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Asus
M2417E-DVD
Verdict: Good
battery life alongside fantastic
build quality, sleek looks and
a low weight make this our favourite
choice for the mobile professional.
You've
got to feel sorry for notebook
manufacturers sometimes - how
can they pack in all the features
users want and keep the device
portable? After all, the larger
the battery, the bigger you
have to make the chassis, and
the heavier the notebook. Nevertheless,
Asus makes a near perfect compromise
between battery life and portability,
which should win the M2417E-DVD
many admirers. |
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It's
also worth noting that our panel
of judges rated the Asus as the
most stylish notebook here, with
its brushed magnesium alloy lid
complemented by a black-and-silver
theme running throughout the chassis.
With a width of 305mm and height
of 32mm at its smallest point,
it's also sleek enough to fit
into a briefcase, while a weight
of 1.99kg means it won't weigh
you down by the end of the day.
There's only room for a 4,000mAH
battery in this minimalist design,
but thanks to the 1.7GHz Pentium
4-M chip's low power demands the
M2417E still managed to last for
three hours, 45 minutes in our
light-use battery tests. Yes,
three other notebooks beat this,
but you pay the penalty in extra
weight and girth.
The M2417E couldn't match these
excellent results in our speed
tests, with its score of 0.81
in our 2D benchmarks only good
enough for mid-table respectability.
Still, Asus can claim some kudos
as it beat two notebooks that
look better specified on paper.
No amount of performance tweaking
is going to transform this into
a games machine, though, with
the integrated SiS650 graphics
only enough for 1,411 3DMarks,
even when we dropped the settings
to 16-bit.
Asus also falls behind some rivals
when it comes to out-and-out hardware
specs, with a lowly 20GB hard
disk and mere DVD-ROM - most notebooks
here boast CD-RW capability. It's
also a shame the USB ports are
just 1.1 specification, although
the S/PDIF output and FireWire
port help to make up for this.
Another nice and surprisingly
unusual touch is that Asus includes
a miniature USB mouse, although
we found the touchpad perfectly
responsive.
We're also delighted to see WLAN
integrated into this machine,
not to mention Windows XP Professional.
Only the return-to-base warranty
will put off business buyers,
but at least this lasts for two
years.
With a solid keyboard matched
by a high-quality, well-lit screen,
there's a lot to like about the
M2417E. Businesses should definitely
take a look, as should consumers
wanting a fully featured notebook
to take on the move. The M2417E
may only cost £950, but any compromises
haven't been at the expense of
quality, merely at specification,
and that's easy enough to increase
by paying a little extra.
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