This notebook, which uses a 1GHz Intel Pentium III processor and 128MB of RAM, features rather too much plastic for its own good, but it is well made and thoughtfully specified, with a price that should appeal to corporate IT buyers.

In fact, several of this notebook's components are more suited to the larger office environment, such as the standard spec of 128MB of RAM, the 10GB hard drive and the CD-RW drive. This latter is built in rather than modular, as is the floppy drive, and even the Lithium Ion battery pack can only be removed by the use of a screwdriver.

Continuing the corporate theme, the 2200C has a built-in 10/100Mbps NIC, with just a single Type II PC Card slot for plug-in modules. You do get a range of ports - including USB but not serial - but these are tucked out of the way on the back panel, to minimise desktop clutter.

Ergonomically this is quite a comfortable machine, with a good keyboard layout and accessible mouse trackpad, although there are no feet so the actual angle of the keyboard can't be changed. The 14.1-inch SVGA TFT screen is reasonable and gives plenty of workspace, but with rather more brightness variation across the screen than we'd have liked.

Plastic, rather than alloy, has been used for most of the case construction of this notebook, and that means the screen backing is prone to flexing under pressure. Despite this, the construction quality seems good enough to survive a few knocks and bumps, as long as it isn't treated too roughly.

There's a Kensington lock slot and software/BIOS security to help deter intruders, and a one year RTB warranty is provided as standard, which may not be enough for companies looking to keep potential downtime to a minimum. On-site repairs would generally be preferable, but that's probably our biggest complaint about this machine, which otherwise appears to be a dependable workhorse.

AJP - 2200C features - Verdict

A sensible if unexciting notebook, the AJP 2200C could be a good bulk-buy for corporates looking for ultra-fast, semi-portable machines for their workforce. It's uninspiring, but it does the job.

AJP - 2200C price

£1,300 + VAT