The Ultrabook creator, Intel, prophesised a boom in the Ultrabook market in the near future and many manufacturers, including Gigabyte are investing in this area. The new Gigabyte U2442 is a second generation Ultrabook which runs on the Ivy Bridge architecture.
The U2442 series has a 14-inch display, and places alongside Ultrabooks like the HP Envy 14 Spectre and the Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3. The notebook is not equipped with ULV components, but with a fast Core i5-3210M and the middle-class GeForce GT 640M graphics card. Officially, the U2442N cannot qualify as an Ultrabook with this hardware and only its sibling, the U2442V (identically equipped but with a ULV CPU - Core i7-3517U) can wear the title.
The rest of the hardware is similarly potent: 8 GB RAM, a 128 GB SSD and a 750 GB hard disk. This hardware is top class, which brings us to the price: (starts at) 1200 Euro (~$1555) for the U2442N. Other Ultrabooks are similarly expensive, so we will see what the test model can do in the following review.
Case
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Made in Taiwan - the manufacturer is quite proud of this fact as can be seen by the large sticker on the top right of the screen. Our first impression is neutral: the silver-grey case is made of synthetic material and aluminum, yet it does not look as flashy as most competitors and may even be slightly drab. Thankfully, this is very practical as dust and smudges would be far more visible on darker (and even high-polished) cases.
The bottom of the laptop is made of only plastic, yet it offers good sturdiness. The chassis bends slightly under the keyboard when excessive force is applied. With the exception of this, the test model is as sturdy as a laptop with a metal chassis. This is especially impressive as the U2442N is a mere 21 mm thick and weighs 1.69 kilograms/3.72 lb. (and without the HDD - a mere 1.59 kilograms/3.5 lb.). Overall, the test model is very mobile. However, if the display bezel was thinner (between 1.5 and 2.7 cm), the mobility could be increased further.
The back of the display is made of polished aluminum, as promised by the manufacturer. This ensures that the display is quite sturdy. Thanks to the well-designed hinges, the laptop can be opened with one hand. On the other hand, when the laptop shakes, the display wobbles. We did not find any workmanship flaws like sharp edges, which results in the Gigabyte U2442 receiving a good score in this section.
Connectivity
Like many other notebooks of 2012, the Gigabyte U2442N has two USB 3.0 interfaces. In addition, the laptop offers two USB 2.0 ports and this should satisfy most users. It is a real pity that the test model lacks a (Mini-) DisplayPort interface, but the user is provided with both a VGA and a HDMI interface.
The test model has no optical drive, ensuring that all ports have sufficient space on the case. The layout chosen by Gigabyte is well thought out and practical: Gigabit-LAN, the power outlet and both display interfaces are placed towards the back of the case, whereas the USB ports (two on the left, two on the right) and audio jacks are placed towards the front. All the interfaces and the card reader, which can only read SD cards, can be used without issues.
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Communication
The Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230 is a mini PCIe WLAN module, which offers features and performance appropriate for a middle-class device. The Multi-Stream technology (2x2) makes it possible to transmit and receive up to 300 MB/s, but only on the usually overcrowded 2.4 frequency. The model does not support the 5 GHz frequency which means that users are limited to just one band on IEEE 802.11b/g/n networks.
The U2442N also has Bluetooth 4.0 (provided by the same module). This new standard of the wireless technology has a special Low-Energy mode and is supported by many modern Smartphones.
As usual, a small 1.3 megapixels webcam is installed in the display bezel. It may not take sharp pictures but it suffices for use with Skype or similar programs. The integrated microphone is of similar quality, and, in most cases, the user will not require an additional microphone.
Accessories
We did not expect this: the manufacturer offers a typical delivery (manuals and a driver CD) and includes a stylish leather bag. Although the material is not very high-quality, most users will be happy about this small extra which ensures more protection for their device.
The software extras are scarce. Thankfully, this means that the user will not have to uninstall unnecessary test versions. The obligatory Adobe Reader and Starter edition of Microsoft Office 2010 are pre-installed and can be accessed via desktop shortcuts.
