Now that I've had my ASUS S5N for almost a year, I thought I'd do a follow-up review. It is going to be relatively short, because there are no problems to discuss. On to the review.
Problems: None. Like I just mentioned, I have not had a single problem with this notebook. No hardware or software issues.
Design: This notebook still turns heads and I am constantly amazed, when sitting in class with 93 other students who all have laptops, how much better designed it is. It puts those plastic gray Dells to shame. Even the Vaios by Sony can't compete. The light weight of 2.8lbs means a lot when you have a backpack full of heavy books. Also the layout of the USB and other ports is very practical.
Construction: I put it loose in my backpack with 4-5 law school books every day of the week. I ride my bike to class often, so it gets a good shake around in there. I think that's a testament to how well ASUS builds their ensemble notebooks.
Screen: This was one thing I thought I had an issue with. For awhile it seemed to be dimming, but I realized it was a graphics control issue and fixed it. No issues here - screen quality is great.
Battery life: I have both the 3-cell and 9-cell. All my classes have plugs, so I typically just plug it in (the power brick is tiny, so it's not a big deal to tote it around), but when I have to use battery life, it is stellar. The low profile 3-cell gets about 2.5 hours on moderate use while the 9-cell gets close to 7 hours.
Controls/Software: One minor annoyance I had when I first got the notebook is the placement of the CTRL/FN key, but I got used to it really fast and its fine now. The ASUS power management software is stellar - it truely does optimize battery life/performance for a variety of situations.
Retailer: I bought it from ProPortable. The buying experience was top notch. I still have their screenname on my buddy list and Justin from PP has helped me out on various occasions when I had general notebook questions or questions about my ASUS (the above mentioned screen issue). A+.
One downside; the white is hard to keep clean. It's also advantage because you end up keeping your notebook much cleaner than if it were black or gray.
That's all. Just thought I'd do that, since most people just do an initial review with no follow-up.
Problems: None. Like I just mentioned, I have not had a single problem with this notebook. No hardware or software issues.
Design: This notebook still turns heads and I am constantly amazed, when sitting in class with 93 other students who all have laptops, how much better designed it is. It puts those plastic gray Dells to shame. Even the Vaios by Sony can't compete. The light weight of 2.8lbs means a lot when you have a backpack full of heavy books. Also the layout of the USB and other ports is very practical.
Construction: I put it loose in my backpack with 4-5 law school books every day of the week. I ride my bike to class often, so it gets a good shake around in there. I think that's a testament to how well ASUS builds their ensemble notebooks.
Screen: This was one thing I thought I had an issue with. For awhile it seemed to be dimming, but I realized it was a graphics control issue and fixed it. No issues here - screen quality is great.
Battery life: I have both the 3-cell and 9-cell. All my classes have plugs, so I typically just plug it in (the power brick is tiny, so it's not a big deal to tote it around), but when I have to use battery life, it is stellar. The low profile 3-cell gets about 2.5 hours on moderate use while the 9-cell gets close to 7 hours.
Controls/Software: One minor annoyance I had when I first got the notebook is the placement of the CTRL/FN key, but I got used to it really fast and its fine now. The ASUS power management software is stellar - it truely does optimize battery life/performance for a variety of situations.
Retailer: I bought it from ProPortable. The buying experience was top notch. I still have their screenname on my buddy list and Justin from PP has helped me out on various occasions when I had general notebook questions or questions about my ASUS (the above mentioned screen issue). A+.
One downside; the white is hard to keep clean. It's also advantage because you end up keeping your notebook much cleaner than if it were black or gray.
That's all. Just thought I'd do that, since most people just do an initial review with no follow-up.
