Asus W3V now in Australia!

So Asus has delayed the importation of the W3030V into Australia by a week but it should arrive on the 7th of June. At the moment the laptop does not appear on the Asus Australia website, however some Aussie computer stores are stating the following specifications.

Model : W3V750DL51PG Intel® Pentium® M-750 Processor 1.86GHz 400Mhz Memory : 512MB DDRII PC-4200 400Mhz SoDimm / Max 2Gb Hard Drive : 100GB 5400RPM Optical Drive : DVD Dual + Dual Layer Drive Graphics Card: ATI Mobility Ô Radeon Ô X600 - M24 Video Memory : 64Mb Dedicated VRAM Display: 14.0" WXGA LCD Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Edition Battery : 8 Cell (Li-Ion) Standard Up to 3.6 Hrs Battery Time Up to 4 Hrs Charge Time Heat Emissions 65Watts Expansion Slot: PC Card Slot: 1x Type II PCMCIA 2.1 Compliant Mini-PCI Slot: Wireless LAN Card Installed Expansion Ports: 1x VGA port/Mini D-sub 15-pin for external monitor 1 x Headphone-out jack (SPDIF) 1 x Microphone-in jack 1 x RJ11 Modem jack for phone line 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert 3 x USB 2.0 ports 1x IEEE 1394 port 1 x S-Video composite 1 x Infrared Port 1 x Bluetooth Multi-card Reader : Built-in card reader: SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO Sound : Built In Azalia compliant Audiochip with 3D Effect and Full Duplex Built in Speaker Built in Microphone Communication: Wireless : Integrated Wireless 802.11g (Mini-PCI) W-LAN Antenna : Antenna for 802.11b/g Modem : 56Kbps v.92 MDC Fax Modem LAN : Integrated 10/100/1000 Base T PCI LAN Pointing Device: Touchpad Optical Mouse (Included) Keyboard : 19 mm Full Size 83 Key with MS Windows function Keys Dimensions: 32.7mm x 330mm x 247mm (HxWxD) Weight: 2.2Kgs 2.0Kgs Travel Weight Warranty: 2 Years Limited Global Warranty 1 Year Battery Pack Warranty Optional Accessories (Not Included) Spare 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery Part Number : BAT-W3N Second 6 Cell Battery via Optical bay Part Number : BAT-W3N2ND Spare Power Adapter Part Number : ADA-65W Spare Car Adapter Part Number : CARADA-CENTRINO 512Mb Memory Upgrade Part Number : KVR400D2S3-512 1Gb Memory Upgrade Part Number : KVR400D2S3-1G

see http://www.scorptec.com.au/index.php?prdid=00014968 for a nicer layout of the specs.

It should cost around AU$2950 which is about US$2220. Yes it is expensive, but I think I would rather get this model over the US version because after shipping (FedEX) its only about AU$200 more, it has a better hard disk, and my friend who works at a computer store that sells a lot of Asus notebooks said there would be no restocking fee should I return it.

As for the slower RAM well, I’m going to get another 512MB which running in dual channel mode is 800MHz, faster than the 533MHz the system bus supports.

If anyone has actually managed to get their hands on one somehow I would appreciate if you would post some pics and a review. Particularly how the model differs from the US version in areas like appearance (dark vs light colour), heat, weight (100GB hdd vs 60GB) etc.

Thanks
Ryan

 

That's really good to hear...

If the RAM is pc4200, it is running at 533mhz...
Also, the FSB u posted was 400mhz, it is also 533mhz (Sonoma Chipset)
A quick question, which shops in Australia can you visit to have a look at the machine, I would really like to see a machine before I bought it. Where does your friend work?

Thanks,
Steve

 

If you're in Melbourne, a place called 'i-store' has them in their showroom. I went and had a look at the W3N there, which has basically the same chassis as the W3V. They also stock the other Asus models. Unfortunately, notebooks are quite expensive in Australia.

From the i-store website:
<blockquote>
Address: 388-390 Lonsdale Street Melbourne (near JB Hi-Fi, Elizabeth St)
Telephone Number: (03)9670-9686
</blockquote>
Arcanum, the price on the Scorptech website says $3095. Is it worth paying $800 extra for the privileges of i) getting a 100GB drive; and ii) seeing the model in person (so as to check for defects) prior to collecting it? I'm undecided at this stage... Maybe for $2800.

