Asus U5 / U5A

Does anyone have any photos of this upcoming notebook, or an idea of when it will be out?

I have only been able to find the one stock photo that is
circulating:
http://www.stuffmag.co.uk/hotstuffarticlerss.asp?DE_ID=736

 

No word of it as of yet...

There was some discussion about this a few weeks ago. I'm guessing Early spring?

 

... This is expected to be one of the first new models next year.... We're talking maybe as early as the begining of February for its North American debut... It'll be on the yonah platform, but I don't *believe* it'll be dual core.... it's the main replacement for the S5a

 

I was thinking about holding out for yonah but then i researched more on the Merom and decided, it's better to just get an Asus dothan or sonoma laptop right now than to spend a premium on the yonah, and upgrade (buy) merom which is going to be a totally new architecture, built from the ground up, late next year.

 

.... now you're going to get people going.. thanks! lol. You know, there's always going to be something new and the ETA's are always going to look good till they start coming closer and they slip a month here and there. I don't think anyone who's bought a laptop from us in the last few years realistically have the need to upgrade unless they're needs really changed. It's going to be another couple years, at least before software starts getting a lot more intense and some of these systems actually need to be replaced....

The best advice is, buy when you need/want to buy.... if you follow that rule, you'll be fine.

 

hehe! i hope i can put some sense into people who're always waiting for the next latest and greatest, but they miss out on some really good deals which are right under their noses!

 

... i think everyone is a bit like that for a while... Then I think they grow up and realize waiting a year means maybe not even having something for that whole year.... if you need a new computer, you need one. If you're waiting for something cool... wait till something really looks good. I mean, the V6va is a perfect example... A lot of people held off getting the V6v because they thought the screen wasn't perfect and it "only" had a 2x dvd burner...... granted at the time they were both the best you could put in a system this thin.... then rumors got started about a bigger graphics card and when it all came true with the release of the V6va.... there are people who were just like "ah, it's only got a 4200rpm hard drive... almost perfect, but i'll pass" ...... They're passing on one of the nicest systems ever put together and it just so happens to be very powerful, sexy.. and thin and light.... a 4200rpm hard drive can be replaced and the spare can *always* be used for extra storage...... the most expensive 100gb/7200rpm hard drive goes for about $300...... a 120gb/5400rpm is about $250...... Add that to the V6va's pricetag and you still have a bargin.....

 

Thanks for the info so far.. Does anyone know if it will be widescreen? Many of the articles I have found state its 12.1" widescreen, but other info, such as on the Asus Italy website says it is XGA.

 

I believe it's going to be a regular ratio......... but from the pictures, it looks like a widescreen...... This is something that hasn't come to us in it's final form yet.

 

Thats unfortunate, I was hoping for a widescreen. I'm kind of in the camp that doesn't need it but I'm just waiting for the right thing to come along.

It would have been the W3V if they had kept it as it was in the originally released photos where it was mostly black.

 

I think it's going to be regular ratio too.

For a portable widescreen computer...the W3 or W5 are great. The W3V is actually darker than you think (in person)

 

Here are some links for you lazy asses,

http://www.oc.com.tw/readvarticle.asp?id=6865
http://www.tomshw.it/business.php?guide=20051013&page=asus-02
http://tw.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=1826

 

Thanks for the links, klezmer41.

Looks just like an S5 to me... so it would be regular ratio, no?

 

Well, like I said... every document and spec sheet I've seen shows it as a regular ratio and more or less a replacement for the S5........ however, pictures seem to want to suggest a widescreen just from the footprint when it's closed.... but do look like a regular ratio when open. The other thing is there's a built-in dvd burner..... so if anything, this is more of a mix of S5 and W5......... something I could certainly like, but I think Asus needs to get out some of their super ultra portable systems...... like some of their 12" widescreen with no optical drive designs.... From what I've seen, they are going to weigh 2.5 pounds or less and be skinnier than an S5..... that would be awesome.

 

Well, also if you look at the article in Stuff, it mentions it is a 12.1" widescreen. Many other articles state the same thing, but as you mentioned spec sheets seem to say XGA.

However, one difference is that in the articles where it says its widescreen it is referred to as the U5 and on the data sheets its U5A. I'm guessing this isn't the difference judging by their previous model designations but it is interesting.

 

... well the "a" is just indicating integrated 915 graphics.... I'm not sure what the yonah signifier is going to be yet, but "U" is the series, "5" is the model", and "a" is the version...

The pictures look like a regular ratio and the S5 has been retired for a reason....... the W5 is something Asus has updated here and also has big plans for next year... so I don't think it's hard to see this will be a regular ratio.

 

Yep, Justin is definitely correct about the "buy when you need" comment. Before my Z71V I had never owned a laptop before, and I wasn't actually interested in one, but after I spent a year in college with a desktop, I just decided that a laptop would be much more convenient. So I did my research and eventually ended up buying the Z71V, and it fits all of my needs just fine right now. I probably won't be buying another laptop or desktop for at least couple of years.

For my next laptop, I am definitely interested in buying a more mobile one, something in the with a screen from 12-14 inches and no more than 5 lbs.