Case
Overall, there is not much criticism with the stability. Asus says on its website that due to the aluminum the display cover can resist 20% more pressure compared to consumer notebooks. As a matter of fact, pressure on the display cover is not visible on the screen. At other points we would have hoped for a better quality impression: For example beneath the DVD burner, where the bottom side can be dented with loud cracking noises.
Asus is very confident with the notebook height: Up to 3.5 cm at the thickest point of the Asus Pro B43V. Only the HP ProBook 6465b is 3 mm thicker, otherwise many comparable devices are a bit thinner and lighter.
Connectivity
The port layout of our review unit is also identical to the Asus B43E; the only exception is the lack of a modem port on our unit. This similarity also means that the Asus Pro B43V has a remarkable port variety for a 14-inch device: Thanks to VGA, HDMI and Display-Port almost every display can be connected to our review unit. A 34 mm Express-Card slot is on board as well as eSATA and a 3.5 mm audio jack with S/PDIF support. The docking station port is at the bottom.
Despite the multiple video outputs, the outdated VGA-output is often used at the office. We test it by attaching an external display and the picture quality is good, though close observation reveals a slight blur. We also connect the notebook via HDMI: In this case we get a very sharp picture and can choose every resolution from 800x600 up to 1920x1080.
There could have been more USB ports; however they can be extended very easily with a USB hub. Many ports are at the front area where they can interfere with the use of a connected mouse or opening of the DVD drive. The port layout would be better if some ports were at the back.
Keyboard
Special keys can be found in the left area of the case above and next to the keyboard: On the one hand, you can regulate the energy-saving mode and switch between three presets for the desktop and display modes, for instance a presentation. The bottom key activates and deactivates the touchpad. The keys look good but are not always working reliably. Finally, there is a switch at the front that turns the wireless connection on and off (with Windows 8 this switch activates and deactivates the airplane mode).
Touchpad
We already praised the touchpad in the Asus B43E review: the surface is slightly lower than the palm rest, has good gliding capabilities and is quite large for a 14-inch notebook at 94 millimeters (~3.7 inches) diagonally. The rubberized buttons are also very convenient; they have a good pressure point and are pleasantly quiet.
As mentioned before, the touchpad can be deactivated with a push of a button. The input device even recognizes when the whole palm is on the touchpad and deactivates itself. It is good that the touchpad has so many qualities since there is no second input device in the Asus Pro B43V like the famous TrackPoint of Lenovo ThinkPads.
Display
The measured values support the good first impression: Even if the brightness distribution is slightly more uneven than the competition, none of the other panels can reach the average brightness of 270.9 nits. The black value is also excellent by comparison and results in a comparatively good contrast of 335:1. If you come closer you can recognize a distinct screen-door effect, unfortunately it is hard to capture this effect on a picture.
The coverage of color spaces is not so good with our review unit: Neither sRGB nor Adobe RGB can be covered. Professional users who work a lot with pictures or videos have to connect a display with a bigger color space; all other users will hardly notice this flaw.
The picture below show the results of the color analysis with the photo spectrometer X-Rite i1Display 2, once with the factory configuration and once after the calibration with the CalMan5 software. When comparing the results before and after the calibration you basically see that you can improve the display with the correct calibration: While the grayscale shows distinct deviations from the ideal value before the calibration, it is in the acceptable range afterwards. TN-LED panels often overemphasize the blue color components, which results in a blue cast. This is also the case for the Asus B43V; even the calibration cannot change that. (C21-TF201P batteries)
Outdoors the very bright screen and the matte finish are a good combination: Even if working under direct sunlight on very bright days is not possible, shaded places and bright interiors are absolutely suitable working environments for the Asus Pro B43V. Distracting reflections are no problem due to the matte finish.
The TN panel of the Asus Pro B43V has the common viewing angle limitations for this kind of displays as soon as you tilt either yourself or the display upwards, downwards or sideways. Views from the side result in color distortions and loss in contrast. Fortunately, these effects are not so strong with our review unit compared to other displays. However, upwards and downwards the contrast collapses very fast.
Speakers
With office notebooks the speakers are usually neglected, after all you use them to show something to a colleague or watch a movie after hours at most. However, there is an "Altec-Lansing" symbol on the Asus B43V. The American Hi-Fi manufacturer provided the speakers and they really sound better compared to most other speakers in office notebooks. The main reason is that high tones are not so overemphasized compared to many competitors and the result is a warmer and richer sound. For regular music playback with the notebook we still recommend external speakers or headphones.
Verdict
Should a freelancer, company boss or authority choose the Asus Pro B43V? Some things in its favor: The display is clearly above the class average considering the brightness and contrast, numerous ports wait for their respective cables and the device remains quiet as long as you avoid the DVD drive. Heat development and battery runtimes also get a "Good" rating. In addition, you get extensive security features from facial recognition to fingerprint reader and Anti-Theft features.
What could prevent the business user from buying? First of all the appearance of the very massive case and secondly the mobility are not going to appeal to everyone. The keyboard also takes some time getting used to and the lacking WWAN module might be an exclusion criterion.
Overall Asus shows that they can compete well in the business market against big players like Lenovo and Dell. Their devices also have weaknesses in this price range. If the mobility is not the main criterion and if you can live with the bulky chassis, with the B43V you get a good office notebook with excellent port variety.
More info: laptop-batteries.com.au , laptop-battery.org.uk , battery-store.eu
