Thursday, April 24, 2008

ASUS Lamborghini VX2S 15.4" Laptop

The most important factor about the laptop is the fact that it retails for $2,699. This is far from cheap, considering comparable notebooks can be had for $1,000 less. There are a few things to take into consideration. As for hardware, the VX2 is near top of the line, thanks to it's T7400 CPU and 2GB of ram. The midstream 7700 Go GPU wil allow you to get your game on, but more often at lower resolutions than native. Add to that, we have a 160GB Seagate drive, high-quality WiFi and more peripheral connectivity than any one person needs.

As far as special features, we have the fingerprint reader, 1.3 megapixel webcam, Lamborghini styled mouse, leather interior and of course, the fact that it's Lamborghini inspired. If you want a laptop with Lamborghini's name on it, or this color for that matter, you'll have to pick up the VX2. It comes at a premium as I mentioned. Although ASUS obviously does not release information in regards to cost of various aspects, the luxury of the Lamborghini name no doubt costs a few hundred dollars by itself. Coupled then with the largest version of Vista there is, it's easy to see why it retails for $2,699.

It's hard to say that this is a good price for the notebook, because really, it isn't. However, if you are a huge Lamborghini fan/owner, the cost might not be that much of an issue. I admit, if there was a well designed BMW inspired notebook available, I'd easily pay the premium to pick it up. I enjoy Lamborghini's, but I am not personally such a fan that $2,700 would be warranted. Essentially when it comes down to it, everything that the VX2 offers over less expensive laptops is the unique design and Lamborghini name, not to mention the full-blown Windows. If Lamborghini had nothing to do with the notebook and there was no Windows installed, it would no doubt cost $800 less.

As high as the price may be, I'm not going to weigh it too heavily in my score, simply because this is one of the classiest notebooks on the market and is set out to a specific audience. The closest competitor would be ACER's Ferrari notebook, which I personally find has bland appeal. Not that Ferrari's are bland, but the notebook is. It doesn't come close to the VX2. The ACER however retails for ~$300 less on average, for similar specs. The biggest primary difference is that the VX2 has a slightly better GPU.

The main point to stress is that it's up to you to determine the value. If you are not a fan of Lamborghini, you should get a normal laptop with comparable specifications.

I am convinced that I love the notebook overall, but no laptop is perfect. None. The primary thing I did not enjoy about the VX2 was the touchpad, but again, that could be just me. If you use your index fingers to deal with the left and right keys, you'll be fine. If you are like me and use your thumb, it will probably be uncomfortable.

TechnicalSpecs

Feature
VX1
VX2
Processor Intel T7400 (2.16GHz) Intel T7400 (2.16GHz)
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400VX 512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7700 512MB
Memory 2GB Elpida DDR2-667 5-5-5 2GB Nanya Tech DDR2-667 5-5-5
Hard Drive Seagate 160GB 5400.3 Seagate 160GB 5400.3
Monitor 15" SXGA+ Bright LCD 15.4" SXGA+ Bright LCD
Connectivity Intel 802.11a/b/g + Bluetooth WiFi
56k Broadcom Modem
Intel 802.11a/b/g + Bluetooth WiFi
56k Broadcom Modem
Optical Matshita UJ-842S Dual Layer Burner (4x Write) LG GMA-4084N Dual Layer Burner (8x Write)
Et cetera Windows XP Professional Windows Vista Ultimate