A COOL bronze colour scheme, great battery life of 175 minutes and a powerful graphics engine - the list does not end there as BenQ's Joybook X31 notebook has a lot more surprises in store.
Surprise No. 1 reveals itself when you run your fingers on the white keys which are firm and have a silky feel. The blue-lit, quick access media buttons also add to the classy feel.
Surprise No. 2: Despite the slim casing, it has all the connectivity options you'll need:three USB ports, a four-in-one memory card reader and wired and wireless LAN for surfing the Internet. Bonuses include a high definition multimedia interface, a webcam and a sensor that identifies your fingerprint as a security key.
Surprise No. 3 lies under the hood. You'll find an entry-level Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz processor but the memory component is maxed out to 4MB DDR2 SDRAM.
The notebook also comes with a 13.3-inch widescreen LED display that is bright enough for outdoor viewing but won't hurt your eyes.
Its decent software bundle includes the BenQ QMedia Bar for organising and playing media files, Adobe Reader and WebCam Companion.
Equally surprising is the high points this notebook scored in bench tests.
For example, equipped with an Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT, it scored 4,289 points on the 3DMark 06 bench test, so it can handle without problems graphics-intensive PC games like Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Louder speakers would have made this package even better.
At just 1.6kg without batteries, this laptop makes a light travel companion. When closed, the notebook measures 2.5cm thick, so you can wrap your arms around it easily or slide it in a small travel bag.
