SINGAPORE--Instead of a wholesale refresh of its entire lineup, NEC's first Centrino 2 offerings focus mainly on mobile business professionals who value portability over power.

The Versa S5600 is a refresh of the S5500. As such, it retains the unique Enji Red chassis which incorporates an optical drive despite its light 1.9kg heft and 12.1-inch form factor. With its magnesium-alloy body and built-in Webcam, NEC intends for this machine to meet the needs of business professionals. However, we the lack of essential security features such as fingerprint sensor and TPM chip and were surprised that the harddisk was not protected with an accelerometer nor shock-mounted.

The Versa S3500 has slightly lower aspirations, aiming mainly to meet the needs of mainstream road warriors. Though it's an update of the S3300, it has been given a new dark silver shade while maintaining essentially the same chassis design. The 13.3-inch screen size is gaining popularity as a compromise between the portability of a 12.1-inch machine and the comfort of a larger 14.1-inch notebook. With a built-in Webcam, magnesium-alloy body, DVD writer and HDMI output, we feel the success of this model lies mainly in how low NEC is willing to price this product.

New products

Model name	In a nutshell
NEC Versa S5600 Click for more details	Wow factor: Decked out with a unique Enji Red chassis, the S5600 targets the business professional. Unfortunately, standard security features are sorely missed. Notable features: Core 2 Duo P9500 processor 2.53GHz 12.1-inch display Integrated graphics DVD writer Integrated Webcam 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 1.9kg Expected: August 2008 Price: Starts at S$1,999
NEC Versa S3500 Click for more details	Wow factor: Despite being an entry-level 13.3-inch portable, we like the fact that the S3500 is encased in hardy magnesium alloy. Notable features: Core 2 Duo P9500 processor 2.53GHz 13.3-inch display Integrated graphics DVD writer Integrated Webcam 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 1.9kg Expected: August 2008 Price: Starts at S$1,999