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Printed On: | August 20, 2008, 5:50 pm |
| Category: | Mobile Computing | |
| Type: | Reviews | |
| Posted By: | Elladan | |
| Date Posted: | May 16, 2007, 8:19 am |
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Introduction & Specifications
ASUS first launched its S6 series of portable notebooks in the middle of 2006. Back then the Low Voltage Core Duo T2400 (Yonah) processor was used.
With the (rather quiet) introduction of the Ultra Low-Voltage Core 2 Duo processors, the L7200 and L7400 (Merom), ASUS has updated the S6 line with the S6Fm notebook, which features the L7200 processor alongside the 945GM mobile chipset with integrated Intel graphics.
It's clear that ASUS isn't aiming for performance here - rather the selling points of the S6Fm are style and portability. For those who demand a notebook that gives portability, decent performance and long battery life while looking stylish on the outside, the S6Fm, weighing in at 1.54kg, might just be the answer.
Specifications
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Processor & Cache Memory
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Intel® Core™2 Duo processor L7200, 1.33 GHz, FSB: 667MHz, 4MB L2 Cache
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Operating System
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Chipset
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Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipset
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Main Memory
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DDRII 667MHz, 512MB on board, expansion up to 1536MB SDRAM
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Display
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11.1" WXGA (1366x768) Crystal Shine & Color Shine TFT-LCD Asus Splendid Video Intelligent Technology
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Video Graphics & Memory
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Embedded Intel® 945GM VGA
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Hard Drive
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2.5" 9.5mm HDD, SATA 80/100/120/160 GB
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Optical Drive
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COMBO: 8X/24X24X24X; DVD Super Multi drive: 5X/8X/4X/8X/4X/24X10X/24x/8X
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Card Reader
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SD/Mini SD/MMC/MS/MS DUO/MS PRO/ MS PRO DUO/XD
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Fax/Modem/LAN/WLAN
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Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN or Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
Integrated Intel® High Definition Audio chip ( Azalia) compliant MDC fax/modem and 10/100/1000 Base T Integrated 802.11a/b/g Built-in Bluetooth™ V2.0+EDR(optional) |
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LED Status Indicator
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Power-on/Suspend
Battery Charging/full/low Storage device access Capital / Scroll / Number Lock Wireless indicator Bluetooth on status (optional feature) |
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Interface
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1 x Express card
1 x Microphone-in jack 1 x Headphone-out jack (S/PDIF) 1 x VGA port 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1x IEEE 1394 port 1 x RJ11 Modem jack for phone line 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert 1 x Wireless ON/OFF switch (Wireless Console to control Wireless/BT) |
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Hot Keys
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Function Keys:
Fn+F1 Suspend switch Fn+F3 Access to the E-mail Fn+F4 Access to the Internet Fn+F5 Brightness down Fn+F6 Brightness up Fn+F7 LCD on/off Fn+F8 LCD/CRT switch display Fn+F9 Touchpad Lock Fn+F10 Volume on/mute Fn+F11 Volume down Fn+F12 Volume up Fn+Ins Numeric Key Pad on/off Fn+Del Scroll Lock on/off Fn+C Splendid |
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Audio
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Built-in Intel® High Definition Audio ( Azalia ) compliant audio chip,
Built-in speaker and microphone |
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Keyboard
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Standard Keyboard with 83 keys
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Battery Pack & Life
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3/6/9 cells : 2600/ 5200 /7800mAh
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AC Adapter
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Output: 19V DC, 3.42 A, 65W
Input: 100— 240V AC, 50/60Hz universal |
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Dimension & Weight
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270.4mm * 191.2mm * 22.5 ~ 37 mm(W x D x H)
1.37Kg(3-cell) ;1.54Kg (6-cell) |
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Security
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Booting / HDD User Password Protection and security lock
Kensington lock hole |
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Supplied Accessories
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Optical Mouse
Carrying bag |
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Multimedia Software
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ASUSDVD XP 6.0
Power Director V3.0 DE Medi@Show V2.0 SE |
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Virus & Tool Software
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Symantec's Norton™ Internet Security 2007
Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 NERO Express V6.0 |
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ASUS Utility
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ASUS Live Update
ASUS Hotkey ASUS Power4 Gear+ ASUS Net4Switch ASUS Audio Console |
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Warranty & e-support
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2-year limited global hardware warranty
1-year battery pack warranty On-line problem resolution through web interface (BIOS, Driver update) OS (Microsoft Windows XP) install/uninstall consultation Bundled software install/uninstall consultation ASUS software supporting |
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Model
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Available color: White, Dark Brown, Yellowish Brown
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Package & Accessories, Design
Package & Accessories
ASUS isn't one to skimp on the packaging, as most people would know. The S6Fm comes in a nice looking, textured surface black box.
