MV Mobeus

The Mobeus is the first notebook we've seen from newcomer MV, and it's quite a debut. For a budget notebook, it's surprisingly small, measuring a trim 293 x 231 x 38mm. It's slightly heavier than it looks at 2.08kg, but still easily portable.

The tiny 12in display still manages to look acceptably big, running at 1,280 x 800 pixels - another surprise at this price point. Text is crisp and clear, although the backlighting is uneven, if not overly distracting. Of more concern is the lid, which isn't as solid as we'd like - we'd have concerns about shoving it in a full bag or placing anything on the closed machine, so using a well-padded bag would be advisable. MV, at least, is confident enough to offer a three-year insurance-backed warranty.

Thankfully, the keyboard fares better. It will take a bit of getting used to for touchtypists, but despite the limited space, the layout is excellent and the action comfortable, if a touch rattly.

Just above the keyboard, a button labelled 'P' offers one-touch access to a feature dubbed Power-Boost by MV, which over- or underclocks the 1.6GHz Pentium M 725 CPU. In the default Power-Boost mode, it's pushed up to 1.78GHz, and locked down to 480MHz in Stealth mode - the latter so called because it reduces the need for a cooling fan. SpeedStep remains operational though, so it's only running at full pelt when the system is working hard.

And there's power here in spadefuls, with the Mobeus scoring an excellent 1.65 overall when allowed to clock up. The CPU-intensive video-encoding portion of our benchmarks certainly noticed the difference, taking 374 seconds and 1,284 seconds in over- and underclocked modes respectively. Even at its slowest, there'll be plenty of power to run a presentation or check your email, with the advantage that the machine will run cooler and for longer. In normal mode, our light-use test managed four hours, 15 mins, extending by about 20 minutes when underclocked.

Like the more expensive Toshiba Qosmio and HP Pavilion dv1000, the Mobeus also manages to pack in a Linux-based instant-on feature. Using CyberLink's PowerCinema, it's also the best one on show, playing audio CDs, DVDs, MP3 CDs, and even allowing you to browse the hard disk for other media. The only thing it lacks is a remote control.

You won't find legacy ports on a chassis this small, but D-SUB out, S-Video, two USB ports, mini-FireWire, a Type II PC Card slot and an SD slot is sufficient for most. There's also 802.11b/g wireless to comply with the Centrino branding.

Aside from the issues with the screen, the only other compromises are minor, such as the 30GB hard disk, slightly unpredictable trackpad and lack of 3D-gaming potential - but we're not complaining at this price. This level of portability normally comes at a hefty premium, but MV delivers excellent value for money with the Mobeus. It boasts an incredible amount of features, bucket-loads of performance and a stunning price, making it a natural resident on out A List.

Author: Roger kirkwood