ASUS X102BA is an Affordable Ultraportable Geared Toward the Budget-minded Student

Back when I was in college, ultraportable laptops automatically meant fast and expensive. If you were a student and wanted a portable productivity device, you would have had to settle for a netbook that was as slow as molasses. These days though, affordable ultraportables like the ASUS X102BA are selling below the Php20k mark. They’re nowhere near as powerful as their more premium brethren, but affordable notebooks like the X102BA provide just enough performance to power through everyday computing tasks without having to endure long loading times and the frequent stutter.

So what do you get with the recently launched ASUS X102BA? This budget-minded lightweight features a 10.1 inch HD touchscreen display with a resolution of 1366 x 768. That equates to a pixel density of 155ppi, which should be enough clarity for a 10 incher.

The ASUS X102BA is powered by a perfectly adequate AMD A4-1200 1GHz dual core APU coupled with Radeon HD 8180 graphics to provide energy efficient multitasking performance. The Philippine press release didn’t reveal the RAM and storage configuration of the X102BA, but the base model for the western market features 2GB of RAM and 320GB of storage.

ASUS has also managed to include some smart features that mobile users will appreciate. Hybrid Engine II technology provides an “Instant On” feature that wakes the device up in just two seconds from sleep. The ASUS X102BA is even smart enough to create instant backups in sleep mode when the battery drops below 5%.

Other key specs include USB 3.0, 802.11n WiFi support and even Bluetooth 4.0 for easy pairing with Bluetooth devices. Students will especially appreciate the bundled Microsoft Home and Student 2013 with the full versions of Word, PowerPoint and OneNote.

Wondering how much the ASUS X102BA will set you back? Well in this case, “set you back” might be too strong a term since this lightweight ultraportable touchscreen laptop only costs Php18,995. Looking to grab one? The ASUS X102BA is already available at authorized dealers nationwide and comes in Blue, Black and Gray.