At one time, it seemed that if you wanted a Sony laptop you'd have to pay a premium price. Increasingly, the company is offering machines are lower price points, with the Sony VAIO VGN-NR11S (£599 inc. VAT) being the latest mid-range offering.

The stylish is impressive if a little under-stated. The chassis is made from plastic with sufficient strength that it won't buckle or bend when being carried. Sony has given the casing a ribbed effect that feels nice to the touch and certainly makes it stand out.

Weighing 2.9kg, this is a semi-portable machine. With rounded corners, it isn't as bulky as similarly sized machines, and will easily slip into a carry case.

While not the most portable of weights, the VAIO delivered the best battery life in the group and at 232 minutes when running on high performance mode, you’ll find this will last even longer in saver mode – we registered a battery life of 249 minutes.

Integrated graphics

Open the lid and you'll find a 15.4-inch Super-TFT panel, which Sony refers to as X-black. This is a great screen and proved the brightest on test with an even tone across the width of the panel. As with the other machines on test, graphics are provided by an integrated solution. In this case the Intel GMA X3100, which proved slightly more reliable than the ATi chips found in the HP and Toshiba machines but only just.

When it comes to everyday use, this machine was the least powerful in the group but we were still satisfied with the performance it delivered. Better suited to standard tasks, such as internet use and writing documents and emails rather than high-level tasks, such as editing music and video, the Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 is a dual-core chip suitable for home users.

Sat squarely in the middle of the main body is the well-spaced keyboard. The keys have been squared off with a raised centre point, so you're unlikely to mis-strike keys as you type. The typing action is smooth and we found it an incredibly comfortable keyboard to use. The touchpad is also of a good size and mirrors the widescreen aspect of the display. Less impressive are the mouse buttons, which are rather small and awkward to use. That said, we found the buttons highly responsive.

Above the keyboard are two quick access buttons, labelled S1 and AV Mode. The former can be user defined and set up to start any of your favourite applications quickly. The AV Mode button is used when you simply want to watch a DVD. Press this instead of the power button and a small utility instantly loads, instead of Windows itself. We found this worked surprisingly well and it should help reserve battery life in the long term.

The Sony VAIO VGN-NR11S is a good all-round laptop. While it lacks the power of the other machines on test, this is more than compensated for with a longer than average battery life.

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PROCESSOR Intel 1.5GHz Core 2 Duo T5250
MEMORY 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM
HARD DRIVE 200GB (5400rpm)
SCREEN SIZE 15.4-inch Super-TFT
DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1280 x 800 (WXGA)
GRAPHICS CARD Intel GMA X3100
DIMENSIONS 360 x 264 x 39mm
WEIGHT 2.9kg
WIRELESS LAN 802.11a/g
ETHERNET 10/100
MODEM Yes
USB PORTS 4
FIREWIRE 1 (mini)
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows Vista Home Premium
STANDARD WARRANTY

VALUE FOR MONEY 7
PERFORMANCE 7
FEATURES 8
BUILD QUALITY 8
OVERALL 8

BATTERY LIFE 232
MOBILEMARK 2007 94
3DMARK 2003 1540