Laptops

Samsung R520

The 15.6-inch R520 desktop-replacement laptop is well worth a look if you're seeking a budget machine primarily intended for handling productivity tasks at home. Its graphics capability could be better, but it offers decent overall performance, a great keyboard and good battery life

Editor's rating 7.2

HP Pavilion dv3-2230ea preview

The 13.3-inch Pavilion dv3-2230ea entertainment laptop could probably do with a more powerful GPU, but it compensates for this with a feature that, for the moment, makes it unique: its multi-touch display. It's also relatively portable and should prove a solid performer, offering decent value for money overall

Acer Aspire One Pro 531

It may be specifically aimed at business users, but the 10.1-inch Aspire One Pro 531 runs with the netbook pack when it comes to its specification. Its extra-long battery life is a definite plus point though, and its no-nonsense design will undoubtedly appeal to some

Editor's rating 6.5

Toshiba Satellite A500

The 16-inch Satellite A500 caters well to those who have a limited budget but still want a machine that will let them watch movies, listen to music and play the odd game. Its screen could do with a higher resolution, but it feels bomb-proof, it's pretty speedy and it looks fairly attractive

Editor's rating 7.0

Samsung X120

The 11.6-inch X120 is our favourite ultra-portable laptop with an ultra-low-voltage processor so far. Its battery life isn't its strongest feature, but it's an ideal size, it has a well-judged specification, and its price tag is very tempting. Its low-key design is also very appealing

Editor's rating 8.8

Dell Inspiron 11z

The mid-range Inspiron 11z ultra-portable laptop that we were given to review proved a capable machine. Its trackpad was poor, but its ultra-low-voltage processor delivered better performance than that of more expensive ULV laptops, and its 11.6-inch screen was great

Editor's rating 5.0

Sony Vaio CW series (VPCCW1S1E)

The 14-inch Vaio VPCCW1S1E is an excellent entertainment laptop. It looks stylish, its screen handles movies well, and, as usual with Sony machines, its keyboard is very good. It's no slouch in the performance stakes either, offering enough power to satisfy all but the most demanding gamer

Editor's rating 8.0

ViewSonic VNB101

The 10.1-inch VNB101 doesn't do a great deal to stand out from the netbook crowd, but it doesn't do anything particularly wrong either. This machine is cute and pretty cheap too, so, for those who want to enjoy low-cost computing on the move, it's worth a gander

Editor's rating 6.5

Sony Vaio X series (VPCX11S1E/B)

We defy anyone not to be impressed by the 11.1-inch Vaio VPCX11S1E/B ultra-portable laptop. It offers netbook-esque performance and it's ludicrously expensive, but it's remarkably thin and light, and Sony's made surprisingly few compromises considering how slender it is

Editor's rating 6.5

Apple MacBook (multi-touch white 2009)

Apple has given its plastic entry-level MacBook laptop a small spec bump and a 'unibody' makeover, making it lighter and sturdier than before. The battery isn't user-replaceable now, but will last longer, while the trackpad has been upgraded to the same glass multi-touch design as the MacBook Pros'

Editor's rating 8.5

Advent Roma 3000

The 15.6-inch Roma 3000 sports a particularly good keyboard, and its capable dual-core processor makes it much better suited to multi-tasking than the cheaper Roma 1000. Its battery life is disappointing and we'd prefer it to run the 64-bit version of Windows 7, but it's a solid budget laptop overall

Editor's rating 6.9

Advent Roma 1000

The 15.6-inch Roma 1000 is one of the cheapest Windows 7 laptops that money can currently buy. Considering its low price, it's also tastefully designed, and its keyboard is particularly good. Capable of handling most productivity tasks, it's worth a look for bargain hunters

Editor's rating 6.5

Samsung R720

With a stylish design and good all-round specification, the 17.3-inch R720 desktop-replacement laptop represents excellent value for money. Its 3D graphics performance isn't particularly brilliant, but it can still handle older titles, so casual gamers will probably be satisfied

Editor's rating 7.7

Sony Vaio VGN-AW41MF/H

The 18.4-inch Vaio VGN-AW41MF/H desktop-replacement laptop is big, beefy and beautiful. A crisper screen would help it do full justice to 1080p video played back via its Blu-ray drive, but that's a minor flaw in one of the fastest Core 2 Duo laptops we've seen

Editor's rating 8.5

Toshiba Satellite L550-113

Few heads will be turned by the drab design of the 17.3-inch Satellite L550-113 desktop-replacement laptop, but it's a very capable machine that represents great value for money. Its one relative weak spot is 3D gaming, but you'll be hard-pressed to find better performance at this size and price

Editor's rating 8.0

MSI X600

If you like ostentatious laptops, the 15.6-inch X600 probably isn't for you. This thin-and-light laptop is about as conspicuous as a stealth bomber, but it's a gorgeous specimen nonetheless, and its ultra-low-voltage CPU delivers surprisingly good performance

Editor's rating 8.0

Asus G60J

Packing a quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU, the 16-inch G60J gaming laptop rockets along at a speed that puts greased lightning to shame. It's a pity the screen isn't of a higher resolution, but the G60J is hard to fault otherwise, making light work of even the most demanding 3D games

Editor's rating 8.9

Samsung N140

Although the 10.1-inch N140 doesn't bring anything new to the netbook table, we can't knock it. Solidly built and attractively designed, its outstanding feature is its 10-hour battery life. Look no further if you want a reasonably priced netbook that can last all day away from the mains

Editor's rating 8.9

Acer Ferrari One

There's no denying that the Ferrari One is the best netbook so far, offering a larger-than-usual, 11.6-inch screen, speedy performance, and a truly excellent keyboard. If you can live with a lid that may cause people to question the length of your reproductive appendage, you won't be disappointed

User rating 9.0

Editor's rating 9.0

Advent Altro

The 13.3-inch Altro is an unashamed attempt to emulate the MacBook Air. Considering it's almost half the price, it doesn't do too bad a job. Offering 3GB of RAM, strong wireless capabilities and a good keyboard, it's worth a look for those after a relatively cheap thin-and-light laptop

Editor's rating 6.0