Asus U1E deal, can't pass up?

I've been looking almost exclusively at the Vaio TZ as my next ultraportable notebook but the Asus U1E has also caught my eye and this price looks too good to pass up.


http://www.excaliberpc.com/Asus_U1E-A1_Intel_Core_Duo_U7500/partinfo-id-584009.html

Not only does ExcaliberPC have a $200 rebate on it and $40 off all Asus Ensemble notebooks, but I can get another 10% off the list $2099.99 price thanks to a promotion at my dads company.

So the total would be $1650 if I'm not mistaken after everything, not bad at all huh?

Biggest issue is that the U1 series is not popular at all, nothing compared to the TZ, so there's few official reviews and even fewer actual owners I can talk to about the machine.

 

I have used/seen the machine hands-on in a store here. It is a fine laptop but not quite in the league of the TZ. Maybe if it was around $1100...I would jump on the deal.

The LG A1 is about $1500 here. I like that better.

 

Ouch, that doesn't sound good. What makes it not such a great notebook? How did it compare to the TZ unfavorably? Can you also tell me how its display compared with the TZ? Thanks.

 

I wouldn't say that... I've used this laptop for a few minutes and it seemed to be exclently built, responsive, a bit too small to my taste (to work extended hours I wouldn't recomend it), with an excelent screen. And if I were able to get it at $1650, I wouldn't think twice. It's almost half the price the TZ, so an excelent deal.

 

I have no problem with using an ultraportable as my main laptop and looking at the tiny screen for hours on end. It stinks that I can't see or use one in person at my local stores unlike the TZ. Only Asus notebook they have at my Best Buy is the G1.

 

why not wait for the U2? I know that the U2 is going to replace the U1 Series. Perhaps they are addressing known issues with the u1?

 

i also had the chance to see both of them. also i have a friend who has a tz and it's gorgeous. u1 also seems very nice good in product quality also. But i dont know the battery duration of u1, on the other side tz is very good on this. Also i couldnt see a internal optical drive on u1 like on u3.

 

Yeah, the U1 doesn't have an optical drive built in, so its also lighter and thinner than the TZ. In retrospect, I rarely used it on my other notebooks, so I probably won't miss it much if I get the U1.

Can those who saw both the TZ and U1 comment on how both really compare to each other? I know the TZ blows away the U1 in battery life, all Asus notebooks have substandard battery life unfortunately, its mentioned on the Asus forums as well.

The Asus does have its strengths against the TZ, though I think many of them are not useful. Like it has the latest 965 Santa Rosa chipset whereas the TZ still uses the Napa 945 chipset, its hard drive is easily accessible on a bay on the bottom but the TZ, you have to take apart the whole thing. The TZ has one ram slot with up to 2gb of ram but the U1 has a slot and 512megs soldered on up to 2.5gb of ram.

I have a chance to get a U1E right now for $1635 now from Gentech after rebates from Gentech and my dad's company, hundreds cheaper than the TZ.

 

Anandtech got 5 U1Es from Asus to use at CES. They are reporting around 5 hours of battery life., but they don't mention which battery they are using, or if it's a combination of battteries (3 + 6 cell).

Asus - Laptops, FTW

I would be very tempted to jump on that deal.

 

FYI: AnandTech used the 6-cell 4800 mAh battery. Old news now, and we'll be posting the U2E review shortly. (Sorry - too lazy to register. Using BugMeNot.)