*Official UL30VT-X1 Owners Lounge*

Unfortunately, I can't seem to search on this thread. But for about a month, both here and on the Amazon discussions, there were posts about only the color, battery, and warranty (X1 has 1 year, A1 has 2 year) being different. I think Mr. Asus told us that. Many people were discussing how a $50 difference was fairly small for those 3 things. As far as the wifi, the ASUS site has all this for Fax/Modem/Lan/Wlan. Does this mean either they can choose the Intel or the Atheros, and we don't know what we're going to get?

Intel® WiFi Link 1000
Integrated 802.11 b/g/n
Built-in Bluetooth™ V2.1+EDR (optional)
Atheros AR8132M 10/100Mb
Azureware NE785H (optional)

 

The U30JC/T demo model at CES doesn't seem to have a backlit keyboard but until they hit dealers, we'll have to see. And I will create a new thread for U30JC/T discussion.

 

Sorry, I'm not that well-informed about all this. But the Intel 1000 is for WiFi and the Atheros is for Ethernet, right? So I think what I put in the previous post from the ASUS site indicates both are included. Set me straight here if I'm off track.

 

Both the wifi card and ethernet controller in the UL30VT-A1 are from Atheros.

Here's an image from the device manager of my A1.

 

I'm also from Australia and I just ordered the UL30VT-A1 from Sparco. It's not in stock right now but according to the website, the earliest ETA is 10 Jan.

The total cost was US$904 which at the current rate is about AUS$978. Way cheaper than buying here in Australia, where you're looking at $1300 - $1400.

 

According to Amazon, there are 5 UL30VT-A1 left in stock as of now.

 

Thanks. I found an asus forum thread talking about the UL80Vt. Some said theirs had the Intel wireless, some had the Atheros. So this may be true of the UL30Vt-X1 and A1 as well. I wonder if it depends on the country.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...T&id=20091110023154000&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

 

I'm sure they'll be sold out by the end of the night (US time) . It seems that Gentech has already sold out the first UL30VT-A1 shipment - now available for pre-order only.

 

there's no need to have 2 separate threads when the only difference is the color and battery life

 

Thats not bad, hopefully more places have it in stock soon that ship to Australia. Tell us when you do get it shipped out yeah? Might order one from them too.

 

Yeah, no worries!

 

Why? There is very little difference to the X1...

 

Speaking of the X1, when are those expected to become available again? Or were those just teaser models that won't be available again now that the A1's are out? (I really want the black!)

(BTW, I'm using AZnotify to let me know when they do come back in stock. I'm asking if I should bother holding my breath, in light of Asus' normal product release patterns and cycles.)

 

I'm not sure myself... perhaps more are coming soon.... or perhaps Asus will just jump straight to the UL30JT once the UL30VT-A1 stock is exhausted?

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff155/hanbaoquan1518/101_3621-1.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff155/hanbaoquan1518/101_3622-1.jpg


It is quite possible that they designed the UL series with a normal production run (no idea how many they produce in batches, 10k - 20k?). They no doubt have seen how successful the series has been over Xmas. Now that they see the demand for these models, they could just ramp up production numbers on the newer ULxxJT versions for 2010.

 

Good point. But do you think this would only apply to the VT series? Because the standard (non-turbo) UL30A can be had anywhere and there is no shortage of supply. I was hoping supply of the X1 would finally catch up with demand and we'd see it offered again (at more places) like the UL30A. Seems like even the UL80VT is enjoying better availability than the UL30vt series.

 

Thanks for starting the owners' lounge!
I have added it to the Info Booth and to the Reviews and Owners' Lounges Index.

E.B.E.

 

let's talk about power consumption using official intel information
SU7300/SU9300 + GS45 system TDP is 24,5 W
http://ark.intel.com/chipset.aspx?familyID=33421

640UM/620UM + HM55 system TDP is 21,5 W - a bit lower, huh?
(this combination I took from ASUS UL33 bamboo specs)
http://ark.intel.com/chipset.aspx?familyID=43181

CPU consumption is bigger because of integrated memory and PCI-E controllers
that means that chipset will be smaller and simpler and have less consumption

but Intel just introduced their brand new 32nm CPUs and new platform and I think that GA (general availability) of the new laptops - end of Q1 (or early Q2)

 

Perhaps a mod should change the thread title to include the A1 model so there is no need to create a separate Owners Lounge.

 

I'm literally pulling out my card to order the A1 as I came across the ul30jt on zedomax. I was expecting it to be much later in the year when Asus would come out with this unit with Arrandale. I'll gladly wait 4-8 weeks as the performance gain over the current chips should be substantial.

 

The question I have however is how long after these new models come out (the 4-8 weeks) will it take for the ul30vt price to decrease?

 

I wonder if they will add 33% overclocking like with the vt, or will they just have the built in I7's abilty to turboboost?