 

Jaani, I'm not quite sure what you mean by $800 extra. The US version costs US$1899 + US$125 for the cheapest UPS shipping. That's US$2024 or AU$2655. Probably the cheapest the Aussie version will go for is $2930, so there's only $275 different and most likely less if you go for a quicker/more reliable form of shipping. For me the better hard drive goes part of the way to closing that distance.

The big problem with buying from the US is that you can't see the product in person and if you're not happy with it you are typically charged a 15% restocking fee plus the cost it takes to ship the unit back. That's AU$448 at todays exchange rate.

So basically I would advise to go and have a look at the unit yourself. If you're in the Eastern States Asus has a list of notebook resellers at http://au.asus.com/aboutasus.aspx?show=3

I live in Perth so I'm going to go have a look, and hopefully buy one at Austin Computers (http://www.austin.net.au)

As for the Scorptech website that was just for example, see if you can get them to come down to $3000 or a little lower.

 

http://comptec.com.au/product.asp?cat_id=24

Comptec is selling the W3V for $2887.50

ie: W3V750DL51PG W3V, PM750(1.86G)512Mb, 100G, DVDDUAL+DL, GIGLAN, 11g, 14WXGA, XPPR

 

well, if you like the laptop, the warranty is the same...... so whatever is going to help your wallet is going to be the best thing to do.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by arcanum

 

That's really good to hear...

If the RAM is pc4200, it is running at 533mhz...
Also, the FSB u posted was 400mhz, it is also 533mhz (Sonoma Chipset)
A quick question, which shops in Australia can you visit to have a look at the machine, I would really like to see a machine before I bought it. Where does your friend work?

Thanks,
Steve

 

I called up ASUS branch in Australia and they told me that the AUS model will be dark gray. Please check this URL: http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=5&l2=25&l3=0&model=496&modelmenu=1

 

The W3V in Australia comes with DDR2-400 and i've heard that you can run it in dual-channel mode by adding another stick of DDR2-400.

Is it not possible to use two sticks of DDR2-533 ram in dual channel mode?

I've also heard that 7th June is going to be the date... can't wait [ ]

 

first it was the 20th, then it was the 26th, now its the 7th.

Does any body why there has been this ever extending ETA. Is it a management decision, technical problems, shipping delays...??

I am extremely eager to finally get hold of my units.

Cheers

 

well apparently this time it's delayed because it was shipped with wrong/no hard disk drive

 

Hey

Does anyone know if the W3V has been released in Australia yet?

 

i have a w3v on order with an online store called umart.net, i Emailed them yesterday (7/6)
here was the reply that i got:

Suppliers think they can get stock to us on Thursday. So we should be able to get it to you Friday.
If you don't get an email on Friday before midday saying
we have dispatched then please contact me and I will confirm if it will need to be changed again for next week delivery.

It would be very nice to have the notebook for the long weekend, but im not really counting on it.

 

Damn you incompitent Asus Taiwan shippers you sent the wrong bloody shipment to Australia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I've just been told that the distributor that I was counting on Techlink/Ingram Micro (http://www.ingrammicro.com.au/login/index.cfm)
recieved the expected shipment but almost everything in it (not just the W3V's) was entirely wrong, wrong mainboards, wrong screens, wrong harddisks, wrong amount of RAM. Just plain wrong. There has never been a stuff up on such a large scale by Asus before.

The new ETA is June 30. I can't wait that long, I say that anyone who wanted an Asus laptop complain very strongly to your retailer, the distributor and Asus; so that they will actually do something about it soon (like air freight a new shipment). Remember they already delayed shipment by a week. A one month delay simply is not good enough.

I'm yet to hear the story for Asus' other two distributors: Synnex and Cassa. I'm not very hopefull though.

Update: Cassa is the importer to Australia - owned largely by Techlink/Ingram Micro. Their's was the shipment that was wrong. Thus we're all in the same boat.
It should also be noted that the shipment was of some 30 containers. Air freight seems unlikely.

 

To give you an idea, Asus would ship 1 shipment into your country and then their AU office would split that shipment up between the distributors...... so you're not going to have any luck with anyone else.... not to add anything to your already bad day.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I am disgusted with the complete lack of competence displayed on behalf of asus.

Who can i contact to send a complaint email?

This is beyond a joke, and it is questioning my confidence in Asus as a reputable brand.

