Acer Aspire 2003WLMi

Watching a DVD was a joy, though, with the stereo speakers providing plenty of volume, while the 1,280 x 800 screen gave sharp, bright playback with well-defined colours and superb viewing angles. Text and 2D graphics work was equally impressive. But if it's not up to your standards, an S-Video port and a VGA output let you connect to external screens.

The keyboard is large, making good use of the space available, and we enjoyed typing on it thanks to its feel and layout. The huge touchpad is nice and responsive too, with some equally large (if slightly stiff) buttons and a four-way navigation pad. Lastly, battery life was exemplary, lasting for over two hours in our intensive test and nearly four under light use.

Despite our reservations about its multimedia aspirations, the 2003WLMi is still an excellent notebook. The keyboard and processing speed are high points, and fitting a high-quality widescreen TFT into a sub-3kg notebook is impressive, as is the more than ample battery life. The price is a little high, but what it offers is unique in the market, earning it our recommendation.

Author: Mark Walsh