NEW Asus Bamboo U6V Laptop

Considering the slick looks, high-end hardware and light weight, the U6V is for someone who needs good performance and the latest features in a small, portable package. However, if you don’t mind a regular fi nish instead of the bamboo, other good-looking ultraportables are available for a considerably lower price.

Features
This laptop is ridiculously lightweight at 1.78 kg and still has powerful hardware and all the latest features! It uses an Intel PM45 chipset and is powered by a Core 2 Duo P8400 CPU clocked at 2.26 GHz with a 3 MB L2 cache. In addition, 4 GB of DDR2 800 RAM, a roomy 320 GB hard drive, and a discrete Nvidia GeForce 9300M GPU make this ultra-portable a truly mean machine. The eSATA port lets you transfer data at high speed. The 12.1-inch screen runs at 1280 x 800 pixels, and its rim houses a VGA webcam. There is HDMI port for your HD movies and a normal VGA port as well. Other connectors include three USB ports, an Ethernet jack, audio ports, a fi ngerprint scanner, and a Kensington lock slot. Connectivity is off ered via Wi-Fi N, Bluetooth and gigabit Ethernet. Two uncommon features that the U6V off ers are a SIM card slot nestled in the battery compartment—though a 3G data module to use it with is absent—and a LightScribe enabled DVD writer. Finally, the package includes a laptop bag, a stylish beige sleeve, a matching memo pad, a lint-free cloth, and mouse. Other goodies include a quick-start guide and a system manual, Cyber Link Power2Go 6.0 on a disc, a Vista Recovery DVD, and a driver disc. The packaging is as elaborate as its contents, with everything arranged neatly inside a black multi-level box.

Build quality
The most striking aspects of the U6V are its weight and looks, largely due to the unique processed bamboo coating. The natural texture is prominent on the lid, palm rest and even the touch pad. The bundled mouse carries the exact same look, except that it isn’t coated with actual bamboo. The Asus logo on the lid is etched in quite subtly. The base, keyboard and screen frame have a metallic satin fi nish. The overall look will appeal to most people, but some might brush it off as just another fancy-looking toy. We say it’s a fi ne example of elegance and style, so try to get a feel of this laptop before buying it to make sure you like it. The U6V chassis is quite robust, but the lid is delicate. The keyboard and bundled mouse are also comfortable. We weren’t particularly happy with the touchpad buttons, though, since they are a bit too hard to press. Also, despite the matte lacquer on the bamboo surfaces, the U6V seems prone to scratches and stains.

Performance
Owing to its high-end confi guration, we had high expectations of the U6V. For testing, we used SiSoft Sandra 2009 and PCMark Vantage Professional as well as our own audio/video encoding and fi le compression tests. We also used the Crysis game benchmark to check how well the discrete GPU handles games. The performance more than satisfi ed us. Be it simple offi ce applications such as Microsoft Offi ce 2007 or more demanding ones such as the Adobe CS3 bundle, all will sail smoothly. Games can be played seamlessly at modest resolutions with low to medium quality settings. Something worth mentioning is that the generous amount of RAM and the gigantic storage capacity will take this laptop places because heavy applications and multimedia make very good use of surplus resources. In spite of being decked out with some serious hardware, the battery serves well, running for up to 3 hours and 25 minutes, which is a good thing.