Asus M70S Review

Notebooks have always lagged behind desktops in speed, screen size, and until recently storage space. Asus released two new laptops, being the M70S and M50S, both of which hold the claim as being the world's first laptops with 1TB of storage space. To get this large capacity, the notebooks are equipped with two 500GB drives that can run in RAID 0 or 1, or as separate drives. Obviously this is a nice trend for notebooks, as people start storing more movies and games and want more scratch space for whatever comes their way.

For this review we are covering the M70Sa configuration notebook, which has the following specifications:

* Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
* Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.5GHz, 6MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
* 17" diagonal widescreen TFT LCD display at 1920x1200 (WUXGA, Glossy)
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 with 1GB DDR2 video memory
* Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)
* 4GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 4GB)
* 1TB Storage, 2 x 500GB Serial ATA hard disk drive (Hitachi 5400RPM)
* DVD-Burner with 2x Blu-Ray reading capabilities
* TV Tuner
* 1.3 megapixel webcam
* Fingerprint reader
* Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear): 16.2" x 11.8" x 1.7"
* Weight: 8 lbs 13.1oz with nine-cell battery
* 90W (19V x 4.74A) 100-240V AC Adapter
* 9-cell (14.8V, 5200mAh) Lithium Ion battery
* 2-Year Limited Global Warranty
* MSRP: $2,399.99

Build and Design

The design of the notebook is very basic, with a high gloss plastic surface, meshed with chrome and gloss black accents. This gives the notebook a very clean look without standing out too much. The notebook surface is similar to the Toshiba Fusion finish or the HP Imprint finish in that it holds up well to minor scratches to keep the glossy finish looking clean long past the first day out of the box.

Build quality on the Asus M70S is average; with most of the plastic feeling very solid overall. One area that does stand as needing some improvement is the screen lift point, which is weakened by the webcam pivoting area.

When you open the lid, this area tends to flex upward quite a bit working against the stiff screen hinges. Beyond that the notebook feels pretty sturdy, with little flex when you lift the notebook up by the corner and carrying it around. The extra LED lighting on the interior surface of the notebook is more subtle than what we see on most consumer notebooks. The power button and indicator lights are the only other light sources that might distract you when watching movies in a dark room.

Asus Eee PC 900 Review

The Asus Eee PC 900 is the new update to the original Eee PC ... the affordable mini notebook that shook up the notebook market in 2007. Is this $550 mobile companion the best choice for your next travel laptop? We took an in-depth look at the Eee PC 900 to find out if this latest addition to the Eee PC family offers enough performance and features to get you excited.

First, let's review the system specs for the all new Eee PC 900:

• Intel Celeron M ULV 900MHz processor
• Integrated Intel GMA 900 GPU
• 12GB of Flash-based storage (4GB onboard SSD and 8GB PCI-E mini card SSD)
• 1GB of DDR2 RAM (667MHz)
• Windows XP operating system
• 8.9-inch screen with 1024 x 600 resolution
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0, 1 VGA monitor out, headphone jack, microphone input, SD card reader (SDHC compatible), Kensington lock slot, Ethernet 10/100
• Webcam (1.3 MP)
• Battery: 4-cell 5800 mAh 7.2V Li-Ion (rated at 3.5 hours)
• Wireless: 802.11b/g Atheros
• Input: Keyboard and Multi-touch touchpad
• Dimensions: 22.5cm(W) x 17cm(D) x 2cm~3.4cm(H)
• Weight: approximately 2.2 lbs with battery, 2.8 lbs travel weight with AC adapter.
• One-year warranty

Build and Design

Like the original Eee PC, the designers at Asus had no easy task creating an attractive ultraportable notebook while also making it cheap to produce. Customers also indicated that they wanted a larger screen and a larger touchpad, so both of these features had to be incorporated into a very small footprint.

The chassis seams match up with reasonably tight tolerances, plastics feel thick (though the pearl-like white plastics look cheap) and the display hinges are molded into body with the battery. Overall, the Eee PC 900 is almost identical to the original Eee PC. The only obvious differences are the larger screen and the slightly deeper dimension (front to back) in order to accommodate the larger touchpad.

