Asus V1S

For a business laptop, the Asus V1S is uncommonly stylish. It isn't gaudy, but the silvery grey frame contrasts wonderfully with the chrome-effect strips that highlight the lid's edges.

Weighing in at 3kg, it can hardly be described as light, but with that weight comes remarkable solidity. The base feels well up to fending off the odd knock. The same can be said of the lid, but while it feels strong, even the mildest of prods leaves ripples across the 15.4in display.

The mixed build quality extends to other areas, too. The glittery keys have a slippery finish, which isn't ideal, but each key has plenty of travel and a light action, which makes for hassle-free typing. We weren't quite so enamoured with the trackpad, which suffers due to stiff, unresponsive buttons.

The display is notable for packing in a native resolution of 1,680 x 1,050. It comes as a disappointment, then, that the Asus' display is so dim. The lack of brightness is compounded by the screen's glossy finish, and we often found our own face staring back at us, even when we weren't testing the integrated 1.3-megapixel webcam. Image quality is also beset by grain, a trait that leaves whites looking greyish.

Asus has packed the V1S with features, though. Dedicated Nvidia 8600M GT graphics might seem out of place on a business notebook, but the HDMI and VGA outputs make it easy to connect an external display at a desk. The 200GB hard disk is also the largest of all the laptops here, and backing it up is easy thanks to an eSATA port.

But despite great looks and useful business features, the Asus' Achilles heel is battery life. The power-hungry combination of a fast Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor and Nvidia 8600M graphics ran the Asus dry after just two- and-a-half hours of light use, and heavy use saw that dwindle to just over an hour.

Factor the high price in among these other weaknesses, and several other laptops here offer far greater potential.

Author: Sasha Muller