Our first impressions of the S6410 weren't great. At 1.8kg, it's the second-heaviest laptop in the group and its plain looks, 1GB of RAM and 80GB hard disk aren't what we expect at this price. The 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor performs well but we'd recommend spending another £30 on an additional 1GB of RAM to boost performance in demanding tasks.
Closer inspection revealed lots of strengths, though. At four hours and 18 minutes, battery life is excellent considering the fast processor, although charging from flat is slow at around three hours. There's support for every form of wireless communication: Bluetooth, infrared, 802.11a/b/g and Draft-N, plus a 3G modem for broadband access on the
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move. Unlike other integrated 3G modems we've seen, this one supports download speeds up to 7.2Mbit/s and HSUPA for uploads up to 2Mbit/s, network permitting. We inserted a SIM card and were online within minutes, thanks to a friendly 3G Watcher utility that also keeps track of usage.
The chassis incorporates a DVD writer, basic webcam, one FireWire and three USB2 ports and a fingerprint reader. There's a clutch of buttons for launching Vista Business's backup module, locking the laptop and entering a power-save mode. The 13.3in screen is the largest here and its colours are vibrant and accurate, but the glossy finish causes reflections under office lighting. The keyboard is spill-proof and its layout is hard to fault, but the keys feel squishy and the whole keyboard sags under pressure. We still found it quick to type on, but not particularly pleasant.
The 3G modem is the S6410's most enticing feature, but that aside it's hard to see where the high price comes from. However, when you consider that it's a feature-packed laptop that also happens to be highly portable, it starts to make sense for business users who don't need lots of disk space but will appreciate the wireless and security features. Only the keyboard prevents it from getting a wholehearted recommendation.
