X-bit labs

Asus U1F: Ultra Compact High-End Notebook

Category: Mobile

by Alexander Britvin

[ 11/01/2007 | 05:11 PM ]

The U1 series is interesting for a number of non-standard solutions utilized in it. Particularly, the use of new materials (such as magnesium-aluminum alloy, robust carbon fiber, polished stainless steel), LED-based backlighting of the display, longer battery life, etc. Today we are going to take a real close look at this solution in our review!

Table of contents:

• Package and Accessories
  
• Exterior Design and Ergonomics
  
• Configuration
  
• Test Methods
  
• Performance
  
• Conclusion
  

The modern lifestyle is an active lifestyle. You have to move around to stay in touch. You don’t need extra weight on you or bulging pockets as this is not what is called mobility. To be modern, you need brain power to set and achieve your goals and you need to look elegant and stylish. An obligatory attribute of a modern businessman is a portable computer that should be different from an ordinary laptop. Such a notebook must not only be a work tool of low weight and small size, but also part of its owner’s style. So, besides broad functionality, it must have a remarkable and stern exterior design.

If there is demand, there must be supply as well. One vision of a modern hyper-mobile business notebook is offered by ASUS in its U1F model. The U1 series is interesting for its using a number of non-standard solutions. Particularly, the magnesium-aluminum alloy of the lid is covered with black piano lacquer on the outside. If you keep the lid clean, you’ll be able to use it as a mirror. The notebook’s body is made from robust carbon fiber that keeps the expensive innards as safe as possible. The moldings around the display and the bottom of the case, and the touchpad bezel are made from polished stainless steel. The keyboard is surrounded with black leather like on the ASUS S6F. The display uses LED-based backlighting instead of traditional fluorescent lamps. As a result, the lid is only 5mm thick, the battery life has got longer, and the brightness and saturation of the image have improved even visually. The notebook comes with an Intel Core Duo Ultra Low Voltage processor with a typical heat dissipation of 9W that features all the technologies you expect to find in the Core series.

In this review we’ll have a closer look at this prestige notebook. We’ll check out its accessories, its exterior and interior, and then will test it in accordance with our traditional methodology. The ASUS U1F is opposed on the market by Sony’s TX series notebooks (see our article called SONY VAIO VGN-TX1XRP Review: New Look of the Popular Laptop Family) that are similar to it in many respects, but it would be incorrect to compare them in performance tests because Sony’s products are based on single-core processors. The dual-core TZ series has not yet been tested in our labs. That’s why the U1F will pass our tests all alone, without any opponents.