Asus U80 Hands-on!

http://technurse.net/2009/06/26/asus-u80/

interesting. read

 

Yes, very interesting. I won't buy this notebook with intel graphics though. I did see it in person at my local bestbuy. It doesn't have the glowing touchpad effects but it seems very slick.

 

U80 has a Best Buy version. Think it's the U80A. And yes, it uses Intel graphics.

 

Does this mean the U80V will come out soon? that's the one I'm going to get because of the t9550 and the 4570 graphics card.

 

nice hope the u80v comes out soon. I was about to purchase a apple today =/

 

lol then this needs to come out asap!

 

yea, i think in a week or 2, we will start to see it in stores. If best buy got there watered down version. I'm assuming the better versions will hit resellers soon.

 

Definitely interested to see the price difference between the two. How much more for the dedicated graphic chip and faster processor? $400?

 

but the thing is by not getting a bestbuy version you get the 2 year warranty from asus and one of those years includes accidental damage.

 

its amazing, that all the big box stores, Best buy, future shop, stooples, circuit city, ect. All manage to sell crap. To get a decent laptop you almost always gota go to a real computer store.

 

yea it's also amazing how the damn machine isn't out yet

 

The U81 is a Best Buy version...watered down specs of the U80V. And I thought it was the successor to the U80 in terms of the U series...

 

FYI, http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5014737#post5014737 has information on tomorrow's models being sold at Best Buy.

 

looks back ordered on their website. i went last night to the store but the guy acted like he didn't know what i was talking about. anyways just wanted to see the computer. The u20 is available at online resellers such as gentech so hopefully u80 is to follow.

 

Wow $970 for the U20. http://1toppc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=U20A-A1&Category_Code=

That's getting up there. I might just stick with the U81A for $650. But it does have all the bells and whistles while the Best Buy doesn't. Choices Choices.

The red U81A is backordered, but the black one is available at least for now at some BB.

 

Id say the u20 will be more expensive then the U80, simply cuz its small and powerfull for a 12inch

 

then the u80 should be 900 as advertised

 

BTW, the U81A is lacking the following:

Bluetooth (Neither Ux50 or U81a had bluetooth)
Multi-touch and lighted mouse pad (Ux50 seemed to lack this as well)
Backlit Keys (Ux50 did have backlit keys)

Both the U81 and the Ux50 though do have the express gate feature from splashtop which gives more functions (Skype, email, etc) than say the Sony that only gives you a browser.

Adding up all the missing parts that the U81A seems to be lacking, I'm thinking I will return the U81A and wait until I can get either the U20 or U80.

The Ux50 was just a tad too big for travel purposes, although looked nice and having the dedicated number keys is nice, I think I'll choose for portability this time. Of course if the U50 comes out, depending on the price point I might change my mind again.

 

how much bigger is the g51 then the u80 in terms of width?

 

The Ux50 is 0.6 " wider but 1.4 " taller and the real kicker add another full 1 lb to the weight. Travel wise, it's really pushing those upper limits. The U20 definitely comes in nicer for traveling, but I noticed the processor speed is also slower. The U80 was a compromise.

Whoops, I just noticed you were asking about the G51 not the Ux50.

G51 is: o.8" wider, 1" taller, 0.3" deeper and 2.6 lbs heavier than the U81A.

 

idk now i am thinking about the g51 since i hear it will have a quad core processor?

 

yes the higher end models will have a Q9000 im not sure if there will be a more powerful Quad Core in this unit though.

 

Was thinking the same thing here. U80 or a G51? At least the G51 will finally let me play Crysis at decent settings. But a G60 is up for a release in September, also with quad. But the thing (G51) is 7 pounds heavy..I think I won't be able to lug it around university for long.

 

ugh... When the heck is the U80 hitting stores?

Not that best buy watered down POS

 

I'm expecting mid-July. Especially the U80V.

 

i originally remember speaking with a reseller and he was saying july this way like a month ago so i would hold that as factual.

 

I will forget about the g51 now. I think it will be to heavy and not very frugal to carry around coming back home and what not. The u80 has a very good battery life so i don't wanna sacrifice the battery for extra performance.

Yea I remember speaking with another reseller and was told mid july.
Sorrix, did you check out best buys pos on display?

 

i wonder why newegg doesn't sell the u20

 

Nah racerman i havn't been to bestbuy yet to look. But there not listed on the bestbuy.ca yet so im not sure if bestbuy Canada has gotten there new laptops for the summer yet.

 

ohh. i wonder how the display is. but yea i am pretty pissed how they watered it down a lot to make it cheaper to consumers on a strict budget. to bad it didn't come out after the u80v

 

i'm hoping the u80v won't come out in big name stores like best buy. because then EVERYBODY flocks after them and i won't be the only one with an asus. like what they did with sony ericssons and rogers.

 

Well, people are bound to catch on sooner or later if it's at Best Buy or not.

 

i am pretty sure the u80v is mainly gonna be sold online minus the resellers that have other asus notebooks.

 

its a shame that they dont give you a heads up at all when it will be out. I'm sure auss has an idea of when it will be out, but they seem to be keeping quiet

 

yea not only is it a shame it is quite a hassle too because I have to start school in a month and I need something for it.

