Another notebook player revamps its presence<\/p>\n
Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta, zatni@cbn.net.id<\/p>\n
If you think a built-in modem, a Bluetooth and a Wi-Fi
\ntransceiver, an infrared port, a fast Ethernet port, a DVD-ROM
\ndrive, plus more traditional multimedia capabilities are the most
\nthat notebook computer makers can stuff into their products, you
\nshould have seen the ASUS' launch of their new products at the
\nHotel Mulia in Jakarta last week.<\/p>\n
We all know the Taiwan-based ASUS for its motherboards, which
\nare so well-designed that they get counterfeited. Many of us have
\nalso been using its CD-ROM drives, video graphics, cards, and
\ncable modems. This company can really be proud of the huge number
\nof awards it has received from various PC publications over the
\nyears for its technologies and products.<\/p>\n
For a couple of years, we have also seen ASUS notebooks
\nincreasingly promoted through advertisements in local
\npublications such as InfoKomputer and PCMedia. These notebooks
\nare still far behind Toshiba, Compaq, Acer and IBM notebooks in
\nterms of popularity, but they seem to be gaining ground.<\/p>\n
I guess the name ASUS on the notebooks automatically gives
\nusers the feeling that they are buying a high-tech product with a
\nlot of features and good quality. The event last week confirmed
\nthe broad spectrum of their notebook features.<\/p>\n
Taiwan is undoubtedly the biggest source of notebook
\ncomputers, so this company is not a lone player there. Along with
\nASUS, we have Acer, MiTAC, Twinhead, and many other brands from
\nTaiwan. Even some models under U.S. brands, such as Dell and IBM,
\nare also made on this island state. According to a cover story in
\nBusiness Week, Quanta is the world's Original Equipment
\nManufacturing (OEM) notebook maker, and is also from Taiwan.<\/p>\n
As Alfredo Hui from Astrindo Senayasa, ASUS' sole distributor
\nfor Indonesia, walked me through their exhibitions in the foyer
\nof Hotel Mulia's ballroom, I kept wondering what else they could
\nadd to each of these notebooks to make it a standout?<\/p>\n
Notebook Lines.<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, as the industry leader in motherboard design
\nand manufacturing, ASUS leverages the motherboard and chassis
\ncomponents of their notebook computers.<\/p>\n
The heat produced by the processor, for example, can be a
\nproblem both in a powerful notebook used as the replacement for a
\ndesktop computer and, even so, in a so-called thin and light
\nmodel that has minimal space for air flow.<\/p>\n
Alfredo told me that ASUS specifically designs the chassis to
\nserve as a heat-sink that will dissipate the internal heat. It
\nalso developed ATDT (ASUS Dynamic Thermal Dissipation) technology
\nthat makes its notebooks cooler, without emitting too much fan
\nnoise or consuming more power.<\/p>\n
Notebooks are usually classified along several lines. They can
\nbe classified according to their portability -- with thin and
\nlight on one end, and all-in-one on the other. Usually, the thin
\nand light model is also a one-spindle design, which means that it
\ncontains only one drive.<\/p>\n
A two-spindle design means that the notebook has two rotating
\ndrives, like a floppy diskette drive and a CD-ROM drive. And then
\nnotebooks can also be classified based on the power that they
\nhave under the hood.<\/p>\n
Thin and light notebooks are not necessarily donkeys, they may
\nhave the capability to dash forward and leave our desktop
\ncomputer in the dust.<\/p>\n
ASUS has several notebook models, including the L3, L2 and L1
\nSeries, the Pentium 4-based B1 Series that features a large 15\"
\nscreen, a TruPrint fingerprint security system, and a smartcard
\nreader, the T9 multimedia Series, the mobile M2 Series with
\nswappable internal and the all-in-one A1 Series.<\/p>\n
On that particular day, however, ASUS launched its S1 Series
\nnotebook, with prices up to US$2,000, depending on the processors
\nused. ASUS seems to have a flexible arrangement with the two
\ncompeting processor makers, it can use chips made by Intel or AMD
\non its notebooks. Positioned as an ultra-portable, one-spindle
\nnotebook, this 1.9 kg machine has a very stylish look.<\/p>\n
This notebook, which ASUS claims to be the first to use Intel
\nPentium III - M CPU, allows processor upgrade up to the speed of
\n1.26 GHz. It will be difficult to find an application that will
\nrequire this level of power while you are on the road, of course.
\nWith the built-in Power Gear, users can choose a lower speed to
\nconserve battery juice, of course.<\/p>\n
Despite its 2.1 cm thickness, the notebook is still equipped
\nwith an 802.11b and a Fast Ethernet LAN support in addition to a
\nbuilt-in modem. There is no built-in Bluetooth support, however.
\nAt any rate, let us hope for a chance to do a hands-on review of
\nthis new notebook.<\/p>\n
Interesting Features: One of the other ASUS notebooks, the T9
\nSeries, comes with a module called MP3-DJ that we can pull out of
\nthe notebook. Containing a 64 MB flash memory for storage, it can
\nfunction as a stand-alone MP3 player or a voice recorder that can
\nrecord conversations and interviews for up to 4.5 hours.<\/p>\n
It can also serve as a removable storage device. So, if you
\nhave to quickly transfer several large files to another computer
\n-- so long as they do not exceed 64 MB -- you can save them into
\nthis module, take it out, and connect it to the other PC via its
\nUSB port.<\/p>\n
I think more notebooks should be equipped with this module.<\/p>\n
Of less practical value is perhaps the B1's digital SPDIF out
\ncapability that allows us to enjoy surround-sound effects through
\n5.1 audio channels with the help of the notebook's built-in AC-3
\nor DTS support. Personally, I think a notebook computer is way
\ntoo expensive for a home-theater system.<\/p>\n
As you must have guessed, during the event last week, ASUS
\nalso introduced a number of new motherboards for the PC,
\nincluding the A7N266-E. This motherboard, which used very fast
\nDual Data Rate (DDR) RAM, and nVidia's GeForce2 graphics chips,
\nwas claimed by ASUS to be the first to receive Dolby Digital
\nLabs' certification.<\/p>\n
With this motherboard, we can use Dolby's 5.1-speaker setting
\nto get a surround-sound effect usually found in a home theater.
\nUnlike the notebook, a desktop computer is less expensive and at
\nthe same time lasts longer, the idea of using it as a component
\nof a home theater system does not sound too far-fetched to me.<\/p>\n
In addition to the new motherboards, ASUS also launched a
\nseries of new video graphics cards based on nVIDIA's GeForce4.<\/p>\n
There was also the new 52X CD-ROM drive, which spins the CD
\nplatter faster than a fast hard disk.<\/p>\n
If you want to buy a bare-bones PC, however, this Taiwanese
\ncompany also offers their products, including an interesting,
\nslim, Pentium 4-based Prodigy PC that comes complete with a
\nPCMCIA slot, multimedia capability and both the 4- and 6-pin IEEE
\n1394 FireWire ports, as well as an optical SPDIF port.<\/p>\n
Indeed, ASUS also made the move into making PCs and servers,
\nalthough it may still have a long way to go down that path.<\/p>",
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