Asus N10J review

Asus is at pains to point out that the N10J isn’t a netbook. It’s a fully fledged laptop that just happens to include a 1,024 x 600 screen and 1.6GHz Atom processor – the core ingredients of just about every netbook out there.

But there are good reasons why it isn’t called an Eee PC. The screen is top-notch quality, with no hint of grain, while Asus packs the N10J with extras: there’s a fingerprint reader, HDMI output, Bluetooth, 802.11 draft-n WLAN, a mammoth 320GB hard disk and 2GB of RAM rather than the typical 1GB.

Perhaps the most interesting inclusion, though, is the discrete Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS graphics chip. It struggles with modern games such as Crysis, scoring just 18fps at 1,024 x 600 with Low settings, but should cope with older 3D shooters.

We were also intrigued to see Windows Vista Ultimate in place. Contrary to our expectations, it ran perfectly well on this machine, with apps such as Word 2003 launching in sprightly fashion.

Battery life was also quite impressive: at two minutes shy of five hours, the N10J will keep you going on the move. Just beware this isn’t the lightest mini-laptop here, weighing in at 1.61kg. Build quality is among the best we’ve seen, though, as is the design. Although the chassis is plastic rather than metal, it exudes a feel of understated quality.

This quality extends to the large, well-laid out keyboard and even the speakers; what they lack in treble they make up for in detail. It adds up to a flexible laptop that’sapleasure to use, being a cut above the average netbook.Just take a look at the Samsung NC10before you buy.