ASUS Best Netbook Eee PC 1004DN Released

Asus announced what might be the best netbook to date, at least in terms of specifications. We’re of course talking about the Eee PC 1004DN which was first spotted during CES back in January and at the time caused quite a stir due not only to the fact that it had a built in optical drive, but also the fact that it had an unannounced processor and chipset.

The Eee PC 1004DN carries on the style change that started with the S101, although this time around it seems like Asus has finally started to listen to its customers, as the 1004DN has two mouse buttons rather than the single large bar that many netbooks seems to favour. It also uses the new keyboard found on the 1002H, although we’ve yet to try this out four ourselves to see how good it is in use.

Specifications:

* 10-inch wide active matrix LED backlight TFT (1024600)
* Intel Atom N280 1.6GHz CPU
* Intel GN40 ICH9Mb chipset
* 1GB RAM (expansion to 2GB RAM)
* 120GB HDD
* Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
* 1.3MP Webcam
* Chicklet-type keyboard
* Hi-Definition Audio

Via infolaptop

When it comes to gaming laptop design, it seems to follow the same credo as street race cars in that LEDs are almost always present. The ASUS G50 is no exception. The plastic chassis of this laptop is decorated with an abundance of lights, from the glowing “Republic of Gamers” badge on the top lid to the LED strips at the edges of the screen. If this seems over the top, wait till you check out the metallic orange accents around the keyboard and touchpad with blue LED frame. If you bring the ASUS G50 to a LAN party, be prepared to bring your “A” game as there is little chance that you and your machine will go unnoticed.

Physical shortcut buttons are nowhere to be found. Instead, a mirrored panel at the top of the keyboard shines with touch-sensitive icons when the system is switched on. These allow the touchpad to be disabled, modify power settings (battery saving, high performance, entertainment mode and quiet office) and select screen profiles (soft, vivid and theater). A feature unique to ASUS is the ExpressGate button, which launches a quick pre-boot Linux environment that allows Web surfing, emailing, multimedia playback, etc. without having to log in to Windows.

Last but not least, ASUS somehow managed to cram in a discrete numeric pad and directional keys without affecting the size of the individual keys, making it almost as comfortable as a standard desktop keyboard. This is also the reason for the touchpad to be slightly off-center as it is positioned directly under the spacebar. During actual use, we did not find this to be an issue.

The ASUS G50 specs:
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9600/T9400/P8600/P8400/P7350
Mobile Intel® PM45 Express Chipset +ICH9M-E
Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5100
Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
DDR2 800MHz SDRAM, up to 4GB
Nvidia GeForce 9700M GT, with 512MB GDDR3 VRAM
Intel® Turbo Memory Technology with 2GB NANDFlash(optional)
15.4″ WXGA+/WSXGA+ Color-Shine
15.6″ WXGA Color-Shine
Dual hard drive & Single hard drive (optional); 640G(320Gx2) 5400rpm; 500G(250Gx2) 5400rpm; 400G(200Gx2) 7200rpm; 200GB,7200rpm
DVD Super Multi Double Layer/ Light Scribe/ DVD combo / Blu-ray DVD writer
2 Mega Pixel swivel web camera
Built-in Bluetoothâ„¢ V2.1+EDR(optional feature)
37.5 x 26.5 x 3.43 - 4.06 cm (W x D x H)

As a gaming system, there are two main features to look out for. The audio system must be good enough to replicate the strength of explosions and, if possible, simulate for virtual surround sound for a better immersive experience. The other factor is that the display should be sharp enough such that one doesn’t need to engage in pixel hunting when playing certain titles.

This may be the first time a dedicated gaming laptop is equipped with a 16:9 aspect ratio display. The 1,680 x 1,050-pixel resolution display powered by a powerful Nvidia GeForce 9700M GT video card is more than sufficient for most games play at that resolution. However, since the screen is already in a format for movie viewing it would have been nice to offer a full-HD panel like the one on the Dell Studio 1535. A Blu-ray combo drive would also have been appreciated, though for gamers, a DVD writer is adequate for now. External displays can be hooked up via the VGA or HDMI outputs. Be warned that the system gets quite hot, especially when the GPU is running at full speed.