Asus W1 Carbon Grange-over-Sands
Apple fans love to lord it over PC users when it comes to computer design, but while we'll grudgingly admit that we've yet to see a desktop PC that looks as lovely as a Mac, the same isn't true for laptops.
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Asus W1 Carbon
Apple fans love to lord it over PC users when it comes to computer design, but while we'll grudgingly admit that we've yet to see a desktop PC that looks as lovely as a Mac, the same isn't true for laptops. Don't believe us? Then take a gander at the Asus W1 Carbon.
STYLISH, BUT NOT SVELT
Clad in a mixture of carbon fibre and carbon composite, the W1 Carbon (geddit?) is one of the most stylish laptops we've ever clapped eyes on. Its crisp lines and polished slate-grey finish are part of its attraction, but it was the carbon lid that really caught our eye. The W1 Carbon is a thing of beauty that will attract envious glances from anyone who claps eyes on it.
Sadly, the lid's posh finish is largely cosmetic - it's no more rigid than the plastic used on less exotically constructed laptops and worse still, is surprisingly flexible. Also, it's only held shut by weak magnets rather than a mechanical clasp and again, while this is a stylish touch, it does leave the screen susceptible to damage from stray bits and pieces when the laptop is being carried in a bag.
Nor is the W1 Carbon the most portable laptop we've ever seen. It has a huge desktop footprint and weighs a fairly hefty 3.15kg. That's not ridiculously heavy, but it's enough to put the Asus firmly in the desktop replacement category of notebooks.
PACKED WITH GOODIES
If you do decide you want to take the Carbon on the road, you can use the stylish black rucksack that comes free with the laptop. You also get a bounty of other add-ons in the box as part of the price, too. A cordless Logitech laptop mouse is a welcome inclusion, as is the remote control for media playback, and you even get a pair of Asus-branded headphones. Better still, there's also has a built-in digital TV and FM radio tuner that, together with a pseudo-Media Center application called Mobile Theatre, turns the W1 into a full-on home entertainment PC. The Carbon also has an 'instant on' feature that lets you use it to watch DVDs, listen to music and view photos without the hassle of booting up Windows
hi-spec tech
The W1 Carbon is much more than an ultra-stylish media player, of course, and the rest of its specification is more than a match for its sleek, high-tech looks. A formidable 15.4in screen sits inside that lovely carbon fibre lid and its whopping 1680x1050 resolution provides plenty of room for using two or more applications side by side. A matt coating helps keep screen glare to a minimum and the image is very crisp, with sharp contrast.
Unfortunately, Asus hasn't exploited the bumper size of the W1 to fit a large keyboard and has instead opted for a standard laptop model. It has a spacious layout and only the Function and cursor keys aren't full-size. The keyboard is comfortable to type on, helped in part by the generous 4in wrist rest that also houses a jumbo touch pad.
The Pentium M 750 processor isn't Intel's fastest mobile chip, but teamed with 1GB of DDR II memory, it's still sufficient to propel the W1 to an impressive level of performance. In fact, its 2D benchmark score is higher than some desktop PCs we've seen and easily beats that of most other high-spec laptops. 3D performance is just as impressive, thanks to the performance of its ATI Mobility Radeon X700 graphics chip.
The final piece of the performance puzzle is battery life, but even this can't let the side down. A run time of one hour and 45 minutes under heavy use and an hour longer with light use is great for a laptop of this specification.
The rest of the W1's specification is rounded out with pretty much everything anyone could want - a 100GB hard drive, slot-loading DVD+/-RW drive, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB 2, FireWire and memory card slots. Asus even reckons that there's a built-in sub-woofer, but while this small speaker on the W1's base gives a bit of bass depth to the laptop's sound, it won't rattle your fillings.
