Apple's entry-level laptop is a well-designed winner.

We quite liked the N100 and while its performance wasn't spectacular it was consistent with what we expected for a machine with these specifications.

If you’re looking at $5000-plus high-end notebooks, then the HDX9313TX should certainly be considered. This laptop is maxed-out in most respects and it caters to those who need serious grunt. As an entertainment and gaming notebook, it will definitely do the job.

The TravelMate 8104WLMi is a great portable multimedia machine for school or business.

If you don’t mind your laptop attracting more attention than you, the HP DV5-1010TX_01 is a fast but heavy unit that comes with a built-in TV tuner and Blu-ray player for a reasonable price.

This is a solidly built unit that's a joy to use and has plenty of grunt for most applications. It also has versatile networking options, including the ability to connect to 5GHz 802.11n routers.

If you can fork out the cash and don’t mind the design, then the Sony Vaio VGN-FW17GU is a well-performing unit that features a Blu-ray burner.

The Fujitsu LifeBook P7120 is an attractive and cleverly designed notebook with all the bells and whistles of some much more expensive models.

It's well-suited to road warriors thanks to its light weight and built-in 3G module, but it's still not the perfect laptop. If you're going to go for the R500, opt for a solid-state drive instead of a conventional hard drive.

For users wanting a home entertainment centre or a powerful desktop replacement to work with, the dv9800 is a very strong contender.

A capable and solidly built ultraportable that's worth considering. It could use some refinement, but its strong case, built-in DVD burner and long battery life are major positives.

There's a lot to this notebook, and while it works great for the most part, it could still use a little refinement, especially with regards to its video input ports. Overall though, it's a great media centre notebook and it does have tremendous storage capacity.