ASUS U6S 12.1″ Ultra-mobile Notebook Review

The keyboard on the ASUS U6S is surprisingly comfortable and in my use with it I felt none of the flexing that I had come to expect on this smaller notebooks.  The keys were very tactile it felt very much like typing on a standard desktop keyboard.  Of course, the smaller Page Up/Down and accessory keys did cause me to commit some typing errors initially but after a couple of days of use it was easy to correct.  I didn’t feel like the keyboard crowding my fingers at all and would think this keyboard acceptable for long periods of use.

The touch pad was a bit of a sore spot for me – the tops of the buttons, closest to the touch pad mousing surface, do not click down – only the bottom portions do.  That’s not a big deal but I found myself consistent pressing down on the top section and then have to consciously move my thumb down  to hit the bottom.  Again, not a big deal but just annoying.

The finger print scanner works great though the scanner itself felt pretty deadly ingrained into the notebook and I really had to press my finger down hard to get it to read correctly. 

Near the hinge on the left there are two buttons that bring up the web camera application and change the current power scheme (max battery, performance, etc).

The indicator lights along the top bar are bright and easily read even in direct sunlight.  There is a light bulb for power, battery for low battery levels, WiFi, hard disc, caps lock and microphone light that all indicate when those items are in use.

I know that I have read some people express concerns about how the area for your wrists that is leather stands up over time.  Obviously having only used it for about 3 weeks, I can’t say for sure what the results will be but I do know that ASUS has used leather on their machines for a couple of years now and wouldn’t continue to do so had there been wide-scale problems.  In the time that I have used this machine though I haven’t noticed any wear or loss of luster on the leather areas at all.

The web cam along the top of the monitor bezel is pretty basic at only 0.3 mega-pixels.  There is a white LED light to the left of the lense that illuminates when it is on.

The finish along the monitor is also very high quality; a slightly texture silver paint with the ASUS logo embossed in the left.  The small round bumpers keep the LCD screen from coming in contact withe keyboard when closed. 

You can clearly see that the LCD monitor on the U6S is of the reflective type, not the matte finish.  This is really a user preference in terms of which one is better; the glossy finish allows for brighter colors in direct lighting while the matte finish dulls reflections in the screen.

For those interested in just how far the battery sticks out from the back of the U6S, I present the above shot. 

The 3-cell battery does sit flush with the back of the machine though battery life on it is so poor I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone.