The first thing that struck me about the Camedia C-990 Zoom was that it looks and feels like a camera.

Make no mistake, this is one heavyweight of a notebook. The 3.3kg of the Satellite 2800 accounts for some of this, but otherwise it applies to some of the exceptional features found on this model.

Just where do you start? Best point would be to introduce this Vaio as the first commercial offering designed and built from the ground up for Windows XP. The next point is simply that this is the most visually stunning notebook we have seen in a long time.

Its one thing to flatter ones self but its another to be aware when its happening. Thats the impression I get when introduced to the Sony Vaio PCG-FX880K. Like the name?

Over the last few years there is no doubt mainstream PCs have leant increasingly towards visual applications. The power of visually communicating has grown in acceptance as more and more products and applications reach fruition.

After enjoying the Satellite 2800 (reviewed issue 42, p80) so much, the Toshiba Satellite Pro 4600 is a disappointment. This is surprising in that the general belief would be that the more powerful machine would be more appealing to the technically inclined than the Celeron-based Satellite 2800.

From the rarefied heights of Dells Inspiron 8100 (reviewed October 2001, page 71) we take a step back with the Toshiba Tecra 9000. Like the Inspiron 8100 the Tecra is a Pentium III-M CPU, from the Tualatin family of processors, although this is the 933MHz version.

For those in the business of presentations the data projector runs hand in hand as a tool of the trade almost as important as the notebook computer.