Innovative tech candy

Asus's biggest claim to fame is probably the now-ubiquitous Eee PC — the pared down, miniaturised, un-esoteric, bringing-technology-to-the-daily-wage-earners internet device.

By 2007, the year of its introduction, every manufacturer knew that most people did not use most of the technology provided in most traditional laptops. Most of them sat on this knowledge. Asus didn't.

So popular has this net-surfer, word-processor, memory, portability and low-cost combination genre become, that one should not be surprised if Asus legitimately goes on to claim a part of Facebook's and twitter's profits for being the product which put the the social in networking .

Asus N43SL

Asus was already making some great high-end laptops when it launched the Eee PC. And it has gone on making some of the best-performing and most stylish laptops since the Eee PC's success. The N43SL is one of them. The only difference is that Asus is now a global brand name and its products have reached out to a wider audience of discerning users from a small coterie of quality-conscious customers. And now the Taiwanese manufacturer can push premium products.

In N43SL's case, just reading the specifications offered makes it sound like a dream come true. With a second-generation 2.0GHz Core i7 sporting Intel's latest Sandy Bridge architecture, it has a storage capacity of 500GB, a DVD RW optical drive, RAM of 3GB and NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics card, which delivers stunning clarity on the 14-inch screen. Several input-output ports, such as an HDMI port, three USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0, complete the picture.

In the looks department, the N43SL does especially well. The styling is sleek and curvaceous, with the 14-inch glossy screen resting on top of an unconventionally designed hinge, which makes the speakers stand out. A flush keyboard is revealed when the hinge is opened, along with keycaps slightly larger than usual. Our test mule was a space-age metallic graphite grey on the outside and glossy black on the inside, and it would have been the cynosure of all eyes in any office, home or airport lounge, where its 2kg weight will aid portability.

Ergonomics, too, were top notch. The mouse buttons and trackpad were large and comfortable with solid clicks for the mouse buttons. The smooth, metallic palm rest was placed just so, and large keys discouraged typos.

The N43SL stood out for its fast performance, especially in gaming, the excellent sound quality of its Bang and Olufsen ICE speakers and its battery life of more than four hours, which is aided by power-saving modes.

With the N43SL, Asus has proved it is just as good at top-of-the-range as it is at basic netbooks — perhaps even better.

Sony Vaio Y Series

The first thing that strikes you about Sony's new Vaio Y series model — the VPC YB15KX — is that it is a departure from the norm for the Japanese giant.

For starters, the Y Series is Sony's first foray into using AMD's new Fusion processors and Sony has picked the fastest, the E-350, which is rated at 1.6GHz and has an integrated graphics unit.

In another first, this is a slight departure from the way Sony positions its Vaio range. The entire Vaio series, is a line-up of up-market, lifestyle-oriented products that are true to certain core values such as quality and solidity. Even so, a Vaio primarily seeks to make a style statement about its owner.

With the new Y series, though, Sony returns to its roots of offering products with a maximum of innovation and style coupled with a modicum of performance — at an accessible price.

The YB15KX is the next rung in the netbook ladder. Its performance, which is far above the netbooks on the market, compares well with many middle-level notebooks. However, it retains a netbook-like portability and ease of use. And a netbook-like price.

Sony has equipped the system with 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive, which pitches it straight into notebook category, whereas the 11.6-inch screen size, 1.2kg weight and overall dimensions retain the netbook's go-anywhere convenience. The compact dimensions also make for a very smart-looking device.

Sony's usually impeccable levels of fit and finish, and the option of metallic colours — we liked the green, silver, black and pink, in that order — make the Y series a device to be seen as much as used.

But, talking usage, the AMD processor is more than a match for the de rigueur netbook processor, the Intel Atom, and the Vaio wipes the floor with netbooks so far as processing speed is concerned, even though the hard drive only spins at 5400rpm, which makes launching apps and loading large amounts of data on the slow side compared to notebooks with 7200rpm drives.

Three USB 2.0 ports, Bluetooth and front-mounted card readers take care of the connectivity; and the almost-six hours of battery life, of the portability. There is no optical drive but most retailers bundle an external DVD drive with it, included in the Dh1,995 price.

Time was, a few decades ago, when Sony had the Midas touch and churned out innovation seemingly on an assembly line — such as the Walkman, the Handycam, the compact disc, and numerous other world firsts. With the new Y-series Vaio, Sony seems to be inching back to its days of innovative glory.