Laptops

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

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

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

Asus UX30

Asus' designers clearly had Apple's MacBook Air in mind when they created the 13.3-inch UX30 thin-and-light laptop. It bears a steep price tag and its battery life could be better, but it's a gorgeous-looking specimen and its ultra-low-voltage processor makes it a strong performer too

Editor's rating 7.0

Sony Vaio VGN-AW31M/H

With an 18.4-inch screen, this is one serious slab of Sony technology -- and it has a price tag to match. Understated styling and a battery worth the name aren't normally to be found in desktop-replacement laptops, but the Sony Vaio AW31M/H is a versatile machine capable of more than playing Blu-ray movies

Editor's rating 8.0

Alienware M17x

The 17-inch M17x laptop is monstrously huge and insanely fast. It packs some of the most powerful laptop components currently available and makes mincemeat of the latest games, even at the highest resolutions. Only the most fanatical gamers will be willing to shell out for it though

Editor's rating 8.5

Fujitsu LifeBook S7220

The 14.1-inch LifeBook S7220 is a worthy mobile workhorse that offers decent performance, solid build quality and plenty of useful features, such as integrated mobile broadband and a good webcam. Also sporting a spill-proof, comfortable keyboard, this laptop is well-suited to life on the road

Editor's rating 7.4

Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, summer 2009)

The latest update to Apple's premium 15-inch MacBook Pro makes only minor modifications. Nevertheless, a faster CPU, better battery and the addition of an SD card slot, together with a price cut, make it a substantial improvement on its predecessor

Editor's rating 8.2

MSI GT725

If you can overlook its hideous appearance, the 17-inch GT725 is a relatively affordable and extremely capable gaming laptop. With a good screen and Blu-ray drive, it's also a sound choice for people whose priority is media-playback capability. Overall, it's a great desktop replacement

User rating 9.0

Editor's rating 8.2

Asus W90

Asus might not be the first name you think of when it comes to gaming laptops, but it has just sent us the fastest portable 3D graphics-pusher we've ever seen. With 6GB of RAM, a Blu-ray drive and a huge 18.4-inch screen, it’s an astonishing performer

Editor's rating 9.1

Fujitsu Siemens LifeBook T5010

It's no featherweight, but the LifeBook T5010 convertible tablet PC makes up for that with a sizeable 13.3-inch screen and good performance. Its battery life is slightly disappointing and you have to use a stylus with the touchscreen, but the T5010 offers solid build quality and a comfortable keyboard

Editor's rating 7.5

HP EliteBook 8730w

A gorgeous 17-inch DreamColour display is the standout feature of the workstation-class EliteBook 8730w, but it's not the only aspect of this laptop that helps justify the premium price tag. The 8730w also boasts superb performance, excellent build quality and a good keyboard

Editor's rating 8.0

Fujitsu Siemens LifeBook P8020

With an excellent 12.1-inch screen and good keyboard, the solidly built LifeBook P8020 is an impressive ultra-portable laptop in terms of design and usability. Its graphics performance isn't great, but mainstream workloads are handled competently and the integrated mobile broadband is a real plus

Editor's rating 8.0

Toshiba Portege R600

For a business-orientated laptop, the super-light 12.1-inch Portege R600 is remarkably attractive, and its performance isn't bad either. Certain rivals do have the edge in the sexiness stakes, but a comfortable keyboard, excellent wireless capabilities and fantastically light chassis mean this laptop has plenty of charm

Editor's rating 8.1

HP HDX X18

It's expensive, the trackpad isn't great and its design is overly showy, but, apart from that, the 18-inch HDX X18 offers pretty much everything you could want in an entertainment laptop. Boasting a Blu-ray drive and 1080p display, it's a hugely powerful machine that offers a tonne of features

Editor's rating 8.7

HP TouchSmart tx2-1020ea

Making full use of Vista's tablet PC features, the 12.1-inch TouchSmart tx2-1020ea offers decent performance and a good feature set in an attractive and robust package. It's on the heavy side and its multitouch capability may not be all you'd expect at this price, though

Editor's rating 6.9

Motion J3400

The 12.1-inch J3400 should prove a satisfactory choice for those seeking a rugged tablet PC that can do a whole day's work in the field. It's quick to boot, responsive and has excellent wireless connectivity, as well as decent battery life. With all the options available, though, you can quickly rack up a substantial bill

Editor's rating 7.8

Dell Adamo

The Adamo, one of the most keenly anticipated laptops of 2009, is a remarkably thin machine, with plenty of high-end visual touches that help it to live up to its luxury billing. It's a decent performer for a low-power laptop, but, at this price, we'd expect battery life to be better

Editor's rating 7.6

Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch unibody)

The redesigned 17-inch MacBook Pro has an aluminium unibody design, a new multitouch trackpad and a dual-graphics set-up for boosting either battery life or performance. Those tweaks, combined with excellent performance and impressive battery life, help to make it an appealing, but expensive, laptop

User rating 10.0

Editor's rating 8.4

HP EliteBook 6930p

The relatively heavy EliteBook 6930p is an extremely well-built machine, with an excellent keyboard and decent performance. Most of the 19 models available lack integrated mobile broadband, and the entry-level screen resolution is disappointing, but it's a solid workhorse overall

Editor's rating 7.5