This notebook was designed from the ground up with business and security in mind, and it succeeds.

While many ultraportable laptops, like the Toshiba R200 go all out to get size and weight to an absolute minimum, a great deal of usability is often sacrificed – the X505 is impractically small for constant daily usage while the R200 has limited battery sizes.

Living up to the sub-notebook name, this portable system from IBM represents one of the best instances of miniaturised engineering

Toshiba’s R100 redefined what it meant to be an ultra-portable laptop.

A new way forward for ultraportables, combining an incredible low weight with unrivalled ergonomic excellence

Well built and with astonishing battery life to boot. It’s pricey but decent value.

A notebook fortress to equip your workforce with confidence, but sub-par performance.

Acer has taken a different tack to IBM with its version of Centrino. Whereas the ThinkPad focused on being small and portable, the TravelMate 800 is a better-featured notebook with a 1.6GHz processor, 15in display and a fast graphics chip

Novell deal for ThinkPad notebook.

Durable, powerful and packed with security features. A phenomenal ultraportable.

Intel's new Centrino is possibly the most hyped notebook technology ever launched. Centrino is the name for a group of Intel's technologies including a tweaked P3-M CPU, built-in wireless, and excellent battery life.

While IBM ThinkPads might look a little bulky and coarse compared to some of their competitors, they've generally got it where it counts; delivering in function if not form.

There is a full keyboard with a trackpoint as the built-in pointing device and a generous palm rest.

Fastest Notebook

What can a vendor-controlled comparison of notebook technology teach us? Plenty – but not in the way it was intended. Read on as we expose HP’s notebook ‘Reliability Challenge’.

Like Volvos of old, Lenovo was a solid, reliable and unexciting name. Up until now. The business-masters have turned out a very desirable, stylish and powerful laptop.

Fastest Notebook

Not a stylish machine, but it’s good value, well built and boasts surprisingly impressive battery life

Great ergonomics are let down by a few mediocre components and limited portability. But some features will tempt many.