Fujitsu Siemens Esprimo Mobile U9200

As the only laptop here to employ a 12.1in screen, Fujitsu's Esprimo U9200 is the smallest on test, and with a built-in HSDPA adapter it's capable of giving internet access on the move. Tipping the scales at 2kg, the U9200 balances on the cusp of ultraportability.

It's no looker, though. Its gun-metal grey lid is featureless bar the Fujitsu Siemens logo, and the black interior does little to liven up proceedings.

The build quality gives cause for far greater concern, however. The creaky plastic lid doesn't seem to give the display much protection, and applying light pressure brought the TFT into contact with its backing. The thick, chunky base feels far sturdier, but the keyboard and trackpad it houses are another disappointment. The keys offer little travel, and the shrunken Shift and Ctrl keys are tiny. There's little nice to be said about the trackpad, either, which has unresponsive buttons.

The U9200's small size isn't married with low-power components, however, as Fujitsu has chosen to employ an Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 running at 2.2GHz and 2GB of memory. The pairing of a fast processor with ample memory keeps Vista Business running smoothly, and our benchmarks were dispatched with an overall score of 1.12, which is plenty for a business laptop.

The fast processor doesn't do the U9200 any favours when it comes to longevity. Under light use the battery faltered after just three-and-a-half hours, and heavy usage saw that drop back to five minutes shy of an hour.

The U9200 is, at best, inconsistent. The HSDPA adapter is perfectly matched to such a portable notebook, and application performance is nippy, but the ergonomics and battery life are poor.

Author: Sasha Muller