Inside another box we finally find the S6Fm in the included soft casing. Below that are the accessories.
ASUS has thrown in Ahead Nero for CD/DVD burning needs and another disc with some ASUS software on it, apparently for media playback. Also included is a Bluetooth mouse and accompanying charging cable and pouch. ASUS even went to the trouble of creating an ASUS-branded cable tie for keeping the AC adapter's cables neat.
The charger is nothing special though, it's just a typical power brick + cable.
The inclusion of a mouse, and a Bluetooth one to boot, is quite a neat idea. The cable tie is an unusual but otherwise cheap addition. Missing however is a user manual which non-power users may need, hopefully ASUS will include one with the retail package.
Design
Looks like ASUS worked hard to make the S6Fm look good - The design is clean and gives quite a nice impression overall. The embossed leather covers the whole of the top panel save for the ASUS nameplate and the strip at the back which connects to the hinge.
The front is completely devoid of ports. ASUS has put most of the ports on the sides of the S6Fm where they are more easily accessible.
The right side houses the DVD writer and one USB port. The built-in card reader accepts Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick formats and their variants. The PCMCIA slot has been abandoned in favour of a ExpressCard slot, and this one supports both the smaller ExpressCard/34 and the larger ExpressCard/54. The Firewire port, less likely to be used, has been relegated to the rear, just next to the battery pack.
The optical drive installed in our set was a DVD writer supporting major formats, another manufacturing option is a CD writer but we doubt that will find its way into retail for such a high-end product.
ASUS has included dummy cards so that one can prevent foreign objects from entering when the slot is not in use. While one is less likely to change the ExpressCard often (or even install one), if one uses the memory card reader frequently it might be less bothersome to simply leave the dummy at home, not to mention that, like an actual memory card, the card reader dummy is easy to lose due to its small size.
Residing on the left side are the VGA out, wireless hardware switch, and what looks like a little drawer. The wireless switch is a hardware one, meaning that the Bluetooth and Wifi might appear enabled in software but not actually work because this switch is in the off position. Below the switch is the air exhaust vent.
Presumably to preserve style, ASUS has also left out the two screw holes which are used to secure the VGA cable to the port. That shouldn't be a major problem though. At the far end, closest to the user, is the front panel audio output. The power adapter plug is on the rear right edge, next to the battery pack, on the opposite end from the Firewire port mentioned earlier.
Opening the little 'drawer' reveals the remainder of the ports - 2 USB, Ethernet and modem, and the microphone jack. ASUS has cleverly placed the two USB ports on opposite sides of the recess to prevent thicker USB devices from colliding with one another. The microphone jack, presumably less frequently used, is also placed here. The cover is kept shut by a simple magnetic lock.
So far, I would say that ASUS has done a good job with the design and the layout of the various ports - the idea of hiding the less frequently used ports underneath the cover has been well thought out and implemented; It turns out to be a good balance between style and functionality.
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Design (cont'd), Real-World Usage Tests
Design (continued)
The S6Fm does not have a top cover latch unlike other notebooks, instead it flips shut with some force once a certain angle is reached, hence the presence of rubber pads on the LCD bezel. The notebook is so light that one has to hold down the bottom half of the notebook in order to open the top cover, which is slightly inconvenient.
The inside is also an all-white affair, and once again the S6Fm comes across as being sleek, with all the components blending nicely together.
The status LEDs have been neatly integrated into the hinge to save space, with the power button alongside. The design of the power button makes it a tad difficult to depress though. There is a built in microphone located midway, below the ASUS nameplate in the photo. The webcam which is present on many ASUS notebooks has made an unfortunate disappearance here, but given that portability is the main priority this is not surprising.
The top row of LEDs, namely power on indicator, charging indicator, and WiFi indicator, remain visible when the top cover is shut. The charging indicator is the only orange LED here, and it turns off when charging is complete. I would have preferred it to turn blue to indicate a full charge though.
On the other end there is a button which lets the user change power mode quickly - it cycles between battery saving, quiet office, multimedia and high performance profiles as indicated on screen. We didn't find ourselves using this very often though. The built-in stereo speakers are hidden beneath the strip of tiny holes beneath the LCD - the sound quality and volume is average as one would expect from a notebook.
The wrist rest is covered with leather, which is somewhat more comfortable to rest on while typing, but otherwise this is just for looks, much like the leather on the top cover. The navigation keys have been squeezed onto the arrow keys as function keys which require one to hold down the Fn key, from the looks of it a necessary trade-off in such a small notebook. The right shift key is also much smaller than most people would be accustomed to.
The touchpad has also been designed with style in mind. The design is faintly reminiscent of those found on Apple's Macbooks, but of course both left-click and right-click are still around. The underside of the S6Fm is nothing out of the ordinary - like the majority of notebooks the RAM and wireless card can be accessed, but nothing more.
