Asus produces computers evocative of quality craftsmanship and passion. Although these characteristics can’t be measured on a spec sheet, they contribute wonders to the experience of using an Asus notebook, and the company’s VivoBook S400 proudly continues this tradition.
Unlike the previous generation of Asus notebooks, the VivoBook S400 features a touch screen. By including a touch screen, the VivoBook S400 makes the most of the new touch-centric Windows 8 OS and allows people to interact with notebooks in a new way. The screen measures 14 inches, has a resolution of 1,366 x768 and is fluent in multi-touch gestures.
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With a larger LED-backlit screen than most notebooks, the VivoBook S400 is ideal for watching movies. Colours are bright, viewing angles are broad and with Asus’ proprietary Sonic Master sound technology, the S400 handles music and video playback with ease.
Beneath the S400’s skin is the latest Core i3 or i5 Intel processor, along with a hybrid hard drive (320GB/500GB + 24GB SSD), integrated Intel HD 4000 Graphics and up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM. This is a hardware recipe powerful enough to wake the S400 up from sleep in 2 seconds.
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The 2.1cm thin body is bordered by a variety of ports which expand the S400’s functionality. In addition to its SD slot, 1xUSB 3.0 port and 2xUSB 2.0 ports, the S400 features connectivity options unavailable to most Ultrabooks, such as a VGA port, a RJ45 LAN jack and a full-sized HDMI port. With these ports it’s easier to connect the S400 to a projector, a TV or to a wired home network, making it a versatile on-the-go solution.
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Perhaps what’s most impressive about the VivoBook S400 is that it manages to deliver this gamut of features from just $799. Rivalling Ultrabooks cost significantly more and aren’t nearly as functional.
Asus’s VivoBook S400 is available now.
