ASUS U6S ultraportable gets reviewed

ASUS certainly got our attention with its ultraportable U6S laptop, and it looks like it piqued the interest of the folks at HotHardware as well, who've now turned out a full review of the diminutive, leather-bound system. While they expectedly found a few shortcomings with laptop -- namely, lackluster battery life (even for an ultraportable) -- they found a lot more to like about it, including "excellent" performance, plenty of features (including HSDPA), low heat and noise, an always-welcome LED display, and "cool leather palm rests," although that last bit is certainly a matter of taste.Best of all, that all comes at a relatively reasonable $1,650 price tag, which leads HotHardware to declare the U6S "one of the best values in the luxury notebook niche."

[JJ @ Feb 13th 2008 4:05PM]

Fancy

[Logan Snow @ Feb 13th 2008 4:07PM]

The computer looks interesting. The leather is a new thing for me, but I don't know if I would go out and buy one right now. The battery life is definitely a big negative for me. Right now, I can get my computer to last for about 6 hours on a good day.

[kyle allen @ Feb 13th 2008 7:13PM]

i got an asus f3k-a x2 just a while ago, its an awesome laptop, but, as with this one, it has horible batory life, it barely makes it through my government class, (bout 2 hours) and thats with the backlight set to minimum! and occasionally i turn the backlight off when im not typeing. i love asus products, but they really need to work on the whole batory life issue

[Logan Snow @ Feb 13th 2008 4:07PM]

The computer looks interesting. The leather is a new thing for me, but I don't know if I would go out and buy one right now. The battery life is definitely a big negative for me. Right now, I can get my computer to last for about 6 hours on a good day.

[Dahk @ Feb 13th 2008 4:23PM]

I personally love leather-lined things, like jackets, car interiors, briefcases... so this is absolutely HAWT.

[Scar67 @ Feb 13th 2008 5:07PM]

Leather palm rests what an EXCELLENT idea.
After a few weeks they will look very shabby and then some bright spark will use some shoe polish on them and things will only get worse. What are they thinking?

[Tony @ Feb 13th 2008 6:14PM]

What, did you pull that information out of your ass?

[Andrew @ Feb 14th 2008 12:11AM]

Umm...I think most people would agree that leather ages gracefully, hence why it's commonly used in cars, jackets, wallets, etc. As it gets older, it changes the look but it still looks good.

[William @ Feb 13th 2008 5:19PM]

I've been using one of these for about 6 weeks now and other than the battery life, this machine is really a great value. The leather palm rest is a bit of a gimmick but it has held up to relatively heavy use in the last month and the machine still looks pristine (of course the question is how will it look in 2 years).

As an extra bonus, the machine will still fit in the suede sleeve it comes with even with the extended-life battery installed, whereas a typical neoprene sleeve would certainly not do the trick.

[Seoultrain @ Feb 13th 2008 5:34PM]

how is the quality of the leather?

Is it the cheap bonded type, or does it feel soft to the touch with some thickness behind it?

[Will @ Feb 13th 2008 6:25PM]

It's definitely real leather, but probably not the high quality stuff you might find being used in designer bags or such. It has a nice feel to it and you can smell the real leather scent, but it's hard to tell how thick it is (probably not very) since it is wrapped very tightly around the machine.

Since this is not being used as anything but another surface on top of an already-existing plastic case, my guess is that it is probably not the highest quality stuff. However, it still feels better than the typical plastic.

An image search for "u6s palm rest" will show a close-up.

[Mike @ Feb 13th 2008 5:27PM]

no docking station is a deal-break for me for all asus laptops (excluding the v1/v2, but they lack penryn)

[L.Rawlins @ Feb 13th 2008 5:51PM]

Why would a svelte ultra-portable, a machine implicitly designed to be used on the move have a desktop docking station though?

Surely that's an absurd hang-up to have over what is otherwise another very bold move by Asus.

If you're after added connectivity or raw power, simply buy a notebook designed to accomodate those facets of computing. Which ultimately, will not be an ultra-portable.

[Mike @ Feb 13th 2008 7:11PM]

when i get home with my laptop...

option 1:
connect flaky usb hub or two (keyboard, mouse, external hard drive, CF reader, etc.)
connect external monitor
connect power supply

option 2:
dock

[Mike @ Feb 13th 2008 7:13PM]

i also for in option 1:
connect mic
connect speakers

[KC @ Feb 13th 2008 10:13PM]

In addition to option 1:

Connect 1 Gbps network cable.
Connect webcam for Skype.
Connect external monitor (or tv out)

[Chris @ Feb 13th 2008 6:34PM]

Is there any product that we wont kill an animal to produce?

[LTM @ Feb 13th 2008 6:45PM]

if there's money to be made in this self serving greedy ass world, then no, there isn't!

[kyle allen @ Feb 13th 2008 7:18PM]

we already eat the cows innards, you want them to throw the skin back in the field, to live a long happy life?

[Skobbolop @ Feb 13th 2008 8:57PM]

love the design, hate the battery life...

[mushyho @ Feb 13th 2008 11:16PM]

So whatever happened to reviews of the U3S? because that is where this design came from ...and U3S has both integrated AND the 8400M G....

[Mark @ Feb 14th 2008 1:40AM]

Ugh, the bezel is huge and thick. I hate it. Should have just made it a 13.3"

[mushyho @ Feb 14th 2008 2:43AM]

they have a 13.3" version...its called the U3S!!!!!!!!! WHERE HAVE YOU PEOPLE BEEN? sorry but srsly this isnt Asus's first product based on that design!!

IM ANNOYED not at Mark but people in general BECAUSE NO ONE SEEMS to notice the U3S when it came out...

[ManekiNeko @ Feb 14th 2008 2:10AM]

This computer looks like an EEE that collided with a cow.

[kuyote @ Mar 3rd 2008 2:18AM]

I've had my u6s since early January. It's the best laptop I've had. You will want to get the 6 cell battery, but I am always somewhere where it stay plugged in. The leather so far has stood up great. In fact my last laptop was showing wear on the wrist rests after a couple of months. The leather seems to handle the wear better.