If laptops were judged on looks alone then the VGN-S3XP would be a hands-down winner. Fortunately, this machine has the performance to match its looks.

Sony has tried continually to improve its ultra-portable offerings and this two-spindle addition to its S series range is a welcome new inclusion.

The most striking thing about the VGN-S3XP is its excellent thin-film transistor display. It uses Sony’s X-Black LCD technology, which provides a very bright picture, rich colours and strong contrast.

It is not common for the smallest and lightest notebook to also be one of the most powerful, but the VGN-S3XP achieves this through its 2GHz central processing unit and 1GB of double data rate 2 (DDR2) memory. This gives it strong core performance, but even more impressive is the 3D capabilities provided by its Geforce Go 6200 graphics card. In this configuration, it quite happily ran Far Cry at 25.91fps.

Unfortunately, this performance has a negative impact in other areas. The underside can become remarkably hot to the touch, making it uncomfortable to use. The most likely reason for this is probably because the cramped conditions inside the notebook aren’t conducive to cooling its fast-running CPU.

Despite the heat it generates, the Vaio VGN-S3XP has a surprisingly long battery life. Although it is not as impressive as the MSI Megabook S250, it still managed to last for two hours, and will last even longer when running standard desktop applications such as a word processor.

Given its size, it doesn’t have as many connectivity options as might be expected. It has just two USB ports and a single Sony Ilink S400 connector, which is not compatible with standard FireWire devices. The inclusion of a VGP-PRS2 docking station is welcome, but this drives the total price up to a whopping £1,800.

If users do not have a restricted budget, then the Vaio VGN-S3XP is an excellent all-rounder.