Asus UL30JT

Dontforget to consider the alienware m11x 11" gaming laptop too for those that like gaming on small portable things

 

Dumb question, when people say close to $1000...does that mean $900 close or $1,100 close. Odd I know, but so far this laptop has the ability to trump my decision to buy the A1. I just got offered a refund from HP for my craptastic laptop and I just started revisiting these threads and I was pretty much blown away once I heard about the JT model.

EDIT:

Oh yeah, what do you guys think the heat will be on this thing? I've heard that the i7 may cause heating issues whereas I heard the VT and A1 series were pretty quiet and cool.

 

tktk,

If I could get a 17" laptop that was as portable and had as good a screen and battery life as the Sony (or, even better, the battery life of the Asus), I'd snap it up. But, of course, we're still in a world where we have to make compromises. I'd rather have a highly mobile machine, which I can supplement with a second (large) monitor when I'm in the office.

Picking up on the question above, what about the heat generated by the i5 and i7 mobile CPUs? I would hope that, since they're designed for mobile use, they're much less subject to overheating than their desktop counterparts, but is it too early to tell for sure?

 

Sorry about the IBM thing, I didn't know Lenovo bought IBM. I just posted the Lenovo one quick as I was heading out the door. Could you find a more similar offering to get a feel for the potential price of this laptop?

I started looking at the dv4i but even thats not really comparable. It's the Intel Core i5-520M with the ATI 4550 card and a 14.1" screen. With 4GB ram and a 250GB 7200rpm HD its $949. The battery life is definitely less than 5 hours and it does weigh 5.2 lbs. But again, I'm just trying to get a feel for the potential price.

 

I totally agree...I bought my Asus x83vm (from Best Buy) with specs of P8700, 4G ram, GeForce 9600m...for only $830 and that was just about a year ago. The Sony has LED, bluetooth and switchable graphics, which are better, but for $1500, I think you can do lot better. I'm waiting for ul30JT, only because I want all day computing. I had bought UL30A (without switchable graphics, but gave it away because when I tried to run hulu, I saw a significant difficulty. good luck

 

UL50vt seems good but I think you should wait for the U53 (similar model but upgraded ^^) --> better processor, better cam, better graphic card and USB3


http://www.asus.com/News.aspx?N_ID=Y5lBIemSOJ8Go3ZQ

 

My biggest (maybe only) problem with the Asus laptops, including these, is the display. Since I'm doing a considerable amount of photo editing, I want a matte screen with higher resolution--and probably a wider, truer array of colors. Are there any Asus laptops that might satisfy me?

 

I'm in the same boat as you. Not sure if i can hold out that long though... as I really need batt life. My plan is to find a < $200 netbook to keep me going for a couple months until it comes out =D

 

What is the latest estimate on the availability of this laptop?

 

what's the estimated price?

 

I'm a big fan of ASUS and their willingness to inovate at a reasonable price point. But The UL series has a a not so good screen for your needs. Keep in mind LED backlight does not always mean good screen.I remember one reviewer complained that ASUS uses a better quality screen in their netbooks than their UL series. I remember reading ASUS responding that market research shows that users will not pay extra for a better screen on a entry level machine...

That said, the UL30 appears to have an average screen compared to its competition. In fact I think its hard to find a great screan in the 1K and under price point.

Here are reviews that have good analysis's of the UL30a screen, which should be the same as the one used on the UL30vt.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-UL80Vt-Notebook.23760.0.html

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5263

 

I guess this one is an expection then?^^

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-10-2009-Notebook.22299.0.html


Maximum: 325 cd/m²
Average: 288.3 cd/m²
Illumination: 80 %
Black: 0.43 cd/m²
Contrast: 756:1
Brightness on battery: 325 cd/m²

For under 1000€ . If the screen has such quality, i even don't mind it being glossy because i will just use a foil to reduce reflections then.

Seriously, it is so easy to make a topnotch-notebook, but as a producer i wouldn't do that. I would try to differentiate the product line....and only implenting good displays into absolute high end notebooks seems one of those points.

 

I can't imagine I'm in such a minority of people who are looking for a better display than the UL**JT series offers. While I don't want to pay more than necessary, I'm not wedded to the $1K price point. Unfortunately, I'm not sure Asus offers (yet) what I'm looking for in any of its lines. The UL**JT models probably come extremely close, except for the display. As far as I can tell, nothing else in the Asus line is closer: although some models might have better displays (still maybe not good enough), there are significant compromises in other areas (e.g., processor, graphics).

Is an improved UL**JT, with a markedly better display, coming in the foreseeable future?

 

I'm also in Canada and I've been refreshing amazon.ca for about 2 weeks now and there still is nothing. The Asus rep was pretty informative for the X1 and he said that it would come to amazon.ca about a week after the release on amazon.com, which it did.

I was hoping the A1 would be available in Canada a week after the amazon.com had it, but it still has not shown up and the Asus rep still hasn't updated us yet.

