Most Popular Laptops

Hi, one question. On main page ( http://www.notebookreview.com/ ) in section/column 'Most Popular Laptops' absent Asus notebooks. Why?

 

From my experience (at least in America) most people go with main stream because they assume they are better and they are afraid of the unkown and unwilling to do their research. That leaves the vast majority to go with compaines like HP, Dell, Gateway, Acer, Toshiba, because they are names they know. Also, HP, Dell, Toshiba, will give you a laptop for $350, so why pay more for an ASUS (that is what people think)? Thats why I don't see one. I also noticed in the June Issue of PC World Magazine that in the new laptop comparison, computers that would be pathetic compared to most ASUS notebooks were in there, anyone know why that would be?

 

Most americans are kind of cheap. They are in the walmart mentality. While i love gettings deals. I also appreciate getting the best. Most people dont care about computer styling. So why pay extra for it. at least thats how they think.

 

"Most americans are kind of cheap."

Are you trying to be racist? I don't know if you are or not, but that is a very racist comment. Also I think that so far the people who have posted here are biased because you all have ASUS. Also, you can't get an ASUS with a decent GPU and a decent CPU for under 1.7k. With HP, Dell and Acer, you can. I look at most bang for the buck, because I know that even if my laptop does happen to live a year, everything will be outdated, even todays "best" stuff will be obsolete in about a year. I bought a decent CPU for my computer when the AMD HT cards just came out. Now every computer in Walmart has hyper threading.

Get the most you can for your dollor, because it will make your pc not go obsolete as fast.

Hmm.. also to the people who have ASUS... It is the company's fault that they are not popular. They cost way to much. I drink 50 dollor bottles of wine, not 400 dollor bottles. I think that that is the same way for most people in america. Besides, not everyone wants to spend 500 dollors more to get cool looks. They want bang for the buck.

 

also the VAST majority of computer buyers don't need the advanced features/performance that asus has on its typical notebooks. Its not that americans are cheap (though they are) its that most people don't need an x1600 core duo, blah blah blah and would rather pay $450 for a celeron machine that will run word and ie. To many people a notebook, in and of itself, is a luxury.

 

Just reiterating what was said above: ASUS is more of a "newcomer" to the laptop market in America. In Asia they are extremely well established, but here the front runners are dell / hp / IBM etc. Asus is really not well known here, but the build quality speaks for itself.

 

Usually, ASUS users are more, how do you say it, 'established' in the world of technology, they know more then an average user. If a person hears 'ASUS laptop', most would probrably not know who ASUS is, but for those who do know, it's probrably because they know computers, they build them, are fanatics, and ASUS being the top MoBo manufacturer in the world, of course it will intrigue them that ASUS makes notebooks now!

Also, low end is not what ASUS makes, it'll always be 'at the top', though, of course, with some difficulty(Thanks ASUS N.A.? ).

 

First, that wouldn't be racsism, as he didn't say "white people are cheap", but second, he's not really saying its a problem or anything like that. He just made the statement that most (not all) American's would rather pay less money? Are you honestly going to deny that? Look at who runs this country in terms of buying and selling - WalMart. Why? Because they drop their prices so people save money. He's just spouting facts, not his own prejudices.

 

Most people who don't know them say, "Oh, did you mean Acer"...just makes me laugh that they would think the low end notebooks (ok, all of the Acer's I have seen are low end) is what i was talking about...

 

OK first im american. So im not racist against americans. But as someone who has two bussineses I can comment on the average person and their spending. Americans are cheap in certain ways. Not all americans of course. But they are looking for 400 to 1000 notebooks. Asus does not really make ensemble notebooks for those users. And for asus its not just about looks its build quality. HPS acers sonys dells. Dont hold up all that great asus do. Why do you think companys buy IBMS they arent cheap they hold up well though. thinkpads that is. I have been to europe many times people out their are willing to pay more for high class items. Look at the cell phones you can get in america then look at the rest of the world. Why are we so far behind. For one reason americans think cell phones should be free. They arent willing to pay 300-400 or more for a cell phone no matter how cool it is. Now i look for bargins i have a 2 20.1in dell monitors. Because one its a great screen and its a great price. But if it wasnt a great screen i wouldnt care about the price i wouldnt have bought it. i also buy asus notebooks drive german cares. and will to pay 200 for a bottle of wine if i feel like it. While there is nothing wrong with looking for bargins its smart in fact. Its stupid to go for a bargin simply because its cheap and has nothing more to offer. if its bargin but also a good product then its worth it. Cant tell u how many cheap chineese electronics from ebay are sitting in my closet because it was a bargin. none of them work good. so americans are cheap and dont care so much about quality as long as its cheap. so asus wouldnt make it here. i dont even know what my point is anymore so ill just stop typing.

