ASUS UL20FT Pro Reviews

The ASUS UL20FT is a much-anticipated update to the popular UL20A. For just a few dollars more than the original price of the UL20A, the new UL20FT gives you a powerful Core i3 processor, a new 16:9 widescreen display and a larger hard drive. That said, this is an "evolutionary" update and not a "revolutionary" upgrade to last year's 12-inch thin and light laptop. The UL20FT still uses weak integrated graphics and lacks any high-speed data ports such as USB 3.0, eSATA, or an ExpressCard slot. Most people can live without an optical drive today, but if you care about watching DVDs on a flight then it might bother you that this laptop lacks a DVD drive. Still, for less than $650 the ASUS UL20FT makes perfect sense for students or adults who want a compact, lightweight laptop that won't break the bank.

For an affordable ultraportable, the UL20FT-A1’s productivity performance is tough to beat. That, combined with its light weight and good looks, make it a very compelling option if you’re on a budget and need a potent travel companion. It’s a little faster than the Toshiba Satellite T235, but its battery life might be a deal-breaker if you plan to use this laptop for long stretches away from an outlet.

The Asus UL20FT-A1 only comes with 2GB of memory (when most CULVs average 4GB), and lasting just 4 hours off the AC adapter is less than half of what other CULV laptops are getting.

Wondering why this ultraportable costs $629 while other systems its size can be had for $500 or less? It's because the UL20FT packs a pretty powerful low-voltage Intel Core i3-330UM processor running at 1.2-GHz, though it's paired with only 2GB of RAM. In PCMark Vantage, which measures overall system performance, the UL20FT scored 3,929, outperforming most other 11- and 12-inch notebooks by a pretty significant margin.