The U series from Asus has been one sort of an X factor in ultraportable notebooks for the past generation or two. Not being from a company like Dell, HP, or Lenovo, it tends to not get as much attention, but emerged as interesting alternatives. These models are most popular with PC builders and people already familiar with the Asus brand.
The Asus U1 (known in the US as the U1F) had the potential to be a big hit, as it was a sleek ultraportable that brought along LED backlighting and a great size, but was expensive and hard to find. The focus of this review, the U6, is a successor of the U1 (as are the U2 and U3), but opts for a 12.1-inch display, as opposed to the smaller U1/U2 (11.1-inch) or the U3 (13.3-inch). The notebook is still on the expensive side–though not overwhelmingly so–and it’s still aimed at the gadget lover who does not want to be caught carrying around the same notebook as everyone else. The U6E has a few interesting features to offer, and if you are looking for a high-end product, then it could be a interesting alternative to a more commonplace thin-and-light notebook.
The U6E-A1 (official model name) is a 12.1-inch notebook that weighs in at 3.46 lbs and has an optical drive. These basic specifications put it more or less in the same class as a number of notebooks, including the Panasonic Toughbook W7, ThinkPad X300, Toshiba R500, and between the Sony TZ and SZ, though this distinction is more based on size and the availability of an optical drive than anything else. The notebook runs an Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB 5400RPM disk, and Intel’s 4965AGN wireless. The U6 has a webcam, card reader, Bluetooth, and an ExpressCard slot. Intel GMA X3100 graphics mean that in this department the notebook is competitive, but not anything special. The display is LED backlit and runs at 1280×800.
Sizing in at 11.7×8.6×0.9-1.2,” the U6 is on par with some most other 12-inch notebooks, but it is not quite as compact as more expensive offerings, like the R500. The 3.5 lbs. weight is not particularly light, but means the U6 is still great for throwing in a backpack or accompanying you on a flight. The U6E does have an optical drive, whereas something like the ThinkPad X61 or Dell D430 does not.
From an aesthetic standpoint, the white U6, with its chrome accents and leather palm rest, wins major points over most of the field. Whether you like the leather or not, the rest of the notebook is a light gray that is quite sleek, and the glossy white of the display cover, combined with it’s thinness, definitely sets this notebook apart from a Dell D430 or something like that. An obvious concern is how that white leather will stand up over time–it seems like the texture will make it hard to clean, and the white will not be hiding any grime. If you are concerned about the color, then you can check out the U6S, which uses a dark brown. Colors aside, the notebook could be thinner, as the bottom section is a bit hefty, but the fact that it slopes and is thicker towards the back helps out. Our unit was tested with the 6-cell battery, which extends about an inch out of the back of the notebook, whereas the 3-cell would sit flush.
Past how the U6 looks, there is not a whole lot out of the ordinary. The keyboard uses a standard layout and is extremely manageable, so you will be typing near full speed in just a few minutes. The interior is uncluttered, and there are just three buttons that are not part of the keyboard–power, the camera hotkey, and a quick adjustment for the performance mode (battery-saver, gaming, high performance, quiet office, and entertainment modes). The cursor controls a slightly textured touchpad with two buttons and a fingerprint reader below it. This setup works well, though the buttons are too mushy, so they have to be pushed down quite far, making repeat clicking slightly annoying.
Build quality on the U6 is generally very good, but less than perfect. There is no lock on the display cover, and while the hinges seem sturdy enough, the one on the left of the display on our unit was slightly off, being raised from the rest of the frame. This did not affect performance, and though it was admittedly not a new computer when we received it, hinge quality is crucial. The notebook had almost no palm flex when in use, though the LCD could be flexed, similar to on Toshiba’s R500. The base does not feel as secure as on some other models, but the disk and other important parts seem to be protected well enough. Even though it runs a 2.2GHz processor, the notebook tended to stay cool so long as it was given sufficient room for ventilation. It got warm when doing more intensive tasks, but never enough to be a problem.
One of the advantages of buying an Asus is the software. Asus has been very good about integrating some cool added-value software into its products, and the U6 is no different. This time the highlights are LifeFrame (for the integrated webcam), Splendid Technology Utility, MultiFrame, CopyProtect, and SmartLogOn. None of these are game-changers, but between the bunch you get some slick functions, just enough to let users get the feeling that Asus is packing the notebook with useful (or semi-useful) software, not the typical bloatware. The best of the bunch is probably SmartLogOn, which allows you to log onto the system using a store photograph of your face as identification as opposed to just a password or fingerprint swipe.
The U6 might be a bit larger than some other 12-inch notebooks, but it does not skimp on I/O features. In addition to the DVD burner (with LightScribe), you get ExpressCard, a card reader, four USB slots, VGA out, ethernet, modem, mic/headphone jacks, and a wireless On/Off switch. So, you are missing some enterprise/business features, like mobile broadband and UWB, but you get pretty much everything else you are looking for.
The U6E was able to offer up performance that was commensurate with its price and build. This is to say that we were not disappointed with what the T7500 and 2GB of RAM was able to show us. 3DMark01/03 scores of 3599 and 1772 put the notebook in the same ballpark as most of the other products in its category and it’s about on par with the ThinkPad X61s. PCMark02 scores of 8705, 27358, and 915 (CPU/Memory/Hdd) and a PCMark04 rating of 5684 confirm that the U6E typically outperforms notebooks using low-voltage and ultra low-voltage processors.
The trade-off for using a standard Core 2 Duo processor as opposed to a low-voltage model is a bit of extra weight and a drop in battery life. As expected, the U6’s battery life was good, but not amazing, with typical times coming in at between 3 and 3.5 hours. This test was conducted with the notebook in the battery saver mode, wireless on, and the display at around 50% brightness. We tested with the 6-cell battery, but a 3-cell battery is also available. This reportedly runs the U6 for two hours or so.
The U6E is a solid notebook, and while it is not the newest kid on the block as far as its components are concerned, it is still a very viable choice. A year ago, this would have been near the top of the field, but now that we have seen releases of systems like the Air, a wider adoption of LED backlighting, Penryn processors, and a thinner notebooks with optical drives (as in the X300 and R500), it takes a bit more to win over buyers. The notebook is positioned somewhere in between the ultraportable and thin-and-light segment, as it runs a T7500 and has an optical drive, but uses a 12.1-inch display and weighs a very respectable 3.5 lbs. The current price, around $1600, puts it on par with similarly spec’d notebooks from big manufacturers but cheaper than top shelf ultraportables. For the right buyer–namely someone who wants portability but is willing to sacrifice battery life and weight for power/versatility–it is going to be a great choice, because not a lot of notebooks fill this particular niche.
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