ1M/B, but the warranty is a bit mean at just one year.

Sony Vaio VGNSZ1M/B features Verdict

This is a superb laptop which, by using the latest Intel mobile technology, combines everything the mobile user is likely to want in a notebook; portability, performance and above all battery life, all at a pretty good price.

Sony Vaio VGNSZ1M/B price

1,200 inc. VAT

Sony 020 7365 2947

But and it's a very big but ThinkPads have always been about usability, performance and battery life, something the new X60s ultraportable has in spades. And now, somehow, the matt black finish makes a welcome change to all that grey and silver.

The X60s is the latest in the Lenovo ThinkPad X series and is a refresh of an old favourite, the X41. It improves on its predecessor with better performance, thanks to its Intel Core Duo processor support, and an upgrade to its feature set.

With a combination of a T2400 Core Duo processor rated at 1.83GHz, Intel i945GM chipset and 512MB of PC25300 DDR2 memory, our review system scored a respectable 195 SYSmark04SE points, so there's more than enough grunt to perform everyday office duties. And with the Core Duo chip, multitasking is made a lot easier too, although if you plan to use a lot of memoryintensive applications such as video editing tools, then an upgrade to 1GB of memory 125 VAT might be a good idea if your budget allows it.

Nearly identical in size to the X41, the ThinkPad X60s measures 26.8 x 21.1 x 2/2.8cm and weighs a mere 1.3kg including the 317g AC adapter so it goes without saying that you won't struggle when carrying it around all day. Where the X60s does fall behind its competitors is in its lack of a builtin optical drive. Instead, the DVD drive is built into the media slice an additional 129 VAT. Contrast this with the smaller and lighter Sony Vaio VGNT2XP and Fujitsu Lifebook P7120, which have optical drives built in.

The graphics performance is what you would expect from a laptop of this class; great for office work, pretty much hopeless for any games playing, as the ThinkPad X60s uses Intel's integrated GMA950 graphics subsystem. The 12.1inch display has a native resolution of 1,024 x 768, which is just enough to perform your office tasks on. Tucked inside the lid is a little lamp that illuminates the keyboard so you can use the X60s in dim lighting conditions.

One of the areas in which a lot of ultraportables disappoint is the keyboard, but the X60s follows the ThinkPad tradition of having a great keyboard. The keys are relatively large and comfortable and have a really responsive feel to them, while the TrackPoint pointing stick is firm and easily controlled.

Sitting under the keyboard are three mouse buttons and a fingerprint reader, part of the impressive security setup of the ThinkPad X60s. Above the keyboard there is a blue ThinkVantage button that provides a shortcut to system maintenance, other utilities and connectivity, which comprises a modem, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth and a Gigabit Ethernet connection.

When it comes to battery life, the ThinkPad X60s is simply outstanding. When tested with MobileMark 05's productivity test the X60s had a battery life of a staggering seven hours and 56 minutes, while the DVD playback score was an equally jawdropping six hours and 35 minutes.

As with all other ThinkPads, the X60s comes with a whole host of security and recovery utilities PC Doctor diagnostics, Symantec Client Security 3.0 with 90 days of virus definitions, ThinkVantage Fingerprint Software, ThinkVantage Productivity Center, ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery and ThinkVantage System Update.

Lenovo ThinkPad X60s features Verdict

The ThinkPad may have been overshadowed by flashier looking notebooks but it's back if it ever went away, of course with a bang. The combination of great performance, portability and stunning battery life make the ThinkPad X60s a winner, although you do have to pay for the privilege.

Lenovo ThinkPad X60s price

1,250 VAT

Lenovo 0870 608 4465

It's a big machine; think plastic document wallet and add a centimetre all round to get to its footprint on the desk. It's dressed in a lightweight carbonfibre case, in glossy black with a thin Ferrarired stripe on the lid and in flashes down both sides.

Open it up and there's a swivelling Webcam along the top edge of the lid and a keyboard laid out in a shallow crescent below that should make typing easier on your wrists. In front of that is a wideangle touchpad and mouse buttons, but if you don't like touchpads, you can use the bundled, Ferrariliveried, Bluetooth optical mouse instead.

A quick trip around the edges of the machine reveals a letterboxstyle DVD rewriter, a PC Card slot and sockets for Ethernet, modem, audio, Firewire and four USB 2 slots. There are also more specialist sockets, like an HDMI for HD video and a multiformat memory card slot. The machine's equipped with WiFi, Bluetooth and infrared, and bundled with the laptop is a Bluetooth PC Card to enable VoIP calls from any Bluetooth mobile.

The hardware spec is just as impressive. Starting with an AMD Turion 64 X2, a dualcore 64bit chip running at 2GHz, it adds 2GB of main memory with another 256MB attached to the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics processor. There's a 160GB SATA hard drive inside and a hunky LithiumIon battery which runs the whole thing for three and a half hours and recharges in two.

Running 3DMark 2006 at a screen resolution of 1,280 x 1,024 returned 2,091, a very respectable score for a notebook, though at this resolution some of the game segment framerates dropped below 5fps, which isn't so good. Although the native resolution of the 15.4inch screen is an impressively wide 1,680 x 1,050 pixels, it may be as well to play resourceintensive games at 1,024 x 768.

The only other negative is a distinct swish from the cooling fans, even when the machine is lying idle. Probably not enough to get you ejected from a library, but audible in a home office and even in quiet scenes in movies.

Talking of sounds, the small, twin speaker apertures in the front edge of the machine do a surprisingly good job of reproducing music and soundtracks. While there's little bass to speak of, middle and treble frequencies are comparatively clear and precise.

Acer Ferrari 5000 features Verdict

This is a powerful notebook with all the trimmings. It's comfortable to use, very connectable and is surprisingly light to carry around, thanks to its carbonfibre case. It's big, partly due to its large screen, but this makes it ideal as a laptop with great games and video potential.

Acer Ferrari 5000 price

1,699 inc. VAT

Acer 0870 853 1005

www.acer.co.uk