 

The new ETA has been postponed for another 2-3 weeks. ASUS expects that the shipment should arrive before the end of the month though. Also, the whole delay thing is caused by the hard-disk issue (100GB 5400RPM). Apparently, the hard-disk didn't pass the quality assurance. So the new shipment will use either:
- 100GB 4200 RPM OR
- 80GB 5400 RPM.
I am going to give them one final chance, if they screw this up again, I will go with another laptop.

 

You can contact 1300-278-788 or (02)8799-3211 (ASUS Product Manager)

 

thanks for that.

How about email?

 

hmmm this thing has been advertised for months

i can't believe our (bad) luck.. it's like a sign not to buy this notebook grrr

 

Well obviously the option of a 4500rpm hard disk is not acceptable. As for the 80GB option I would expect a substancial reduction in price (in the range of $100) to keep me interested. After all 100GB 5400rpm notebook hard disks are still very new in Australia. An 80GB costs around $220 while a Seagate Momentus 100GB costs $310 (www.techbuy.com.au). The hard drive was a real selling point so I can understand why people are thinking about another laptop.

The problem is that there is NO other laptop in this class available in Australia. LG made the foolish decision to only ship versions of its LW40 with integrated graphics (elsewhere available with an X600) to Australia. I really think the manufacturers are underestimating the market for small laptops with dedicated graphics. Afterall most of us are not buying these sorts of computers as out main gaming rigs - but for the convenience of a little portable gaming or other graphic intensive applications without having to carry around a sack of bricks for the pleasure.

As for complaining to Asus - I plan to. However I don't expect to get very far - companys tend to put you onto completely useless sales people who spin you lies or just hang up on you/ignore your email when you have a complaint and you haven't actually purchased anything. Ahh what a mindset - doing the minimum required under the law.

 

In order to clear any confusion and misunderstanding that has resulted from the W3V I have chosen to respond to this forum directly. I am the Notebook Product Manager for ASUS Australia.

We are undoubtedly committed to provide the highest performance and best value notebooks in the market, which is obvious by your passion to own one of our W3V Notebooks. However I must clear up some things.

To this date there have been zero units of W3V shipped into Australia, and there have been no incorrect shipments of W3V with the wrong components installed. None of the delays have been due to problems in our manufacturing of W3V. I don't wish to speculate in such a forum as to where, how or why a story may have been "fabricated". More so the delay has been due to our determination to provide the most aggressive and highest performance solution to our loyal customers.

The fact is that, the delay is due to the 100gb 5400rpm have not finalised quality assurance testing, however I must emphasise that they have NOT Failed, more so the schedule has been delayed. ASUS is dedicated to supplying high quality products that pose the least amount of issues to our customers, so we do not release products until they are fully tested before going to Mass Production. Hence the schedule for this testing has been delayed. Due to this we have made the decision this week due to the popular demand to go ahead with manufacturing of W3V for Australia with 100gb 4200rpm (already tested and passed) and a quantity of units with 80gb 5400rpm for those high performance users.

I do apologise for the inconvenience this delay has caused and encourage you that the wait will be worthwhile, and of course the pricing will be adjusted accordingly for the decrease in Hard Drive. If you wish to contact myself you can send an email to [email protected] Attention Emmanuele, we are a very approachable company and would be happy to discuss with you. The shipment is due to be shipped from Taiwan by Air Freight on the 24th of this month, expecting to be in our distributors once it has cleared customs on the 29th. I will keep you updated if the status changes.

Regards

Emmanuele

 

So the disty's just lied to you guys and now you're going to get one or the other, but not exactly what you had hoped for.

Thats fine... happens all the time over here. But I knew that story sounded fishy..... Asus wouldn't be sending an entire container back to Taiwan.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

There is a product available in Australia that is very similar to the W3V. It's the Benq S72v33. 14" widescreen, x600 graphics. I haven't seen any reviews in it.

 

Frankly, I don't buy the story that there is a one-month delay just because a hard disk has yet to pass quality assurance. One would expect that the W3V’s for the entire world are manufactured in the same factory/factories, and at the end of the production line different hard disk/RAM configurations are produced. IF a hard disk does not pass certification it would then be extremely easy to just use another one – used for other configurations.

I believe that only 40 odd W3V’s were ordered by Techlink and I would think this is around the maximum Synnex would have ordered. Given the small numbers – there is no reason why the hard drives cannot be substituted in a more timely manner.

