ASUS VivoBook L203MA Ultra-Thin Laptop, 11.6” HD, Intel Celeron N4000 Processor (up to 2.6 GHz), 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, USB-C, Windows 10 in S Mode, One Year of Microsoft Office 365, L203MA-DS04 Review
The most famous laptop manufacturer, ASUS did it again. Together with Intel, they deliver another tiny, so small but a fully-functional laptop. But whether it’s worth it or not? Find it out below.
L203MA-DS04 Appearance
Inside the box, which is always having the premium packaging, the tiny and small power adapter will catch your attention. It’s just tiny!
You won’t have to carry around that bulky power brick. This L203MA-DS04 from ASUS came with that little power adapter, User manuals (Quick Start Guide), and a warranty card. It does not come with a bag or sleeve, but you can get them separately for under 20 bucks.
The lid has a nice dots pattern and is a shiny star grey colored surface. The top case is made with plastic which looks like aluminum.
The dots patternDespite having a shiny or glossy looking lid, the dot patterns somehow preventing your laptop to be a fingerprint magnet. The keyboard deck has matte warm grey colored plastic which looks classy if you are seeing it yourself.
Everything about this L203MA-DS04 laptop looks premium, yet you will not really feel bad if you scratch it or drop it. That’s one of the benefits of having an economical notebook.
ASUS VivoBook L203MA Specs
| ASUS VivoBook L203MA |
|
| Processor | 1.1GHz Dual-Core Intel Celeron N4000 (turbo boost up to 2.6GHz) |
| RAM | 4GB LPDDR4 |
| Storage | 64GB eMMC SSD |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 600 |
| Display | 11.1 inch LED Backlight 1366×768 (HD), 16:9 Aspect Ratio |
| OS | 64-bit Windows S Mode, upgradable Win 10 Home for free |
| Connectivity | 1x USB-C 3.1 Gen 1, 2x USB 3.0, 1x HDMI, 1x Micro-SD Card slot, Audio combo, 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.1, webcam. |
| Pros & Cons | VIEW |
Due to its compact size, it does not include an optical drive (DVD Drive) but you can get an external DVD drive if you need to;
ASUS VivoBook L203MA Display
❗🔆 The laptop comes with an 11.6 inch non-touchscreen HD display. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio, 1366×768 screen resolution, 45% NTSC LED backlight Widescreen display. Fancy a touchscreen laptop? Browse our library.
Although the screen is just an 11.6″ but it can produce very crisp, bright colors with HD resolution. If it’s ok for you to have a 15″ laptop in a slim form factor check out the one from Acer, which is currently one of the best sellers in Amazon US.
ASUS VivoBook L203MA Ultra-Thin Laptop, 11.6” HD, Intel Celeron N4000 Processor (up to 2.6 GHz), 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, USB-C, Windows 10 in S Mode, One Year of Microsoft Office 365, L203MA-DS04
The Operating System
Despite being very small with 11.1 inches, this is a true laptop computer with Windows OS, not a Chromebook that can only install apps from Google Store.
Inside this L203MA-DS04 is the Windows S Mode that you can upgrade to Windows 10 Home 64-bit for free anytime you want to. Basically, it has no deadline to update to Windows 10 version. We recommend you to read this FAQ Windows S mode from Microsoft official web page. Then, follow this easy guide if you want to switch out from S Mode.
Upgrading from the S mode to Win 10 is not an obligation, however, if you are using Windows S mode, beware that you will be restricted to Windows Store’s apps only. Meaning you cannot install any apps that are not available on Windows Store. Windows Store does not have wide range apps either.
ASUS L203MA-DS04 Performance Review
It packs the 1.1Ghz Intel Celeron N4000 processor that was released somewhere in early 2018. CHUWI HeroBook has this similar CPU, if you have time, read about this HeroBook here.
This processor has the turbo boost technology up to 2.6Ghz which will help whenever you are running programs that need more CPU power. This model also comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC SSD storage. eMMC is storage drives that are commonly installed in very small portable notebooks, including in this one.
The performance of the N4000 Celeron processor is fast enough, as expected in a small and light notebook like this. Designed for the portability, we recommend this laptop only for those who want to work with daily computing tasks like editing words, browsing, music, student or light computing jobs. In short, this VivoBook L203MA-DS04 is an only work-based device with no gaming. If you require more power to do more demanding computer job, consider the ZenBook 13 inch model like this one here.
If you are intended to game, look for a real laptop, for a couple of hundred bucks more you will get a budget gaming laptop.
Opening app to app just needs a few seconds. Booting up is surprisingly very snappy, you will need about 9 seconds to enter your screen.
Another thing that you will love with this laptop is it runs very quiet because it is fan-less and it does not generate heat at all, running very cool.
Is the 64GB Storage enough?
Since the manufacturer designed this for anyone who will purely work, the 64GB of storage should be enough. However, Windows 10 files will require more space than this device has. But it is Windows 10 thing, not your device.
Should you need more storage, this laptop comes with a Micro-SD card slot that you can populate with your own SD card. They are cheap and will increase your notebook’s storage. This following Sandisk 128GB will be just fine.
If in case you install programs in your external micro-SD card, keep in mind, you should never remove the card from your laptop.
Follow this video guide should you want to install programs in your external micro-SD card.
Connectivity
In terms of connectivity, despite being so small, it still manages to include useful ports. It has a Micro-SD card slot that you can use to transfer images or photos from your camera. Then it has an HDMI port if you want to connect it to TV or a monitor, 2x USB 3.0 and one USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 for lightning speed data transfer.
L203MA-DS04 peripheralsThere is also a standard 3.5mm headphone/mic combo jack to connect to your external speakers and headphone.
For your networking needs, you will have the Bluetooth version 4.1. Furthermore, there is also an IEEE 802.11ac wireless built-in in this ASUS VivoBook L203MA-DS04.
The 802.11ac wireless enables you to have a stronger and faster internet connection compared with the 802.11n wireless. Although it does not have a standard RJ45 ethernet port, which means you cannot wire your notebook to your router, you can still easily use an adapter. Use an RJ45 to USB converter to connect your notebook to the internet. For example, this Anker 3 converter;
Conclusion of L203MA-DS04 Review
This light Vivibook is the only small notebook that weighs a bit more than 2 pounds that has 4GB of RAM and a 64GB storage at the 200 price range. You will be happy with this laptop if you don’t expect to play games or run heavy load programs or a large screen.
To close this L203MA-DS04 review, we want to emphasize this. This device is like a tablet with a keyboard and full-size ports. In my opinion, Windows 10 laptops offer more capabilities than the Chrome OS.
This VivoBook L203MA-DS04 is a good choice if you merely want to work with it for university, school or small businesses, it is compact like a tablet device, but offers more.
