Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011, the largest event for tech shows showcased the newest version of different laptops by several manufacturers such as DELL, Samsung, Lenovo and HP. The event also introduced the 2nd generation of Intel’s Sandy Bridge chips that can be tested to the latest desktops computers. Many kinds of tablets were also present in the said tech expo in order to compete to Apple’s Ipad like the Dell Streak and Blackberry Playbook. Honestly, in this year 2011 there are countless tech gadgets that we can choose from to satisfy are technical and computing needs that’s why I’m glad that I purchased my first laptop as my Christmas gift so that I can used it for my daily needs.
The ASUS K42F
The sexy glossy finish cover
From unboxing the ASUS K42F, I appreciated the manufacturer because of the simplicity on how the unit was packaged and it was also able to include a separate box for the battery pack and a strap for the power cord. The first thing I noticed when I held this laptop is the attractive glossy finish of the lid and it only weighs 2.2 kg aprrox. 5.0 lbs. with battery attached to it, still manageable to carry but compared to other laptops it is heavier. Almost all of the ports are available, if you are holding it facing the front you can see on the right side panel the DVD drive capable of playing multiple CD and DVD formats, one USB 2.0 port and the power cord plug used in connecting the AC adapter. If you look at the left side portion you can spot the headphone-out jack, two USB 2.0 ports and HDMI port. And at the very front side, there is the card reader that I hardly noticed used in inserting different types of memory cards for expandable storage. The battery at the back is a 6-cell battery pack capable of running this notebook for at least 3 to 4 hours but most of the time I’l just use this for indoor meaning I just removed the battery then plugged the AC adapter as a desktop replacement. Keypad wise I’m impressed because it has spacious keys suitable for typing each letters faster and some of the keys have blue characters used in activating the shortcut keys for example by pressing FN + F11/F12 will lower and increase the volume of the internal speaker. As for the touchpad, I rarely use this because I still haven’t learn the multitouch feature so I just use my trusted wireless mouse as my pointing device. By the way, ASUS K42F has an Intel core i3-370M, 2.4 ghz processor with built in VGA (Intel GMA HD) capable of producing high definition videos and can also play standard games like Torchlight. Aside from that, it has a 14 inch HD LED backlit display that is convenient to watch at. It is also installed with Altec Lansing speakers for audio however from a heavy metal fanatic opinion it is not enough in genetating loud sound even if the volume is on the highest setting so I just bought a separate speaker for this. As for the softwares, it comes with DVD drivers used in installing the operating systems and to turn on some of the features of this notebook for example the Facial Recognition Logon used for security that replaces the basic BIOS password that you just need to look at the preinstalled webcam to boot up this computer. For the mean time, I can say that the K42F did respond very for all my needs. I hope that my new notebook will last much longer as ASUS declares that their laptops have lower malfunction rate after 3 years of usage.
Very smooth keypad and multiple trackpad
The right side ports including the DVD drive
The left side ports with HDMI
Got the same laptop as you and I really like it..I had my EeePC netbook from ASUS also and I can say ASUS PCs can be trusted for durability…
You’re correct that is the main reason why I chose ASUS because of their laptops durability.
How to change or add memory? what is the specific memory details of this laptop