Travel Technology - Asus A6010U Notebook Opinions?

Hi

I'm looking to by my first notebook. I'm in Australia (hence the pricing may be high to some) and am looking for a good performer that will also fit into my budget - up to about $1300 AUD (so most are out I know!)

Looking for a notebook that I can view DVDs on, some video importing, manage photos, access web, Dreamweaver, Word etc. More and more places even in Australia now have Wifi `hotspots' so I'm guessing the specs would cover that!

Anyway, I came across an Asus A6010U for around $1200 with the following specs:

* AMD® Sempron® Processor 3000+ (1.8Ghz/128K)
* Memory : 1x 256MB DDR-333Mhz PC2700 SoDimm / Max 2Gb
* Hard Drive : 40GB 4200RPM
* Optical Drive : 8x DVD Dual Drive + Dual Layer
* Graphics Card: Embedded SIS M760GX SIS Mirage TM 2 Graphics
o Video Memory : 128Mb shared Memory
* Web Camera : 0.35Mega Pixel CMOS Camera
* Display: 15.4” WXGA
* Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
* Battery:

o 8 Cell (Li-Ion) Standard
o Up to 3.0 Hrs Battery Time
o Up to 4 Hrs Charge Time
o Heat Emissions 65 Watts
* Expansion Slot:
o PC Card Slot: 1x Type II PCMCIA 2.1 Compliant
o Mini-PCI Slot: Wireless LAN Card Installed
* Expansion Ports:
o 1x Card-Reader
o 1 x Composite S-Video Out
o 1 Type II PCMCIA 2.1 compliant
o 1 x SIR-115.2Kbps supported
o 1x IEEE 1394 port
o 1x SPDIF Out jack
o 1 x Headphone-out jack
o 1 x Microphone-in jack
o 1 x Audio-in jack
o 1 x RJ11 Modem jack for phone line
o 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
o 4 x USB 2.0 ports
o 1x EPP/ECP Parallel port/D-sub 25-pin
* Multi-card Reader : Built-in card reader: SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO
* Sound :
o AC97 S/W Audio
o SoundBlaster Pro Compatible
o Built in Stereo Speakers
* Communication:
o Wireless : Integrated Wireless 802.11g (Mini-PCI)
o W-LAN Antenna : Antenna for 802.11g
o Modem : AC’97 56Kbps v.92 MDC Fax Modem
o LAN : Integrated 10/100 Base T PCI LAN
* Pointing Device:
o Touchpad
* Keyboard :
o 19 mm Full Size 88 Key with MS Windows function Keys
* Accessories Included
o Optical Mouse
o Carrying Case
* Dimensions: 35.2mm x 354mm x 284mm (HxWxD)
* Weight:
o 2.9Kgs
o 2.85Kgs Travel Weight

Does this seem like an OK notebook - I'd like one a bit lighter I guess but less weight is more money! If I add 256/512 MB RAM it should help!

Any comments or alternates, I'm in Australia remember which means I can't shop Newegg, Best Buy, Circuit City etc.

Thanks
Ernie

Even the most basic modern notebook should be able to handle the tasks you've outlined. None of those tasks (unless you're doing a bunch of Photoshopping) are terribly trying. I would recommend avoiding the AMD-based offerings unless you plan not to take the machine anywhere. The AMD CPUs are not competitive with the Intel Pentium M offerings on power consumption and speed.

Dell Australia have a special running on the Inspiron 1300 which includes 512MB memory (VERY important, 256 isn't enough), a DVD-RW Dual Layer drive, 1.7Ghz Pentium M (they call it a 735), 40GB HDD and 1 year warranty. That's what I'd go with. If you can stretch the budget, buy more memory, it'll give you the most bang for the $$$. 1.7Ghz is PLENTY fast.