The cheapest way to get OS X, but it has all of the MacBook Pro’s shortcomings and more of its own

A stunning piece of design to rival any Apple offering, and the price is surprisingly reasonable

Asus's model may not look like the bee's knees, but if you're after features, it's worth a look

It’s not the most powerful, but its games performance and features help the Toshiba A350 stand out in the price bracket for mid-price laptops

An HD screen, Blu-ray drive, TV tuner and competitive price result in an excellent-value entertainment laptop.

Dell's previous 13.3in XPS - the M1330 - was a delightful portable, but the XPS 13 makes it look scruffy by comparison.

Smells like green spirit, and offers performance at a budget price. The ASUS F6V Green is a laptop with something a little different

MSI's Prestige laptop comes with a whole bunch of goodies: how does a wireless mouse, 4GB USB key, leather carrybag and leather stitched lid sound, for starters? And that's before you look under the lid.

Apple has given its MacBook Pro a thorough makeover but, for all its charm, it’s still overpriced.

Impressive in several areas, but other laptops offer better features and more performance for less cash.

In a world filled with gorgeous Sony, Apple and even Dell laptops, a sober, matte black machine aimed at consumers has to be truly special to turn heads. The IdeaPad Y430 is a well-built Centrino 2 machine that lacks nothing in the way of features, speed or value

Is Apple good at design? Usabilty? Both or neither? Also, where has all the Firewire gone? Alex Kidman has been testing Apple's new Macbook and gives his first impressions.

Designed to sit between the low-end Inspiron and high-end XPS families, it comes in 15in and 17in flavours and its target audience could be pretty much anyone: few laptops are as customisable as this.

Despite some odd feature choices, this is an affordable powerhouse of a laptop. A great value mid-range Centrino 2 laptop, as long as you're not worried about battery life.

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

Form and function meet in the middle in one supremely well-made package

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.

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.

While we wait with bated breath for the imminent (or was that eventual?) release of Microsoft Media Centre into Australia, the number of companies cashing in on the media functionality of next generation consumer electronics is growing quickly.

A blisteringly fast processor, strong build and stylish design make this an extremely attractive laptop