Introduction and Specifications

With 1GB of RAM, Mobility Radeon X1600 256MB, and a 17″ display, could the Asus A7J be the laptop that finally makes you throw away your desktop computer?

It wasn’t too long ago that 17 inch laptops were considered excessive and its usefulness questionable, but today we are seeing an increasing number of people ditching their noisy desktops for larger laptops that are just as functional while being somewhat portable.

The Asus A7J 17 inch laptop we are reviewing today is marketed as a media laptop, but goes much further than that. With a Intel T2300 Core Duo CPU and dedicated ATI Mobility Radeon X1600, you can certainly do a lot more than just watch movies. Let’s go in for a closer look.

Specifications (from the Asus website)

Processor & Cache Memory
Pentium M T2300 1.66GHz
2MB Cache, 667FSB
Operation System
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
Chipset
Mobile Intel 945 PM Express Chipset
Main Memory
1GB DDR2 667Mhz
Display
17″ WXGA+ (1440 x 900) Glossy
Video Graphics & Memory
ATI Radeon X1600 256MB
Hard Drive
100GB SATA 5400RPM
Optical Drive
8x DVD-RW Dual Layer
Card Reader
SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO
Fax/Modem/LAN/WLAN

Intel High Definition audio modem and 10/100 Base T
Pass and support worldwide regulation
MiniPCI 802.11/a/b/g (Optional)
10/100/1000 LAN
Built-in Bluetooth® V2.0+ EDR (Optional)

Video Camera
1.3M Megabyte Pixels
LED Status Indicator
Power-on/Suspend
Battery Charging/full/low
Storage device access
Capital / Scroll / Number Lock
Power 4 Phone
Wireless indicator
Buletooth indicator
Interface
1 x Headphone-out jack /SPDIF
1 x Microphone-in jack
1 x Line-in Jack
1 x RJ11 Modem jack for phone line
1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
5 x USB 2.0 ports, 1x IEEE 1394 port
1 x TV Out (S-Video composite)
1 x VGA out
1 x Express Card
1 x SIR-115.2Kbps supported
1 x CIR for remove control
1 x DVI Port
Hot Keys
Instant launch Keys:
4 buttons: Power4 Gear +, Color Enhancement, Power 4 Phone, Touchpad Lock

Function Keys:
Fn+F1 Suspend switch
Fn+F2 Wireless Switch
Fn+F5 Brightness down
Fn+F6 Brightness up
Fn+F7 LCD on/off
Fn+F8 LCD/CRT/TV-out switch display
Fn+F10 Volume on/mute
Fn+F11 Volume down
Fn+F12 Volume up
Audio
Built-in Intel High Definition audio compliant audio chip, with 3D effect & full duplex
Built-in 4-way stereo speakers
KeyBoard
19 mm full size 88key with MS-Windows function keys
2.5mm travel
Battery Pack & Life
8 cells 4800mAh, 65Whrs
Charging time: 4hrs/2.5hrs (System On/ Off) to 95%
AC Adapter
Output: 19 V DC, 4.7 A, 90W
Input: 100— 240V AC, 50/60Hz universal
Dimension & Weight
405 x 314 x 38.2 mm (W x D x H)
4.0 Kg (17.”, 8 cell battery pack)
Security
BIOS Booting / HDD User Password Protection and security lock
Kensington lock hole
Multimedia Software
ASUSDVD XP 6.0
Power Director V3.0 DE
Medi@Show V2.0 SE
Game Face
Virus & Tool Software
Symantec Norton™ Internet Security 2005
Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0
NERO Express V6.0
ASUS Utility
ASUS NB Probe
ASUS Live Update
ASUS ChkMail
ASUS Hotkey
ASUS Power4 Gear+
Warranty & e-support
1-year 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 (Liveupdate, Power 4 Gear+, ASUS Probe)
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