ASUS U33JC Pro Reviews

If you need a lightweight ultraportable laptop that can handle various tasks, the Asus U33Jc is a great choice.

All in all, the U33JC isn't for everyone: the bamboo finish will divide buyers, as will the lack of a CD or DVD drive. If you are in the market for a powerful but distinctive laptop, though, this is a serious premium rival to Apple's Macbook range (see Also Consider).

I have only two complaints to throw at the U33JC. The first is the trackpad buttons, which are fussy, and the second is the excessive bloatware, which is irritating to uninstall. But that’s it. The U33jC does everything else right. The real kicker, however, is the price. While $999 isn’t chump change, it also isn’t unaffordable. The $999 price tag is a bargain for a laptop as uncompromising and luxurious as this.

A very chic multimedia notebook is released onto the market with Asus' U33JC-RX044V. It impresses optically with bamboo and aluminum applications. The workmanship and choice of materials is successful. The connectivity is more than apt. USB 3.0 and HDMI are further advantages. The keyboard and touchpad are overall inconspicuous in regards to usability. The 13.3 inch display with a high-gloss surface complies with the vast majority. However, it shows weaknesses when used outdoors. The hardware's performance is only convincing in the application performance field. It lacks a good 3D performance for games. Asus' heralded "SRS Premium Sound" is basically more an illusion than reality and only refers to the high pitches and volume. You'll wait for deep pitches and basses in vain. The battery life is good with a practical 6 to 7 hours. But the promised 10+ hours seem rather utopistic. Design fans will basically get a very elegant notebook with solid multimedia hardware for 999 euro (RRP). The Asus U33JC-RX044V is now available in Germany and Austria.

If you're in the market for a lightweight ultraportable laptop that can handle a wide range of tasks, you can't do much better than the Asus U33JC. It's competitively priced, comfortable to carry and handles spreadsheets and streaming movies with equal aplomb. The bamboo design choice is a love-it-or-hate-it affair. With such an elegant blend of form and function, the eco-conscious bamboo exterior is just icing on the cake.

Warning: car analogy ahead. But I can't resist, because the dashboard of a Jaguar is the first thing that pops into my mind when I look at Asus' U33Jc novel blend of brushed metal and mahogany-stained bamboo. This wouldn't be an original design direction in a luxury car, but it's unique in the notebook world. Asus has succeeded in creating an aesthetic that blends old-world warmth with high-tech industrial design. Although I wish the wood paneling more closely resembled actual bamboo, I still think this is one of the best-looking notebooks around. It doesn't matter whether you're looking at a virgin system from behind a pane of protective glass or one that's been handled all day, either.

The ASUS U33JC-A1 is an extremely attractive and extremely well built laptop with a few annoying little issues. First, the fact that ASUS weakened the Nvidia graphics in order to extend battery life means you don't get the best possible performance out of this laptop. Second, the keyboard is a mixture of nice keys with horribly mushy support/feedback underneath. Last, but certainly not least is the issue of ASUS loading way too much bloatware onto the laptop straight from the factory.

The U33Jc may be on the bamboo list now, but it's much more than a bamboo laptop. The wood certainly makes you feel like you're buying a unique device, but the draw of the machine for most will be its superior blend of graphics, performance and battery life. We still have to knock the U33Jc for its lack of an optical drive, the cheap feeling keyboard quality, and it's thicker chassis.

Good looks, strong benchmark scores, and Nvidia Optimus technology make this bargain-buy ultraportable a standout for home and small-business users alike.

The Asus U33Jc-A1 is a mainstream laptop made out of bamboo, packed with an Intel Core i3 processor and Nvidia's Optimus technology.

A one-of-a-kind bamboo design, long battery life, and Optimus graphics make this 13-inch notebook a very good value.

A welcome change of pace from the usual glossy plastic and brushed-metal laptop styles, the bamboo-clad Asus U33Jc-A1 looks great and also packs in some very useful technology.