The most common concern when choosing a laptop seems to be price – finding a laptop that meets your future needs and budget. The AJP 8050D (£1145 inc. VAT) may well be the machine to meet those requirements. The laptop shares the same chassis design as the Rockdirect Pegasus Ti (see page 26). However, to make the 8050D more affordable, AJP has reduced the specification to less cutting-edge status. Powered by an Intel 1.5GHz Pentium M processor and supported by 512MB DDR SDRAM, the laptop isn’t exactly underpowered. This was reflected in a MobileMark 2002 score of 150.

Weighing 3kg, the 8050D offers good portability, considering it has a 15.4-inch widescreen display. With a great deal of protection placed behind the panel, and an all-round build quality to match, the AJP will suit those frequently on the move. The screen offers good all-round viewing and has a wide viewing angle. The graphics sub-system on our test machine was a 128MB ATi Mobility Radeon 9700, which had a 3DMark 2001 score of 9662 – below the 10000 threshold we would have expected from such a specification.

The keyboard is well spaced and is set in the middle of the main chassis. Similar to the the Rockdirect and Evesham design, the keyboard of the 8050D is possibly its weakest feature, as the keys do not feel firmly mounted in their housings. However, we did not find any of the delay in the keys present in the Rockdirect Pegasus Ti.

Speakers are mounted either side of the keyboard and sound quality is further improved by a sub-woofer in the base of the unit. A S/PDIF socket is located on the front of the chassis, alongside headphone and microphone jacks. Fitted with a tray loading QSI DVD+RW optical drive, the 8050D can write DVDs or CD-Rs using the supplied B Recorder Gold software. The AJP 8050D offers a reasonable amount of power and with a battery life, under test of 181 minutes, users can expect to get some work done away from mains power. While we were disappointed by the keyboards quality, the overall build of the 8050D is more than satisfactory, especially at the asking price.

RATING 7
PRICE £975/£1145 (EX/INC. VAT)
PROCESSOR Intel Pentium M 1.5GHz
MEMORY 512MB DDR SDRAM
HARD DRIVE Hitachi 60GB
SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE 15.4-inch TFT
DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1280 x 800 pixels
GRAPHICS CARD ATi Mobility Radeon 9700
DIMENSIONS 353 x 254 x 35mm
WEIGHT 3kg
PC CARDS (TYPE II/III) 1/0
WIRELESS LAN 802.11b
ETHERNET Yes
MODEM Yes
USB PORTS 3
FIREWIRE 1
STANDARD WARRANTY 3 yr RTB 1 yr P&L
WARRANTY UPGRADE 1 yr extended £99 inc. VAT
CONTACT
020 8208 9739
www.ajp.co.uk  

VALUE FOR MONEY 7
PERFORMANCE 6
FEATURES 7
MOBILITY 6
BUILD QUALITY 7
OVERALL 7

BATTERY LIFE 181 mins
MOBILEMARK 2002 150
3DMARK 2001 9962