Medion Akoya E3211

The Atom's quest to take over the world through netbooks has been largely unthreatened this year, as most rivals have yet to provide a similarly powered alternative at a low enough price. The closest competition comes from the growing band of low-cost ultraportables using Intel's ultra-low-voltage (ULV) processors. They pack a bit more of a punch than the Atom at slightly higher cost, and the Medion Akoya E3211 demonstrates the difference that can make.

For a start it's a 13.3in laptop, that perfect mid-point between portability and usability. At this size you need a little more power than the average netbook can provide, and Intel's 1.3GHz SU2700 processor just about obliges. It's hardly a huge leap forward over the Atom, but its overall benchmark score of 0.51 is around 25% faster than most netbooks.

The other important factor is the inclusion of 4GB of RAM, twice the amount you'll find in any netbook – and in everyday use it's noticeable how, when multitasking, the Medion doesn't grind to a standstill.

The 13.3in screen has a 720p-capable 1,366 x 768 resolution, and the quality is decent, with fairly accurate colours and a sharpness that lower resolution screens can't provide. It's glossy, so reflections do occasionally annoy, but it's a good size for web browsing and office apps.

Add in the 320GB hard disk and an integrated DVD writer, and the strengths of a true laptop over its netbook brethren are clear to see. Yet all of this costs just £434 – not a huge margin over the dearest netbooks. Recent laptops we've seen at anywhere near this price have all been at least 15.4in, in which it's not too difficult to cram cheap components. Doing the same at 13.3in is more of a challenge.