Maintenance
Few upgrade possibilities are a characteristic of compact notebooks. This applies to our test model as well. The bottom of the model has a flap, which is secured by a single screw, and covers both RAM slots. These slots are already occupied and upgrading to 12 or 16 GB is only possible after removing the installed modules. All additional components, including the integrated battery, cannot be removed easily.
Warranty
Gigabyte promises 2 years global warranty for the U2442N. If the laptop should break down in a foreign country, the user can get it repaired on-site at a Gigabyte shop. We could not find any information or offers pertaining to an extension of the warranty.
Input Devices
Keyboard
The chiclet keyboard is installed nicely, if not perfectly, in the chassis of the test model. The workmanship and sturdiness are very good and it did not bend much even under immense force. We did not appreciate the cheap quality of the material of which the 15x15 millimeter keys are made. The integrated backlight helps the user type easily in the dark which is a positive. Gigabyte has used a standard layout for the keyboard (US keyboard for our test model).
The soft pressure point is noticeable while typing but, in our opinion, it does not provide enough feedback. The pressure point is paired with a short stroke distance (typical for notebooks). The typing experience was diminished due to the steady clattering of the keyboard which accompanies high-speed typing. We expected much more of a notebook of this price range.
Touchpad
The Smart-Pad made by Elan performs better in our review. The device measures 5.3 x 9.6 centimeters, and although it is not very large, it has some good qualities. The rough surface reminds the user of Lenovo ThinkPads and may not be to the liking of all users, but the sliding properties are amazing, even with sweaty fingers. The precision and offered features are also quite good. The touchpad supports the typical multi-touch gestures which can be individually configured or de-activated (the touchpad can be switched off by pressing Fn + F10).
A broad button below the pad performs the function of both mouse keys. The stroke distance is short, like the keyboard, but thanks to the strong pressure point the user can comfortably use the touchpad. A practical feature: pressing the right mouse button while the laptop is off will show the battery charge. The 5 status LEDs are used for this task as well as for showing the activity of the wireless module while the laptop is on.
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Display
Gigabyte has picked a matte WXGA++ display for its 14-inch model. The screen has a resolution of 1600 by 900 pixels which translates to a nice pixel density of 131 dpi. This provides the user with a well-sized work space and an acceptable font size.
At the maximum level, we measured an average brightness of 233 cd/m². Near the bottom of the screen, the brightness drops to a little above 200 cd/m², causing a slightly unbalanced illumination of 83 percent. However, in our use, this was only noticeable when looking closely and should not affect the everyday user.
| Information Gossen Mavo-Monitor Maximum: 252 cd/m²Average: 232.6 cd/m² Brightness Distribution: 83 % Center on Battery: 209 cd/m² Black: 1.47 cd/m² Contrast: 161:1 |
Buyers expecting a high-quality IPS panel like in the Asus UX31A or UX32VD, will be disappointed by the simple TN screen (LG LP140WD2-TLD2) of the Gigabyte U2442N. Sadly, although the black value (1.47 cd/m²) and contrast (161:1) are decent, they just cannot match the values of a high-quality panel. This is a common problem for many notebooks like the U300s from Lenovo.
The limited color space coverage is another weakness. The sRGB and AdobeRGB standards, very important to photographers, are only partially covered. This means that the user would have to connect an external monitor for professional picture editing. In our test, we noted that the red shades were especially hard to differentiate from one another.
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The matt display surface will not cause too many distracting reflections during outdoors use. However, the brightness, which is already quite low, drops 10% while the laptop is running on battery, making the use of the laptop outdoors in direct sunlight quite hard. We would have liked to have a brightness of at least 250 to 300 cd/m² for outdoors use. The Samsung 900X4C is a good example.
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After finding so many weaknesses, we expected the TN panel to perform below average in the viewing angle stability test. Our suspicion was confirmed: even the slightest movements from a central sitting position can deteriorate the picture quality significantly. This applies to both horizontal and vertical viewing angles. The U2442N is not the ideal choice for viewing a movie with many friends.
Buyers who want to use an external monitor with the laptop should get one which has a HDMI interface. Although the VGA output is clear, the picture is tinted slightly yellow. The color settings in the graphics driver can be used to ameliorate this issue.