ASUS has put out its fair share of mini-notebooks, but its latest, the $649 N10Jc—despite its 10-inch screen and Intel Atom processor—is not a member of the growing Eee family. The N10Jc, ASUS’ first corporate netbook, is more concerned with security and performance features than being “easy to learn, work, and play.” Sporting several features not commonly found on other systems in its class—including a glossy screen, switchable Nvidia 9300M GS graphics, ASUS’ instant-on Express Gate, an HDMI port, a fingerprint reader, and a two-year warranty—the N10Jc packs plenty of perks. However, this mini-notebook’s punchy performance and solid graphics also means that it is chunkier and pricer than the others.

Design

The N10Jc looks more like a traditional ultraportable, like the ASUS U2E or U6V, than an Eee PC. Its glossy taupe lid branded with the ASUS logo and its silver hinge exude a professional look. The design isn’t as flashy as the Eee PC S101 (it lacks the Swarovski crystals) but looks classier than the Eee PC 1000, MSI Wind, and Samsung NC10.

While the N10Jc is smaller than most full-featured notebooks, it is the chunkiest in the netbook class. Measuring 10.8 x 7.6 x 1.4 inches and weighing 3.4 pounds with the six-cell battery, this is the largest 10-inch netbook on the market, mainly because of its inch-thick screen bezel, which also makes the screen look smaller. Compared with its distant cousin the Eee PC 1000H, which is one of the larger 10-inch netbooks on the market, the N10Jc is 0.1 inches thicker and 0.2 pounds heavier. Nevertheless, the system and its AC adapter, which brings the total travel weight to 3.8 pounds, fit nicely in a Targus portable DVD player traveling case and didn’t feel heavy on our shoulder.

Keyboard and Trackpad

The keyboard on the ASUS N10Jc is by far the best keyboard we have seen on any ASUS netbook. Unlike the Eee PC 901 or 1000H, the keyboard isn’t stricken with flex and the keys provide nice feedback without heavy clicking. Nevertheless, as happy as we are with the feel of the keys, touch typists may be bothered by the awkward placement of the right Shift key, which is shrunken and positioned next to the Up arrow. For this reason, we still prefer the keyboard on the Samsung NC10 and the HP Mini 1000.

We were similarly pleased with the feel of the N10Jc’s touchpad, which is spacious and similar in size to those on mainstream laptops. It offered a textured feel as we navigated around the desktop, and the two mouse buttons below are easy to click, unlike the rock-hard buttons on the Eee PC 1000 and 901. A fingerprint reader is nestled between the right and left mouse buttons but didn’t interfere with our navigation.