As such we have no qualms about machines appearing in identical chassis - it's the way the business works. We might raise the odd eyebrow when the specifications are identical though and this month both Pioneer and Protac submitted the same machine right down to the model number of the optical discs and hard drives. However, the simple fact remains that Protac is charging $500 more for an identical notebook and offering an inferior one-year RTB warranty to boot. You do get free delivery, but every way we look at it, the Pioneer is just much better value.

Both machines look rather plastic, though not significantly more so than the Labs-winning Acer. Regardless, both are rigid and sturdy. The screens are the only ones without glossy, colour-enhancing coatings but there are far fewer distracting reflections as a trade off. The 1024 x 768 resolution doesn't suit people who work with many windows open at the same time but icons and labels are much easier to read. Viewing angles and lag weren't bad and a clear desktop is produced. The speakers underneath the front were poor and tinny, though.

Pioneer's notebook is a preproduction model and we suspect Protac's is too, owing to the identical performance. It scored 0.95 in our benchmarks which was only just beaten by the ASUS. However, we expect this figure to rise once full-production models are being rolled out as the 2.16GHz Pentium M T1600 processor is the fastest on show. Adding additional memory to the existing 512MB should also boost performance. Gamers should look elsewhere, though, as the integrated Intel graphics won't handle 3D.

Both laptops were among the most portable, weighing in at 2.6kg. However, the battery life scores of one-and-a-quarter hours in our intensive test and two-and-three-quarter hours in our light-use test were still some way behind the only slightly-larger Samsung.

The low features score isn't helped by the inclusion of a combo drive - not what we expect for almost $3000. There's no wireless connectivity included either. Wired connectivity options include three audio jacks and a S/PDIF, three USB ports, mini FireWire, Gigabit Ethernet, modem, S-Video and VGA. There's also a memory card reader which supports MS and SD/MMC formats and a PC Card slot. Above the monitor is an integrated webcam.

All in all it's a middling notebook with quite a bit of oomph, but which is on sale for far too much money compared to the others here. As such it's Protac that trails behind the pack this month. If you like the form factor, consider the Samsung. But with Acer's Aspire costing almost $400 less, there's better value to be had elsewhere.