Labs

Acer's Aspire 2920 only narrowly qualifies as an ultra-portable. At 38mm thick, it looks like a normal laptop except for its 12.1in screen. Still, the 2.1kg weight will make less of a dent on your shoulder than the usual 3kg laptops, and the battery lasted for an impressive four hours and 17 minutes in our light use test. It will also be gentler on your bank balance than most of the laptops here.

There's no shock protection for the hard disk or a fingerprint reader to secure your files, which are both common features on the more expensive models. Windows Vista Home Premium is installed and there's a high-quality integrated webcam, showing that this laptop is

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aimed more at home than business users. Home users will appreciate the 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of RAM, which will cut through any type of software except 3D games. Its Intel GMA X3100 graphics may handle a few golden oldies but won't run newer titles at all. The 250GB hard disk is enough for masses of photos and MP3s, and means that this could be the only PC you'll need. The lack of a FireWire port is disappointing, though, as the 2920 would make an excellent laptop for video editing.

The 12.1in, 1,280x800-pixel glossy screen is bright with richly saturated colours, although poor vertical viewing angles mean you need to make sure it's angled straight towards you for accurate hues. The keyboard feels reasonably sturdy but it doesn't use the entire width of the chassis. As a result, the punctuation keys have been slimmed down and don't fall under the fingers, making accurate touch-typing difficult.

If you need a laptop to carry with you every day, one of the lighter models makes more sense. However, nearly all of these are more suited to being a second computer to a more powerful desktop PC with a bigger hard disk. For those looking for a single laptop to cover both bases, the 2920 is a sensible compromise and excellent value.