ASUS Lamborghini VX3 reviewed: not nearly as fast as the car

Last we heard of ASUS' Lamborghini VX3, we were watching it get lapped by the smorgasbord of other kit introduced at CES. Still, there's something to be said for a 12.1-inch ultraportable wrapped in sexy hues and accented with leather and Lambo badges -- unfortunately, "fast" isn't it. According to a recent test run over at CNET, the VX3 build quality was second to none, the style touches were easy to adore and the keyboard was surprisingly satisfactory. Unfortunately, the system faltered in more critical areas; partially due to the amount of bloatware that came loaded on, the 2.5GHz T9300 had a tough time surpassing other machines in benchmarking, and for folks hoping that the battery life would help negate that point, critics only yielded 67-minutes during a DVD playback test (and just 2-hours "in anecdotal use"). Even with the sluggishness, the VX3 may not be a bad choice if priced right, but considering the $3,299 sticker, we'd expect this thing to hold the pole position.

[maff @ Apr 24th 2008 8:26AM]

I for one played crysis first with robot overlords who actually preffered doom haXored onto the iphone via HD-DVD, glad that that's outathaway!

[js @ Apr 24th 2008 8:55AM]

But will it blend?

[stfu @ Apr 24th 2008 8:56AM]

will you blend?

[Lein @ Apr 24th 2008 8:30AM]

Hum, what a shame that it doesn't impress with performance, despite having what would seem to be pretty good parts. It's not every day that you run into a sub 14.1" notebook with dedicated graphics, after all.

I just hope they didn't have Google Desktop Search running alongside Vista Desktop Search at first boot. That should be a damned crime to have both running by default AT FIRST BOOT in Vista. Have it installed, not set to run at startup, so at least the end user can choose between the two.

Oh, and the price sucks.

[Flashpoint @ Apr 24th 2008 8:49AM]

$3200+?

That's absolutely ridiculous.

That's something I'd expect from apple computers.

[Lein @ Apr 24th 2008 9:03AM]

It's especially ridiculous compared to Asus' other lines of computers. They had a particular 12.1" AMD Turion X2 machine a few months back with dedicated graphics that went for under $1000. Not much bigger than this one either, if memory serves. F9dc or F8dc or something was the name. And for a few hundred extra, you could opt for a core 2 duo model, which was either F9s or F8s.

[r3loaded @ Apr 24th 2008 9:06AM]

Still cheaper than a Gallardo. I'm still saving up for one...

[RD. @ Apr 24th 2008 9:39AM]

I'd rather buy an X300 for that $$$$.

[spellprince @ Apr 24th 2008 11:01AM]

Looks like an expensive rip-off of the ACER Ferrari. I'll pass @

[Down @ Apr 24th 2008 11:25AM]

These laptops don't even look nice, they look like average-looking laptops, typical ASUS laptops.

[David @ Apr 24th 2008 5:13PM]

Easy to criticize the the look and style, but what would YOU do different, how would YOU design it? Features, style, size, option (color, mobility, connectivity, memory, etc)

[Michael LaFramboise @ Apr 24th 2008 3:31PM]

Hasn't it always been perfectly clear that you need to pay premium on stickers... and that those stickers don't make you go faster...