The release of Windows 8 last year has seen a slew of products arrive, all designed to take advantage of the operating system. ASUS have certainly not been slackers in the Windows 8 department with products like the VivoTab series and now, the VivoBook.
There are two flavours of ASUS VivoBook – the S400 ultrabook and the S200. The ASUS VivoBook S400 is highly portable with a 10-point touchscreen and plenty of processing power. You get the latest generation of Intel i7 processor in a 21mm thick chassis that’s wrapped in brushed aluminium. If you want something that looks good as well as offering lots of features, then the ASUS VivoBook has all that in spades.
So why is this going to be such a big deal for ASUS? I think that this has everything to do with the way that this tablet has been designed to take advantage of the much-maligned and misunderstood Windows 8. The 10-point touchscreen gives the user instant access to the Metro UI, making good use of the fact that touchscreen is what really works best with the new operating system.
That said, once you’ve started working and have your various documents and windows open on your desktop, running about on a touchscreen can become, well, a little tedious and time consuming. It’s also not that much fun. You just want to get the work done. This is where the VivoBook steps up and delivers. You can move between the touchscreen and the keyboard/mouse seamlessly.
The keyboard is light and quick to respond, it also has enough space between the keys to avoid that very irritating problem of smashing three keys at once. The trackpad also offers a decent amount of space and reacts well to the lightest touch. However, I tend to prefer the mouse and found that working with a portable mouse alongside the touchscreen and keyboard to be the sweet spot.
These features may all seem very, well, normal when you think of all the technology that has been released from ASUS’ stable over the past 12 months, but what makes the ASUS VivoBook such a hit, in my view, is the fact that it has managed to seamlessly integrate Windows 8, and all its foibles, into a solid device that actually works.
You can pick this ultrabook up and start working instantly. All your connectivity and processing needs are met (although not if you fancy gaming, this is not a gaming machine) and you will find enough similarities to Windows 7 working to lessen the learning curve. Go on instore and give it a try…
Tamsin