ASUS K53E-B1 Keyboard, Touchpad and Screen

Keyboard and Touchpad
The K53E has a full-size keyboard with separate numeric keypad. The keyboard has a familiar feel as it's the same one ASUS uses in most of its consumer notebooks. It does not have a backlighting feature. The keys are square and flat-topped. Keystrokes are mostly fluid and feel a bit rubbery, which isn't a bad thing. Key travel – the distance between pressed and unpressed positions – could be longer and would improve feedback. This is a relatively quiet keyboard provided light pressure is used. There is some noticeable flex on the left side however it does not affect typing feel. The separate number pad on the right is a nice feature though the keys are only about 2/3 the size of the standard keyboard keys.

The ELAN touchpad is oversized and has a smooth matte surface for easy finger movement. It supports multi-touch functions such as 'pinching' with two fingers to zoom. The problem with the touchpad is the buttons; they are way too noisy. People across the room will know each and every time you click. Loud touchpad buttons are a consistent design flaw in consumer notebooks.

Screen and Speakers
The K53E has a 15.6-inch 720p (1366x768 resolution) display with LED backlighting. Its glossy surface enhances clarity but means it has a mirror surface; reflections can make the display unusable in well-lit areas such as outside. The picture quality is average for a notebook in this price range, no better or worse than other 15.6-inch notebooks I tested. Contrast is decent; the Command Prompt window is a nice deep black. Viewing angles are poor; any more than 10-15 degrees off-center vertically means distorted colors.

The 1366x768 screen resolution is too low for a 15.6-inch notebook. This screen does not have enough vertical space; this means a lot of scrolling will be required in web pages since only a few paragraphs of text and an image or two can be seen on the screen at once. At a minimum, 15.6-inch notebooks should have a 1600x900 (900p) screen resolution.

The K53E has two stereo speakers located above the keyboard. They are acceptable for notebook speakers and are usable for general listening. The volume is a bit lacking and there is essentially no bass.