ASUS U2E: Form vs. Function

LCD Quality - Brightness, Contrast, and Color Gamut

We were unable to determine exactly who manufacturers the LCD panel for the U2E. ASTRA32 reports a manufacturing date of January 2002, which is likely incorrect, and it gives a model name of "MS_004C". We can't give any manufacturer specifications for the display, but we did run it through our display tests. As usual, we are dealing with a TN panel, which means worse viewing angles and 6-bit colors. However, ASUS uses LED backlighting which provides better luminance (brightness) without using more power. Let's begin with a look at the brightness level and contrast ratio.

Considering we are dealing with an ultraportable 11.1" laptop, it's amazing to see white levels reach over 200 nits. The display is very pleasing to use, and easily competes with the best laptop LCDs we've used up to this point. Of course, that's not saying a lot, since laptop LCDs still seem to be second-class citizens when compared with desktop LCDs. However, we're happy that we finally have what we consider to be ideal brightness levels. The contrast ratio is also quite good - really, we don't have any problem with contrast ratio as long as it's above 500:1.

Starting with our last notebook review, we have begun to include color gamut results. We use Gamutvision, a utility developed by Imatest LLC. We compare the calibrated color profile to the Adobe RGB 1998 color profile. Below is a comparison of the gamut volume for the ASUS U2E, along with a chart showing the percentage of the Adobe RGB 1998 gamut from the various laptops.

As we just stated, laptop LCDs tend to seem like second-class citizens relative to desktop LCDs. The best laptop LCD in terms of color gamut is the ASUS G2P, which has a color gamut of close to 75%. The worst desktop LCD we've tested in the past two years has a 75% color gamut as well, and nearly all of the new LCDs produced in the last year have a color gamut of 90% or more. Meanwhile, the vast majority of laptops have a color gamut of around 50%, give or take. We had hoped that the LED backlighting would also improve the color gamut on the ASUS U2E, but unfortunately that's not the case.