ASUS UL30 REVIEW

The Asus UL30 is a thin and light 13.3 inch notebook powered by Intel’s Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage processor. One of the great features of this notebook is its battery life.

The UL30 comes with a brushed aluminum lid. It is sturdy with good build quality.

ASUS UL30A-A1 Specifications:
Specifications: Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 (1.3GHz, 3MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
Operating system: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (w/ SP1)
Display: 13.3-inch glossy LED-backlit 16:9 display (1366x768)
Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
Memory: 4GB DDR3 800MHz RAM (2GB x 2)
Storage: 500GB Seagate 5400.6 HDD

Price as configured: $799

Build and Design
The Asus UL30A-A1 has sleek looks. The design will appeal to both the average consumer and the business professional alike.

Build quality is good: the notebook looks and feels pretty solid. The aluminum lid protects the display from any color distortion. The keyboard is equally strong: it shows no flex at all and the screen hinges hold the display firmly in its place. There are two panels on the bottom that provide access to the RAM and Hard drive.

Screen and Speakers
The 13.3 inch LED backlit WXGA display comes with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The display shows good color saturation and contrast. The backlighting is even. But viewing angles are still average.

Speaker performance is lack-lustre. Headphones are a must if you want to listen to music on this notebook.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard features a Chiclet-style. It is very comfortable to type on. The palmrest also appears to be perfectly sized. The touchpad is an ELAN model. It offers limited multi-touch capabilities which include two-finger scrolling. The touchpad works well showing no discernible lag.

Ports and Features
Port selection is satisfactory. There are three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and VGA out. There is also a spring-loaded flush-mount SD card slot. Other features include LAN and audio in/out, Atheros AR9285G/N WiFi and 10/100 Ethernet.

Performance
Asus ships the notebook with some bloatware. Just remove them and you will see remarkable improvement in the system performance. Boot and shutdown times are good. The system has no difficulty handling 720P or 1080P HD video. 3D gaming is still very much out of question. For everyday uses like word processing, internet surfing and streaming HD video, the UL30 has more than enough power under its hood.

Heat and Noise
Heat and noise levels are within normal limits.

Battery Life
The UL30 has a gigantic 84Wh 8-cell battery. At around 10 hours, the battery life is quite impressive, but it does fall short of Asus’ claims of 12 hours.

Conclusion
The Asus UL30A-A1 is a good 13 inch thin and light notebook delivering competent performance. It has an attractive design. An excellent choice for users who are looking for a lightweight machine with good battery life.

Pros:
Great battery life
Good build quality
Satisfactory performance
Good keyboard

Cons:
Poor viewing angles
The AC adapter tends to heat up