A media centre should be a number of things. Some days we want them svelte and neat, looking sharp under the TV, because when we’re not messing with the already oblong aspect ratio of our eyes we want to exude a bit of class. Other days we want them so quiet they can’t be heard over our delicate classical music. Power rarely comes into it, and only once in a blue moon will we cry out for any sort of all-in one model. Laptop media centres sometimes seem like overkill for something we would hope would end up in the front room. It’s like an all-in-one that you’re not completely ashamed of, boosted in credibility by the fact that you can take it around with you. Of course, close them up and you’ve got something smaller and tidier Feature-wise, the G6000 is mostly on the level. There’s a single integrated FlyTV capture card, bog-standard AC’97 audio, and the graphics are handled by the fairly average Intel 915 chipset.

Realistically you’re not going to select a media centre for its raw 3D power, so this shouldn’t be much of a concern. However, we hoped the lack of graphical voltage consumption (and the Pentium M processor) might have had a positive effect on the battery life. Under two hours is therefore quite disappointing, especially because the thing takes a good few hours to charge up. Despite this inefficiency, the 2.0GHz processor and a gigabyte of RAM means it’s certainly got enough inside for desktop performance.

Build quality is pretty solid, though there’s no clasp on the lid, which is a bit peculiar. It also suffers from excessive stiffness, so when you come to open it with one hand, the whole machine tips backwards.

Irritating, if not life threatening. The trackpad is remarkably unresponsive and frustrating. It seems to have some sort of thick plastic sticker on top of it, rendering light movements useless. The mouse buttons aren’t wonderfully placed, either, and we’re not hugely enamoured with the tiny speakers crammed either side of the keyboard. One obvious benefit of the chassis design is the lack of ventilation on the keyboard side, meaning the G6000 can run while closed without fear of melting the screen. Otherwise it is a physically inoffensive machine, despite a leaning toward the plastic. Silvery edging and black finish are fine, but we’re put off a little by the shiny rings on the edges of its too-stiff hinge, the usual proliferation of blue LEDs, and the elongated oval front edge. It’s almost crudely classy.

Versatility on the road
Mobile performance in a media centre is not the greatest concern. If you’re plugging it into a TV or an aerial source, chances are you’ll have a wall socket handy anyway. What you really need, ignoring form factors for a while, is something that will play anything you can throw at it. This manages everything up to and including 1080p HD Windows Media video, though this does stutter just slightly and causes the machine to seize up. Still, though it’s plenty able at handling playback, we were disappointed with a great deal else. The screen, despite its size, is unimpressively dull and patchy, not a great selling point in today’s market. The sound output is weak, and there’s a distinct shortage of audio ports, so running cables to a surround source might be an issue.

It’s not too far above average, and the battery life is nothing to shout about, but this is a good quality, sturdily made, useable laptop at a good price. Consider this and its perfectly functional media centre-centric features look like a real bonus, and the mildly unattractive corners just melt away.