Externals II
Lifting up the lid shows the brushed aluminium chassis underneath. The keys had just the right amount of travel to allow for extending typing periods without putting too much stress on your fingers. A set of 5 buttons and 4 status LEDs line the right-hand side. The upper button controls ASUS'/CyberLink's InstantON function, which, if the W1 Carbon is switched off, launches a multimedia player via which you can listen to music files and watch DVDs without having to enter Windows. If the notebook is switched on, however, the InstantON button launches a Windows-based multimedia application.
Below it are keys that launch a web browser and enable/disable the laptop's Bluetooth function. However, on our sample at least, Bluetooth wasn't installed correctly. We guess that's what happens when companies send out evaluation samples at the 11th hour. The third button locks the touchpad if an external mouse is used and the fourth, given over to ASUS' Power4Gear feature, cycles through various power modes, with each setting designed for a particular function, say, presentation or DVD playback.
Our review sample shipped with a 15.4-inch wide-aspect WSXGA (1680x1050) LCD. In terms of 2D work, that's just about the right resolution for a panel of this size, we reckon. It benefits from what ASUS terms its Color and Crystal Shine features, which purport to offer richer colours on a vibrant, bright screen. Both seem to work fairly well, and the W1 Carbon doesn't suffer from an overly reflective coating.
ASUS also offers its Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) policy on the W1V's panel. Put simply, if a single bright pixel is found on the screen either when it ships or within a year of purchase, ASUS will exchange the panel for a new one, free of charge. Unlike other similar ASUS models, however, the Carbon edition doesn't carry an integrated webcam.
Hardware
Underneath the beautiful exterior lies Intel's Sonoma platform. ASUS has chosen to outfit this particular model with a Pentium M 750 processor (single-core, 1.86GHz clock speed, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB) on an Intel i915PM motherboard. Given the laptop's £1,499 asking price and obvious nod to multimedia-related features, perhaps Intel's Napa platform would have been a better choice, which combines dual-core Yonah CPUs with a newer iteration of chipset and wifi card. ASUS, though, launched this model on the run-up to Christmas, so a month or so before Napa was officially launched.
ASUS also outfitted the sample with 1GByte (2x512MB) DDR2 SODIMMs that can be upgraded to 2GByte at the time of purchasing. IDE hard-drive choices range from 60-100GB, with a 100GB 4,200RPM Fujitsu the choice here. A 5,400RPM drive, costing only marginally more, would have been a sensible inclusion. Showing a little age is an ATI Mobility Radeon X700 128MB discrete video card. Effectively replaced by the MR X1600, as found on the ASUS A6JA, it's bereft of Avivo video-processing and Shader Model 3.0 compliance. Again, if the W1 Carbon had been launched today, we're adamant it would have shipped with an ATI X1K card in situ.
Bundle
ASUS ships the W1 Carbon notebook in a well-packaged box. It also adds in a well-padded notebook carry case from Targus. The laptop fits in snugly and you're left with additional storage pockets for the charger and other paraphernalia.
The W1 Carbon is pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2, and also has decent enough main manual, the laptop's device drivers, ASUS Mobile Theater 3.0 and Nero 6.6.0.15, although the latter two weren't pre-installed, strangely. There's also a couple of bundled remote controls. The main one controls multimedia-related functions from the AVerMedia tuner through to media playback. Range is reasonable, too. The credit-card-sized remote provides simpler navigation and runs from the infra-red sensor on the front. Predictably, range isn't all that great. The remote itself, however, can be stored in the PC Card slot during transit. ASUS also adds in a CyberLink PowerDVD 6.0 CD and PowerDirector Pro 3.0.1208 CD.
More goodies are to be found in the second part of this comprehensive bundle. A fanless mains charger, manufactured by Delta Electronics, provides around 95W. There's also a Logitech (ASUS-branded) cordless optical mouse designed for laptops, along with a USB-powered mini-RF transceiver. We spoke about the W1 Carbon's aerial input on the previous page, and ASUS adds in DVB-T/FM antennae.
A reasonable quickstart manual is shown above a breakout box that connects up to the laptop's AV/S input. S-Video-to-RCA, modem, and aerial plugs are supplied, to ensure that you can hook-up to the various ports/sockets immediately. A pair of ASUS stereo headphones round off the package.
Warranty
ASUS provides a 2-year worldwide collect-and-return warranty on the W1 Carbon. The battery, however, is only under warranty for 12 months. Warranties can also be extended for an extra 12 months past the basic 2-year period for an additional cost of £105 including VAT. ASUS provides a dedicated, direct support for its range of laptops, PDAs, monitors, and it also has UK-based technical hotline, with calls charged at national-rate, should problems arise.
Overall hardware thoughts
A beautifully constructed laptop that exudes quality. There's little we can criticise on the exterior. However, considering that the focus of the W1 Carbon lies with multimedia applications, the use of the newer Napa platform, comprising of a dual-core Yonah CPU, would have been preferable. The £1,499 asking price is also a little higher than the competition's, although ASUS would argue that the W1 Carbon's distinctive looks and value-adding multimedia features warrants such an outlay. Let's now see how it performs.
