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Asus U36S: Almost Perfect

19.10.2011
If you're looking for a pretty, portable notebook, Asus's U36S is pretty darn close to perfect. This super-thin ultraportable has everything you need and more--assuming you're not an audiophile. The speakers, unfortunately, leave something to be desired.

Our review model, which costs $870, is packed with a second-gen Intel processor, 4GB of RAM (upgradeable to 8GB), a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 520M graphics card, and a 640GB hard drive spinning at 5400RPM. It also features built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and it runs a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium.

But the U36S's specs aren't what's impressive--what's impressive is the pretty, skinny case design, light-yet-sturdy construction, and the excellent battery life. At its thickest, the U36S is just 1.1 inches thick. This is a bit misleading, because it's not really that thick. Most of the notebook is much slimmer at just 0.75 inches thick. The 1.1-inch thickness comes from the battery, which has a little bump less than an inch wide that juts out of the bottom of the computer.

This "jutting out" only happens if you have the 8-cell extended life battery, which Asus says will last for 10 hours. In our lab tests, the U36S doesn't perform quite as well, with 7 hours and 40 minutes of battery life. Still, this is a decent amount of time for an ultra-portable; an hour more than most of our recently-reviewed laptops in this class. With the 8-cell battery, the U36S weighs in at 3.7 pounds.

The U36S is also an extremely attractive notebook. Not only is it slim, but it's got a smooth matte-black magnesium alloy cover, simple chrome accents, and an extra thin screen. Inside, the U36S has a black chiclet-style keyboard with light blue accents, as well as two buttons atop the keyboard: a power button and a button for switching between power-saving modes. This button also allows you to switch quickly between the U36S's integrated Intel HD graphics and discrete Nvidia graphics card.

Port-wise, the U36S is average for the ultraportable category. There's no optical drive, but Asus does include Cyber-Link Blu-ray Disc Suite software, in case you want to hook up an external drive. There are threeUSBports (including one port) VGA and HDMI out ports, an Ethernet port, microphone and headphone jacks, and a Kensington lock slot. There's also a 5-in-1 memory card reader.