Lifting the display cover you find the same amazingly small keyboard surface found on the original Eee PC. In short, the build quality is quite high despite the low cost.

The design of the original Eee PC was something truly unique in the market. Weighing in at just two pounds and delivering a performance level similar to a full-featured budget notebook, the only notebook that came close to "directly" competing with the Eee PC in 2007 was the Fujitsu LifeBook U810 tablet PC ... which retailed for more than $1,000 last year. After the success of the original Eee PC, other manufacturers have started to flood the market with low cost mini notebooks. The Eee PC isn't the only kid on the block anymore, which is why Asus is trying to raise the bar with the Eee PC 900.

Asus U2E Review

Notebook Review

The market for notebooks with screens that are 12-inches or smaller is more popular than ever before. As increasing numbers of business professionals and average consumers are looking for thin and light notebooks to satisfy their mobile computing needs Asus has come to the table with one of the most elegant designs we've seen. The Asus U2E incorporates an 11-inch display with LED backlighting, ultra low voltage Core 2 Duo processor, thin built-in optical drive, a light-weight chassis with hand-polished stainless steel frame ... and let's not forget about the black premium leather.

Is the U2E a true masterpiece or a sub-par laptop in pretty clothes? Let's take a closer look.

Our review unit of the Asus U2E has the following specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor ULV U7500 1.06 GHz (2MB L2 Cache 533MHz FSB)
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Business
• Chipset: Intel GM965
• Memory: 3GB DDR2 667 MHz (1GB+2GB) Expandable to 4GB
• Display: 11.1" WXGA (1366 x 768) LED Backlight
• Graphics: Intel GMA X3100 Integrated graphics
• Hard Drive: 120GB 1.8" IDE HDD 4200 rpm (optional 32GB SSD + 160GB External HDD)
• Optical Drive: Super Multi DVDRW
• 8-in-1 Card Reader, 3 USB, VGA out, micro-DVI (HDMI), and LAN
• Batteries:
  • 9-Cell (rated for 6+ hours)
  • 3-Cell (rated for 2 hours)
• Dimensions:10.9" x 7.6" x 0.98"-1.1"
• Weight:
  • 2 lbs 13.5 oz with 3-cell battery
  • 3 lbs 8 oz with 9-cell battery
• Security TPM / Finger Print Reader / Smart Logon
• Supplied Accessories: Bluetooth mouse and Carrying Bag
• Asus 360 Service and Accidental Damage Protection (2-year for notebook, 1-year for battery)
• MSRP: $1,999 as configured ($2,699 with 32GB SSD and 160GB external HDD)

Bamboo laptop is star of computer show

It's not often that computers are sold on their "spiritual warmth" and "refreshing fragrance" but the star of the world's biggest IT fair was something different. Instead of shiny plastic it was encased in laminated bamboo strips. The result, said its Taiwanese makers, Asus, was "both aesthetically pleasing and good for the environment". The Eco Book was the answer, they said, to the growing concern about the use of plastics. "Bamboo is the most sustainable raw material there is," said Jellent Sun, a senior director.

"It grows very fast and therefore we decided to combine bamboo with metal, and leave out the plastic." The resulting laptop is due to go into production in June.

The computer fair, CeBIT, which opened in Hanover yesterday, took on the green theme for the first time in its 36-year history. It was met with a mixture of praise and scepticism. One company presented a notebook that claims it can "bring you to a healthier life", by "detoxifying, sterilising and exterminating the silent assassin viruses" in your working environment, thanks to its built-in ioniser.

"Admittedly the Anion computer is not going to save the planet," said Craig Martus of MSI, "but it will sweeten the air you breathe so that rather than being stuck in an office, you'll feel like you're in the mountains."

Until now it has been aeroplanes and cars which have taken the brunt of the criticism when it comes to environmental pollution. But now the IT industry is admitting that it has to cut users' energy costs - rising electricity bills are as much of an incentive as the environment - as well as improve its recycling capabilities.

"Green IT is hype," admitted Thomas Tauer of IBM Germany, "but it is an issue that will keep us busy for a long time". The industry has coined such phrases as "ecolutions" - short for the rather long-winded eco-friendly and environmental evolution and solutions - "cooler and cleaner," and "hi-tech, low carbon" in its attempt to plug the message that emissions can be reduced without computer users having to sacrifice functionality or style.

