ASUS has introduced a new business class notebook, the ASUS B50A, with Centrino 2 technology, quick boot up time and water resistant keyboard. Here is more info on the new ASUS notebook:

ASUS has created an ultimate notebook computer for the business environment, packed with speed, intelligent features, and versatility – the ultimate competitive advantage for the business executive. In addition, the B50A offers the latest Express Gate that empowers users with an 8 second boot-up time for rapid access to a host of multimedia and online applications!

Built for Mobile Efficiency
Based on the latest Intel Centrinoâ2 Processor Technology platform and ASUS-exclusive Power4 Gear eXtreme power management, the B50A has an extended battery life in excess of 5 hours. The B50A also features a spill-resistant keyboard, so the notebook is protected from accidental spills of up to 120cc of liquid. Productivity is also guaranteed with a special built-in LED light for the keyboard that allows computing in dimmed meeting rooms.

Express Gate for 8 Seconds Boot-Up and Instant Online
This additional built-in operating system makes available a host of the most commonly used applications to users instantly, including web browser, instant messenger, Skype, photo manager, music player and online games. In addition, Express Gate has also effectively created two computers in one, allowing the primary user to share the use of the computer with complete peace of mind. When under the Express Gate environment, Internet access, music and photos can be shared without altering the files and setup in the Windows operating system reserved for personal use.

Power with Seamless Security
ASUS B50A is equipped with an integrated biometric fingerprint scanner that offers greater security by reading fingerprints from the underlying live layer of skin tissue. It also features a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) for secure login and encryption.

Docking Station for Efficient Connectivity
The detachable docking station is an ideal solution for quick connection of peripherals, power and communication devices. Whether at home or in the office, it offers advanced practicality and time saved when leaving and returning to the desk.

Asus B50A characteristics:

• OS: Windows vista ultimate, Windows vista business, Windows vista home premium, Windows vista home basic,
• Processors: Intel core 2 Duo T9400/P8600/P8400/P7350/T5850/T5750
• Chipset: Mobile Intel GM45 express
• Memory: DDR 2-800 up to 4 GB
• Screen: 15,4 inches WXGA/WXGA+ with ASUS splendid video intelligence technology
• Video : Intel GMA X4500HD
• SATA 120/160/250 or 320 GB
• DVD super-Multi light double layer
• Network: Intel wireless wi-Fi link 5100
• Built-in 1,3-Mp camera
• Sizes: 36,3 x 26,3 x2,5-3,57 cm
• Weight: 2,7 kg

Asus has produced many high-quality multimedia laptops, and the Asus W2W (£1789 inc. VAT) is no exception. With its strong performance, stylish design, TV tuner and high-definition compatibility, this is an impressive home media centre.

Capable of playing HD content this Asus notebook offers the ultimate in home entertainment. The high contrast display offers excellent colours for the high resolution gaming which is possible thanks to the ATi graphics. With Bluetooth and wireless connectivity this Asus model offers everything required by the demanding professional or home user.

Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 – 2.2GHz (x2), 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache
• RAM: 2GB DDR2
• Hard Drive: 250GB
• Screen: 17″ Widescreen TFT
• Optical Drive: HD DVDRW Super Multi Dual Layer
• Graphics: ATi Radeon X2600 with up to 1GB Memory
• Wireless LAN: 802.11a/b/g – Call for advice on Wireless Networking
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth Enabled
• Weight: 3.55kg
• Warranty: 2 Year Collect and Return – Upgradeable to 3 Years!
• Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate
• Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000
• Built-In Stereo Speakers
• FLash Memory Card Reader
• Fire Wire port
• Digital Tv Tuner

The brushed aluminium finish adds a contemporary look, and is one of the best looking laptops around. With its sleek blue lights and angled design, it looks just as stylish in the office as it does as the centrepiece of a home living room.

Travel use is restricted to short journeys, due to its 17-inch screen and 3.4kg weight. The 127-minute battery life limits travel use, but will keep you working between meetings. The resilient metal chassis also provides ample protection.

Media centre

With a built-in HD DVD drive and TV tuner, full media centre usability is provided. High-definition movie discs can be played back, and you can record data to standard DVDs and CDs. Analogue and digital television broadcasts can also be received and recorded to the hard drive.

With its sharp screen resolution, high-definition (HD) content is shown in all its glory. Unfortunately, brightness and colour levels aren’t as impressive and look a bit washed out. Images can be easily fed to external HD displays using the included HDMI-out port.

