ASUS VivoBook S400C: Supermodel Laptop with Curves!

If Ultrabooks were the tech world’s version of Victoria’s Secret Angels, then the VivoBook S400C (SRP: Php35,995) from Asus would be that model not afraid of doing some carb binge. In fact, the Asus Ultrabook flaunts its enticing curves. Combining aluminum and plastic in one of the most eye-pleasing ways I have seen so far, the S400C looks like a regular laptop, so unlike those other Windows 8-running devices. It does not contort its body, neither does its screen detaches from the rest of its structure to become a tablet.

In short, it is a laptop in ways that we all have come to expect our laptops to be, albeit with a touch-enabled screen for a display.

Specs and Features

Powered by the Intel Core i5-3317U, the S400C comes with 4GB of RAM. Other versions of the S400 come with a 500GB hard drive coupled to a 24GB SSD; however, the review unit that came to our office had a 320GB drive.

It includes a 14-inch HD (1,366 X 768-pixels) LED-backlit display.

This Asus laptop also has all the connectivity issues covered with a couple of USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.0 port, full-sized HDMI, VGA, and Ethernet. It even has an SD card reader. It also includes 802.11 bgn WiFi. Bluetooth, however, is optional.

Performance
While the S400C comes with a display that has a lower resolution compared with those of other Ultrabooks, this is not totally a disadvantage, as it allows users to operate conventional Windows desktop applications by touch with ease. The sizes of icons and buttons make them easy to control, and launching apps is a breeze most of the time.

And since most PC users seem to have this fear or imagined discomfort with the Windows 8, any form of comfort or reassurance certainly comes handy and welcome.

Compared with the other Windows laptops I have used, this Asus laptop has an adequately sized touchpad that is quite responsive. The same goes for its keyboard, which has well-spaced and ideally positioned keys.

I could picture myself doing marathon typing using this laptop.

The S400C feels solid and heavy. One of the thicker Ultrabooks currently in the market, this Asus notebook certainly looks like it can handle its fair share of beating and knocks.

Its vendor claims some 5 hours of battery life for the S400C. Results of the tests I conducted on the laptop’s battery juice proved that claim is virtually spot-on.

Conclusion
Today’s wide range of options in the thin-laptop segment makes it hard to get excited about the S400C. In fact, there are lots of similarly spec’d laptops that offer hotter looks and faster performance than what this Asus laptop brings to the table.

Overall, this barely there Ultrabook is not a bad choice. But what makes it quite endearing, if we could use that term, is the way it offers PC users a less intimidating entry into the world of Windows 8 computing. Its lack of blinding dazzles, ultimately, makes it one of the best.

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