At just 21mm high, the Acer TravelMate 351TEV is the thinnest notebook featured here. Enclosed in a magnesium alloy casing, not only is it tough, it also weighs a respectably low 1.8kg. And, powered by a 700MHz Mobile Pentium III chip and 128MB of system memory, it performs well too.

But the TravelMate 351TEV really stands out when it comes to connectivity. Not only is there an integrated V.90 modem and 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet module, but there is also an IEEE1394 (FireWire/iLink) port, plus Acer's integrated InvLink IEEE 802.11b wireless LAN solution, and the TravelMate also has Bluetooth capability already built in. That's a very impressive comms spec.

The Acer EasyLink module included with our review system had a floppy drive and the optional 8-speed DVD-ROM drive installed, the other option being a 24-speed CD-ROM drive. The 13.1-inch screen is bright and clear, and has a native resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels, powered by the Trident CyberBlade 8MB graphics chipset.

With the loss/theft of notebooks regularly in the news, the TravelMate has another advantage; it comes with an integrated Smart Card reader, with PlatinumSecret Smart Card software and Smart Card, giving users the chance to lock the system against unauthorised entry.

The keyboard feels well built and is positive to the touch, and a novel design feature is that the keyboard is actually curved, supposedly to make it efficient and easy to use; it certainly feels comfortable. There are five programmable quick launch buttons and a large LED-equipped button informs you when you have e-mail. Quite surprisingly, the TravelMate 351TEV we reviewed came with Windows ME pre-installed.

The Acer TravelMate 351TEV is one of the stars of this group of notebooks. Performing well and with a stunning host of connectivity options, it represents good vale for money.