Labs

HP Compaq's 6910p is an understated business model, but thanks to its 14.1in display it's compact and, at just 2.3kg, light enough to carry on a daily commute.

It's tough enough to survive life on the road, too. We had to grapple with the display before we noticed any image distortion on the TFT panel, and the base feels well constructed. Two catches keep the lid shut when the laptop's in transit, so there's no danger of anything slipping between the lid and the keyboard and scratching the display.

While the HP shares the same screen size as the Dell, it uses a lower 1,280 x 800 resolution. This leaves the Windows desktop feeling more cramped than the Dell's, but it makes text more legible.

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is one area where the HP steals a march over the Dell D630. It matches the Dell with a smart card reader and TPM 1.2 chip, but also adds a fingerprint reader.

This configuration of the 6910p doesn't come with a built-in HSDPA adapter or a long-life battery. If you need internet access on the move, you'll just have to wait until you can use the gigabit ethernet, or go find a hotspot where you can use the HP's 802.11abg wireless. Battery life is much better than most of the group, with the HP lasting six hours under light use and just short of an hour-and-a-half under heavy usage.

The HP is the only laptop in the group to come with 1GB of memory, which is disappointing given the price. But as Windows XP Professional is the OS in question, it didn't affect performance, and our benchmarks were dispatched with an above-average score of 1.17.

Overall, it's pipped at the post this month by Dell's Latitude D630, which packs in a superior specification, an HSDPA adapter and a higher resolution panel, along with great ergonomics.

But spending just a few moments with the HP is enough to hammer home its impressive features. The keyboard beats that of all the other laptops here, and by such a margin that we'd trade our desktop PC and separate keyboard for the HP's compact, ergonomic charms.