Packard Bell Easynote M5 255

The Packard Bell Easynote M5 255 is a large and somewhat weighty notebook, so it may not be the ideal choice if you want to take it on the road. To its credit, though, it manages to pack a decent amount of features and some fairly powerful components into its very eye-catching frame - and for only £699 too.

At the heart of the M5 is an Intel Celeron processor running at 2.5GHz. This is fast enough to cope with the majority of applications you're likely to encounter, but there's no denying that more powerful alternatives are available. There is 256MB of memory, which isn't breathtaking but its enough to complement Intel's budget processor.

Where the M5 stands out most is in the number of extras it provides. There are six USB 2 ports, which is more than can be found on many full-sized PC systems. Digital photography and video enthusiasts will also be pleased to find a mini FireWire port alongside a four-in-1 memory card reader.

Having the use of a removable media drive is important in any home machine, and Packard Bell has not disappointed in this area. A combined DVD and recordable CD drive is included, which adds a substantial amount of weight to the machine - pushing it over 3.5kg - but at least provides you with the convenience of not having to carry around an external drive.

One of the most appealing things about the Easynote is its excellent 15.1in screen, which is very clear and provides a good picture, even when looked at from awkward viewing angles. It has a maximum resolution of 1024 x 768, which is fairly common for a display of this size. Should you want to make use of a larger display, however, the Easynote has a port to let you view your screen on an external monitor.

Unfortunately, the M5 is not the ideal choice of notebook if you're planning on playing 3D games. It uses a very basic Intel graphics card that, while perfectly capable for dealing with everyday Windows tasks, struggles somewhat with anything more demanding. The storage in the M5 is also slightly disappointing. It comes with a 20GB hard disk, which is not ideal if you want to keep a large amount of multimedia files stored on disk.

On the plus side, one of the M5's strongest points is its usability. Notebook keyboards are notorious for being fiddly to use, but in this case we felt no difficulty in adjusting from a full-sized desktop keyboard. Likewise, the M5 has a great touchpad for cursor control and even has a dedicated button for scrolling vertically through documents. Towards the top of the unit, there are useful - if hardly essential - shortcut buttons that control CD playback and offer quick access to your internet browser and email software.

As you would expect from Packard Bell, the M5 is an attractive and well-designed piece of kit. It is finished in a fairly common silver-and-black colour scheme, but it manages to stand out from the crowd thanks to neat styling touches including a discreet and attractive sliding lock mechanism.

If you're not after extreme performance the M5 is a great option and, at £699, it is certainly good value for money.

Contact: Packard Bell 0870 112 2334
www.packardbell.co.uk