X-bit labs

Asus U1F: Ultra Compact High-End Notebook (page 3)

Category: Mobile

by Alexander Britvin

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

Exterior Design and Ergonomics

The U1F is one of the first notebooks from ASUS that lack the characteristic traits of ASUS products. Covered with piano lacquer, the notebook’s lid is beveled at the front which smoothes the overall appearance somewhat. The steel moldings encircling the notebook’s body get thicker on the sides towards the back of the case, making the notebook’s front look smaller visually.

A manufacturer logo is set in the middle of the lid.

On the left of the front panel there is a built-in 4-in-1 card-reader that supports Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, MultiMediaCard, and Secure Digital formats.

To the right of the card-reader’s slot, under a tiny grid, there is the single speaker the notebook is equipped with. It is enough for giving sound to office applications, but you may want to use headphones for watching movies. The sound volume is controlled by pressing Fn together with F10, F11 and F12, which is indicated on the screen in the following manner:

There is no display lock as is typical of small notebooks. When closed, the lid is held down with special mechanisms in the display hinges that go out of the screen bezel. The display hinge is designed like a cylinder with a chrome core that remains visible even when the lid is closed. This fastening mechanism allows unfolding the notebook by an angle much narrower than 180 degrees.

With all the splendor on the outside, ASUS’ designers have done a good job on the notebook’s interior as well. Similar to the S6 series, genuine leather covers the free area on the notebook’s body, the black keyboard and touchpad matching it harmoniously. The area above the keyboard, including the hinge part, is black and glossy. This is all very beautiful, but the cleaning napkin included into the kit will have to be used quite frequently. Every touch of the lacquered surface is going to be immediately visible as a fingerprint. Dust speckles will be visible just as well.