In some group tests, we have trouble choosing a winner from several close runners, but this month there was simply no question. Dell’s Latitude range has occupied various spots on the A-List for some time, and the new D630 doesn’t break the tradition. It’s superbly designed and full of nice touches; even the large nine-cell battery is uniquely shaped to form a useful wristrest.

This extended battery gives the D630 its biggest strength as, under light use, it lasted a full nine hours, and when worked hard it ran for a respectable 2hrs 51mins. This is all despite the decent amount of processing power onboard. The D630 uses the 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo T7100 and 2GB of RAM. Its overall score of 0.96 in our benchmarks put it just behind the leaders, although the GMA X3100 integrated graphics chip isn’t beefy enough for newer 3D games.

Our test laptop had Windows XP Pro installed and, unlike others with their fingerprint readers, the Dell instead sports a smart card slot for security. But a fingerprint reader can be added for $41. There’s also an ambient light sensor beneath the 14.1in screen for dynamically adjusting the brightness, and the choice of touchpad or trackpoint – along with the comfortable, well laid-out keyboard – puts the D630 top of the pile for comfort and ease of use.

A PC Card slot sits on the left side beneath a mini-FireWire port and Wi-Fi on/off switch, while Gigabit Ethernet allows for fast wired transfers, and there’s a VGA port on the back for hooking up to a projector.

Like any notebook, though, the Dell has a few minor niggles. The 1280 x 800 screen’s colours are slightly lifeless next to its glossy rivals, and the single mono speaker is disappointing, as is the lack of a media card reader.

But it costs a very-reasonable $2349, so when you factor in the three-year on-site warranty, the great build quality and the ergonomics, the D630 quite rightly takes over from the D620 on the A-List.