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.

Stunning design goes hand in hand with fine usability, but the non-replaceable battery and high price count against the Eee PC 1008HA Seashell

Iomega’s latest shows promise, but it’s outclassed by others

Oodles of storage and middling performance, but found lacking

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

A cheap card, with the bonus of reasonable gaming ability.

Not the perfect value card it once was, but still worth a look.

A couple of nifty gimmicks and an extended warranty help give this netbook the boost that its ergonomics don’t.

Although its design is no more exciting than a grilled cheese sandwich, the Billion BiPac 7300N is functional and easy to set up.

An impressive touchscreen all-in-one PC for an equally impressive price, but the single-core Atom holds it back

An improvement on last year’s package, but sadly still flawed.

Lighter than ever, but its all-round performance isn’t quite first class.

A credible contender, but F-Secure Internet Security 2009 is neither the lightest nor the most effective security suite for your PC

A suite with some nice features but slow startup times made us disappointed with ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2009

A wireless security system with good roaming support, but it isn’t perfect

The especially full feature set of the 7404VNOX makes it stand out from the crowd.

An easily managed appliance for small offices. Performance is modest, but it offers useful remote access features

Not pretty, but a technically competent and comprehensive upgrade to the best free office suite around.

Cheap to buy, cheap to run and bundled with features; print quality holds it back from greatness.

Another good laptop from Toshiba, but the 12.1in Portégé M800 struggles in such fine company.