Laptop-Review.eu

This time we have a little treat for you from Asus to warm up these cold days. The UL30A is Asus’ newest take on a laptop aimed at the business and student segments in which mobility is key. Besides containing a 500GB hard drive, 4GB of RAM, a ULV SU7300 processor and multi-gesture touchpad, the computer is also capable of lasting more than 14 hours on battery. Furthermore, it is based on Microsoft’s newest OS Windows 7, making it more user friendly than ever. We have quite an exciting package in store here, so let us begin.

The product was kindly lent to us by Asus.com

The reviewed configuration goes by the name Asus Ul30A QX056V; there are a total of three models within the series.

Specifications

Category
Students and business

Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo ULV SU7300 - 1.300 MHz - 3 MB L2 Cache

Chipset
Intel GS45 (Cantiga-GS) + ICH9M (Enh)

RAM
4x 1024 DDR3 SDRAM

GPU
Intel GMA 4500M HD onboard

Storage
1x 500 GB S-ATA HDD - Seagate ST9500325AS - 5400 RPM

Display
13.3 inch LCD - LED backlit - WXGA (1366 x 768px)

Sound card
Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio

Optical Drive
None

Battery
AsusTek UL50-56 battery – 16.9V

Connectivity
Atheros AR8132 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller - 100 mbps LAN
Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter - 54/150 mbps WLAN

I/Os
1x card reader (MS PRO, SD, XD, MMC and MS)
3x USB 2.0
1x HDMI output
1x VGA output
1x RJ-45 Ethernet port
1x DC-in
1x Audio in- and output jacks

OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (build 7600)

Weight and size
Height: 2.5 cm
Breadth: 32.2 cm
Depth: 23.3 cm
Weight: 1.5 kg

Price
About £575.00
Package contents



Shipped along with the computer are:
-    Manuals
-    Installation CDs
-    Velcro cable tie
-    Charger

Pretty much the standard package that includes all the bare necessities.

Construction and Design

First impression











The UL30A is primarily made of aluminium and a plastic skeleton, but it does have some brushed aluminium plating on the surface as well. The computer is simple in its design, in part because it only has two ‘excess’, buttons being the power button and the button for the secondary OS Splashtop (more on that later). The computer features beautifully rounded forms on the sides, giving it a unique character, and the black colours contrasts well with the aluminium surface, adding to the modern look.

The lid



The lid is made of brushed aluminium like the rest of the computer, giving is a shiny grey colour. The Asus logo is printed in the middle.

The front



Nothing of interest at the front except for the diodes, but more on those later.

The rear



At the rear we find nothing beside the battery, as can be seen in the picture.

The bottom



We find the battery at the top and the hard drive towards the bottom left. At the right of it are the RAM modules.

The right side



From the left we have the card reader, followed by the audio jacks. After those we have two USB 2.0 ports, an RJ-45 Ethernet LAN port, DC-in for the power supply and a Kensington lock slot.

The left side



From the left we have part of the cooling system, followed by VGA and HDMI outputs for external monitors. Lastly a USB 2.0 port.

Buttons/Diodes





The computer has two ‘extra’ buttons – one power button and one for the secondary OS SplashTop. Within Windows that button is used to change power profiles. In order to (de)activate the wireless network adapter and the like, you will have to use the FN shortcuts.

At the right of one button are two diodes. One shows the status of numlock and the other capslock.



At the front are four diodes, the first showing on/off status, the second battery status, the third hard drive activity and the fourth and final WiFi status.

Keyboard and Touchpad



The keyboard works and responds very well. There is almost no flex at all and it appears stable. One is reminded of Apple keyboards, for the keys are so widely spaced. However, the keys are more rounded.



Note there is sticker on the surface.

The touchpad stands out from most others, as it has some intuitive features here on the UL30A. We are referring to the multi-gesture technology built into it, which means you can use more than one finger simultaneously. This allows you to scroll anywhere on the touchpad by using two fingers, as well as letting you double-click by using three fingers at once. This technology works quite well in practice, although I did experience some slight delay now and then. Still, it was both functional and refreshingly different. The gestures can be programmed to other functions.
The mouse buttons themselves are less satisfying, however, as the two are merged into a single button. That means you have to click at the very edges of it, something I personally find impractical.

Display









The display measures 13.3 inches and uses LED technology. The resolution is 1366 x 768 pixels and the panel itself is called B133XW01 and made by Auo. There are 16 levels of brightness that can be controlled via the FN shortcuts.
The backlighting is homogenous or evenly distributed on the display if you prefer, and the angle of view is relatively wide. The light does get a bit white if you view if from the sides or the top, but the display is still very clear. If you view it from the bottom the top of the display starts to change colours, but it is still quite clear.

I/Os

Special Features

Splashtop OS



SplashTop OS is a secondary operating system primarily made to handle communication applications like Skype, Firefox, Chat and so on.
It works quite well in practice, even if the 8 seconds Asus claim it takes to access the internet is a bit of an exaggeration, seeing as how some programs require 5 – 10 seconds to start up. Still, it is a great deal faster than using Windows. The only downside – which we have experienced with earlier version of the SplashTop OS as well – is that the resolution is far from optimal. There are no settings that allow you to change it, which is a shame as that would be a great finishing touch to an otherwise good system.

