Sony's Vaio range of notebooks will always appeal to the fashion-conscious. As with previous models, the TX3HP is ridiculously small.

At 272mm wide, 195mm deep and weighing just 1.25kg, you'll hardly notice it in your bag.

When first opened up, we were alarmed at how much the screen flexes although, somewhat reassuringly, it doesn't have much of an effect on the display.

Squeezing the chassis in various places also resulted in a fair bit of movement. However, since the TX3HP is constructed from carbon fibre, it should be able to take a knock or two.

In our review of its predecessor, the TX2, we pointed out that there were a fair number of unhappy Sony customers in our PCW Interactive blog complaining of poor build quality. Indeed, the complaints are still coming thick and fast.

Although we didn't have any problems while we were testing the TX3HP, Sony would do well to address the problems highlighted by our readers. Improving on the paltry one-year return-to-base warranty offered as standard would be a good start.

This version of the TX3 uses Intel's Ultra Low Voltage U1300 Core Solo processor, which runs at 1.06GHz and is supported by 512MB of Ram. If you're willing to pay over £200 extra, the TX3XP model comes with a faster 1.2GHz processor and 1GB of Ram.

As you'd expect, the TX3HP struggled through our benchmarks. In Sysmark 2004 SE it hobbled to a score of 98, while the poor 3D performance of Intel's GMA950 integrated graphics were highlighted by the 3Dmark05 result of 286.

In short, this notebook is most definitely not for gaming, but it will have no problem with general office tasks, Internet browsing and movie watching.

An 80GB hard drive lies within and is cared for by Sony's G-Sensor Shock Protection system; this parks the drive's head should any severe movement, such as a fall, be detected. A super-slim dual-layer DVD writer sits on the right side, while Sony Memory Stick and SD card slots are at the front.

The 11.1in widescreen display features Sony's glossy X-Black technology, which improves the definition of images, particularly when watching movies. The native resolution of 1,366x768 provides a reasonable amount of space on the desktop without making you squint.

When viewed straight on, the display produces clear, crisp and colourful images. Viewing angles are pretty limited though, which could be a problem if you're using it to demonstrate to a small group of people.

Despite the miniature chassis, Sony has squeezed in a keyboard with decent sized keys. The touchpad also has a good feel to it, although the left and right buttons sit right on the edge of the casing and can be awkward to use.

Sony has always excelled in providing decent software with its Vaios, and the TX3HP is no different.

Along with Windows XP Professional, you get the powerful Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements (image and video editing, respectively). DVD authoring is taken care of by Roxio, while Norton Internet Security attempts to keep you safe online.

Trial versions of Office 2003, Norton Ghost and Utimaco Safeguard Privatedisk along with freeware from Google and Adobe are also provided.

If you simply want to watch a film or listen to some music, Sony's AV Mode is accessible via a button just above the keyboard. This boots outside Windows and provides quick access to all your media.

TX3HP is a stylish piece of kit and you'll certainly be the centre of attention should you pull it out on a train. And there are few ultraportables of this size with a built-in DVD writer.

However, very little has changed from the TX2 and, as is always the case with Sony, you're paying for that snazzy Vaio badge on the front - £1,498.99 is a lot of money for such a low-powered notebook.

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