Thread: Asus ux30

At first glance the Asus UX30 comes across as one of the most stylish laptops. Its design resembles the Asus EeePC 1008 HA, only that this one's bigger and is more elite. It measures less than an inch in thickness and weighs merely 1.5 kg, so it is as convenient as carrying a netbook.

The absence of an optical drive ¬while adding to the slick looks - can be considered as a downside. Considering the lightness and features such as an HDMI port, a 13.3-inch glossy screen, the pre-loaded Windows Vista Home Premium and the presence of a whopping 500 GB hard drive, it's clear that this full¬fledged laptop is for stylish home users and regular travelers. Other features include 3 USB and a mini-VGA port, a 1.3 megapixel webcam and a memory card reader. Connectivity options are Wi-Fi N, gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth. Finally, the unit ships with a mouse, a mini-VGA to VGA dongle, and a recovery and a driver disc. The curved edges, aluminum brush-finish lid, slim form factor and port flaps lend to the good looks of this laptop. To add to it are the black glossy screen frame and bezel, and the ash¬black matt keyboard. Build-wise, with the strong hinges and the tough bezel, this laptop is studier than it looks. We'd say, it scores highest in design aspect.

The UX 30 performs much better than an average netbook but is slightly weaker than an entry-level laptop based on a single core processor. The UX30 is powered by an Intel Core 2 Solo U3500 processor that is clocked at 1.4 GHz. There's 3 GB RAM and the onboard graphics is courtesy an Intel GMA 4500 GPU. What's most striking is the presence of a 500 GB hard drive, which seems less needed. Nonetheless, the more the storage space, the better. Overall, this laptop will suffice for the intended audience. Mainstream office applications, such as casual Internet surfing, emails, office work and such will be a breeze.