 

As far as I can tell,

1) Asus is a kind of new
2) Asus laptops aren't at Bestbuy, Circuit City etc...
3) They're more expensive (but a better value in my opinion and probably everyone elses)
4) Do you see any Asus commercials on T.V.?

Its funny tokuman mentions getting the most "bang for your book" because thats exactly what you get with Asus (most of the time). Go spec out a dell with an Asus' specs in most cases (with the exception being 17 inchers?) the Dell will cost more, not look as good, and the build quality won't be nearly as good. Furthermore, in many cases you can't get Asus performance in other company's laptops. Why? Most of these "established" companies don't push the envelope. Of course there are exceptions to the rule but try to find better value in terms of price/performance at Best Buy - I don't think it can be done.

 

Actually, i will take a different method in explaining this.

I did make a comment regarding this on the acutal thread.

The MAIN problem I see is that ASUS has no real competitive laptops OUT on the market YET. All of ASUS models are still stuck in Taiwan awaiting to come.

We all know, once the W1J, W2J, W3J, Z96js, S6 series, A8jm, and V1J are released they will get recognitiion from this forums/site. As of now America only has the same basic choices to choose from, Dell, Acer, Tosh, IBM, and a few others.

Yes im blaming the SLOW release of laptops to the market. We havta wait almost 2-4 months later untill ASUS release all of their YONAH laptops. While all other brands have their Laptop Lines out and grabbing a big share of the market.

Price is another factor, but Dell knows people will pay high prices, so does Alienware, because people want high performance and good quality, and they are willing to pay. Hence, Alienware is doing very well, and same with the Dell XPS M170 and M1710.

ASUS has not tapped into the high end gaming machine market. So there goes that entire market.

One big reason why you may not see ASUS on such threads of recognition, is because right now ASUS is doing SOOOOO MUCH... that it seems they cannot deliver them in a timely manner.

Yes i do know the A6J series is out and the V6J, A7J, but for the prices you can just as easily pick up a Dell that would be similar and cheaper, and they are available about 1-2 months earlier compared to ASUS.

If you guys know, the Average price of laptops has decreased, the price is around 1000-1400$ USD on average for a laptop. Yet you see ASUS laptops exceeding this price range.

YES, there are legit reasons to why their prices are higher.

1) ASUS seems to take more time to release notebooks because their designers use the best materials and try to make each of their laptops fantastic in their own way, than to make it look bland. = Higher Prices

2) ASUS is not selling Directly to consumers, which increase prices. It is known Dell can slash prices like crazy and still make money because they sell directly to consumers, NO MIDDLE MAN.

3) Ensemble vs BOA: Ensemble units are expensive, because you pay for the profits of ASUS directly and then the middle man's profit which is the retailer. BOA is sorta close to what Dell is doing but not totally, because ASUS does not want to brand it as their own, hence the BOA model is a ODM, just like Sagers are Clevos.

Sorry but i had to use Dell as the Main example because what they are doing is almost perfect.

ASUS is still new the the Laptop market, they will definately get better, and people like us, will still shop around, gain more product knowledge of the industry and then make the right decision on which laptop to buy.

In my opinion, there's a somewhat simple solution that i've sorta have that could solves these problems for ASUS if they were to implement it.

1) We know Dell prices are rediculously high when upgrading/customizing. I am gonna use RAM as an example. I am going to use RJtech.com to make emphasis about this, because he is not on the forums. For a laptop RJtech.com charges $260 USD for 2.0gb @667mhz. Dell.com sells their ram for $329 USD for 2.0gb @667mhz after you upgrade from a 512mb, meaning your real price from Dell is something like $370 USD for 2.0gb @ 667mhz for RAM.

Yes Dell is smart, they charge you MORE as you upgrade on top of what comes orginally with the basic system. Its like FREE money for Dell. Yet some people don't recognize it.

Ok now that you know Dell over prices everything compared to market values. How are their prices so low? Well Dell knows their prices are high, but they have a built in system to give coupons and use lower quality chasis/barebones to reduce costs of the acutal unit. UPGRADING is what Dell kills you for doing when you upgrade.

