Touch and go

TOUCH-SCREEN laptops have been one of many answers to the tablet, which has taken a good bite out of the laptop market. The question is, are touch-screen laptops just another gimmick? And do we really need another dimension of user interface?

Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 8, was specifically overhauled for optimal performance on touch-display devices and I got to try it out on the Asus VivoBook S400CA.

Having never used either Windows 8 or a touch-screen laptop, I was quite apprehensive about the whole thing, especially since I am a diehard fan of the mouse. After all, a small Bluetooth mouse does not cost much and is easy enough to carry around.

While the touch interface of tablets is intuitive enough, poking and prodding a laptop screen did not come naturally at first, but I have to admit it grows on you.

The Windows 8 "start screen" (which also took some getting used to) literally encourages the user to reach out and swipe at the little square icons around. The experience was interesting and users will find it ideal for casual tasks like browsing photos or light web browsing at a swipe of the finger.

For doing proper work, however, I am still going to fall back on the good 'ol mouse.

After the novelty of the Windows 8 start screen wore off, I found myself seldom using it, sticking instead with the almost familiar desktop, albeit missing the Start button.

If the touch screen laptop is a gimmick, it is definitely not an expensive one. The 14-inch VivoBook I got my hands on retails for a ridiculously economical RM2,599.

Even with the touch-display technology, the screen was incredibly bright and crisp, although the viewing angles were a little narrow.

Perhaps the biggest drawback of the VivoBook is its weight, which comes in at 2kg. However, this can be attributed to the fact that this laptop packs a 500GB + 24GB hybrid hard disk drive system.

Taking its cue from the many lightweight ultrabooks out there, the VivoBook has shed its optical disk drive, which does make it a little lighter.

It utilises the 24GB solid state drive for the operating system and other critical programmes while the 500GB hard disk drive can be used for storing non-essential files like music and videos, which can take up a lot of space.

This gives the laptop the versatility to store a respectable amount of media/software/documents while boasting quick start-up times.

With a proper laptop backpack, the additional weight was not really noticeable. In exchange, I had peace of mind, not having to closely monitor storage usage as with an ultrabook.

Another noticeable drawback of the VivoBook is that its processor is slow relative to its weight. The 1.7GHz i5 processor is not exactly a powerhouse, turning this laptop into a simple workhorse.

Ultrabooks can be excused for their slightly slower processors because they are compact. When you lug around something this heavy, you expect a little more. But then the price tag makes it hard to complain.

Granted, the VivoBook is on the heavy side, but you get better bang for your buck.


This story first appeared in The Edge weekly edition of Mar 11-17, 2013.