Dell XPS 13

Of the Ultrabooks released so far, the Asus Zenbook UX31 has been the best. Despite the terrible track pad, it offers Core-17 goodness and a fantastic design for £999, while you can get the 11.6-inch UX21 version for £800.

Dell hasn’t been quick to get into the market, but it has waited for rivals to make their move-something that

Dell Latitude E6420 XFR

The ruggedised Dell Latitude E6420 XFR is a fortress in a grapple design. It fits the criteria of a suite of drop and military tests, and its parts include a fast combination of an SSD and Core i7 processor that will serve you not only boot your system quickly, but make quick work of any productivity tasks. Its battery will last five hours, and with the extra 30Wh battery handy, you will easily be able to make it through the whole day without worry.