Packard Bell EasyNote XS

The chassis itself is made from flimsy-feeling black plastic. It's nothing that suggests the EasyNote will fail if taken care of, but it does add up to a laptop that feels less than capable of withstanding a major catastrophe.

Our various objections to the EasyNote would be forgiven if it weren't for the price. The Eee PC has rather spoiled the market, but if Asus can build an ultraportable and sell it for less than £200, Packard Bell's pricing of £500 including VAT seems too high. The Eee PC has the edge in several other ways, too. The 7in screen is less of a problem, courtesy of an operating system much better designed to work with it. It also feels better built and, despite both of these undeniable bonuses, it's cheaper. The Packard Bell has the edge in terms of usable storage, and there are some pluses associated with Windows XP: largely that you aren't required to learn a different operating system and that it's compatible with Microsoft Office. But if you can survive on Firefox, Thunderbird and OpenOffice, the Eee PC remains the undisputed champion of the ultra-cheap laptop bandwagon.

Author: Dave Stevenson