RATING 8 PRICE £949/£1115 (EX/INC. VAT)

IN BRIEF: Combining power with mobility, the Asus is a great choice for the travelling businessperson

With a reputation established across Europe, Asus has been focusing its efforts on the UK market of late. In addition to supplying chassis designs to up-and coming laptop manufacturers, Asus also releases its own line of laptops. Adding to this range is the multimedia-focused Asus A6NE (£1115 inc. VAT).

Delivering power in a portable chassis, the A6NE is primarily aimed at mobile users needing desktop performance without sacrificing mobility. By avoiding extraneous components associated with high-powered multimedia abilities, the A6NE is able to remain a portable business machine. Well-built and stylish in a gunmetal finish, the A6NE weighs in at 3.1kg and remains light enough for extended travel stints. Measurements of 353 x 275 x 42mm provide a spacious working environment for the system, but again avoid encroaching on portability. A series of four hotkeys accompany the power button below a 15.4-inch TFT screen, adding greater accessibility.

PERFORMANCE WITH MOBILITY

An Intel Pentium M 725, running at 1.6GHz, is at the heart of the A6NE. Although bettered by several Pentium M chips, particularly in light of the recent release of the 915GM chipset, this is still a high-performance CPU. Supported by 2MB of Level 2 Cache, the A6NE adds 512MB of DDR SDRAM memory, effectively. This is a standard inclusion and a good aid to performance.

In testing, these components more than showed their worth. Under MobileMark 2002 benchmark tests, the A6NE scored an impressive 240 points. A score of this caliber guarantees a high level of performance, which was borne out in general use of the system.

A long battery life is another positive factor of the A6NE and increases the systems mobile potential further. Running for 253-minutes under test, at least half a working day of constant use can be had from the Asus. This level of battery life rarely comes hand-in-hand with such prominent mobile system performance, so it's to Asus’ credit that both factors are so successfully incorporated in the A6NE.

As mentioned above, this increased mobile performance comes at the cost of the multimedia abilities of the A6NE. An integrated Intel 855 graphics adapter sources power from only 64MB of shared memory. This configuration is only intended to provide average 3D graphics for general day-to-day work tasks and basic entertainment. DVDs and the bulk of desktop software will run well, but the line will be drawn at modern gaming and higher-resolution video output. Benchmark tests again confirmed this, as the Asus A6NE scored only 2466 under 3DMark 2001 testing. As expected, this result will be sufficient for most tasks, but will struggle heavily under advanced multimedia applications.

Adding the final touches to the Asus are good connectivity and a highly usable design. As part of the Centrino certification of the system, an Intel 2200BG wireless adapter is in place for Wi-Fi networking. The 10/100 BASE T standard provides Ethernet support, and for connecting external hardware, four USB 2.0 ports are in place, along with a single mini-Firewire connection.

The strong and well-designed chassis includes a wide keyboard for a comfortable typing action. Displaying no fl ex, and incorporating strong responsive keys, the A6NE is a pleasure to use. This is supplemented by a wide touchpad and mouse buttons that are quick to react, yet not so responsive as to cause accidental clicks. Combining powerful performance and a truly mobile design, the Asus A6NE is a premier choice for the mobile businessperson. In situations where battery life and system reliability are crucial, the A6NE should comfortably fit the bill.

PROCESSOR Intel Pentium M 725
MEMORY 512MB DDR SDRAM
HARD DRIVE Hitachi 80GB
SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE 15.4-inch TFT
DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1280 x 800 pixels
GRAPHICS CARD Intel 855
DIMENSIONS 353 x 275 x 42mm
WEIGHT 3.1kg
PC CARDS (TYPE II/III) 1/0
WIRELESS LAN Intel 802.11g
ETHERNET 10/100
MODEM Yes
USB PORTS 4
FIREWIRE 1 (mini)
STANDARD WARRANTY 2 yrs C&R
WARRANTY UPGRADE N/A
CONTACT 020 7255 1606
www.asus.com

VALUE FOR MONEY 8
PERFORMANCE 8
FEATURES 7
MOBILITY 8
BUILD QUALITY 8
OVERALL 8