Apple laptops are the choice of designers and video editors, due to their rock-solid performance and usability. To this end, the Apple MacBook Pro (£1799 inc. VAT) is a well designed and powerful system, ideal for work and entertainment.

The 3.1kg chassis provides strong mobility and is attractively slim. Its 240-minute battery life easily keeps you working on the move. Despite its sleek build, the stylish aluminium chassis is also more than tough enough for frequent travel use.

The keyboard has large and responsive keys, and is backlit. Brightness adjusts automatically based on ambient light levels. The large touchpad is easy to use. As with all Apple systems, there is only a single mouse button, so right-clicking to access menus isn't made easy.

The 17-inch screen is stunning and by far the standout feature. Available with anti-glare or glossy screen coatings, image quality is sharp and colours are vibrant, making this one of the best laptop screens we've seen in a long time.

An integrated camera is located above the screen for photo and video-conferencing use. Pre-installed software makes it quick and easy to use. Proprietary Apple software is also installed for word processing, photo editing and web design among other tasks.

Apple and Windows

Apple systems are currently the only computers able to run every operating system (OS) on the market. Windows users can switch to a Mac and install Windows alongside the Mac OS to keep full access to their current software applications.

This is one of the most powerful 17-inch laptops you'll find. All software ran quickly thanks to an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2048MB of memory. Even when using Windows XP via Apple's Boot Camp software, performance was outstanding.

Gaming and multimedia power are equally strong, thanks to its high-performance Nvidia GPU. Apple-compatible games are scarce, but you can effortlessly use this laptop as a basic home media centre. A remote control is included for quick access to media files.

Comprehensive storage space is provided by a 160GB hard drive. With its slot-loading rewritable DVD drive, data can be easily backed up to CD and DVD. Apple makes this as easy as possible, by integrating basic disc burning tools into the operating system.

With its fantastic combination of power, style, features and mobility, the Apple MacBook Pro is as impressive a laptop as you could hope to find. Unfortunately, the price puts it into an elite group of ownership, but if you can afford it you certainly won't be disappointed.