Sony VAIO VGN-T2XP

If you're thinking small also means slow, you'd be wrong here, because the 1.2GHz ULV Pentium M 753 had little bother turning our benchmarks around with an overall score of 1.22. It's one of the new CPUs released with Intel's Sonoma, although it's paired with an 855GME chipset and runs with a 400MHz front side bus. The T2 uses Intel's integrated Extreme Graphics 2 video chipset, which dynamically shares up to 64MB of system RAM, so any serious 3D gaming is off the agenda.

The memory used, 512MB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM, is fixed to the motherboard, but there's an empty slot beneath the keyboard in which you can install up to 512MB. It's not difficult getting the keyboard off (another sign of the good design) and Sony has a tutorial on its www.vaio-link.com site.

There's no denying this is a fantastic piece of hardware, but it's more specialised than Samsung's Q30. The latter could be used as your only PC at a pinch, whereas the T2 needs a bigger screen and keyboard in the office, driving up the cost. Thankfully, Sony has a docking station that will make connecting and disconnecting easier. For the habitual airport traveller, though, it's a godsend - if you're after the ultimate in portability, the T2 is the most practical option we've seen.

Author: Roger Kirckwood