Given the I7 UM chip is 800mghz, I'm hoping they overclock it another 33% (with 1066 RAM.)

 

On the specification at CES, it says it'll support turbo 33%.

 

For anyone interested in planning to upgrade their UL30Vt laptops with a backlit version, I'm in the process of doing this mod. The Asus estore sells the 302mm backlit keyboard for $20 + $5 shipping which should physically fit in the UL30 series since the default keyboard is also 320mm in length. The issue with the backlit keyboard is that it has 2 connectors (1 main connector to the motherboard and 1 small connector for powering the light). Upon taking the keyboard out, I did see a small empty connector slot, however I'm not positive if it's going to fit the second connector from the keyboard. We shall see when the keyboard arrives in a few days

 

If it works, write down some instructions on installing it. i would love to try it out.

 

Thanks for the information David. Will you throw me the link to the keyboard on Asus estore? I couldnt find it when I was looking the other day. Also, have you checked out their replacement matte (non-glare type) screens? Have you had any experience replacing screens in these laptops too? Thx!

 

This is the keyboard I purchased:
http://estore.asus.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=5277

I have thought of replacing the screen, however the default screen isn't that bad IMO. The glossy screen doesn't really bother me too much since I rarely use the UL30Vt outdoors and so I'm probably going to leave the screen as is for now.

 

If you are successful with this, I will consider doing it too ^^

 

You guys who are waiting for the UL30JT will appreciate this video by the same guy (zedomax)

http://www.vimeo.com/8646575

 

Sweet!!!! The guy said it will be available on next month (which means February)? Also mentioned that the battery is a 5800? Should it last longer than the one we have in A1 already?

 

Nice, I'm going to wait for the UL30JT too I think, and also backlight mod it if the keyboard fits and we can do it

 

Please let us know the outcome ASAP. If I could do a plug and play mod to add a backlit keyboard into my ul30vt using ASUS oem parts I would be thrilled.

 

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/01/asus-laptop-makes-intel-nvidia-gpus-work-together.ars

according to that, the ul80jt will be over $1k, which means the ul30jt will probably also be over $1k

of course knowing asus, the rep on the CES floor probably doesnt have the right information

 

If this unit is going to be over 1k then I may think twice about getting it. At that price point options begin to really open up.

 

are there laptops at 1k that offer better graphics in a <14" package?

 

Please continue the UL30JT discussion here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=449562

UL80JT here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=450197

 

This is exciting news! I've only had my UL30Vt for a few hours, but so far the keyboard is one of its best features, so the mod would concern me if it meant a worse touch or feel. Good luck, please post back with details if it works out.

 

Just wanted to let ya know "provantage" is selling the ul30vt-a1. http://www.provantage.com/asus-ul30vt-a1~7ASUL0QA.htm
as is "excaliber pc" http://www.excaliberpc.com/594945/asus-ul30vt-a1-13.3-notebook-silver.html
From what I can tell pro vantage will take around a week to ship to you, while Excalibur is only a preorder.

 

Well I've come to the conclusion that:
A) I really like the black over the silver
B) I don't have the time to wait for the new JTs

Searching this thread doesn't seem to work...
So can I get some battery life input from current X1 owners? In terms of pure internet browsing, and video streaming ie) youtube, how many hours can we expect from the battery?

 

Well, actually Im in Canada, so atm the X1 is really the only option.

I just want to know the real life usage hours so I can mentally prepare myself to whether or not I have to carry the AC around haha

 

Yeah there are many, and this unit is 13, not 14

besides that this unit isn't even here yet, by the time it is I'm sure there will be even more options

 

oh really? i've never heard of any laptops with switchable graphics and extremely long battery life in this price range.

 

+1, I am still waiting for the X1's to come back into stock for the black. Is the X1 just temporarily unavailable, or becoming an extinct species as Asus ramps up JT production?

 

amazon's price is lower now not even after long after it's release...i guess those of us that preordered got burned...do you guys think we can get a price adjustment from amazon? it's been like only a few days after it's release....

 

Getting burned are those who bought the X1. I feel like I paid a big premium to own black.

 

well at least the price was still the same after release and the A1 pretty much got released a month afterwards...

 

I don't think the X1 owners should feel like they got burned. It's still a great laptop. If you're in the market NOW, then I agree that the A1 model is the one to get. However, to those that needed 2 months ago, the X1 was the only option available.

 

Those "in stock" at Amazon are actually being sold and fulfilled by Buy.com, which is probably why the price went down a bit. I haven't had any problems buying from Amazon's partners but prefer to deal with Amazon direct whenever possible... one less link in the chain, so to speak.

 

It only shows 1 left in stock

 

amazon just sent me an email and will refund me $17.73...lol i guess it's better than nothing...

 

awesome, good for you something is better than nothing.