NEC Versa S970 M21T0 review

NEC's Versa S970 is a laptop that's squarely aimed at business users. Its big advantage over its competitors is its hardware encryption, which keeps data far more secure than the software encryption found on other laptops.

Since laptops are mobile, there's a greater chance of your sensitive data falling into the wrong hands. Thanks to the use of Seagate's new Momentus 5400 FDE.2 hard disk, data stored on the S970 is inaccessible to anyone without the correct password. Encryption keys and passwords are stored and handled within the hardware on the disk, so there's no way a hacker can use malware to copy or view them.

Another benefit of the new Momentus disk is that the encryption doesn't affect the S970's performance as software encryption does. Instead, the Core 2 Duo T7500 and 2GB of RAM are left free to run whatever applications you need.

NEC bundles Embassy Security Center to manage secure Windows passwords, the hard disk passwords for trusted users and any other passwords that you have for applications or websites. These are protected by the hardware TPM 1.2 chip on the S970's motherboard.

All this security means that should your laptop be stolen or lost, your data will remain private. Even if the hard disk were removed and installed in another computer, the encrypted data would still be inaccessible. We tried this, and found that all Windows could see was a 128MB partition with no data on it. During testing, Standby and Sleep modes refused to work and resulted in a blue screen. However, NEC is confident that the bug will be fixed in production models.

It's strange that this version of the S970 doesn't have a fingerprint reader, as this is far more efficient for entering passwords. There's also a blanking plate above the 14.1in screen where a webcam would go. Both are clear indications of cost-cutting to cover the cost of the hard disk.

As this is a business laptop, it's no surprise to see a CardBus slot rather than the newer ExpressCard variety. The serial port will be a bonus for some, too. The VGA output is another sensible move for hooking the S970 up to projectors in meeting rooms, although the TV-out port is unlikely to be used. It's good to see a DVD writer along with wireless networking and Bluetooth, and there's both wired networking and a 56K modem to cover every situation.

The 1,280x800 resolution widescreen display isn't the best we've seen. It has average brightness and viewing angles, but the matt finish at least means no reflections from office lights. The keyboard is sensibly laid out and the keys are more than large enough for comfortable typing. Our only criticism is overall build quality. The screen flexes too much for our liking, and the plastic casing around the keyboard is much the same.

Luckily, performance hasn't been sacrificed. The overall benchmark score of 174 is respectable at this price. With 2GB of RAM, you'll be able to run multiple applications without everything grinding to a halt. Battery life is a healthy four hours and 33 minutes, and you can increase this by hitting the ECO button to reduce screen brightness and the processor's speed.

If you're looking for a business notebook to keep your data safe no matter what, this is a fine choice. You pay a premium for the hard disk, but this laptop is still good value.