ASUS K50IJ-X3 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop – Black

I have only had this laptop for a few days, and I absolutely love it. I have to disagree with the other review that says that the keyboard is small and flimsy. As a full time student who spends a lot of time typing, the keyboard was one of the most important features to me when comparing laptops. The keyboard on this Asus is very comfortable, comparable to the keyboard on the Mac Powerbooks. And I love having the number pad! I guess it all depends on what you’re used to. I’d also like to comment that the laptop looks great. From the photos it looked pretty plain, and I was worried about being dissapointed by it because I was looking for something stylish. In the end I chose Asus’ reputation as being reliable over the style of some other laptops I was considering. When I recieved my Asus I realized that it was the best of both worlds–all the reliability and components I wanted, and really sharp looking too! I’d recommend the Asus K50IJ to anyone based on my experiences so far.
Rating: 5 / 5

Bought my Asus K50IJ in January 2010, so I’ve been with it for a while. Mine has the older T6600 (Core 2 Duo) processor, but according to some research it is almost identical to the T4500 in this model. I use my computer several hours per day, mostly on the Internet, and I have been very pleased overall. Here are some of the things I’ve observed:

Positive: excellent style and all around feel. Processor, hard drive and RAM are more than adequate for any good laptop – in fact, a 500 GB hard drive is extremely rare for this price. The computer is much cooler than other models, as Asus says. Battery life is good to excellent. Keyboard is OK overall; more about that later. The one year damage replacement warranty was a strong selling point with me. Haven’t had any experience at all with Asus support; though I’m told its excellent. Facial recognition login works quite well most of the time, depending on light, and is a much easier way to log in. SD card reader is conveniently placed (front center) and simple to use to DL photos from my camera or cell.

Negative: first, using the keyboard with the touch pad is insanely aggravating. It is impossible to type rapidly without my palms bumping the touch pad now & then, and when that happens the cursor is repositioned and I begin typing somewhere else. (Yes, I have tried every imaginable setting for the touch pad.) This happened constantly and was VERY aggravating, so of course I began to use a wireless mouse 99% of the time – thankfully I can set it to ignore touch pad input when it is plugged in. But every now & then I like to use the computer without the external mouse. According to the settings I chose, it should automatically begin responding to input from the touch pad when I unplug the mouse – but no such luck. The last few times I’ve unplugged the mouse, it refused to respond to touch pad input, so I had no control at all until I plugged in the mouse again. Also, several times I have plugged in the mouse after using the touch pad, and the touch pad refused to stop responding. In each of these cases I had to do several reboots to clear up the problem. Consequently I no longer attempt to use the computer without the external mouse – too much hassle. I feel this is a major issue, and prevents me from awarding this computer the five stars it would otherwise earn.

Another issue that is the computer must be handled very gently. I bumped it a couple of times when it was new, and heard a weird mechanical clicking inside, and the screen froze. I had to do a hard reboot. Obviously I handle it like an egg now, but it seems a laptop should be able to handle a few minor bumps without any issues. That is certainly true with the last one, which is now 6 or 7 years old.

As to layout design – the keyboard is not all that user friendly, as the advertisement implies. Response is less than stellar – often while typing rapidly I will hit a key and not get any response – so I have to back up and re-type. If you do a lot of typing, this could be an issue for you. In addition, the arrow keys are oddly placed – wedged between the number keys and alpha keys. This computer replaced an older IBM x-31, which, although admittedly IBM’s top of the line premium business model, had a wonderfully responsive keyboard compared to this one. I could easily “blind type” on the IBM with few errors. The lack of dedicated volume keys is a problem as well. In fact, so is the lack of volume. You will most likely need headphones or external speakers with this laptop – the internal speakers just don’t cut it. I’ve heard laptops in this price range that have much better sound. One more relatively minor issue is the placement of the eject button for the DVD drive – it gets bumped often and the drive pops out unexpectedly. This could easily result in damage to the tray and an expensive replacement. And of course the computer’s lack of a bluetooth antenna limits its usefulness.

Here’s what Asus could do to make this the perfect laptop: first, fix or reposition the touch pad. This is central to using a computer, and really needs to be looked at. Second, install a keyboard light at the top of the lid. Costs a few cents and is worth it’s weight in diamonds in terms of usability. Third, add HDMI output, bluetooth, and dedicated volume controls (not sure why these aren’t there, except obviously cost – but I’d happily pay another $50 for them). Finally, rearrange the keyboard to facilitate easier “blind typing” – plus take a look at the IBM keyboard and find out why it works so much better.

If you buy a laptop once every four of five years, as I do, you want to consider all the facts before plunking down a chunk of change on a machine and being disappointed. Hope this review helps. Overall, I’m very pleased with the machine, although I still toy around with the idea of putting a larger hard drive in the old x-31 and using it more often.
Rating: 4 / 5