Notebooks have risen in popularity not only because of their falling prices, but also because they offer great simplicity.

There's no need to plug in a monitor or keyboards when starting, for instance.

At the heart of this notebook - available exclusively from Sainsbury's - lies an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 1.5GHz, with 2GB of memory.

Combined with Nvidia's Geforce 8600M GS graphics card, which will play all modern computer games at decent settings, the system showed good performance all-round.

A whopping 250GB hard disk, one of the biggest to be found in any notebook computer, makes the MD96480 a top choice for anyone dealing with a lot of videos or music.

It doesn't miss out on other features either, with the inclusion of a webcam and a memory card reader built in. The two extremely tinny speakers didn't impress us, though, so the front-mounted headphone and surround-sound outputs are valuable inclusions.

It's a disappointment, though, to see Medion bundle with the notebook a TV tuner that must be plugged into the PC's Express Card slot, where it sticks out in an ungainly manner. It can be confusing and that extra inch makes it susceptible to damage. A large telescopic aerial, which is pretty much useless for reception in the UK, adds even more bulk.

Vista Home Premium is installed, though, and the built-in Windows Media Center software can be used to watch and record Freeview channels, as well as scheduling recordings up to 14 days in advance.

The 15.4in widescreen display shows TV and DVDs adequately, but if that's not big enough there is an HDMI port that can link the notebook up to a high-definition TV, and because HDMI also carries sound there's no need for multiple cables.

The notebook itself is covered in a slick plastic coating that makes it one of the smoothest we've felt. After a couple hours usage, the top of the device, where you place your wrists, can become hot to touch. More distractingly, the cooling fans sounded a bit like a train travelling over uneven sleepers, albeit relatively quietly.

Another flaw lies in the trackpad, which has no scroll function and is one of the smallest we have seen on a recent notebook. The keyboard, by contrast, is very well balanced and pleasant to type on.

The battery lasted a solid two hours in our DVD playback test and three hours on a light office workload. There are a number of minor niggles with the MD96480, but its benefits - performance and battery life - are excellent for £600.

Vista compatible: Yes