 

What are some comparable laptops with similar specs (decent gfx card, good processors and decent battery lives)? I wanna look into some others while im waiting for this to come out faster.

 

macbook pro? lol
and like i said, the n81 series takes a hit (perhaps too big a hit) on battery life, but you'll get the processing power and gfx card.

 

i am seriously considering a macbook pro now and using bootcamp for windows when needed. You can't beat the aluminum body since the black glossy plastic is calling for fingerprints

 

i know right? i just don't want a mac because of obviously the need for windows for software, and the image of mac owners being that of a "want to and need to be cool" population. just seems kind of desperate to me. no offense to any mac owners out there. they're great machines, just that i don't want to be put into that category lol. personal choice.

 

Ok, I found Acer's Timeline series at Staples and BJs for comparison and they don't have a restocking fee that I'm aware of so I can try them out for 14 days. I've posted my initial impressions at Technurse.net if anyone is interested.

 

tcee-, personally idc what the trend is. If it is something I feel that will benifit me I will
do it. Every single person who i spoke with says that once they went apple they never want to go back to windows. I like how apple used aluminum on the mbp unlike the asus which has 'cheap plastic'. Also for me I know me being a neat freak will flip out when the asus gets dirty due to its glossyness. But with apple you can also use windows too so i am not to sure atm.

 

There's a phenomenon where people who buy something overprices start to glorify it in order to justify their purchase.

I personally love windows. I love having tons of options. I think you're right about the black plastic being a fingerprint magnet though. I would rather have fingerprints than dirt stains like I've seen on so many used macbooks.

Anyways, I would buy one if you weren't paying $300 bucks extra for the name and the illusion you're being more environmentally friendly.

I'm trying to stick it out for the U80v. 14" with optical drive, hdmi out, dedicated video, and above average battery life; I think that's hard to beat.

 

I have no need to justify my purchases to someone. I am simply telling tcee- what my research on mac users has shown. I said that everyone who has one that I spoke with said they love it and don't wanna go back to windows which means there is clearly something attractive about the mac os. Secondly I mentioned the body as a strong point for the mac. Would you rather have shinny black plastic that is prone to get dirty after x amounts of use or just start picking up dust when not in use or something that is aluminum that will not show fingerprints as the asus does and something which is stronger then plastic. You can get a mac right now starting at 999 not an extra 300. With the name you also get something windows does not provide which is the mac os.

 

i could never get used to the single mouse button. Lot of the things I liked about my mac, ie fancy looking gui, became less fancy looking as i got used to it. In the end it felt like all the mac really offered me was something that was different, which certainly did appeal to the 'ooo, a new gadget!' part of me. I eventually was using windows most of the time, and decided that when my sis when back to school that she could have it. im not saying i didnt like it, i did, and if it was the only choice it would have been fine.

i dunno, in the end it is usually just a system interface. Not really something to become devoted to.

I like windows fine too. I have never understood all the complaints about it, as near as i can tell it just generally seems to work.

 

^ thanks for your input. I am fine with windows too and with windows 7 coming out it will probably be even better. It' s just that madd people love the way the mac os is. I am probably going to wait it out like tizzao for the u80v then see.

 

racerman119, i can see where you're coming from. my sister owns a macbook, and for the most part, it works fine. i've used it myself for periods of time too. but as i said, it's just personal preference. and in recent times that macbook has had a myriad of problems - battery started dying, not booting up properly, airport card getting crappy reception. i have no doubt macbooks have extraordinary build quality and hardware to justify the price, but when i compare the u80v to the macbook, it seems like i'm getting more bang for the buck with the u80v.

 

Most people who buy apple products, dont really care for the quality. They are fine paying that little extra premium so they can seem hip and trendy by joining the "mac sensation". Even when it comes to the ipod, I bought a samsung mp3 player thats much better then an ipod but alot cheaper. Then they brag about how amazing apple and mac's are, it makes me want to puke. I for one think apple is just a trend setter nothing out of the ordinary, just clever marketing to get the drones of society to think they bought something "awesome" I enjoy not conforming and boycotting apple products
/end rant

Btw Lets get a move on it asus i need a laptop.

U80v is a sexy beast.

 

tcee- does she have the mbp? From what I read online I think that apple and asus have comparable build quality although you can't beat asus warranty with the 1 year accident damage and 2 year manufactures warranty.
Sorrix I agree with you how apple is a trend setter like when the ipod first came out there were other mp3 players to follow but you 'had' to get an ipod to be cool.
But on the mac you can upgrade the ram to 8 gigs ddr3 at 1066 and what not but who says you won't claim your accidental damage that asus offers before the 1 year is over

 

WHEN IS THIS COMING OUT!!!!

I am dieing of constantly looking for more information on this laptop everyday. This *********** thing better come out soon. Lol, glad I released that. Anyway, does anybody know where I can pick on up or how much longer I have to wait.

This laptop looks insane!

 

i started browsing around January for a new laptop. I was about to pull the trigger on the n80 but as soon as i was about to this thread started and heard it is going to come out soon so i waited. Still waiting without a laptop. Resellers say it is due mid july. So 2 weeks?