With the JT coming out now, I guess I will have to continue playing the waiting game, but it is difficult for a consumer here in Canada since by the time the current version is released up here, the newer and better model is already on its way. I may just order mine from the US and just pay the duty fees, it seems I've been waiting for ages now.

All the way from the regular UL30, then the UL30VT-X1 then the A1, and now the JT, haha that's bout 3-4 months worth

 

I just bought a UL30VT-X1 in the USA. I live in Canada. Now I am kind of wishing I could have the UL30JT with the i7! I have yet to pick up the UL30VT-X1, but when I do would anyone in Canada (Amit.B) be willing to buy it from me at whatever I paid for it? I've never had a new laptop before and thought I would get an i7, but could find it in a 13" screen.

 

Multiple vendors are showing A1 models (probably out of stock at the moment) in Canada now. I tried it on Google and found few easily.

 

Here you go.

http://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=24987
http://www.ecsrv.com/ShopItem.aspx?...&ProductNo=69015&Toc=220146:0&PageID=31535189

The second place told me that they will have it in stock in 10 days and that was already few days ago.

Good luck.

 

If you cross my palm with silver, I can look into my crystal ball and tell you what I see.



edit - hold on, the mists are clearing.... what's this I can see... new improved laptops...with better processors.... bigger faster hard drives.... and better screens.... they are coming !!! they will be here soon !!!

 

Do you guys know if there will be a cheaper version of this laptop without the nVidia GPU? Like the Ul30A is instead of the Ul30VT?

 

Yes there is, it's called the UL30A.

There is no difference... they are all still "UL30", just different insides.

 

I think for the price, Asus has the market cornered. Maybe the new Alienware will be better, but it will have 11.6" screen, not 13.3". There is also HP DM3 and HP Envy 13, but latter is pricey and the first will have slower chip.

New Sony S series would be good, but BestBuy is not carrying the 310m version I believe.

 

Nope, you won't find great screens in Asus laptops i believe. Check out HP Envy 15 or Dell XPS 1645 or some of the business models from Dell, HP and Lenovo.

 

So the new ul30a will be the same model number, but with the i7 ulv instead ? thats odd lol, I would of thought theyd make it some kinda funky ul30abc etc kinda thing lol

 

Check out business laptops. HP 8440 series and Lenovo T410 should do what you are looking for. Also, Dell is sure to come out shortly with new Latitudes as well. Expect to pay price premium though for new business laptops. Otherwise, try the new Envy 15 with i5 CPU and 1080p matte screen, upcoming Sony Z or Dell XPS 1647.

Edit: Note, most of these systems will be heavier then the Asus and won't last nearly as long, but if you want a nice screen, your options are somewhat limited (Z being the big exception here, maybe even new S laptop, new CW).

 

The 310 is NVIDIA's new Ion 2. Netbook forums posted an add showing the next generation Ion as a 310 GPU.

http://www.netbookchoice.com/2010/01/15/nvidia-ion-2-to-be-geforce-g310-discrete-gpu/

That means soon, 10.1" netbooks with Ion 2's will have the same card as the JT. Asus has to do better than that. This notebok cries out for a 330M GT minimum and, in my dreams, a 335M GT. Anything short of that and it looks like a Sony Z for me.

Bronsky

 

that can't be right...

 

Actually you should completely forget Alienware. Their build quality and customer service are the worst in the industry. I can not strongly enough reccomend staying away form them. ASUS is 1000% better for build.

 

http://zedomax.com/blog/2010/01/08/asus-ul30jt-hands-on-review-ces-2010/ says it has a GS45 chipset, which according to Intel isn't an Arrandale compatible one. I posted this on the Anandtech forums because I'm also in the boat of to-wait-or-not-to-wait on between the UL30JT and the UL30VT-A1. Given the lack of any solid info on the UL30JT, the 4-8 weeks until release seems like it was out of thin air, and I for one am not going to wait. Here's to hoping the SU7300 can handle my HD video activities!

 

Even if it cant, the nvidia GPU should be able to to accelerate HD video. Make sure you have a player that uses DXVA though. (I think MPC-HC uses DXVA) And use Flash 10.1 Beta for the HD flash.

 

Yikes, and as if I wasn't on the fence enough already, I found some benchmarks of the i5 Arrandale http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3705&p=3. I think the i5 M they benchmark is faster than the i7 UM preliminarily spec'ed on the new UL30's, but the point is the huge performance boost between similarly clocked Arrandales and Penryns. There's no question that these new systems will spank the old ones, the only question is when they'll just be released (or at least officially announced)!

 

Well no kidding, it would be better to compare processors of similar power usage...

The i7 UM destroys all in the ULV world. And btw they were already officially announced.

 

Try greytech.com and search for the model number. Their price is under $900CA.

 

This is a very intresting laptop, i'm looking forward to see how its gpu performs and how long the battery will hold out with that strong cpu...

 

The nettop shown in the link uses a dual D510 Atom/Geforce 310 Ion 2 GPU. What can't be right?

 

Soul Saber, you really are a jackazz.

 

UL30JT will use an "ion 2" 310 GPU?

