ASUS BU400 impresses at trials by the China Machinery Industry Federation

Overview The China Machinery Industry Federation (CMIF) is a national-level grouping of diverse enterprises, government agencies, trade associations, research institutions and consultancies dedicated to furthering the interests and development China’s burgeoning machinery industry. This amalgamation of government, private enterprise and academia comprising some 120 direct and 77,800 indirect members undertake a broad range of activities, from collaborative shaping of state policy related to the sector, to research and consultancy services to help China’s machinery sector compete on the world stage. Within the CMIF, the Machinery Industry Information Centre is tasked with IT and network management to support the Federation’s activities, as well as IT procument. According to Zhang Haijun, director at the information centre, “The network management centre understakes the Federation’s IT procurement, comprising computers, notebooks, mobile hard drives, servers, and IT-related equipment purchases. We also undertake software and platform development and mainteannce, network management, office management, and also information consulting services and research.” With such varied IT portfolio, the Information Centre recently conducted a trial use of ASUSPRO BU400 ultrabook to assess its ability to meet the rigorous quality and performance standard demanded in its myriad IT duties for the Federation.

Challenges

“Currently, the Network Management Centre employs about 100 staff, with most of them using more than one notebook. With the rapid development of our business centres, the growth of notebook adoption among our staff is growing at a very high rate.” Notebook procurement at the Network Management Centre follows procurement guidelines at public sector institutions, with an emphasis on factors including appearance, performance, and value. Zhang, who has many years’ experience in IT management, is no stranger to testing IT equipment to the most rogorous standards. “From our initial impression of the BU400, the notebook already stood out when we compared it to notebooks from other brands, by virtue of its unique carbon fibre construction, which is stronger than conventional plastics and metal used in the outer shell of most notebooks,” says Zhang. The BU400’s aluminium-carbon fibre shell is only one third the weight of aluminium while offering twice the latter’s impact resistance. Carbon fibre construction is usually used in military, medicine, aerospace and other high-end specialist applications; ASUS pioneered its use in civilian notebooks, where its use is still relatively rare. In impact tests, conventional aluminium-magnesium alloy notebooks would sustain deformation to the shell after repeated pounding from the test machine, but the BU400 would remain unscathed in similar tests.

Security is another primary factor that was evaluated in the trial use. Says Zhang, “Security is especially important because we work on a mobile office concept, and on field trips, our staff need encrypted password access to our intranet, and also to share data via secure VPN transmission.”

What especially impressed Zhang was the hardware provisions to keep data in the BU400 secure: “The BU400 has very comprehensive measures to protect the hard drive and its contents. With metal stents around a soft-wrap of cushioning foam, the hard drive is well protected from shocks such as drops and sudden impacts,” says Zhang.

In addition, the long battery life of the BU400 – from 8 hours on a single battery, to 12 hours if used with a secondary extended battery – has proven very important in cases where marketing events are held in locations where a power point cannot be found nearby. “This is enough to meet my work day’s needs, and is very practical for my colleagues in the sales, marketing and customer service departments,” Lee adds.

Outcome During the period of the trial, the BU400 was able to meet and exceed the requirements posed by the Network Management Centre. “With the features ranging from refined appearance, comprehensive connectivity and security, the BU400 is able to completely meet our centre’s requirements,” says Zhang.

The Product ASUS BU400 is a powerful ultrabook with award-winning design, rigorously tested for long term durability and reliability against such commonplace hazards as drops and spills, surpassing even MIL-STD 810G military standard for ruggedness. To protect vital data, the hard drive is toughened with anti-shock features, while TPM functionality keeps sensitive information from unauthorised access. The ASUSPRO BU400 weighs just 1.64kg with proprietary True-comfort keyboard and precision touchpad, and features the latest third-generation Intel Core processors and dedicated Nvidia graphics.