"Worldwide internet usage alone needs the equivalent of 14 power stations to run the required computers and servers, which means it's producing the same amount of carbon emissions as the entire airline industry," said Omur Canaltay, a marketing manager with Fujitsu Siemens. He was presenting the world's first O-Watt monitor, which uses no electricity when in standby mode and is due to go on sale in the spring. Use of similar products, he said, could reduce a family's electricity bill by 40%. Calculated on the grander scale of a multi-national company, the savings could run into millions. The environmental pressure group Greenpeace was on hand to provide a healthy degree of scepticism about the industry's claims.

"We're here to cut through the corporate greenspeak and find out how much is real, and how much is just PR," said Omer Einaiem, Greenpeace International media relations specialist. The organisation is using its presence at CeBIT to stress its appeal to the industry to eliminate toxic chemicals, boost energy efficiency and improve computers' life cycles so that old machines do not so readily land in unregulated and hazardous "recycling yards" in developing countries. Today it will use the fair to present a list of the most environmentally friendly IT products on the market.

Asus F8P Review

Whether you think it's the epitome of style or just plain silly, it's hard to feel undecided about the Asus F8P's appearance. Using gratuitous amounts of leather on the lid and palm rest, the notebook makes a visual statement - though what kind of statement it makes is up for debate.

Beneath its polarizing exterior, however, the 14-inch F8P looks to offer solid performance geared toward multimedia users looking for a machine providing power and portability in equal measure. With a 14.1-inch WXGA display, a 2.0GHz Core2Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, and an MSRP of $1,349 as tested, the F8P is appropriately speced and appropriately priced to compete with other high-style, high-function notebooks on the market.

Full specs for the F8P-B1W model used for this review are as follows:

• Screen: 14.1-inch WXGA (1280 x 800)
• Processor: 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (800 MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)
• Hard Drive: 160GB SATA, 5400 RPM
• Memory: 2GB RAM (DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM, 1GB x 2)
• Optical Drive: DVD Super Multi with LightScribe
• Ports and Slots: Five USB 2.0, one IEEE 1394, one ExpressCard 34, VGA, DVI, S-Video, multi-format (SD/SDHC/MMC/MS) card reader, 10/100 Ethernet, modem, microphone in, headphone out
• Wireless: Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 (256MB dedicated VRAM)
• Operating System: Windows Vista Homes Premium
• Dimensions: 13.4 x 9.6 x 1.5 inches (WxDxH)
• Weight: 5.8 pounds

Asus Announces New 8.9" Eee PC

Today Asus finally released a 9" version of the much loved Eee PC at CeBit in Germany. Rumors have been flying back and forth on this speculated model in the past, but it appears Asus finally took action and brought this larger screened UMPC to the market. Not much has changed with this model from its smaller 7" brother, with a larger 12GB SSD option being the only additional option.

From the images below you can see that the oddly placed speakers bars present on the smaller 7" model are gone, leaving a clean look you would find from a normal notebook.

Technical specifications:

• Processor: Intel Celeron M ULV 900MHz (may be changed to newer processor)
• Storage: 12GB of Flash-based storage (SSD)
• Memory: 1GB of RAM
• OS: Linux (Asus customized)
• Screen: 8.9-inch screen with 800 x 480 resolution
• Ports: 3 USB, 1 monitor, headphone jack, microphone input, SD card reader (SDHC compatible), Kensington lock slot, Ethernet 10/100
• Webcam: 0.3 MP resolution
• Battery: 4-cell 5200 mAh (rated at 3.5 hours)
• Wireless: 802.11b/g Atheros
• Input: Keyboard and Touchpad

While Asus hasn't released a US price for this notebook, they have listed a 399 Euro price for the European market. The only thing I feel is really missing from this newer model is a higher resolution to go with this larger screen, since this new model still has the same real estate found on the smaller, cheaper 7" Eee PC. One website, Daily Tech, is reporting that the resolution of the 8.9" display willbe 1024 x 600 but at this time we have been unable to confirm the availability of a higher resolution.