We dubbed the ASUS ‘The Black Box’ because, like its aeronautical namesake, it records everything. This is one of the sexiest notebooks of the bunch, with magnets instead of a screen latch helping it keep its slimline figure. Under the bonnet, nestled alongside the fastest Pentium-M processor in the roundup, is a dual analog/digital TV tuner.
Using ASUS’s Mobile Theatre, with a gunmetal back drop that looks dead sexy on this black beast, you can watch one program while recording another, or capture analogue or digital video input. Quadraphonic speakers (and a subwoofer underneath) produce one of the richest sounds of the roundup but, if they still don’t float your boat, you can use the digital or 5.1 channel analogue audio outputs.
A slimline remote control, that slots inside the unit like a PC card, also helped to make this one of the few notebooks tested to attain true ‘multimedia beast’ status.
Unfortunately the remote lives in the actual PC card slot, so you need to find it another home when you want to use a PC Card. ASUS has also thrown in features such as gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g and Bluetooth.
This is the second-lightest 17-inch model, after the lightweight Samsung. Features-wise, the ASUS is a class above the HP and Toshiba, except for a slightly lower gaming benchmark and the poor screen. At these prices it’s a shame its 1680 x 1050 LCD is the least capable at displaying the highest and lowest colour shades. Despite the steep price tag, this is a true lightweight multimedia beast and our 17- inch notebook of choice. It also takes home our Recommended Award for this roundup, because there isn’t another notebook on offer that manages to pack this kind of performance and amount of features into such a slim, stylish package.
This article appeared in the August, 2005 issue of PC Authority.
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