As for the 100GB 4200rpm drive, this should be dismissed out of hand. Reviews have shown that they are substantially slower than 5400rpm drives. So 5400rpm is not so much for “high performance users” as much as they are now standard and 4200rpm drives are sub-par. Especially when there are soon to be 120GB 7200rpm notebook drives.

That said, and ASUS’s acknowledged willingness to use airfreight, I don’t see why we shouldn’t be getting our machines a lot sooner than 3 weeks. Show us that you can deliver and get it to us by next week.

 

I completely agree.

Given the fact that i have ordered two units AND have already paid for them, i am extremely dissapointed with Asus's conduct.

What is Asus prepared to do to recover this situation, and keep a previously loyal customer.

 

Without getting into the debate, I just want to extend a warm welcome to Emmanuele, the first offical ASUS representive who has posted in this forum....it is very nice to know that someone in ASUS reads this forum, and that gives this forum a much greater platform from which to help end users.
So thanks Emmanuele for the post and please feel free to keep us updated with as much information as you can on this and any other issues regarding ASUS notebooks. There is no better source than the horses mouth !
Once again thankyou for taking the time to post.

Regards
Andrew
aka Underpantman


ASUS M6Ne 15.4" WSXGA 1.7 PM ATI9700 80Gb HDD 1Gb RAM

 

You're right Underpantman - its good to see an Asus representative post on the forum. Let's hope he'll take the time to reply to my last post. I'm sure Asus Australia would like to see a good result as much as all of the readers here.

 

Well it seems as if Asus are really having trouble with the W3V. All of their models were delayed but the time to market for the W3V is ridiculous.

Far from heeding my friendly advice and fast tracking the importation process it seems that Asus delayed again now until July 7 - not that I have much hope they can meet that date. Don't believe me? Have a look yourself; this is a screenshot from the distributor’s website.
http://arcanum.atspace.com/index.html

What's so special about this machine? Does it have a new colour scheme? Have you decided to upgrade the processor? I just don't understand.

 

THIS IS AN ABOMINATION!

i am extremely dissapointed with Asus.

 

"More so the delay has been due to our determination to provide the most aggressive and highest performance solution to our loyal customers" - ASUS ANZ PM

This statement seems to be an extract from a corporate policy document, ie sounds nice in theory but doesnt actually translate to anything practical.

If you are so committed to providing us 'loyal customers' with the highest performance solution, then the question must be asked what is asus prepared to do to recover the situation.

It seems that asus delay announcements are occuring with such accurate regularity that i am wondering if i should set my watch to it.

I am beginning to wonder whether i will ever see this laptop

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by arcanum

 

Some good news, maybe some of my nagging has paid off, although I'm yet to get a response to either of my emails. The distributor has updated the ETA to Friday June 24. Let’s hope this sticks or for an even earlier time.


Jaani
Well the price of the unit hasn't yet been adjusted on the distributor’s webpage "for the decrease in Hard Drive". So lets just say I don't see how anyone selling the notebook for $2887 can keep their doors open for long. I wonder if they will distinguish in model numbers between the two hard disk configurations. Hmmm. I won't buy a 4200rpm drive.

 

Hi,

Just wondering if anybody had any update on when the w3v will be available in Australia ? Some retailers seem to be still saying at the end of the month, while Instantit for one, has 11 July on their website.

Anybody heard anymore about the availability and how to make sure you get one with the 80gb/5400rpm drive rather than the 100gb/4200rpm drive ? I assume if I order the current config, which should have a 100gb/5400rpm drive I'll probably get a 100gb/4200rpm.

Alan

 

Dear All.

I am happy to announce that I am currently at our Distributor and the W3V with 80gb 5400rpm has just arrived into the warehouse in Melbourne. [ ]

100gb 4200rpm is due to arrive next wednesday.

As for all of the other comments I will respond to these in the next few days to clear any confusion/misrepresentation.

 

Thank you Emmanuele,

it will be very nice to fell excited about getting it.
It has been fairly long but well worth the wait. [ ]

 

Excellent news. Thanks for the update, Emmanuele.

From which store are others in Melbourne planning on buying their W3V? Centrecom has it for $2888 (see http://staticice.net.au) but their after-sales service isn't exactly renowned. Has anyone spoken with CPL or Scorptech about a price match?

 

I-store in Melbourne will most likely have it too soon (they have lots of Asus on display) but they also seem very dodgy although I don't have any personal experience with them.

