Unlike the whisper-quiet Vostro, the Asus has a loud fan. And while I like the system's 19.3mm keys, it can't touch the luxurious feeling of the IdeaPad's padded wrist rest.

The system's 13.3-in. display matches that of the Vostro and is 0.8 in. bigger than the IdeaPad's. It offers a top resolution of 1366 x 768 but isn't as bright as the IdeaPad's screen. Graphics are top-notch with Nvidia's GeForce 310M processor, which is similar to the GeForce 320M that the MacBook Air uses.

As far as connections go, the U36JC includes two USB 2.0 ports and one port for high-speed data transfers. There are also HDMI and VGA ports, as well as separate headphone and microphone jacks. It has a flash card slot but lacks an eSATA connection for an external hard drive.

On top of 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi networking, the system has an Ethernet port for getting online. It includes Bluetooth but no options for an integrated cell-network data card for go-anywhere data access.