Multivision Solus 1010

More so than with desktop PCs, a cheap notebook usually comes with the expectation that it will be big, ugly and devoid of any advanced features.The Multivision Solus 1010 shows that this doesn't necessarily have to be the case and has a well-considered specification and design.

It's about average size and weight for a notebook and while you wouldn't want to carry it everywhere, it is fine for the occasional journey or car trip. The Solus isn't particularly ugly either and has a nicely sculptured front to it that houses a small screen and a row of neat silver buttons. These are used to play CDs and MP3s without having to start Windows, which means that you can listen to music while saving on battery power. Other than that, the outside of the notebook is exactly what you would expect to find, including USB, network, modem and FireWire ports, plus a combination DVD/CD-RW drive.

The 15in screen is adequately protected by the thick plastic case. The keyboard is smaller than the average desktop one but still perfectly usable.Upon first inspection, the screen looks fairly typical, although it operates at a high resolution of 1400 x 1050, as opposed to the standard 1024 x 768. The difference might not sound like a lot but it means that the Solus displays a much finer image. It's good, though some users might find such a high resolution quite hard on the eyes.

Powering the display is the onboard mobile Radeon 9000. This is among the most capable graphics chips available for mobile computers. It is outdone by nVidia's new mobile GeForce FX 5200 but is still very desirable and will play most games without a problem.

Multivision is one of the companies which has pretty much eschewed the dominant Intel chips, opting instead for a mobile AMD Athlon XP 2500+ processor and this performed very well in tests. Its job is made a lot easier by the 512Mb of fast memory, which helps get the best performance out of the processor and will allow Windows XP Home, and all your applications, to chug along happily.

The 30Gb hard disk seems a little on the small side compared with other notebooks on the market. However, considering the price, we can forgive it this fault, especially as this should be enough room for most applications.

It's usually at this point that cheaper machines disappoint us with a lack of software but we found no such fault with the Solus. It comes with software to watch DVDs and record CDs, and there's the MP3 player application that can be controlled by the buttons on the front of the notebook. Finally, you get a copy of Ability Office, which is a capable, compatible but budget alternative to Microsoft's omnipresent equivalent.

There's not a lot more to say about the Solus 1010. It performs well, is well-specified and has a nice solid design. At just a whisker under £800, it's sure to satisfy those in the market for a peppy portable PC at a pocket-money price.

Contact: Multivision 0870 220 2822
www.multivision.co.uk