JVC MiniNote MP-XC841

When it comes to notebook portability, there's not much that competes with the JVC MiniNote. With a surface area smaller than an A4 sheet of paper, it's compact and light enough to slip into a bag. This diminutive design may come at a cost but it's worth paying in return for its convenience.

This third generation of MiniNote uses a 1GHz Pentium M processor, which is much slower than its heavyweight Pentium 4 cousin but is still quick enough to handle most tasks. There is 256Mb of memory, rather low by today's standards but good enough for office work, image manipulation and even basic video editing. 8Mb of this is shared with the graphics, so you certainly won't be able to play any of the latest 3D games.

The 10.6in widescreen display is very bright and easy to read. If certain software demands a higher resolution than the MiniNote is capable of, the screen will scroll to accommodate it. While not convenient, it's a useful feature to have. And because the screen pixels are smaller than on a normal monitor, the display looks smoother than most too.

The 40Gb hard disk is reasonable but could become cramped if you often use megabyte-hungry video-editing software. If it does, though, the CD-RW/DVD combination drive can be used for archiving and backing up files. Some digital camera owners will also appreciate the SD memory card slot for transferring photos quickly.

Because of the MiniNote's portable nature, Centrino technology is vital. Integrated Wi-Fi allows you to connect to wireless hotspots and a superb four-and-a-half-hour battery life certainly helps. What's more, you can deactivate wireless at any time, which will preserve battery life further.

The MiniNote's overall size means that the keyboard has smaller keys than usual and uses a mini joystick rather than a trackpad. The keyboard is comfortable to type on unless you have big fingers, in which case you could find yourself hitting more than one key at the same time. There are Media Player shortcut keys at the front of the case.

The MiniNote includes an impressive collection of software. WinDVD 5 is supplied with Dolby Virtual Speaker, which gives the impression of surround sound when using headphones. If you want to be creative there is CC Converter for importing video from JVC camcorders and Pinnacle Studio 9 SE for editing video. The Easy Network Changer is also useful if you connect to the internet from more than one location.

Contact: JVC 0870 330 5000
www.jvc.co.uk