Classy looks and light weight make for a fine ultraportable, but it’s got some tough competition.

This impressive ultraportable fills a narrow but significant niche between the MacBook Air and Lenovo X300

Sony typically asks a little more than their competitors for similar products, but this usually pays off in the quality of workmanship and the reliability associated with most Sony products. The Sony VAIO VGN-S28GP is an extremely well-built notebook and should provide rock-solid performance for years to come.

So, the last big name has fallen. HP gave out in April 2008, and both Dell and Toshiba's resistance crumbled by the autumn. But it's taken Sony until the middle of 2009 to produce what it confesses to be a netbook, the VAIO Mini W Series.

The format wars continue as Blu Ray comes to a monster laptop at a monster price.

Intriguing styling makes this near-silent media-centre PC stand out, but it has its foibles

A stylish all-in-one media centre that effortlessly handles all tasks thrown at it. But it’s disgracefully priced.

A quirky UMPC, halfway between a full-blown laptop and the Origami concept.

A stunning piece of design matched with excellent battery life, but with an Atom inside the price is surely too high

Great looks, superb build quality and a world beating software package. It would threaten the A list if it were just a little cheaper.

A Blu-ray drive is just about the only justification for the Sony’s high price; it’s poor value overall.

Sony’s new laptop sports a Blu-ray writer and one of Intel’s latest Penryn processors, but it’s overpriced.

A Blu-ray drive is just about the only justification for the Sony’s high price; it’s poor value overall.

Sony’s Z-Series is an ultraportable to aspire to, even if there are a couple of areas where it could improve.

This notebook has been designed with classic Sony style: rounded edges, hidden IO inputs and a sleek widescreen footprint. From a connectivity point of view, this 'book has it all, boasting front-mounted Memory Stick Pro port, iLink 4-pin FireWire port and three USB ports.

Some interesting technology, married with superb performance – and a huge price tag.

Beautifully designed with excellent battery life and generous features – but it’s expensive.

The design is impeccable, the build superb and the screen extraordinary, but the price is a huge barrier. We ponder the icon that is the Macbook Pro 17in

An incredibly light and practical notebook for frequent travellers, but not without its quirks.

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