Asus V1J review

Features
The V1J is a dual-core Centrino laptop. It uses an Intel T2400 processor running at 1.8GHz plus 1GB of RAM -- a solid specification that'll cope with anything the average user throws at it. That includes games -- the V1J uses an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card so it's perfectly happy running the latest 3D titles at a decent lick.

The Seagate Momentus ST9120821AS hard drive provides an ample 120GB of space. Multimedia file hoarders may need a lot more than this, but given the fact the laptop is aimed at business users, it's not so much of an issue. Asus says it plans to release both Blu-ray and HD DVD-equipped laptops in the near future, but it's no surprise to find a standard DVD burner on the V1J. In this case it's an 8x TSSTcorp TS-L632D rewriter that can burn up to 8.5GB of data to compatible dual-layer discs.

One of the V1J's major selling points is its screen. It's one of a very small number of today's laptop displays not to feature a glossy coating. This may make images appear strangely lacklustre on initial inspection, but graphic designers and anyone else whose work demands accurate image reproduction will appreciate it. The screen runs at a 16:10 aspect ratio and we like the relatively high resolution of the panel -- it runs at a generous 1,680x1,050 pixels, which gives plenty of space for working with multiple application windows. The display is covered by Asus' 'Zero Bright Dot' guarantee -- so you'll get a replacement laptop if a single dead pixel is discovered.

Being a Centrino laptop, the V1J gives you all the usual Wi-Fi compatibility. It has an 802.11a/b/g adaptor so it can hook up to any conventional wireless network. There's also a Bluetooth adaptor, which could come in handy for synchronising with a mobile device. Alternatively, you can use the laptop's integrated infrared port, which is situated to the right-hand side.

Arguably less useful is the inclusion of an Expresscard slot -- there aren't many devices that take advantage of this connector. Business users might have preferred a PC Card slot instead, as this would have allowed them to use a 3G data card for worldwide broadband Internet access while on the move. At the time of writing the only Expresscard device we could find was a TV tuner card.

The V1J's trump card is its fingerprint reader. This is an RF electronic imaging mechanism that Asus says can read the fingerprint pattern from the live layer of skin just beneath the finger's dry outer surface layer. The company reckons it's less affected by common skin surface conditions such as dry, worn, calloused, dirty or oily skin that can impair the ability of other sensors. In our tests, it worked just fine under most conditions -- although we drew the line at deliberately developing calluses.

Using the fingerprint reader is far safer and more convenient than using passwords

Performance
We were generally impressed by the V1J's performance. It scored a very commendable 3,995 in PCMark 2005 -- far more than the multimedia-oriented A7Tc which scored 2,969 and had a very similar specification.

Gaming prowess was commendable, but the A7Tc just pipped it. The V1J scored 1,783 in 3DMark 2006 versus the A7Tc's 2,350. The V1J managed to run F.E.A.R at 21fps with the maximum detail settings (minus anisotropic filtering) enabled at a resolution of 1,024x768.

Battery life was commendable but hardly staggering. The V1J lasted 210 minutes in our MobileMark 2005 test, and 170 minutes during DVD playback -- more than long enough to watch an average movie or a few episodes of Lost.

Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Elizabeth Griffin