Asus U46 SV review

We've got to confess, the unveiling of the Asus Zenbook has spoiled us. The beautifully slender yet sturdy body is a marvel, yet it still makes room for some powerful components for (hopefully) excellent performance.

This makes reviewing the Asus U46SV - another new laptop from the Taiwanese giant - a rather tricky business. It's not that this laptop is ugly or anything. But imagine embarking on an illicit one-night affair with Megan Fox, then hooking up with Hilary Duff. She's probably a very nice girl and not bad looking, but you'd be thinking of Megan during sexy time.

Let's begin by saying we really liked the Asus U36JC, a powerful and well-built ultra-portable laptop. The Asus U46SV is a spiritual successor to the U36JC, but we were surprised by how chunky and heavy it felt when we pulled it free of its box.

The chassis is 38mm thick, which is rather bulky for a laptop of this size. It also weighs 2.3kg - a lot more than the Asus U36JC's featherweight build. The U46SV won't exactly weigh you down if you're carrying it in a bag all day, but we expected something a lot slimmer and lighter. Compared to the Sony VAIO S Series, this is a boxy beast.

We also aren't massive fans of the Asus U46SV's aluminium build, which feels strangely like plastic. The lid is especially weak, and bends in the centre under light pressure. Both the lid and the palm rests feature a circular pattern that looks cheap compared to the beautiful finish of the Zenbook.

Still, we can't complain when it comes to the keyboard. The popular chiclet, or 'isolation-style', design means that keys are well spaced, which makes it perfect for touch-typists. The keys are a great size, with no tiny Shift or Return keys to spoil the party. Even the arrow keys get plenty of space, which is a welcome relief.

We also liked the smooth touchpad, which finds plenty of space to spread out across the Asus U46SV's palm rests. The dedicated mouse buttons aren't set too firmly and are a haven for grimy fingerprints, but they're hugely preferable to those pesky integrated buttons.