Technology

Compact, highly portable Asus X200MA adds vibrancy to computing

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The Asus X200MA notebook. PHOTO | COURTESY | magazineluiza.com

The Asus X200MA notebook is a compact and a practical companion for individuals who are constantly on the move, but still prefer the experience of replying to email or working on documents on a laptop.

The X200MA, which was launched in the Kenyan market in August 2014, retails for between Sh30,000 and Sh35,000 locally. It is slightly superior to its predecessor, the X200CA, which was launched in January 2014, because of its 1.85GHz processor, which can handle more pressure than the X200CA’s 1.5GHz.

Weighing 1.2 kilogrammes and measuring 21mm thick, it is light to carry and can easily fit in most women’s handbags or mini laptop bags.

Although it is available in black, white and blue, hot pink is more feminine and most certainly a hit with the fairer sex. Its display screen is 11.6 inches and has 1366x768 resolution, which is higher than what most standard notebooks offer.

It comes with a 4GB RAM and a 500GB hard drive and runs on an IntelCeleron 1.85Ghz processor.

The notebook’s touchscreen functionality comes in handy especially when browsing windows 8 shortcuts. It also enables one to scroll or zoom. The key board is bouncy, is soft to the touch and has a short key travel, making typing a comfortable exercise.

For the purposes of external video connections, it has a VGA output and a HDMI port. The computer also has three USB slots, an Ethernet port, an SD card reader and a combined audio port.

Wifi and Bluetooth connections performance is acceptable. However, the same cannot be said for the inbuilt speakers which are a bit too soft for the ear.

The notebook has an opening angle that is quite large allowing a user to work at any position. Besides, the X200MA has slightly rounded edges and features a non-removable three-cell battery that lasts for about three hours when fully charged.

The charger is small and portable which matches the size of the laptop. Additionally, the notebook has an inbuilt webcam for those Skype calls.

The notebook is ideal for general word processes, browsing and low quality gaming. Heavier tasks come with their own set of challenges. For instance, opening multiple browser windows, immediately creates a lag that can sometimes last to up to 30 seconds.

Each X series ASUS comes with 3GB of webstorage space free for three years, and offers the MyBitCast app so one can easily sync their content to multiple devices and accounts simultaneously.

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