Ok now back to ASUS and how they can make their system more efficient.]

We all know the ASUS BOA models are decent, and the prices are good! but still not able to compete with Dell but close. Close enough that people are willing to pay roughly 100-300 more for ASUS BOA models compared to Dell. Which is good.

Ok, ASUS should do what Clevo does, branding of their ODM models SOLELY!
Why is ASUS doing half and half, Ensemble and BOA.
We want cheaper prices, that match the market, and have them available sooner like Dell.

As you know the A6J, W1J, V1J are all 15.4" notebooks plus ASUS is making S96 series and Z96 series that are BOA models. WOW GJ ASUS on making a total of 5 15.4" laptops and we are still waiting for half of them to make it to the market.

ASUS should have just made the V1J, W1J, Z96, but ALL BOA, and have optional screen options. Prices for the barebone will be different. Now since they are BOA we don't havta pay ASUS prices for the RAM, CPU, HDD, we pay the prices of the RETAIL market which is cheaper, because of what i've shown above with Dell and RJtech in the ram prices.

If ASUS did what i mentioned above, it CUTS costs, because they don't havta spend so much money developing the other laptops. THey can still put quality into it, just like the Clevo's and Sager. And we will get the Laptops in out hand SOONER! and cheaper!

This whole post shows why certain brands are at the top of many lists and have sold MORE units worldwide.

Don't get me wrong, I like ASUS, I like their products, and im 100% behind them. But trust me i don't like their Ensemble and BOA system that they have, it just puzzles me why they did both and how they can't deliver anything in a timely matter.

They may get faster and better in the future. But as of now we will still havta wait several months for the releases of certain models, and still havta pay high prices compared to the market, which offers customizeable products that are cheaper.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Last time I checked, "Americans" are not a race. The name of people living in a country perhaps, but I have never taken a standardized test yet with "Americans" as a racial choice.

 

While asus would get market share if they advertised alot more and got themselves into stores. They will still not sell enough because their average price is higher. Most companys high end notebooks are just for show people in stores dont really buy them. They make most their money by selling lots and lots of cheap machines. I would love to see an ASUS store in the US like apple. They def make enough products to fill it. But all that aside people are still gonna go to the better price. Asus laptops are to high end to compete. If they started making cheap laptops that are build like acers and HP then yes they could compete but then why buy and asus if they start to suck.

 

Sorry for the long Essay type post LOL!

but yes Kierk,

As you read my Essay, you will see why configurating/upgrading/customizing notebooks from Dell.com IS HIGHER than doing the same for an ASUS BOA model. However, DELL offers coupons to compete and take the market away from all others. ASUS of course cannot offer such powerfull coupons.

Another reason why they can't offer coupons, if because the all products that ASUS offers are not sold to the consumer directly, so we don't benefit from Direct pricing.

Since Dell laptop are all customizable and have good prices before customization, but their prices are high for customization, it detracts from consumers to buy (small % tho). Also Dell controls all prices of w/e they sell, they do not follow market values. THEY SET! the market value.

Now that you've seen how bad it is to customize a dell laptop can hurt the consumer price wise. Lets look at Ensemble units of ASUS. Hmm, Ensemble units are NOT upgrade (sorta) and yet they are so expensive...looks backwards doesn't it. And yes your spose to factor in design and materials, but you cannot put a real value to it.

So ensemble units are a NO GO.

So what are you left with, that works FOR THE PEOPLE, Clevo/Sager has it! They offer good quality, and somewhat good looking laptops and at retail prices. The only market product that's apart of the Sager laptop is the barebone itself. If Clevo wants to charge a high price for it, then you gotta pay. But for everything else, putting in the CPU HDD and RAM, the consumers can just easily go to Newegg and get them for cheap.

Now with the of the ASUS S96 series you can barebone prices around 599-699$ USD which is nice, this allows consumers to get into a decent laptop for 1500$ or less.

However if you look at the past, the Z70va vs the Sager 3880, and 5320, people were able to configure both Sager models to about 100-200 cheaper.
Then the people looked to quality, and people did not mind paying a small premium for the barebon to get better quality from ASUS. GJ ASUS, nicely done. (even i woulda bought the Z70va)

So if ASUS focuses on certain models to make, if it will definately decrease prices to make them more competative to the market values and prices.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I've been out looking for a laptop that would be comparable to my current A6Ja in both price and system specifications and I have not found one yet. Dell does let you pay more when you upgrade a system, hence the laptops will be more expensive when you compare them to the Asus notebooks. Also, Asus does not build cheap laptops, that's why their average price is that high.