BUYING DECISIONS
The W1 carbon is a great looking laptop that offers fantastic performance in both normal applications and 3D games. If only the carbon composite lid had been a bit sturdier, it might have won a Best Buy award. As it is, it's still a top buy, as long as you treat it carefullyPROCESSOR Intel Pentium M processor 750 (1.86GHz) MEMORY 1GB 533MHz DDR HARD DISK 100GB GRAPHICS 128MB Mobility Radeon X700 DVD WRITER Matshita UJ-845 2.4xDVD+R (double-layer) 8xDVD+R 4xDVD+RW 8xDVD-R 4xDVD-RW 24xCD-R 16xCD-RW Sound Intel 8-channel High Definition Audio SCREEN 15.4in (1680x1050 resolution) PORTS 3xUSB2, FireWire, TV-Out, SP-DIF, memory card reader, infrared remote control NETWORK 56K modem, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth WEIGHT 3.2kg size 364x264x32mm (wdh) OPERATING SYSTEM Microsoft Windows XP Professional WARRANTY standard warranty details
Costly, yes; gorgeous, definitely; but the W1 Carbon also has a specification that puts most notebooks in the shade.
STYLISH, BUT NOT SVELT
Clad in a mixture of carbon fibre and carbon composite, the W1 Carbon (geddit?) is one of the most stylish laptops we've ever clapped eyes on. Its crisp lines and polished slate-grey finish are part of its attraction, but it was the carbon lid that really caught our eye. The W1 Carbon is a thing of beauty that will attract envious glances from anyone who claps eyes on it.
Sadly, the lid's posh finish is largely cosmetic - it's no more rigid than the plastic used on less exotically constructed laptops and worse still, is surprisingly flexible. Also, it's only held shut by weak magnets rather than a mechanical clasp and again, while this is a stylish touch, it does leave the screen susceptible to damage from stray bits and pieces when the laptop is being carried in a bag.
Nor is the W1 Carbon the most portable laptop we've ever seen. It has a huge desktop footprint and weighs a fairly hefty 3.15kg. That's not ridiculously heavy, but it's enough to put the Asus firmly in the desktop replacement category of notebooks.
PACKED WITH GOODIES
If you do decide you want to take the Carbon on the road, you can use the stylish black rucksack that comes free with the laptop. You also get a bounty of other add-ons in the box as part of the price, too. A cordless Logitech laptop mouse is a welcome inclusion, as is the remote control for media playback, and you even get a pair of Asus-branded headphones. Better still, there's also has a built-in digital TV and FM radio tuner that, together with a pseudo-Media Center application called Mobile Theatre, turns the W1 into a full-on home entertainment PC. The Carbon also has an 'instant on' feature that lets you use it to watch DVDs, listen to music and view photos without the hassle of booting up Windows
hi-spec tech
The W1 Carbon is much more than an ultra-stylish media player, of course, and the rest of its specification is more than a match for its sleek, high-tech looks. A formidable 15.4in screen sits inside that lovely carbon fibre lid and its whopping 1680x1050 resolution provides plenty of room for using two or more applications side by side. A matt coating helps keep screen glare to a minimum and the image is very crisp, with sharp contrast.
Unfortunately, Asus hasn't exploited the bumper size of the W1 to fit a large keyboard and has instead opted for a standard laptop model. It has a spacious layout and only the Function and cursor keys aren't full-size. The keyboard is comfortable to type on, helped in part by the generous 4in wrist rest that also houses a jumbo touch pad.
The Pentium M 750 processor isn't Intel's fastest mobile chip, but teamed with 1GB of DDR II memory, it's still sufficient to propel the W1 to an impressive level of performance. In fact, its 2D benchmark score is higher than some desktop PCs we've seen and easily beats that of most other high-spec laptops. 3D performance is just as impressive, thanks to the performance of its ATI Mobility Radeon X700 graphics chip.
The final piece of the performance puzzle is battery life, but even this can't let the side down. A run time of one hour and 45 minutes under heavy use and an hour longer with light use is great for a laptop of this specification.
The rest of the W1's specification is rounded out with pretty much everything anyone could want - a 100GB hard drive, slot-loading DVD+/-RW drive, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB 2, FireWire and memory card slots. Asus even reckons that there's a built-in sub-woofer, but while this small speaker on the W1's base gives a bit of bass depth to the laptop's sound, it won't rattle your fillings.
BUYING DECISIONS
The W1 carbon is a great looking laptop that offers fantastic performance in both normal applications and 3D games. If only the carbon composite lid had been a bit sturdier, it might have won a Best Buy award. As it is, it's still a top buy, as long as you treat it carefully
Author: Julian Prokaza
