ASUS R2H Ultra Mobile PC review published

The RH2 is ASUS's first Ultra Mobile PC.

At the time of writing for under £800 you get the main unit whith its 7-inch touch screen as well as accessories including a folding keyboard, optical drive, TV tuner and copy of Microsoft's Autoroute to use with the built in GPS antenna. The main unit also includes a small camera - ideal for video calling, and a fingerprint sensor for security. Of course it has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

During testing the R2H proved itself to be pretty versatile, but also to be a bit of a let down on the battery front. It does come with a spare battery, but that's something else to carry if you expect to be away from mains power.

The whole idea is pretty compelling and I enjoyed my time with the R2H. But I have trouble working out what the niche for this format is. There is nothing here that you can't do with a laptop computer, and depending on what bits you want to tote a laptop is less hassle (its keyboard and optical drive are integrated) could be lighter, and could easily be less expensive too.

ZDNet.co.uk has published my full review. Read it here.