Gateway Solo 9500 XL

You would expect a machine like this to drain the best from any battery, but the nine-cell lithium ion battery lasted for an impressive 110 minutes in our strenuous test, so you could expect up to three hours in general use. However, unless you want to use yourself as a human heatsink, you won't want to keep the Solo 9500 on your lap for particularly long periods of time.

The Solo 9500 XL has its strengths and weaknesses; it's fast enough, but needs attention to heat dissipation and design. Also, while the screen is large, it lacks the even lighting and superb image quality of the Panrix Vision 800's 15in TFT. For your £1,949 plus an extra £19 for delivery you're not getting fantastic value for money either, and you'll need an extra £200 for the 850MHz version. In addition there's only a one-year return-to-base warranty, compared to the three years from Panrix. The 9500 has some interesting details, but needs more work to be worth the money.

Author: Ben Hardwidge