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.

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’.

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.

IBM has ramped up its Express offering targeting Australian SMBs, releasing desktops and notebooks for that market on 11 November backed by a new channel marketing push.

IBM Global Financing Australia has launched a certified used equipment service which will sell refurbished off-lease equipment online and through its distributor and dealer channels.

The first time PC Authority got to take a look at a Twinhead notebook system (the Slimnote VX, Labs tested issue 20, p59) was back in July's test of budget notebook computers.