A&B Sound now stocking ASUS

For those Canadians on the WestCoast, it seems that A&B Sound is now stocking select ASUS notebooks. I was in my local store and they had both the W7J and the A8JM on display. I believe they are bringing in some other models, as well.

 

darn....asus is really going mainstream....soon. soon they're gonna be at futureshop and bestbuy...then all hell will break loose!

 

I was under the impression that Asus will not sell their Ensemble models in the United States because of an agreement with a bigger notebook company for whom Asus was manufacturing chassis. Or am I way off base?

 

Maybe they should get rid of that agreement and start selling to local stores.

 

oh no, then it will be less special when its more available to the 'public' =(.

 

Heh i dont' feel any better knowing my products are "unique". Don't mind if the guy next door gets one.
Is something wrong ? haha

 

Is a&b a chain in ca?
Certainly the way you make it sound it is. If so then in the states the same will happen within due time. In nyc one of the bigger stores j&r stocks asus now. Its not a chain as far as i know but they are very big up in the city. it is a step in the right direction i guess. Asus will have to exapnd its operations though to manage the call center and rma

 

Rogue, which A&B sound did you go to?

I live in North Vancouver and have been interested in seeing some of the ASUS models in person before I bought one and this sounds like a good chance.

 

Eddie - Yes, A&B Sound is a chain in Western Canada.

Dal - I was in the Langley Store. I also noticed some promotion in this week's weekly sale flyer.

 

I can confirm that the south-side Edmonton A&B Sound carries ASUS laptops, namely the W5F, W7J, and the A8JM. They also have the F3JM advertised, though it sounds like that model has yet to be stocked. THe saleman (one of the worst I've met) knew nothing about them, and said that they were just put on display today.

 

I was in the Victoria store today and they had the W5F and F3JM on display. I asked and the salesman said they had the A8JM and W7J in the back.

I'll be in Nanaimo tomorrow so I will check out that store too.

 

Knowing A&B they'll be charging a high mark-up. What were the prices?

 

I just found the flyer from the A&B website...


EDIT: A&B changed the flyer... no longer relavant

Looks like they are pretty reasonably priced, surprisingly!! Interestingly enough, a search for 'Asus' 'w7j' 'a8jm' doesnt show any results. I can't stand when companies neglect their websites!

 

I don't think that they know that the A8Jm doesn't come with integrated bluetooth....only the north american version doesnt so they should change their advertisement.

 

bluetooth is an optional feature on the A8Jm... It's possible it does have it!

 

Good to see north america is catching up with the rest of the world. At least here in France and back in Oz, select ASUS models are stocked in a number of large electronic chain stores for a number of years. Its a great way to checkout the notebooks before buying at online at a reduced price! I see it as a win win for everybody including the current ASUS notebook sellers here. Those in the know will still shop online for better price and service, but now they have the option of poking and proding the chainstores first...saving all the questions Im sure the resellers get hit with.

a

 

yes but all north american versions don't have bluetooth. all non-north american a8jm's are equipped with BT.

yea but I dont think the chain has time to equip each optionally....

 

It is possible to have it on any current yonah laptop from asus. We ordered some of these modules most likely will offer them as an option on all models that dont already have them

 

Will AB Sound be getting the W3J?

 

hehe, pricey, but its good to be able to touch it before you buy online.
I know it helped me alot when I checked out Asus notebooks at
Datavision, USA. Good to see things compared side by side.

 

I've been to three major malls in Ontario, Canada in the past month...and all of them have MASSIVE Asus banner ads hanging from the ceilings throughout. Almost all of them are pushing the W5F...but Asus as a brand is also front and center.
These huge ads are in additional to the one's running in the Toronto subway lines and a bunch of Canadian (and American) magazines. Asus has also had laptops at very large Canadian chain stores like The Source and Office Depot for several months now.

It looks like they've already stepped it up quite a bit as far as Canada is concerned. I wouldn't be at all shocked anymore If I saw a few Asus models in my local Best Buy or Futureshop in the coming months.
As long as the quality and design remains untouched and high, I'll be an Asus fan for life...no matter how mainstream they appear to get.

 

There are quite a few of local computer shops that stock built-on ASUS models. IE ENUINC.com (also a store) in Portland, OR.

 

Do you think the expanded distribution will allow for lower prices or will there still be a premium on Asus?

 

An update - I went to the Nanaimo store and they didn't have any Asus' on display.

In typical A&B Sound fashion they also didn't have anyone around I could ask so I walked out annoyed (which is why I haven't bought anything from these guys since 1994).

I'm glad I stopped in at the Victoria store to actually touch the Asus F3JM - and I'm also very glad I got a Dell rather than an Asus.

 

I bought my Z62F from A&B Sound. The service was excellent. Of course, the Abbotsford Store has a dedicated computer department that is well staffed.

 

Care to ellaborate on that comment?

 

No.


Ok, my wife prefers the matte screen over the glossy (my wife is using the Dell in a class room).

The keyboards looked virtually the same except the Asus's had a little more flex (not that it really matters though).

Better warranty coverage - including accidental since the wife has a habit of drinking coffee around computers (essentially this why I didn't buy an Asus is because I couldn't get more than 1 year even though I knew it was available - I contacted the retailer about this but he never got back to me so I ordered the Dell).

More customization on my Dell at the time I ordered it (although this appears to no longer be a factor).

The build quality between the F3JM and the D820 appeared to be more or less the same (I give a slight nod to the Dell).

This is not to say that my next laptop won't be an Asus.

I will go to A&B Sound to feel it out and then I will buy it on-line from some company in Ontario.

 

I haven't read up on the F3JM much because it doesnt really suit my personal needs. But the models I'm looking at (W3J and W7J) have had nothing but praise for the build quality. No flex in the keyboard or anything like that.