- [Michael] The ASUS NovaGo would've looked dated
even a decade ago.
It's clunky, it's dull,
and it lacks basic amenities like a backlit keyboard.
But, it's a much more significant machine than it appears.
This is one of the first always-connected PCs,
a new category of notebook that makes two huge promises:
an always-on Internet connection
and a battery that can give you 20 hours of use on a charge;
sadly, this machine only delivers on one of those,
and it asks a lot of sacrifices in exchange.
(upbeat optimistic electronic music)
Before we get to the hard times,
let's touch on the one big win here.
Thanks to a mobile processor with a builtin modem,
the NovaGo is, indeed, always connected
to a cellular network of your choice.
Over the past two months I've used it on AT&T and T-Mobile,
and there's a pretty great Sprint deal, too.
I'll touch on that at the end.
Point is, ya stick a SIM card in there,
and this thing connects to 4G LTE
just as quickly as your phone does.
That means you don't need to drain your phone's battery
with a mobile hotspot,
ya don't need to run the risk of connecting
to a dodgy public WiFi network,
ya don't need to fiddle with VPNs.
Your laptop is already connected,
because it's always connected, all the time.
It even stays connected in standby, so when ya open it,
your notifications are there waiting for you.
It's hard to convey how much a relief
that kind of convenience is,
and I believe it's the future of computing.
The problem is, at least on this machine,
Windows isn't quite ready for that future.
See, it's not easy for a desktop operating system
to run on a processor designed for a phone.
In this case, that processor is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835,
which uses a different architecture
than the Intel chips you're used to seeing on PCs.
So Microsoft had to build an entirely different version
of Windows to run on this architecture.
The result is...
Well, remember the Surface laptop I reviewed last year?
If that were an F-15 fighter,
the ASUS NovaGo would be a Sopwith Camel.
Maybe just a camel.
What I'm saying is, this thing is slow.
Sure, we expected some sluggishness;
this isn't a gaming machine,
and older programs need to be interpreted by the emulator,
but I wasn't expecting an added half-second of lag
after almost every interaction.
I even tried ditching Google Chrome for Microsoft Edge
for my browsing, and doing a lot of work in the browser,
but none of it helped shake the sense
that this machine is always just kinda half asleep.
Ya know what?
I'd have forgiven that if the computer had lived up
to its second promise: 20-hour battery life.
On my best run, it did get close.
Starting with a full charge,
I worked for about four and a half hours straight,
and when I finished, I still had 84% left,
with an estimated 12 and a half hours remaining.
But, it only happened that once.
In fact, the past few times I've woken it from standby
after leaving it overnight at about half charge,
the thing has been almost dead,
having drained itself almost dry.
I should say my machine came from
an early-manufacturing batch.
So, that could be a part of the problem.
If you're not already down in the comments
suggesting that an update might help my issues,
I'll save ya the trouble.
I've gotten tens of Windows updates
in my time with this machine, like more than 20.
If you thought they take a long time on a regular PC,
wait 'til you use one of these.
These updates have not solved the battery inconsistency
or responsiveness problems.
The machine does feel a little faster
than it did a few weeks ago,
but now I have new interesting bugs to contend with.
No matter how many little things I like about this computer:
the fingerprint sensor, or the tablet mode,
or, actually, that's about it,
those endurance and responsiveness problems
are a showstopper for me.
Factor in the dim display, the lack of USB-C,
the miserable speakers, I just can't recommend this machine.
Try to go out on a highpoint here.
The most exciting thing about this computer
might be the Sprint plan you can get with it.
No, Sprint isn't a sponsor; it's just a pretty good deal.
If ya bought one today, you'd get unlimited data
on Sprint for free, through the end of the year.
But at a monthly price of 15 bucks,
you're only really saving $75 total.
Given the NovaGo's retail price, well,
let's just say there are better options for
a longlasting always-connected device than this computer.
- What's a computer?
(tinny funky music)
- [Michael] I still believe the always-connected PC
is the future of computing,
and I'm hopeful that the HP Envy x2 will do better.
From what Daniel Rubino at Windows Central has told me,
it's at least faster.
If you'd like to see my review of that device,
drop a comment down below.
And make sure you're subscribed to theMrMobile on YouTube
so you don't miss it.
Until next time, thanks for watching,
and stay mobile, my friends.