A couple of days after Asus let its X80LE loose on the European mainland, it became the first major vendor to offer a 14.1-inch machine with an Intel dual-core for under €500.

This is really not big news, the X80LE in several different SKUs has been available in the Far East for months, but it's still a very nice offer and it's worth writing up. It's powered by Intel's Pentium Dual-Core T2370 at 1.73GHz, has 1024MB of memory, a 160GB hard drive, DVD+/-RW DL, Intel GMA X3100 graphics and 802.11abgn wireless.



It weighs 2.4kg, which is usual for a low-cost 14.1-inch machine, but it looks a lot nicer than similarly priced notebooks. The rather plain, matte black design looks elegant and stylish, unlike most low-end notebooks which look best in a bag. A closed bag, that is.

In the same price region you can get Medion's MD 96601 Akoya powered by an AMD Turion at 1.6GHz, but it's availability is limited at best. Samsung also has a couple of nice 14.1-inch models, but they're priced at €600 and €640. The vast majority of 14.1-inch notebooks in the E.U. retail around the €1000 mark, so the X80LE is quite a bargain, although it's a bit heavier and less powerful than the €1000 models.

Most people opt for 15.4-inch models merely due to their affordability, but at these prices, there's really no reason not to check out the 14.1-inch range. You'll get the same screen resolution in a slightly smaller package weighing 400-500g less than most cheaper priced 15.4-inch models.

You can check out the listing here.