Gaming power is provided by a high-performance ATi graphics card. Most games run with decent speed and there’s enough power for capably editing home videos and photos.

Equally notable is day-to-day office performance. Using one of Intel’s most powerful processors, with 2048MB of memory, a strong performance is ably delivered. No matter what task you perform, the Asus consistently runs quickly and reliably.

For storing all your HD content, work and media files, the 300GB hard drive is spacious. It is also quick, so data can be accessed and saved quickly. For transferring data from your digital camera, a 4-in-1 card reader is also included.

An integrated camera above the screen, and both a remote control and headphones round off the media centre features. For fast access to all your media content, Windows Media Center is preinstalled, and quick-launch keys are located on the right side of the chassis.

Packing a comprehensive specification and good multimedia features, the Asus W2W is a complete media laptop. While its high price may put it out of reach of many home consumers, for an all-in-one mobile media centre it’s hard to beat.

Review Video:

These days, notebook PCs are becoming so commonplace that they hardly turn heads anymore; coffee joints are crowded with folks staring intently at their screens. Once in a while you’ll get to see a head-turner (I’m talking about notebooks!) and more often than not, it’s white in colour. ASUS F8P is available in two shades: Galaxy Black and Amazing White. While the black variant looks all fine and dandy, it’s the white one that will probably attract attention. However, I wouldn’t exactly label it ‘amazing’; sounds a bit too much like a tagline for toothpaste!

Jokes aside, ASUS F8P isn’t to be laughed at. The Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 shows that it means business. With the core running at 2.2GHz, it will chew through the most demanding applications (otherwise known as games). ASUS is also nice enough to bundle 2 Gigabytes of DDR2-667MHz memory with the ASUS F8P. But as usual, we’d highly recommend 4GB, especially if you have Vista Ultimate installed. Although users will only be able to use around 3GB of their memory on a 32-bit OS, it will still speed things up slightly. Microsoft won’t ship 64-bit version CDs to OEM customers so unless you buy Vista Ultimate in retail packaging, getting a 64-bit version of Vista can be a pain in the neck.

ASUS has opted to go down the ATI path for the graphics chipset. The Mobility Radeon HD 2400 has 256Mb of on-board memory and while it’s not exactly a screamer, it is better than any integrated solution. The Intel 965PM chipset in the ASUS F8P is paired with the 4965AGN Wi-Fi chipset, giving the whole bundle full Santa Rosa platform compliancy. To speed things up further, there’s also a 512MB Intel Turbo Memory module inside. It’s pretty obvious that ASUS intended for the F8P to be a performance machine and we’ll see about that later. In the meantime, storage is provided by a Seagate 160GB 5400RPM hard disk while the optical drive is a Lightscribe-capable LG DVD writer.

The LCD screen measures 14.1 inches and it has a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:10 (1,280 by 800 pixels). There’s a 1.3 Megapixel webcam perched on top of the screen which can be tilted up/down or turned 180 degrees around; come to think of it, this notebook might be handy for police interrogations. While it is clearly targeted at retail consumers (can you imagine engineers or accountants using all-white notebooks?), ASUS has decided to integrate a fingerprint reader anyway. This sits in between the touchpad buttons and while we’re on that subject matter, I have to mention that the touchpad is rather large. Not a bad thing actually, but it does stand out. The keyboard isn’t very well spaced out and the arrow keys in particular will cause problems amongst users with stubby fingers. There are also five easy access buttons but no multimedia control buttons to be found.

As far as expansion ports are concerned, ASUS F8P has a fair share. There are five USB 2.0 ports and an i.LINK (Sony’s fancy name for FireWire) port. For video connectivity, you’ll get a DVI port, as well as 15-pin D-sub and S-Video Out connectors. There are also a multi-format flash card reader and an Express Card/54 expansion slot. And not forgetting the Gigabit Ethernet and analogue modem ports, of course. The power switch is located on the side of the right hinge, which isn’t usual for ASUS, and to make sure you don’t call up tech support looking for it, there’s a “Power ->” label on the hinge!

