CNET Asia Review

BenQ's first Sonoma takes the form of the Joybook S52. Though the dedicated graphics are lacking, we were glad the elegant notebook did well in terms of performance and features considering its fairly affordable S$2,499 (US$1,775.36) price.

	The spacious keyboard of the BenQ Joybook S52

As with the many BenQ notebooks, there's no pointing stick though there's a slightly wider touchpad than usual. As for the keys, they give light tactile feedback, but on the bright side, each gives you enough space to type to ensure fewer mistakes are made when rushing a report. Layout-wise, the top left holds two customizable quick launch buttons and a power key which glows blue when the laptop is on.

	The right side of the front edge holds the 5-in-1 card reader.

The notebook came with a decent array of connectivity options in the form of two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, VGA-out, Ethernet, modem and port replicator connector. Though there's no S-video out, we were pleased to find a 5-in-1 card reader supporting SD/MS/MS PRO/MMC/xD formats. As for networking, there's no Bluetooth here but you get a choice of 802.11b/g wireless LAN, 10/100 fast Ethernet and a modem to keep you happy.

For audio, BenQ adds a built-in SRS 3D audio for surround sound. This can be a good feature if you want people a few meters away to hear what's happening though sound clarity is compromised. Thankfully, you have the option to turn it off if you need to.

Performance And Battery Life
MobileMark 2002 was used to test the performance and battery life. We were content with the performance score of 203 churned out. This fits in well with other 1.6GHz thin-and-lights lying in the 190 to 230 range, though we have a rough idea that Sonoma notebooks don't necessarily perform any better than the old Centrinos.

Battery life was neither too good nor too bad at 197 minutes (approx. 3.25 hours). We'd have liked a little more juice from the 6-cell battery given that some thin-and-lights hit the 4-hour mark.

Service And Support
A standard one-year carry-in warranty for parts and labor is provided. On BenQ's Web site, you can get access to the S52's drivers, firmware updates and manual. FAQ, warranty and contact center information are provided. For product enquiries, you have a section called "Ask The Expert" to cater to your needs.

Along with Windows XP Home Edition, the Joybook bundles an assortment of software such as PowerDirector 3, Nero OEM Suite, QPower and QMusic. DVD playback is handled by PowerDVD while DVD editing is managed by PowerProducer Express and the Nero software where home movies, photos or other data can be transferred to DVDs or CDs.

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BenQ JoyBook S52 (Pentium M Processor 730 1.6GHz, 256MB RAM)

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User Reviews

31stfreak

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sleek cheapo portable

Oct 12, 2006

Rating: 8 out of 10 (Excellent)
Pros: nice design, portable, widescreen
Cons: poor sound/speakers, non-glare TFT, low stock memory, built-in graphics
Opinion:
this notebook's got a very good design indeed (no wonder they got that red dot award!) 1.latchless lid is a plus though the clicks can be a little annoying.
2. widescreen is great but its better if they'd used a glare-type screen which is less prone to fingerprints and dust.
3. the eject button for the dvdrw is flimsy
4. poor speakers / sound... it always gives me this scratchy sound whenever i play music too long or a little loud (not even the max.)
5. built-in apps are sometimes problematic
6. 3 hours avg battery life
7. notebook's portable with reasonable weight and it feels tough / sturdy

overall, its a great portable notebook for the budget conscious.

 

LouisAlferez

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Affordable starter notebook

Aug 18, 2006

Rating: 7 out of 10 (Very good)
Pros: Bright widescreen, card reader, Firewire, DVD writer, Linux-friendly (except sound), very sturdy
Cons: Two-hour battery, poor speakers, no sound in Linux
Opinion:
This is an excellent choice for someone who wants a widescreen (13") and light notebook. Its LCD screen is quite bright, while it's keyboard is responsive enough. The touchpad works smoothly, but its buttons wear out easily. After a year, the right button has problems clicking already.

Sound is poor and tinny. The choice of speakers could have been better. Also it could use more USB slots, as USB keys would be a more common way of carrying data than flash cards (which makes this unit's 5-in-1 card reader useless).

The unit I bought only had a two hour battery. I wonder where the other reviewer got his "four-hour battery". Still, getting 512Mb RAM (instead of the standard 256Mb) was a good enough trade-off. The Joybook S52 also has special buttons that can be configured in Windows XP.

By the way, when you watch DVD movies on Windows with this baby, make sure that ... Read more

 

Portable!

Jul 15, 2005

Rating: 8 out of 10 (Excellent)
Pros: 
Cons: 
Opinion:
The screen is bright and sharp. Battery lasts between 3 and 4 hours. Good buy for me at $1,999 with a 512mb upgrade.

 

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