Sony Vaio BZ
From £793
Sony has built a reputation for producing slick designer laptops, but the BZ range focuses squarely on the corporate market with its rather bland black casing and subdued appearance. Looks apart, it’s well built and a magnesium alloy chassis should help it to survive life on the road. However, it’s no lightweight, at a smidgen under 2.6kg.
The fingerprint scanner works well, the keyboard is sensibly spaced, and it has a neat anti-spill coating, which Sony says should save it were you to chuck a cup of coffee at it. The 15.4-inch screen is sharp and clear, and is great for watching DVDs on. Overall, the BZ is a good, dependable machine. Performance-wise, it’s average but boasts a solid build quality and a keyboard that will win it many friends in the corporate environment.
PROS Dependable with a decent keyboard
CONS Looks chunky
