Sony VGN-SZ1XP

An expensive, but extremely portable notebook with a generous helping of Sony style

If there's one thing you can count on with Sony notebooks, it's that your money will get you a great-looking device.

You'll pay through the nose for it, but if it's style you want, the Vaio range has it in abundance.

The brand new VGN-SZ1XP (part of the new SZ series) weighs just 1.7kg and is finished with a brushed metallic sheen.

Inside the lightweight carbon fibre chassis rests an Intel T2400 dual-core processor and 1GB of DDR2 Ram.

It scored 193 in Sysmark 2004SE and 3,502 in PCmark05, which is fast for a notebook running off a 1.83GHz but not as quick as other Core Duo notebooks we've seen recently, namely the Acer Travelmate 8204WLMi.

Battery life, though, was outstanding and it managed to clock up a long-haul figure of just under four hours in Mobilemark. This is, in part, due to some clever energy saving engineering that allows the user to switch between the self-explanatory 'stamina' and 'speed' modes.

Granted, the SZ is only powering a small 13.3in X-black screen, but lasting well over three hours before needing a recharge is real boon for mobile users.

Sony has also managed to squeeze in a 100GB hard disk and Nvidia Go 7400 graphics with 128MB of its own memory.

The Sony's 3D ability was nothing to shout about, achieving a business-like 1,614 in 3Dmark05 in its native widescreen resolution of 1,280 x 800. Click here for more performance results.

Shoehorned into the side of the case is a double layer, dual format DVD-writer and VGA, mini Firewire, network, modem and headphone sockets. There's also a mini PC card but only two USB2 ports.

ZX Spectrum fans will love the retro keyboard with its extra large keys, but it might prove too springy for some.

A brushed aluminium palm rest encircles the touchpad, which also hosts a fingerprint reader for biometric password authentication. A webcam is built into the top of the display as is a microphone for VoIP and video conferencing.

We're not surprised at the £1,600 price tag but did expect the VGN-SZ1XP to perform a little better.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that the comments on our PCW Interactive forum show there are some disgruntled Vaio owners complaining about build quality, however the Vaio we tested didn't exhibit any such issues.

Sysmark 2004SE: 193
Mobilemark: 3hrs 37mins
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