The sub notebook category of PCs represents something of a contradiction. When faced with the latest slimline, ultraportable notebook, the gasps of admiration and desire from onlookers are audible. When it comes to actually buying a new notebook, however, most people opt for more sensible machines, with larger screens, more features and better keyboards. Partly this is to do with price, but partly it's to do with the fact that smaller machines are inevitably compromised in some way or other.

Despite all this, NEC has gamely joined the market with this latest Versa. While not quite as compact as some of the models in Sony's Vaio line up, this is certainly a small, slim machine, and will doubtless draw plenty of envious looks on the train or 'plane.

On first inspection, the inevitable compromises aren't too obvious. The keyboard is, of course, squeezed into a smaller than normal space, but it's still usable and has a light, responsive action. Some of the keys are really too small - the tab key and the left Control key, for example - but nothing too damning. The trackpad is of a reasonable size, too.

The screen is, inevitably, not huge. It's a 10.4-inch TFT panel with a backlight that performs well enough in office lighting, but really isn't powerful enough to cope with even modestly bright daylight, so you're left squinting, especially as the screen's native resolution is 1024 x 768. This panel is driven by an ATI Rage Mobility M graphics chip, which shares some of its memory with the main processor, so usually you'll have about 112MB of the 128MB available for your work; more than sufficient for office work, really.

NEC - Versa UltraLite features - Verdict

Like any other sub-notebook, the Versa UltraLite has its fair share of design compromises, but the battery life available from this Crusoe powered machine is impressive, and it should appeal to the mobile professional. Once again, though, miniaturisation comes at a price.

NEC - Versa UltraLite price

£1,399 + VAT

NEC: 0870 010 6321