BenQ laptops usually stand out for their style and design, but this time it's more than just . that. The Joybook S35 not only sports a slim and elegant exterior, but it also offers an impressive set of features and hardware.

The presence of a Wi-Fi N module, and HDMI and eSATA ports are scoring points for this ultra-portable laptop, but what really sets it apart is the battery life that it offers. Thanks to the ultra-low voltage processor, the laptop offers a stunning 9 hours of run time under medium load and half as much when maxed out, that too despite having a 13.3-inch screen.

Built around the Intel GS45 chipset, the laptop is powered by an Intel SU4100 processor, clocked at 1.3 GHz. There's 2 GB of RAM and a nice big 320 GB hard drive-enough to accomodate a large portion of your multimedia collection. Other standard features include 3 USB and a VGA port, audio jacks, a card reader, a Kensington lock slot and a 1.3-megapixel webcam. Finally, the machine ships pre-loaded with Windows 7 Starter. Overall, it's a good pick for people who want a slim and stylish laptop that seamlessly handles most office applications and some light entertainment. Performance-wise, it trounces many ultra-portable and entry-level laptops, especially with its processing power. For testing, we used synthetic and real-world benchmarks such as SiSoft Sandra, file compression, audio encoding and so on.

Although it's mainly the design of this laptop that catches the eye, the build quality truly complements the overall package. Even ergonomically, the S35 is comfortable except that the right-hand side [Enter] and [Shift] keys are smaller than usual, which can be irritating at times. Also, the mouse buttons are a slightly hard on the thumbs. All in all, at Rs 37,199 it's a good pick.

FOR: Good design, a roomy hard drive and very good battery life.

AGAINST: Slightly heavy for an ultra-portable.