Now, let’s see how this machine performs; the CPU coughed up a healthy 5,654 points which soundly thrashes other T7500-equipped machines by around 2-4%. Next up, the memory benchmark gave it 4,594 points which is again above average. The Mobility Radeon HD 2400 chipset managed 2,607 points which is hardly impressive, considering that NVIDIA’s 8400M GS has been known to produce scores above 3,100. We were expecting the ASUS F8P to perform slightly better (in these three departments) seeing how ASUS hasn’t scrimped on the components. Anyway, the final score of 4,907 from the hard disk drive saved the F8P’s hide as it basically trounced every other score in our table. I’d take this with a pinch of salt, as the Robson module (Intel Turbo Memory) might have something to do with it. But everything considered, the ASUS F8P is still a very capable machine, except if you’re planning to play lots of games on it. If that’s the case, take a look at the company’s G series gaming notebooks instead.

For those who want something (just a tiny) bit flashy, take a closer look at the “Amazing White” ASUS F8P. It is a fine machine with good specifications, and a head-turner too!

Review Video:

Pros: good specs, able to upgrade to blue ray easily as its penryn.
Cons: Low batt life, hard to open and close dvd drive, get dirty easily. trialware. fragile

Opinion:
overrall its a excellent laptop, has specs which are awesome and considering the price factor its great. it has almost everything required hardware wise. but alot are being sacrifice in trade for the specs at the price solded

able to swap the dvd drive out for a blue ray drive out i hope. as i was told most laptop are able to do it. haven try the function yet for this model.

but, the battery life is extremely low. even in battery saving mode lowest laptop performance, it doesn last beyond 2 hrs. in terms of usage outdoors it lose to many other models that appear at the same time as it as they can got to 4 or 6 hrs at maximum laptop performance.

the dvd drive is hard to open easily, as its cave inwards to the base. u need to spend 30 seconds trying to grope for the opening button or turn the laptop to open the drive, and not only is it a hassle to open, closing it is even troublesome half the time the dvd drive will be stuck and be unable to close and you have to lift the dvd tray and try to fiddle it into the drive.(manufacture problem?)

also it gets dirty easily as there are many nooks and cranny especially at the top of the keyboard those indented lines which i feel does nothing,i have been using the laptop for 2 mths so far and i need to clean that area consistantly as it traps dirt easily. a smooth surface will be so much more better.

to add there is a windows office 2007 trialware which wasn stated when you purchase it so you are in a way force to buy a windows office when you already own a windows office 2003 or etc which is still working fine on a vista premium. to add norton security internet 60 days trialware only.they should make them optional as i feel alot of people prefer to see what they wish to add into the laptop. or charge abit more and give us 1 year worth of norton usage.

lastly its fragile, the laptop feels like a piece of tissue paper compare to a toshiba which feels like a piece of paper. its casing is not something that will survive its first drop even at 20cm. there isn any lock clasp to securely close the laptop.

in all despite all the negative points, the specs really can make up the shortfalls of the laptop. just be very careful when you move about with the laptop.

Asustek has unveiled details of their new Asus M51Sn 15.4-inch entertainment notebook, which features the new Intel Core 2 Duo “Penryn” 45-nanometer processor and an upcoming Nvidia GeForce 9M series video card.

The Asus M51Sn comes with the Core 2 Duo “Penryn” T8100, T8300, T9300 or T9500 CPU, with speeds from 2.1 GHz to 2.6 GHz. According to a specifications sheet, the notebook will be also available with 65-nanometer Core 2 Duo “Merom” processors. The Nvidia GeForce 9500M GS video card in the M51Sn has 512MB of dedicated video memory, supports DirectX 10 games, and manages a 15.4″ WXGA, WXGA+, or WSXGA+ glossy display. The laptop has up to 4GB of system memory, up to 250GB of 5,400rpm hard drive storage, and a DVD burner, HD DVD ROM, or Blu-Ray optical drive.

The M51Sn incorporates the Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN or Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG connection, an optional Bluetooth module, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a 56k modem.

Other features of this multimedia notebook include a built-in 1.3-megapixel camera, a fingerprint reader, an optional TV tuner, an ExpressCard slot, four USB ports, VGA, DVI-D, and S-Video outputs, a 8-in-1 media card reader, and a Firewire port. This laptop has a keyboard with a numeric pad.

The Asus M51Sn weighs around 6.5 pounds with a 6-cell battery and runs Windows Vista operating system.

Its pricing and availability date are currently unknown.

ASUS has recently unveiled X80LE-4P099H Notebook PC in the Korea market. This low-end Laptop is powered by Intel Celeron 550 processor. It features Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, 120GB of SATA drive, 1GB of DDR2 memory expandable up to 2GB and support for SPDIF slot. You can purchase ASUS X80LE-4P099H Notebook PC from ASUS’s online shop. The notebook comes with a 2 year warranty and online support. It is expected to be available at 600,000(KRW).