Indeed, Asus does not really seem to be making their laptops just for IE and Word, but for more demanding programs and owners. I don't mind that their average price is that high and indeed sometimes too high, on the contrary, the prices will give Asus a top notch customer base and a better to handle support system. Whenever there's a problem, Asus will help you, about anywhere you reside at that moment.

Just my cup o' tea, Asus is just doing a nice job out there!

Joost

 

Interestingly yes SRD,

Um, what's ur definition of SUCK? This is extremely subjective.

Also quality is really getting harder to judge. Yes we can all agree ASUS has better BUILD Quality than a Dell. But percentage wise i BET that there is an equal amount of breakdowns on both Dell and ASUS. (which should be approx 5%-10%). Not all machines are made equal, hence there is a normal percentage in breakdowns.

Yes, the amount of flex a laptop has in the wrist rests and lid, can affect a lifeline of a product in consumers hands. We all know Dell has had many consumers that had them last up to 8 years! So there's something.

I bet I can break/over work a laptop from Dell and ASUS if i treat them as i do with my desktop, which runs 24/7, non stop CPU work, programming, gaming, surfing, music, movies, graphic work, and anything else i can't think of.

So If I had a dell E1505 and an ASUS A6J which i would think would be on similar level for about everything, and subject both laptops to that much abuse that i do to my desktop above, i bet both will break and or overheat. And possibly at the same timefram too.

Now gimme a V1J or a W1J which we know have excellent build quality, i bet i can break/overheat it in almost the same timeframe.

So, there the limits of the internal components of a laptop are basically the same across all brands, they can only TAKE so much abuse.

Then you can look to Material differences in both Dell and ASUS, well we know ASUS use better stuff, therefore it is stronger. This holds EXTREMELY TRUE!!! GJ ASUS! Ouch we hafta pay $$$ =\ LOL

LOL I WANT EVERYONE TO DROP THE AMERICAN's ARE CHEAP ISSUE! LOL. This is not true, the point that needs to be addressed is the American's are not stupid and will NOT pay more for something they can get cheaper. Hence they look for prices that are CHEAPER. THis is does NOT make american's cheap!

Humans naturally look for a cheaper alternative when it comes to electronics. Except for those who want something extremely different, like Alienware, LOL!.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

haha, I've had that happen to me about 4-5 times already..

"Hey, what laptop are you getting again?"
"An Asus"
"What? Acer? Those suck"
"no no, A-SUS"
"oh...what's that?"

 

lol yah me too, when i introduced Acer to my parents.. i mean ASUS* LOL!

I just say jebus! its spelled A S U S! not A C E R, now do you get it?

Dad says" ok" so Acer?

Ok forget it!

LOL

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I've only seen functional Acers so far though, my dad and cousin both have got an Acer and it's working very well! I indeed prefer ASUS, but still, Acer is at least better than Toshiba! ;-)

Joost

 

I know of about 4 people that bought acers. All 4 have gone in for service one for bad hard drive 2 for a new motherboard. and and i know 1 had to go in 4 times for servicing just stopped working every time.

 

Can't argue with that.

 

[Playing the devil's advocate]

...well...you could...

 

Well taking that line of thought one could argue with everything and people do (I witness it everyday in school as a philosophy major).

 

It is very hard to say which one is better, we also have to think about the users how to use and take care of their laptop gently.

 

Yah consumer use of a product does affect the product, but that cannot be technically be accounted for.

I know personaly that almost no laptop out there can possibly be handle all i throw at my desktop right now. THerefore, i will treat it alot more carefully and MONITOR everything. First the temps, fans and then constantly run benchmarks to see how well everything is working.

I do not even check anything on my desktop, i run it for up to 3-4 days before i restart it beacuse it needs one lol.

Now lets say something does fail on me like my router goes haywire, my first line is "this is not spose to happen" (i mean it in a technological way the stuff shouldn't fail on me" But it does. THen i gotta spend countless hours trouble shooting.

I definately can say we cannot treat the laptop today as we do to our desktops tho.

Once we have fanless laptops, extreme cooling, SSD (solid state drives (flash drives)), a cpu that's better than merom, possibly fuel cell power supply, then maybe a laptop can handle all the abuse we throw at it and won't break internally or physically due to awsome material like mag or alum.

