One of the best known names in the IT industry has to be Asus. The company has a pretty good grip on the market, with a range of products designed to cover most of the (if not all) important aspects of the market. As the first company responsible for starting the netbook frenzy, Asus is know in an ongoing struggle to maintain it's netbook leader position.



Although the N20A doesn't really fit a netbook's profile (at least by Asus's standards), the device is pretty close and can provide a great alternative for those who are willing to loose some portability for the sake of performance.



Performance is provided by using the Core 2 Duo T9400 2.8GHz (there are other cpu alternatives) cpu and up to 4GB of DDR2 memory. The graphics system is power by the Intel X4500HD integrated GPU. Compared to most netbooks, this configuration is far superior and will run any advanced interface Microsoft will throw at it in the next 5 years. As a bonus, compared tot he Intel X3100 GMA, the 4500HD can even play games at acceptable framerates. Although I doubt anyone will buy this laptop for gaming.



The 12.1” WXGA glare type display is the one thing that won't allow the Asus to enjoy a netbook title (at least that's what Asus says). Of course there are a few perks to make up for it. There's the integrated dvd super multi optic drive and the 8 in 1 card reader. The N20A also features an Express card slot for various extensions and storage can reach the 320GB limit.



As how the device can communicate, we have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, Ethernet and.....this requires some applause, a HSDPA antenna. While Wi-Fi requires the use of hotspot, HSDPA can be used almost anywhere without having to worry about signal degradation. Granted you need to pay a subscriber's fee, but it will ensure you have web access when ever and were ever you need it.



Connectivity wise there are 3 USB 2.0 ports, a VGA port, HDMI (nice :D) and eSATA connectors. We also have the usual headphone-out jack and mic in jack for Skype users (together with the 1.3Mp camera). For fast Internet browsing or Skype-ing, Asus ExpressGate can boot up in 8 seconds and provide you with unlimited Internet access.



As portability is still an important factor with this notebook class, Asus provides users with a 9 cell battery pack (there are also 3 and 6 cell options). For security reasons Asus equipped the N20A with a fingerprint reader.



The T5800 based model is sold for $999. Pretty expensive, but in my opinion this is the perfect balance between performance, features and portability.