Design

The Asus G2 is a sleek looking notebook with a nice brushed metallic lid with red and black detailing. The metallic look is really exceptional and it really makes others notebooks look plastic and cheap. The red “gills” on the sides of the lid would blink during Direct3D applications assuming you have it configured that way in the DirectConsole software.

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Opening the lid reveals a bold console with the same red-black motif and a brushed metal wrist rest. The keyboard is laid out in a logical manner with all the keys in their proper places. Along the top of the keyboard are special Internet function keys which are very common these days. There is also a Power4Gear button which activates the Asus exclusive feature of switching between different power and screen brightness profiles, and a button for SplendidVideo (more about this in he Software section of this review).

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The top-left corner has a unique OLED display that, by default, displays the current time, but can customized to scroll a piece of text or one of many predefined icons.

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The touchpad is nicely responsive and tracks well. The “G2” logo is placed in the middle of the two mouse buttons and looks like a button itself, but is just decoration that lights up red when the notebook is turned on.

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Just below the track pad is are media access keys which is used to control Media Player / Windows Media Center. These buttons are very small and I found them difficult to press.

The lid itself feels solid and sturdy with its 17″ screen. There is an integrated 1.3 megapixel camera built into the top edge which is very common these days on notebooks.

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On the left side of the G2 you have the SD / memory stick reader, the Express Card slot and the audio jacks. There is also a small wireless antenna switch which enables and disables the WiFi adapter. This switch is very small and easily missed. You also have a single USB 2.0 port (one of 5 USB ports), an IR transmitter, and modem and LAN ports.

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The rear of the G2 has four USB 2.0 ports and all your video output – DVI, D-Sub, and S-Video. There is also a Kensington lock port. The main exhaust vent is located here as well and blows the hot air away from the user.

From the image you can see three hinges connecting the lid to the base of the computer. Most notebooks use just two hinges, but the G2 uses 3 which helps force distribution and ultimately means less chance of the hinges actually cracking.

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On the right-hand side of the G2, you will find the DVD drive and the power adapter jack. The power adapter uses a “L” shaped plug which causes the cable to block the ejection of the DVD tray. Actually,this is the exact same problem I had with the Asus A7J.

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