ASUS S5Ne subnotebook

Subnotebooks often cost twice as much as standard sized notebooks. While many of us would like to take a load off our feet and backs when traveling or simply have no need for a large notebook, high prices mean that the average 8 lb. notebook is what we'll end up with. Enter the attractive and affordable ASUS S5Ne, which you can find at more competitive online retailers for around $1,400. The ASUS weighs a mere 2.8 lbs., making it one of the lightest notebooks available. This model boasts a 1 GHz Centrino processor, WiFi, 12.1" XGA display, an SD/Memory Stick slot and plenty of ports. Not only that, it comes with an external slim DVD/CDRW and a wireless mouse. The ASUS S5Ne, DVD/CDRW drive and wireless mouse. Design The S5Ne is an ultralight with a lovely looking pearl white and silver casing. The top is pearl while, and the rest of the notebook is silver. A translucent white plastic strip inset into the top front edge of the lid covers indicator lights for power, charging, hard disk access and WiFi. The same indictor LEDs can also be found on the front edge of the bottom clamshell on the wrist rest area, as can a single speaker. Though this is a subnotebook, it has a full size notebook keyboard, standard trackpad and an ample wrist rest area. The ASUS is a good looking unit: you don't have to buy a tier one brand to get an elegant looking, cleanly designed notebook. The PCMCIA slot, Firewire port, a USB port, modem and 10/100 Ethernet jack are located on the right side of the unit. On the left you'll find two more USB ports, a standard VGA port, DC-out (for the DVD/CDRW drive), a fan grill, SD card slot and audio in and out jacks. Other than the DC-in jack, there are no ports on the rear of the unit, and a removable Lithium Ion battery runs across the length of the back and functions as the notebook's rear feet. Horsepower Like most ultralight and subnotebooks released in the past year, the ASUS features an Intel Ultra Low Voltage Mobile Pentium M processor running at 1GHz. That's plenty fast for even demanding applications and the ASUS was faster than some of the other 1 GHz Centrinos we've reviewed. The Intel Centrino technology improves speed while keeping power requirements low. What is Centrino? It's Intel's name for their new notebook architecture released last year which combines their new Pentium M processor, 855 chipset and the Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 WiFi 802.11b (or g) network interface. The Pentium M is supposed to be significantly faster than mobile Pentium 4 processors, yet it uses less power. The M was designed from the ground up as a mobile processor where low power, heat dissipation and excellent speed performance were the goals, rather than being a shrunk down desktop processor. Centrino definitely hit the mark, and represents a very exciting technology. Top view, closed.