Sony VAIO VGN-FW11ZU in Laptops

There's some gaming potential, too, with an ATI Radeon Mobility HD 3650 GPU scoring 35fps in our low-quality Crysis benchmark. This figure dropped to a stuttering 9fps when we upped the quality to medium, but it's still more than enough power to handle modern games, albeit with some quality settings compromised.

For all the power and style, though, the battery life is an area of concern. The Sony includes a 4,800mAh cell that's quickly drained by the impressive array of components on offer - in our light use test, the VAIO ran out of steam after a mere two hours and fifteen minutes.

In our heavy use test, this figure dropped to just under an hour, so you'll be lucky to get through an episode of your favourite TV show, let alone a movie.

Alongside the mediocre battery life, our other main concern with the VAIO is its price. While it's undoubtedly a nice bit of kit - the Blu-ray writer and Centrino 2 components are especially welcome - we're not sure if it's quite worth £1,004.

And that's not all. The VAIO occupies a slightly uncomfortable slot in the market: the sub-HD screen resolution means that it can't quite match rival desktop replacements - such as Dell's XPS M1730 or the Acer Aspire 8920G - and it's also a tad too large to make a regular travelling companion like an XPS M1530 or smaller laptop could be.

It's a shame, because this is undeniably a powerful system with plenty of good features - but its quirky nature and niche appeal may limit its success.

Author: Mike Jennings