ET Reviews: Asus VivoBook S200

S200 is not officially an 'Ultrabook', but Asus has made sure that you won't be disappointed with the size or performance.

By Karan Bajaj, ET Bureau | Updated: Dec 03, 2012, 02.21 AM IST

Image Courtesy: www.asus.com

NEW DELHI: Anyone looking for an affordable, touch-enabled Windows ultraportable laptop is in luck, because Asus decided to launch the VivoBook S200 at a much lower price than the next touch-based competitor.

Price: Rs 39,990

Rating: ****

Specifications: 11.6-inch (1366 x 768 pixel) touchscreen, Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Intel HD 4000, Windows 8, 1.3kg.

Pros: Compact, value for money, responsive touchscreen, loud audio output, good battery life.

Cons: Poor viewing angles, small function and arrow keys, audible cooling fan noise.

It weighs under 1.3kg and is easy to carry and hold because of the tapered design. Even though the S200 is not officially an 'Ultrabook' (it doesn't meet Intel's specification), Asus has made sure that you won't be disappointed with the size or performance.

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You still get a 2 second resume from sleep and a fast Windows boot up and shutdown. The 11.6-inch touchscreen is responsive and makes all the difference when using Windows 8's tiled user interface.

The only gripe we had with the display is that the viewing angles were not so good; even a 10 degree tilt makes the colour seem washed out. The keyboard has individual keys for comfortable typing.

The VivoBook scored 4.4 on the Windows Experience Index test — not bad at all for this size of machine. Performance for browsing, office work or watching HD videos is more than adequate.

Thanks to the cooling fan (which can get a bit too loud for comfort at times), there was no overheating as well. Audio output is surprisingly loud from the device — good enough to use as a bedside music player if required.

Battery life was roughly three hours — as expected from the 2-cell battery. At the moment, the VivoBook has no competiton thanks to the price.

You can get a Windows 7 laptop with better specs and larger display for the same price (Lenovo Z580 or the HP Probook) but if you want more portability, consider Samsung's ATIV Smart PC (Rs 53,990) which can be seperated from the keyboard dock and used as a standalone tablet when required.