 

me too! 310M will make me stay away

 

And pay twice the price

 

Hello Friends,

This i my first post.... I was planning on getting the ul30 Vt but after reading this thred i'm planning on waiting on the Ul30 Jt...! However i have a few questions and doubts and would be glad if any of you could clarify them...

1. Is the new Ul30 "JT" based on the "Calpella Platform"....???

2. I currently use a Acer 5670 bought 3 yrs ago with a Intel Core Duo T2300 with 1 gb ram. I keep itunes running and about 25 tabs open in Mozilla Firefox. "Sometimes i experience lag in the system responsiveness and the audio in the itunes skips. Its not annoying but it comes once in a while...

Now the query is that.... Is the Ul30 Vt gonna perform better than my Acer 5670...?? It it good enough to run itunes playing music and opening 25-30 tabs in mozilla firefox smoothly without any lag..???

3. How much better will be the New ul30 Jt performance wise in comparison to the older ul30 Vt...???

Thanks in Anticipation....

Regards,

Rana

 

So wait... how will the Ion2 compare to the UL30VT's graphics card?

 

If price is an issue, just get the new Dell/Alienware Mx11 which will have a 335M GT in a 11.1" netbook and a base price of $799. No matter how you sqaure it, the 310M is the wrong choice for a 13.3" laptop with an I5 or an I7. Ideally the JT would get a 335M GT. Look for this card to be the next upgrade for the UL30 series.

Bronsky

 

they will most likely perform similarly,

infact, the 310M is basically a rebadged 210M

 

Thanks to Bronsky. Google pinged his post as I was researching the ION2 - I had no idea 210m was an ION2 until I started looking into it, based off my initial disbelief from reading his comment.

Asus is definitely going to have to step it up, especially as more info on ION2 becomes available. Charging $1000 for the UJ when the same GPU can be had in a nettop - that dog won't hunt, monsieur. Why shoot themselves in the foot, anyway? Throw in a 335 and be done with it.

 

Remember that the information that ion 2 is a 310m is not officially confirmed and is only based on one single leak about an asus nettop.

Also, even if it is correct and the ul30jt will have the same graphics power as high end netbooks, the i7um in the ul30jt will run circles around the atom in a netbook. And by run circles I mean it will be several times faster while still maintaining a comparable battery life.

Thats also why its "wrong" to compare this to the alienware mx11. Sure that will be a better gaming laptop, but it wont even come close to the battery life of the ul30jt. So anyone looking for a pure gaming laptop I would definitely recommend to stay away from the ul30jt, since its not a gaming laptop.

 

Any chance of a backlit keyboard on this JT version or as an order option? Also to me this should not have a $1000 price tag it should come in no higher than the VT ($850 retail). Unfortunately for VT owners it's almost last years model and the price should be dropping. The VT should have been released last fall in the U.S. in time for the back to school market.

 

Just heard from the Asus individual that pops in on Amazon and this is what they had to say:

Posted on Jan 20, 2010 8:07 PM PST
ASUS says:
Hello,
It is interesting to hear the rumors and speculation regarding our products. We certainly appreciate the feedback. Our product management team incorporates your feedback, when possible, into future product releases.

We certainly underestimated demand for the UL30VT-X1 and A1. More UL30VT-X1 should arrive at Amazon in the next few days; the A1 is still a few weeks away. Quite a bummer for me from a missed opportunity standpoint, but there are worse problems to have than having your products fly off the shelf.

I cannot comment on upcoming release information until the release is imminent, for competitive reasons. I will say that I was at CES and saw the UL30JT for the first time, and asked our WW PM for that product line "CAN I HAVE THIS?"

We will probably bring the UL30JT to the U.S., though I don't know for sure when; the price will probably be sub $1000, but I don't know what the price will be. If I read this fragmented sentence from a competitor's viewpoint, it seems innocuous enough, so I'll leave it. Sorry I can't say more!

Thanks again for the lively discussion.

Some interesting words if you read between the lines

 

Nice find Adgon!

Someone give him some rep.

At least it is confirmed. Since there are such high feedbacks on the JT, their "Probably" would be read "definitely".

But I dont' get what he means by the "that product line" in "asked our WW PM for that product line"

 

From what I have seen there were a few new product lines revealed at CES 2010 from the NX90, G73JH, Karim Rashid designer EEE pc to the U series 30JC & 53 (Bamboo) and the new UL series 80/30JT's. "That product line" would be something like the ULxxJT series or the NX90 series, and my guess for WW PM would be world wide product manager, the guy who decides what product goes where.
I'm interested in the U30JC & ULxxJT series, just need a backlit keyboard on a thin and light (like the U30JC is suppose to have) hoping that one will come on either or both of those products.
Thanks for the rep, I lurk alot but post little

 

hi guys,

Is the New Asus UL 30JT based on the "Calpella" Platform ?? or is adding a
Core i7 620um/640um just a refresh to the "Montevina" Platform...??

 

This is the Calpella platform. Montevina only uses "Core 2" processors while Calpella uses "Core i".