2010 Asus Bamboo Thread - U33, U43, U53

After waiting 7 months for the UL30JT, I pre-ordered my U33JC from GenTech last night for $940. Here are my reasons why:
The i3-370m is more powerful than the i3-330um in the JT while still retaining some incredible battery life due to Asus' Super Hybrid Engine.
The only difference between and i3-370m and an i5-520m is the lack of Intel's Turbo Boost in the i3. Asus makes up for this a little with the SHE.
The U33JC includes bluetooth, WiDI, a 2MP webcam, and USB 3.0. Not to mention the bamboo finish and more aluminum, which should translate to superior build quality.
The U33JC is thicker than the U30JT, but still weighs under 4 lbs. I can live with the increased thickness given the added features and building materials.

Gaming isn't a priority of mine as I have an Xbox for that. I mainly want the discrete GPU for its CUDA support. This notebook is going to be a school computer and a multimedia machine. I want enough battery life to get me through a school day, enough processing power to breeze through web browsing and multimedia software, and a GPU to boost performance and future proof a bit. The U33JC fits the bill.

Perhaps if the UL30JT/ U35JC didn't lack bluetooth, upped the webcam to 2MP, and had USB 3.0, I might get one of those instead. I do wish the U33JC was as thin as the UL30, but I can certainly live with the slight increase, especially since the weight is still close and the build quality should be superior. For the price (which is actually less than the U30JC-A2B) I don't see how I could regret this purchase.

 

Hey, I was thinking... the extra features of the U33JC look nice, but are they really necessary, worth the money?

On the screen resolution of the U35JC, why would you need a 2MP camera? The screen is way smaller, so the .3MP camera should be more than enough. No?

Also, why do people need USB 3.0? What are you going to use it for, ie. where is USB 2.0 not enough?

And finally, a tiny BT USB adapter costs $5 at any electronics store. And personally, I will never use WIDI.

So this leads me to believe that I am paying $145 extra for bamboo, and I can't seem to personally justify that.

 

Yes, it really does depend on what you value. I want to future proof as much as possible.
The 2MP webcam is nice because others can see me more clearly. Doesn't have much to do with my own screen's resolution. The .3MP was the subject of criticism with all previous U and UL series laptops, so it is important to some people.
Maybe today you don't care about USB 3.0, but perhaps in a year or two when you want to transfer large amounts of data, you will be happy you have a USB port that is 10x faster than USB 2.0. It also charges devices faster than USB 2.0 and is supposedly more energy efficient.
Yes, I already have a BT adapter, but I REALLY don't want to have a little dongle on my laptop, and I think many share this sentiment.
I will probably never use WiDi either but you never know. It is certainly pretty cool and if I can get a good price on a receiver I'd go for it.

In the end, it really is just preference. I am willing to spend the extra dollars to get all the bells and whistles. I feel I am future proofing a bit more and increasing convenience. The last time I bought a computer was over 4 years ago. What is an extra $150 when I expect it to last several years? I also expect the build quality to be superior given the bamboo and aluminum chassis. Plus, I think the bamboo is incredibly unique and quite attractive.
That is how I justify the extra money. It really is my perfect laptop.

 

Does anyone know how the bamboo does actually affect build quality, heat dissipation, and weight? I know not to many of bamboo models are out there - but was wondering about some of the possible issues:

Heat more of a problem with the bamboo vs. aluminum or plastic
Wood drying due to heat/panels not staying on over time

Not trying to put this model down. Only thing I would wish it also had is the back-lit keys that the Envy 14 has. Other than that, looks great!

 

Those are very reasonable concerns, and the fact is no one probably knows yet. Weight I can say is kept down. The 13.3" U33JC is less than 4lbs and only about half lb heavier than the ultra slim UL30JT (which only has an aluminum lid).

Asus' U and UL series have a very good reputation for heat dissipation, so I wouldn't expect heat to be an issue. I would also think bamboo wouldn't conduct heat like aluminum or plastic, but I could be wrong.

Here is Asus' claim about bamboo, "Bamboo also has a tensile strength that rivals that of steel, making it a perfect substitute for plastic." Pretty bold claim. I imagine they can treat the wood so it will be pretty reliable, and bamboo has a reputation of being pretty strong stuff, right?

No backlit keyboard is certainly disappointing. It really is the one omission I wish Asus would have included. I can certainly live without it but who wouldn't want a backlit keyboard?

 

Me! Me! I want a backlit keyboard! Is it that hard or expensive for ASUS to put in a backlit keyboard? Perhaps they felt it was more drain on the battery?

What I'M curious about is the screen. Typically, ASUS seems to be putting the same TN-panel into all of their U & UL notebooks. I'm hoping that the bamboo line will get a better-grade screen (not in resolution but in better contrast levels that helps get rid of light bleed.) My screen suffers a lot from light bleed when watching videos on full screen. Blacks appear washed-out.

 

I see the Backlit Keyboard as the big glaring omission from this model. Perhaps the U30 keyboard mod or something similar will work?

From the preorders, it seems as though the i5-520 is the highest processor available from the builder type resellers. Wonder why the i7-620 or 640 isn't on there? In theory, if there are multiple i3 and i5 offerings, then it is a socket and not soldered, so an i7 should be available...provided you can buy it after market. I'd much rather get it initially if the price is right, however.

 

Let us know how your u33jc is! I'm in pretty much the exact same position as you. I wanted the UL30JT and then the U35JC, but I can't live without having bluetooth and also want to future proof as much as possible with the USB 3.0. The extra 150 is definitely worth it imo

 

You can bet I will be giving my impressions. I was told I will be on the first shipment and shipping should only take a day, so I may be the first to receive one on these boards (at least in the US)! Don't I feel special. You can check out the thread in my sig as that is probably where I will be posting my first impressions. It may be at my doorstep in only one more week! Getting anxious.

I'm glad someone else thinks the extra $150 is worth it! A lot of people are having a tough time justifying it, but for me it was a no brainer. I took one look at the U33JC and ordered it within minutes.

 

Yeah I definitely feel the same, but I do kind of wish it just came in all black aluminum haha. The bamboo will grow on me though.

 

There's a couple polish reviews out on the other thread now.
Hopefully some US retailers get a hold and do some more!

 

Where are the reviews at?

 

where's the hype at

 

Google Translate

U33 Polish review

 

If this had Bluetooth 3.0 I will buy it. I am planing on getting the new Nokia N8 and it has bt 3.0 which is supposed to be a lot faster. The only bt 3.0 laptop i've seen that has it is the Asus eee 1215

 

Hoping for a proper review soon. This would be a nice alternative to the HP dm4t .

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...llection-owners-thread-u33jc-u43jc-u53jc.html

This is the thread where everyone is discussing it.

 

Hello all,
I recently purchased the U43F-BBA6 and love the style and size. Didn't need the JC for the better graphics and the price was just unbelievable with the specs that came with it.
I have a question regarding the hdmi out. My Pioneer plasma is 1920 by 1080 and the max resolution from laptop is 1366 by 768. The display only shows in the middle of my tv screen with black borders all around. I cant lower my resolution on my tv so i was wondering if their was any way to stretch it on laptop to 1920 by 1080?
My tv does have a pc in through vga. I havent tried that yet and was hoping to avoid it since i already have an HDMI cable. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thx.