If the laptop is only being used by one person, then FingerLaunch makes function keys (that are so often splattered across a laptop chassis) redundant.

I've never used a fingerprint reader for security reasons and the point was raised that features like FingerLaunch aren't used by anybody at all - and Acer had no response or research to prove otherwise.

On the note of Acer's Centrino 2 laptops, the pick of the bunch appears to be Aspire 5930G. It's a 15.4in laptop based on the Gemstone Blue design and sounds the death knell for the original Gemstone chassis, which I'd say formed the ugliest laptops of this decade.

The 5930G comes with a 15.4in 1,280x800 resolution screen, 2GB Ram, one of five new Core 2 Duo processors (dependant on configuration) and an Nvidia Geforce 9300M GS or 9600M GT graphics card. We suspect it'll be a big hit in the sub-£550 market.