ASI IQ17 Details
An ultra-glossy 1920x1200 17” display matches the IQ17’s high-luster finish, but the screen’s backlight is bright enough to mute most background reflections. Overhead lights in our test lab were somewhat bothersome, while reflections of LCD monitors behind us were barely noticeable.
A backlit keyboard barely shines through the white key characters and is better viewed as a soft glow that surrounds each key. Using the Function-F10 key combo allows the color to be changed from blue to red, green, or “off."
An Authen Tec AES1610 fingerprint reader adds to security and login convenience, employing the included Vitalkey Fingerprint Solution software for configuration. Though this does offer some protection against data access if the notebook is stolen, James Bond might say that it’s often easier to steal a finger than a password.
A 2.0 Megapixel integrated webcam enables video conferencing.
An optical drive and speakers occupy the IQ17’s front edge. ASI includes an H-L Data GSA-T50N 8x DVD burner with 6x rewrite and 5x DVD-RAM capability.
The IQ17's left side features an SD-based combination flash card interface, ExpressCard/54 slot, and two 2.5” form factor hard drive bays. We would have liked to see a USB port or two on this side, but cramped internal components would have made such a design difficult.
Perfect for right-handed users, the IQ17’s right side features headset jacks, analog volume control, IEEE-1394 (FireWire 400), two USB ports, and an optical TOSLINK audio output.
Out back are eSATA, VGA, HDMI, one USB, and one Gigabit Ethernet interface. A coaxial connector to the left hints at an add-in TV tuner that wasn’t available when our system was built.
