CNET Asia Review

At S$2,299 (US$1,325), the BenQ Joybook 5000 is one of the most affordable Centrino notebooks you can find in the market today. What makes this machine stand out above the rest of the similarly priced competition is its strong feature set. Besides a DVD/CD-RW combo drive and onboard wireless LAN, the Joybook comes equipped with a dedicated 3D graphics card, a feature not commonly found in notebooks in the low S$2,000 (US$1,152) range. What's more, the 2.4kg Joybook does not compromise on mobility or battery life, either, making it one of the best all-round entry-level machines we've tested so far.

Design
With its flashy silver-and-pastel blue casing, it's clear the Joybook 5000 is designed for the younger set. A unique rounded front edge protrudes slightly at both ends, while a combination of bright blue LEDs on top of the keyboard and below the touchpad adds a nice--if distracting--touch to the whole "trendy" concept. Despite a plastic construction that "gives" if you press the lid hard enough, the notebook is generally well-built with strong hinges that hold the LCD screen firmly in place.

While the Joybook is hardly considered an ultracompact, mobility is not an issue with this 2.4kg machine. Its 320 x 265 x 31mm footprint and 14.1-inch display make for a nice laptop size for both desktop and mobile use. It also helps that BenQ has included a padded pouch for carrying the notebook.

One of the things we like most about the Joybook is its LCD screen. Bright and crisp, the display offers a good viewing angle and comes with seven levels of brightness control for adjusting the screen in different lighting conditions. The keyboard is well spaced-out and gives a good feedback response, but the assignment of some keys makes it hard to access certain symbols.

Features
The Joybook 5000 is available in three basic configurations, although retail units can vary from shop to shop. Our test unit is an entry-level model which comes with a Pentium M 1.3GHz processor with 256MB RAM and a 30GB hard drive. The other two higher-end models are equipped with 1.4GHz or 1.5GHz chips and hard drive capacities of up to 40GB. The rest of the features, such as the 32MB ATI Radeon 9000 graphics and DVD/CD-RW combo drives, are the same for all three systems.

For an entry-level machine, the Joybook 5000 features a good range of connectivity options. Besides wireless 802.11b which comes by default with the Centrino setup, the BenQ is equipped with standard Ethernet LAN and modem for networking as well as USB 2.0 and FireWire ports for connecting to external peripherals such as printers and optical storage drives. You can also hook up the Joybook to an external display via the S-video and VGA-out ports.

Like most notebooks these days, the Joybook comes with a DVD/CD-RW combo drive that is useful for most basic applications. Unfortunately, the drive is fixed, so you cannot swap it for a DVD writer or an additional battery. Those with flash memory devices will find the onboard 3-in-1 memory card slot for SD (SecureDigital), MMC (MultiMediaCard) and Memory Stick media useful.

Performance
For a Pentium M 1.3GHz system, the Joybook scored an admirable 138 points in our MobileMark test, which puts it on par with other systems with similar configurations. However, the Joybook's strength really comes from its ATI Radeon card which produced a score of 5510 on 3DMark2001SE, making the laptop suitable for playing 3D games and running multimedia-intensive applications. We feel the notebook could do with more RAM and hard drive space, though.

What impressed us most, however, was its battery life. The Joybook lasted 293 minutes or almost 5 hours in the BatteryMark tests, which makes it one of the top few longest-lasting notebooks in our labs. The unit surprisingly kept cool even after prolonged usage. However, if you are using the notebook for watching DVD movies or wireless LAN surfing, the battery life expectancy is expected to be much shorter.

The bright screen makes the Joybook great for watching DVDs and the volume range of the onboard speakers is more than sufficient for personal entertainment. If you are looking for more bass in your music, an external speaker is a worthwhile investment.

Service And Support
Unlike most sub-S$2,500 (US$1,441) laptops, the Joybook comes pre-installed with WinXP Pro instead of WinXP Home. It is also bundled with several applications including Cyberlink's PowerDVD and PowerDirector, Ulead's Photo Explorer and NTI-CD-Maker 2000 Plus.

BenQ offers a standard one-year carry-in and onsite warranty for the Joybook 5000. According to the company, the average turnover time for repairs is about 24 hours, depending on the severity of the problem. You can download firmware upgrades, drivers and even manuals from the Web site. In addition to FAQs online, BenQ also offers phone (during office hours) and email support.

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BenQ JoyBook 5000 (Pentium M 1.3GHz, 256MB RAM)

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User Reviews

Haven't failed on me once

Sep 13, 2005

Rating: 8 out of 10 (Excellent)
Pros: 
Cons: 
Opinion:
Got the first batch of the model which came with ATI Radeon 9000 way back in October 2003 and it hasn't failed on me once and mind you i use this machine almost 24/7. Apart from the cheap plastics and exterior, it's got quality electronics inside that i can say... just make sure you don't bump it around :)

 

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