Both Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi will be built into shipping models, although Bluetooth was absent from our review unit. The Wi-Fi module worked perfectly, though, and 10/100Mbps Ethernet is also catered for.
The front-panel controls mentioned earlier, in conjunction with the touchscreen, give excellent access to the R2H's features. To the right of the screen, at the top, there's a thumb-driven mini-joystick with a push-to-select function. On the left, in the middle, is a square navigation rocker with a select button in the middle. The left and right mouse button surrogates are above this navigation button, while below it is a button that fires up the Microsoft Touch Pack's program launcher.
There are three further buttons on the right side of the screen. Two of these handle page-up and page-down duties, while the third gives access to system settings including brightness, volume, power management and screen resolution.
The top-left corner of the fascia houses a fingerprint sensor, and there's a 1.3-megapixel camera in the middle at the top with a microphone to its right. On the left-hand side, at the back, is a GPS antenna that sits flush to the system when not in use and flips up when a signal is required.
The Microsoft Touch Pack mentioned above provides access to software and services on the R2H via a UMPC-specific interface. It divides applications and services into groups: Connect, Communicate, View, Listen, Play, Tools, GPS and More Programs, offering each item in a group as a tappable icon. You can easily switch back to the main Windows XP Tablet PC Edition screen by hitting the close icon or re-tapping the button that fires it up.
The top edge of the R2H, on the left, is home to a Login button that calls up the Windows Task Manager (which handles a variety of functions, including changing passwords and logging on as a different user). Also in this group is an SD card slot, a button for activating and deactivating Wi-Fi connectivity and the power on/off switch. To the right, there's a Hold button, an AV-out connector and a full-sized USB 2.0 connector.
The left edge houses a mini USB connector, while the right edge carries another full-sized USB port, microphone and headphone ports, and the power connector. Finally, under a cover, you'll find the RJ-45 Ethernet port and the R2H Port Bar connector.
Performance
The R2H is an extremely engaging device. The hardware is well designed, and it would not look out of place on a professional's desk.
Asus offers a good mixture of mainstream accessories, like the TV adaptor, and more businesslike kit, such as the fingerprint sensor and the USB keyboard. The built-in GPS receiver and the front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera have broad appeal.
During testing we found the R2H to be a capable and compelling system that has clearly been put together with some care and attention to detail. We do, however, have some reservations. We got 3 hours and 40 minutes of continuous music playback from the system's 6,860mAh lithium-polymer battery with the screen forced to stay on. Admittedly this is over an hour more than we got from Samsung's Q1 and Asus does bundle a second 3,430mAh battery, but given that the R2H is a multimedia-oriented system with wireless and powerful audio-visual features, we'd have liked more uptime from a single cell.
The Asus R2H comes with a great bundle of accessories and shows off the Ultra Mobile PC format better than Samsung's Q1. Like the Q1, though, it does nothing that an ultraportable laptop cannot, and we're not certain that, outside a few vertical niches, it's a compelling choice.
Additional editing by Kate Macefield
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