Enjoy revolutionary entertainment on the go – Intel Core2 Duo processor in G1SN-AK014C enables breakthrough mobile performance, new high-definition capabilities and improved battery life. The LCD cover with special in-mold decoration design not only gives the notebook an instant game machine identity that simply stands out from the generic notebook design but it also makes the surface more resistant from paint chipping off. With Direct Flash sidelights, gaming spirit is shared when DirectX 10 support is activated for graphic intense moments.

The full-sized keyboard makes mobile gaming ergonomically comfortable while the W, A, S and D keys are especially marked with colour squares to match the rest of the notebook colour scheme for convenient access at one glance. To satisfy the most demanding viewing standards, ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology integrates different multimedia data sources to reduce noise and conversion rate for a vivid display. Users can enjoy vivid images with better contrast, brightness, skin tone and colour saturation for all video applications.

Features:

• Processor – Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 / 2.4 GHz ( Dual-Core )
• RAM – 3 GB (installed) / 4 GB (max) – DDR2 SDRAM – 667 MHz ( 1 x 1 GB + 1 x 2 GB )
• Hard Drive – 250 GB – Serial ATA-150 – 5400 rpm
• Operating System – Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• Screen – 15.4′ TFT 1680 x 1050 ( WSXGA+ ) – Color Shine
• Optical Drive – DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM with LightScribe Technology
• Graphics – NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS – 512 MB
• Bluetooth – Yes
• Notebook Camera – Integrated – 1.3 Megapixel
• Warranty – 2 years warranty

Review Video:

With the newer higher end models of notebooks coming up the market these days, the average computer user who would hard pressed to find a notebook model which can strike a fair compromise between performance and price. Most people who have a preference for mobile gaming would have to deliberate between choosing a cheaper notebook with a poor integrated graphics card, such as the Macbook or force having to fork out more money in for a higher end machine such as a Macbook-pro or an Asus Lamborghini, sacrificing mobility at the same time. Having been through the same search for find such a notebook, I would like to mention the Asus F9S, which is able to pack some power, yet not cost a bomb to buy.

The Asus F9s is really what I would call a jack of all trades, a middle man. It comes as a middle end notebook, balancing performance, mobility, utility and price all at the same time. A gaming device, a web surfing notebook or even a lightweight business equipment, it is able to fulfill all those needs to a certain extent. It comes with the technical specifications of the usual modern notebooks, a choice of a Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor from a range of 1.6ghz to 2.2ghz, a hard drive space reaching up to 160GB, in addition to a memory of up to 3GB of DDR2 ram. Coming in with a 12.1″ screen also, you can check all the other specifications of this model here.

However, the main highlight of the notebook would be it’s NVidia GeForce 8400M G graphics card, with 128Mb of dedicated video memory, in addition to a Turbo Cache of up to 896Mb. This is basically the main difference it has between the cheaper notebooks which have identical processor speeds or memory size. Taking the lower end Macbook as an example, most lower end notebooks utilise integrated graphic cards in their system, which, to put it frankly, are very weak. With a dedicated video card, it’s what sets the F9S apart from other computers around it’s price range, being able to run more graphical intensive games such as this year’s Call of Duty 4 and Command and Conquer 3, albeit barely, setting it apart as a mediocre gaming device. Another unique feature of this device would be a 1.3 mega pixel web cam located above the screen of the laptop, fully functional upon boot with a 240 degrees swivel function for those frequent internet chat users.

However, it is not without some flaws. Having just switched from an older laptop, there are several nitpicks which annoy me personally. Firstly, the general layout of the keyboard is extremely cramped up, especially at the right hand side, with several of the function keys(For example, home, page up, etc) squeezed together. Furthermore, I find the lack of a scroll button at the touch pad another minor hassle, something which I myself felt as a necessity on my older notebook. In addition, the notebook lacks a latch of sorts when you close the lid, which might cause some accidents if one were to not be careful. Still, others might consider such an idea fresh, and “zen”.

All in all, the Asus F9S is a decent choice if you’re looking for something which is able to run more efficiently than the lower end notebooks. As a jack of all trades, it’s a notebook suitable for all uses, just do not expect too much from it in terms of power.

Review Video: