Toshiba Portege R200

The R200 offers a basic port line-up: two USB 2 ports, a 56K modem, Gigabit Ethernet and D-SUB VGA-out reside at the back, with a headphone socket (complete with volume dial), Type II PC Card slot and an SD card reader on the left. There's a wireless on/off switch and a Kensington lock slot on the right.

The hard disk is a respectable 60GB model, although to load anything from disc you'll need to buy an optical drive. Toshiba is asking a pricey £149 for a basic combo drive, so we recommend considering an external DVD writer from our Labs this month. You should also consider whether you need a docking station or port replicator; these make ultraportables much easier to use at a desk, and Toshiba's options range from £55 to £199.

This emphasises that buying an ultraportable isn't as simple as buying a normal notebook; one of the reasons Dell's Latitude D410 won last month's ultra-light group test is that it includes an optical drive and docking station for £1,199, and this - along with its sheer power - makes up for its far greater weight of 1.95kg.

However, don't dismiss the R200. There's a good reason it costs more for the basic hardware than the Dell, and that's its sheer lightness. By comparison, the ThinkPad, which has a near-identical specification, costs an extra £150 but only includes a one-year warranty to Toshiba's three years' cover. For business use where every gram counts, the R200 is a great choice.

Author: Ross Buridge