Webcam



The webcam is a 0.3 megapixel kind and uses Asus LifeFrame software by default, which is capable of adding tons of effects to pictures. The quality of pictures is not the best (the maximum resolution is only 640 x 480), but it is good enough for those web conferences.  

Benchmark



Please note the ratings are invalid as CPU-Z constantly displayed the computer was running at 1648 MHz, regardless of profile. Besides, the CPU is not supposed to go much faster than 1300 MHz.





Windows Experience Index



The UL30A obtains a base rating of 3.4 points, determined by the lowest common denominator which in this case is “Gaming graphics – 3D business and gaming graphics performance”. This is because the computer only has an integrated GPU.

The computer is compared with Acer’s TM 8371, which has the following specifications:
-    Intel® Core 2 Duo SU9400 – 1.4 GHz – 3 MB L2 cache - 800 MHz FSB
-    Intel® GS45 (Cantiga-GS) + ICH9M
-    2x 2048 MB Samsung DDR3 SDRAM – PC3-8500 - 1066 MHz
-    Intel® GMA 4500M Shared onboard
-    1x 500 GB 5400 RPM
-    6 celled 2.8 Li-Ion battery
-    Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1 (build 6001)

The Acer TM8371 has a starting price of around £700, and you can find a review of it right here:

http://www.laptop-review.eu

Danish review - www.Laptopworld.dk

Boot times and out of standby:



Boot and out of standby times are measured from when the power button is pressed and the Windows desktop appears.

The computer starts up in about 54 – 55 seconds, which is quite acceptable and the same goes for the TM8371. I might also mention the secondary OS starts up in 8 seconds.

Battery life



Idle test settings
Power4Gear’s power profile ”Battery Saving”, brightness at 1/16, hard drive standby after 10 minutes and WiFi active.

Classic test settings
Power4Gear’s power profile ”High Performance”, brightness at 16/16, hard drive standby after 10 minutes and WiFi active.

Note that since CPU-Z’s measures were invalid, the CPU frequencies are not given.

As can be seen on the graph, the computer can run for as long as 14 hours and 46 minutes when idle, which is very impressive when compared to most other computers around. Just last week we praised Acer’s 8 hour battery life, but Asus has really raised the bar here. Inclassic mode, the UL30A lasts only an hour less than the TM8371 does in idle.

Processor



wPrime



We would expect Acer TM8371’s Intel SU9400 to be stronger in wPrime, but Asus UL30A’s Intel SU7300 overtakes it comfortably with 12 seconds, quite a large difference. It may be because the Acer was running a number of programs in the background that were affecting performance, or perhaps the reason is Windows 7 performs better than Windows Vista.



In Sandra we can see the processor performs quite poorly in relation to a cheap CPU in a desktop computer. Part of this is because Intel’s ULV processors first and foremost aim to use less power, which inevitably means lower performance.

Graphic



Both computers score relatively low in 3DMark. They are not made for gaming though, so this is not much of a surprise.

RAM



The Acer was unfortunately not taken through SiSandra’s programs, but the Asus still obtains an acceptable score.

Microsoft Office Load



In general the three programs take about 6 – 8 seconds to start up, which is alright. There are minor differences in the two computers because of programs running in the background.

Overall



Both computers score about 3200 points, decent enough for their class.

Hard disk read



The HDD reads 65 Mbs per second which is alright for a 5400 RPM drive.

Comparison
The Asus UL30A and Acer TM8371 contain many of the same hardware components, giving them fairly similar results in the benchmarks. However, the UL30A has a far superior battery life and costs some £125 less as well.

Conclusion

The Asus UL30A is a computer made for the business and student segments, in part due to the long battery life as well as its small size, making it very mobile. The computer sports decent hardware like an Intel SU7300 processor, 500GB hard drive, 4GB of RAM, multi-gesture touchpad and webcam. In addition to that it is based on the Windows 7 OS, which runs perfectly on the UL30A and makes it more user friendly as well. The 14 hour battery life should be more than enough for most and is especially nice for travelling and long days at work. If you need quick access to the internet the secondary OS SplashTop is ideal, although it lacks a better resolution to be complete.
Overall, the UL30A is a great take on a travelling companion and at around £575, you get a lot for your money. The only negative thing I have to say about this computer is that the touchpad buttons are poor to work with, since you have to click on the very edges for it to work. I find that less than ergonomic. There is no optical drive either, but you can always get an external one if you need it. All in all, this computer lives up well to what you would expect of a business and student notebook.



Pros:
Phenomenal battery life
Multi-gesture touchpad
Beautiful, thin and elegant design
Windows 7
Good keyboard

Cons:
Resolution in SplashTop OS
No optical drive

Battery:	5 / 5
Graphics:	2 / 5
Construction:	4 / 5
Mobility:	5 / 5
Software:	3,5 / 5
CPU Performance:	2,5 / 5
Innovation:	3,5 / 5
Connectionspeed:	2,5 / 5
Price:	4,0 / 5
Accessories:	2,5 / 5
Design:	3,5 / 5
Weight:	4 / 5
Performance:	2,5 / 5
Overall:	3,5 / 5