An easy-to-use machine that's ideal for the less experienced laptop buyer

Vye's SX3 offers more options in your netbook for a lot more money

It can be argued that the Vye Mini V Ultra S18B (£480 inc. VAT) was the first of the current crop of 7-inch laptops. After all, it sports the same diminutive screen as the other machines tested, but instead of it being a standard panel, it's a touchscreen, so in many ways this is a UMPC instead of a traditional laptop.

The Vye Mini V Ultra S18PA (£699 inc. VAT) takes many of the ideas of Microsoft's UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) format, but marries it to more traditional laptop styling with the result being a hybrid machine. From the outset, we found this far more usable than the current crop of UMPC devices.