First-look review - Asus F70

We’re seeing more and more laptop manufacturers concentrating on the multimedia end of the market, spurred on by the introduction of the widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio. Asus is the latest to jump on the bandwagon, with its F70 media centre – the world’s first 17.3-inch laptop.

The extra 0.3-inches over more regular-sized 17-inch machines helps to make the F70 perfect for movie playback, the 16:9 aspect ratio reducing the annoying black bars on the top and bottom of your films.

Billed as a Full 1080p machine, we’re slightly disappointed by our review sample’s 1600 x 900 pixel resolution – it provides clear imagine quality, but not the pin-sharp reproduction found on some of its rivals.

Your films will play back smoothly and without trouble thanks to the use of a dedicated nVidia GeForce 9300M GS graphics card – it’s a shame a more powerful GPU hasn’t been fitted in a machine of this size, although it’s powerful enough for most media tasks and basic gaming.

 Quality on the F70 is impressive – the shiny plastics are all tougher than the average laptop, and there’s no sign of any flex or movement from the large screen as you type. The keyboard is spacious and comfortable to type on, with large, flat and responsive keys. As with everything else on this laptop, the touchpad is huge, offering precise control.

All-in-all, first impressions of the F70 are mixed. It’s definitely a high quality machine, and offers the comfort expected of a desktop replacement system. It’s not the portable powerhouse we were expecting, however, with a more powerful GPU and higher resolution needed if this machine is to challenge the best from Toshiba and Sony. That said, as a more affordable media centre – with prices starting at £859 (inc. VAT) it could well be worth a look.

For a full review, and to find out how the Asus F70 gets on during our benchmark tests, see issue 125 of What Laptop (on sale 5th June).