If you value privacy and security above all other features, consider the Acer Travelmate P6 business notebook. It has them in spades, from a built-in privacy filter to a proximity sensor that detects your presence. In addition, the Travelmate offers good performance in productivity apps and has excellent battery life. Its compact and lightweight build is also perfect for those that are always on the move.

The first thing that I noticed about the Travelmate is its screen, which seems dimmer and harder to make out than expected. Turns out this is by design. You can activate this Acer PrivacyPanel (Fn + F10 shortcut) to reduce the display's viewing angle from 170 degrees to 90 degrees, thus preventing prying eyes from seeing the contents of your screen. The downside is that even when the feature isn't enabled, the display itself is not as bright and is fairly reflective, too. But it's an acceptable trade-off for security, especially for folks with sensitive business documents on the Travelmate. In addition, this 14-inch screen is optimised for work with a 16:10 aspect ratio that has a bit more vertical screen space (and hence requires less scrolling).

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Acer User Sensing is another handy security feature that will appeal to business users. When enabled, it is constantly working to detect your presence. Walk away from the Travelmate and the laptop will lock itself. The reverse happens when you approach the Travelmate. The system wakes up, and if you had set up face recognition beforehand, logs you into Windows. You can also configure it to dim the screen to improve battery life. This feature worked flawlessly in my testing. However, if you rather not use facial recognition for privacy's sake, you can block the webcam using its physical shutter. In this case, there's a fingerprint reader to fall back on. The webcam shoots up to 1080p videos and photos. It's decent enough for video calls, but there are sharper ones out there.

If you need more security, there's the preloaded Acer ProShield Plus software. It comes with useful features, from restricting access to the USB ports to a file shredder function that overwrites files to prevent data recovery. You can also restrict access to the browser or specific apps to Windows Hello authenticated users. In short, the Travelmate has comprehensive and user-friendly security features that eclipse those on other business notebooks I have tried. Another big plus for business users — the Travelmate is really light at around 1.1kg. It's also sturdier (MIL-STD 810H certified) than its slim profile suggests. However, I would like stiffer hinges. The lid tends to wobble and move when I'm carrying the laptop opened, for example, when moving from desk to couch. I would also have liked two USB Type-A ports instead of the single one on the Travelmate, but that would be nitpicking.

With its 11th-gen Intel Core i7 chip, the Acer Travelmate P6 has more than enough computing power for productivity apps. It scored a solid 4,615 in the PCMark 10 benchmark. The Travelmate's generous 32GB memory probably helps, while its 1TB solid-state drive offers plenty of space and speed. Battery life is also excellent, with the laptop clocking 9hr 15min in our usual video-loop battery test at maximum brightness. With its plethora of security features, lightweight build and excellent battery stamina, the Travelmate is a great business laptop for those dealing with sensitive material or working at less secure places like a cafe or library. It's available now at the Acer Store at S$1,698 (Core i5) and S$2,098 (Core i7).

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Note: Review unit provided by Acer.