Labs

Next to the flashy big-screen entertainers of the group, the Q45 cuts an unobtrusive figure. Not only is it relatively conservative in design, it's also smaller than the average: at 300x220x46mm, and weighing only 1.86kg, this Samsung is a lot more portable than the other machines on test. As if to offset this, the model we tested came with a red metallic exterior. Well, as statements go, it's more cost-effective than a sports car. The lid has no latch to keep it shut and prevent sharp objects sneaking in - a small niggle, but one that could prove annoying if your shiny new screen gets scratched.

The 12.1 inch display was bright and clear. Its resolution of 1280x800 pixels matches most 15.4 inch models, meaning you can

Miniaturisation often means compromises have to be made in areas such as the keyboard layout or the range of connections offered. While we were a bit miffed to get just two USB 2 ports, we were pleasantly surprised by the keyboard. It has a sensible layout, with regularly used keys such as Shift and Enter remaining a decent size.

Nor had the core components suffered. We were happy to find an Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 processor - a solid, mid-range choice. What did let the Q45 down was Samsung's penny-pinching on memory. Unlike all the other laptops here, which come with a healthy 2GB of RAM, the Q45 has just 1GB - the bare minimum for running Windows Vista usably. And there's no slot free to add more, so if you want to upgrade you'll have to replace the existing module. That's fiddly, but not expensive - which makes it look even more of a false economy.

As it was, the Samsung scored a merely passable 129% in our general (2D) benchmark test, and we were unsurprised to find its integrated graphics couldn't cope with our 3D gaming test at all. With more memory, its 2D performance at least could have been neck-and-neck with the Toshiba.