The S6Fm is predominantly built with plastic - the shiny strips are actually plastic too. The top cover gave in slightly to a hard press and so did a area or two on the bottom, but otherwise the S6Fm feels quite well put together. Notably though the hinge feels solid while looking quite nice too.
The S6Fm is predominantly built with plastic - the shiny strips are actually plastic too. The top cover gave in slightly to a hard press and so did a area or two on the bottom, but otherwise the S6Fm feels quite well put together. Notably though the hinge feels solid while looking quite nice too.
ASUS has no doubt had to make some compromises in order to squeeze everything into such a tiny space - most evidently on the keyboard. We will be taking a closer look at functionality and ease-of-use in the next section, but we have yet to encounter any major flaws with the S6Fm.
Real-World Usage Tests
We took the S6Fm out for a day of use to see to take a even closer look. While the included soft case looks nice just like the S6Fm, it doesn't provide much protection against knocks, and the mouse and charger and any other accessories also have to be carried separately. We therefore decided to leave out the adapter, since we wanted to see how long the battery would last. Compared to typical laptops that weigh upwards of 2kg, the S6Fm is certainly a breeze to carry around.
The wireless on the S6Fm is powered by the tried-and-tested Intel PRO Wireless 3945ABG - no support for Wireless-N just yet but hopefully ASUS will make the Wireless-N card a standard feature when the standard is ratified and becomes more common. There is also onboard Bluetooth, however the included Bluetooth mouse refused to be detected by the S6Fm for some reason. We also accidentally flipped the hardware wireless switch once and found ourselves wondering for some time why the wireless refused to find any networks.
Also, cramming so many pixels (1366x788) into such a small screen (11.1" diagonal) makes reading text for extended periods on the S6Fm a strain on the eyes. Conversely though photos and pictures turn out smoother on the S6Fm's LCD. This is somewhat subjective, but anyway one solution to this would be to increase the DPI via the operating system. The use of a glossy panel here, while featuring the much-advertised improved colour vibrancy, also has its downsides - bright lights become obvious reflections in the screen even when it is turned on, which can get rather irritating in places like offices, which have harsh, direct, lighting.
Due to the cramped keyboard we found ourselves occasionally pressing the wrong key. The right Shift key has been compressed so much that it is particularly prone to this, and we found ourselves often hitting the up arrow key instead. We found the keys to be a tad too bouncy, but otherwise quite silent. For some reason though the arrow keys produced a unusually loud noise compared to the rest of the keys, perhaps a defect with this particular keyboard?
The compression of the navigation keys (Home, End, Pageup, Pagedown) onto the arrow keys as function keys, therefore requiring a holddown of the Fn key to activate them, can be quite annoying when one wants to scroll quickly through lots of information (long web pages for example). A partial alternative is to use the right edge of the touchpad to scroll up and down (this can be customised via the touchpad driver software).
The S6Fm comes pre-installed with either Vista Home Premium or Business, with our set using Business. Aero Glass is turned off by default, presumably to conserve battery life. Despite using integrated graphics on the 945GM chipset Flip 3D works out fine, with slight jerkiness now and then. While the S6Fm isn't going to churn out the latest in 3D gaming, it is more than sufficient for office work and some video watching, though you might want to attach ear/headphones of your choice for better sound quality.
After some time of usage the left side of the S6Fm tends to get rather hot, but it's still quite a good way off from the thigh-scorching heat created by some laptops. The blower fan also turns on when the temperature reaches a certain threshold, but no worries about that since it is quite silent and barely noticeable even in a quiet room.
The S6Fm's default 5200mAh Li-Ion battery lasted about 3˝ hours doing light work such as typing, web surfing or browsing through photos, which is quite acceptable for an ultraportable notebook though there are similarly placed models out there that last longer than this. Also note that the included 6-cell battery is apparently swappable for a separately purchased 3-cell or 9-cell one, though the S6Fm is already so light that a 3-cell one seems quite pointless. It is unclear however whether the 3-cell one will do away with the "hump" of the default battery pack, or the 9-cell one will cause an even larger protrusion.
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First Take
After taking a brief look at the S6Fm and using it for a short period of time, we can say that using the S6Fm has turned out to be a positive experience. ASUS has succeeded in making the S6Fm light and portable while not compromising on battery life and performance - a plus for those who want to work on the go. While there were some minor flaws with the design nothing really affected the ease-of-use greatly, and the leather skin is certainly a unique, if otherwise purely aesthetic, feature of the S6 series.
Good looks carry a premium, and the white edition of the S6Fm carries a RRP of S$3888. Competing ultraportables from other brands can be had for cheaper if one isn't interested in the looks, but otherwise in terms of style the S6Fm ranks up there with the other exotic models that various manufacturers have come up with over the years. We will be adding benchmarks soon, so stay tuned!
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