I waited for so long for the W3V to come to Australia that in the end I gave up and bought a PDA instead. I will now have to re-consider in the next few months if the W3V is still the one to get or if better laptops have come out in the months I have waited for the W3V.

 

Ok this is good news. Just a few questions that I want answered by Emmanuele.
1. How can we make sure that we are buying the 80GB 5400rpm version?
2. Which distributor/s have the 80GB version?
3. How much will you reduce the price, considering the reduction in specs (and the long delays we had to wait through)?

Thanks
Ryan

 

I just spoke to my computer shop and it appears that I will be getting my computer on Wednesday.

The only distributor with them in stock (the 80GB 5400rpm version) is Synnex (based in Melbourne like Emmanuele said). So anyone in the Melbourne area might be able to get one before me (I didn't want to pay for air freight) and for a little cheaper.

Incidentally I was told explicitly, that the W3V was not airfreighted but came in a general Asus shipment of three container loads. You will forgive me my ongoing scepticism throughout this protracted debacle.

 

Arcanum,

May I ask from which retailer you are purchasing the notebook? I spoke to several places this morning, and none are willing to go below $3000 + shipping for the notebook.

It's listed for $2849 at a few places in NSW, but nowhere that I can find in Victoria. Also, accroding to the Synnex website, there are two models of W3V being made available to retailers - they're clearly labelled as 80GB/5400 or 100GB/4200rpm.

Regards,

Jaani.

 

Jaani,
The price I gave is probably unrepresentative. The reason I'm getting it for that price is because I know I guy who works at a computer store. He ordered it for me specially and I think I’m basically getting it as cheap as possible while still allowing a small profit. So if you have a computer store that you do regular business with, perhaps you should ask their best price.

As for why the stores in Sydney, further away from the distributor than the Melbourne stores, are less dear I can only speculate. I do remember however that a few years ago the three or four largest computer stores in Perth were engaged in price wars that actually meant they were selling below cost price for a number of items. Perhaps that’s what’s going on in Sydney. Any reason why you don’t buy it from NSW? I would think shipping would be a lot less than to WA.

Finally I saw the new model number put up on the Synnex website. That is definitely what I’m getting. Hopefully its being loaded on a train destined for Perth at this moment.

Ryan

 

hey ryan,

can you confirm that the australian model is the dark colour model?

cheers

 

I'll let you know on Wednesday when I get my machine but I have a feeling it will the bland charcoal grey that is to be found everywhere else.

I believe that the black and silver colour scheme was devised solely to impress reviewers (look at the disparate specs on Cnet.com.au). In reality I do not believe it is Asus' prerogative to produce striking products (although I can't fault the designer of the W3V) but rather more conservative aesthetics that will not stand out from a beige office setting.

Sorry for the mini-rant but we all have our pet peeves. At least our cricket team finally managed to beat England.[ ]

 

Ryan, i have confirmed the W3V was transferred to Perth over the weekend, It should be available in perth on wednesday.

The model you will receive has the 80Gig 5400rpm hard drive inside.

This is denoted by the " 8" in the Asus Stockcode W3V750DL5 8PG.

The 100Gb Model will be arriving via AIR tonight (same as the 80Gb model last week), so australia will have the model available by monday next week.

The model will be W3V750DL5 1PG. the " 1" representing the 100Gb drive.

 

Hey Ryan,

Any Luck with the W3v, did it arrive, what does it look like, please let us know.

Cheers mate.

 

I just got my W3V and it looks exactly like the US model. It came with 80GB 5400 RPM. I have used the laptop for browsing and instand messaging and here are a couple of minor things that I noticed:
- If you have sensitive ears, you might find the noise a bit annoying when copying stuff from optical drive.
- The location of ethernet socket and the power is weird. I find it a bit difficult to position my laptop with the cables around.

Overall, I am happy with the laptop and it worths the wait. I give 8.5 out of 10.

One thing, I bought mine for $2950 with extra 512 DDR2 RAM. Can anyone let me know if they have a better price?

Eric

 

Another thing, the quality of the sound is far below my expectation. I set the volume to max and I can barely hear the sound from the movie. I don't know if I have hearing problem or it is the notebook issue. Regardless, I might get audigy 2 zs and give it a try.

 

I bought mine for $2790 from Computers & Parts Land in Melbourne. I received it on Tuesday, but the screen was defective (washed out, horrible viewing angles, severe backlight leakage, among other problems) so I returned it. I'm still awaiting a replacement.