This will be a slowly technological transition before we reach such notebook with that calibre above.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I have been shopping for a laptop for a while now and have laid my hands
on many models is the last month. I also used to have a work-provided
Dell, Thinkpad, NEC, and Mitac at various times.

There is a little store about 1/2 mile from my house (Alice Computers) that
stocks ASUS. My stepson also just bought a Dell 1505.

I mussed around with the ASUSs, and indeed they are made well, are sturdy,
and look good. Much better than most stuff in BestBuy or Compusa. Much
better than the Dells I've have had work before.

So as I was looking around I was impressed by the build quality of the ASUSs,
the Lenovos, the Sony FE (not the SZ), and the MacBook Pro. Most everything
else was junk, especially the Acer Aspires.

Then my stepson's 1505 arrived. This Dell is not like the Dells of the past. It
is solid. Maybe not quite ASUS solid, but close. Too close to justify paying the
ASUS premium if you are on a budget. I was impressed. The 1505 is even
uglier than old Dells, but it is built much better. No flex, no creaking, very well
reinforced lid, stiff strong hinges, reasonable keyboard, etc.

My point is that things change. You cannot take manufacturer's reputations as
Gospel. It is possible for Dell to make a laptop model that matches or exceeds
ASUS quality. I'm not saying it happened yet, but it could. Every generation of
computers is a new landscape.

Oh yeah, I also finally decided on a MBP since ATI supports the x1600 under linux
now and the triple boot (linux, OSX, XP) geek-factor is just too much for me to resist.

 

that's great, your definately entitled to your opinion, yes the build quality maybe increasing for Dells. that's nice

As i said, we've all heard stories about Dells lasting over the 4 year mark.

There are people here that would pay higher for laptops that have better build quality, look better and perform better because of internal components.

I'm gonna take a small example. I have a friend that just bought a Gateway laptop with an X1400, just like the E1505 which also has the X1400. He loves it, it plays all his games amazingly! I immediately told him what about ASUS, then i told im about the forums. All he said is he said was he wasn't very fond of ASUS laptops. So i was like ok.

Then if you look at the ASUS models, you'll see their models have X1600! wow, its 2 times more powerfull than the X1400, with better build quality and to a certain degree looks better. Why not pay a higher price for it. Yes there are different degrees of premiums from each laptop. Ensembles have the highest while the BOA have the lowest.

So far all of the E1505 and E1705 reviews do state it looks ugly but, the quality of the laptop is quite solid. Many are just happy with the X1400

Thanks for your insight

MysticGolem

 

Dell is very hit or miss. Some model like the D series are built pretty decent. But you also pay a premium. maybe its trickling down to the lower models i dont know. its like cars. i drive a BMW yeah it has a premium. Is it faster than other brands that are cheaper not really. But i still like it more for fit and finish.

 

Oh, most certainly paying more for more is justified. If you want an x1600
or 7600 then the 1505 is not a candidate and you have to step up to the
next level. All I am saying about the 1505 is that you probably cannot
get an x1400/7400 + core duo at that price with that build quality from
ASUS Ensemble. Even the Sony FE (7400 based), another surprisingly
well built machine, cannot match the 1505 price.

At the x1600 level the S96J is hard to rival...but as you say, BOA does not really
have the 'ASUS price premium' anyway. The S96J is a very good
(build+specs)/price point. The W3J on the other hand is a stretch (for the
budget constrained buyer), especially since you cannot even get it yet.

Generally speaking, my main point is that referring to Dell as the example
of poor quality is increasingly inaccurate. Point to Acers Aspires as examples
of poor quality instead...at least for the current generation of laptops.

 

You also have to compare screen quality. Size battery life. and in those areas dells are def not up to other brands. Sure their true life screen is great but you pay alot more. their 12.1 notebook had horrible battery life and dated chipset. Their cheaper notebooks are built like junk. They are normaly weigh more than other brands as well. while it really depends model to model. Most dells are not up to asus quality and they for the most part weigh more. So yes you will pay for for a thinner lighter nicer looking laptop thats life. Thats why some people will buy a kia sure comes with alot for the price. But if you have no prob affording something nicer then does it matter. dell is for the most part the low end market. They make some high end machines but people looking at their high end might want something nicer. And yes acers are ****pier than dells but i have seem just as many dells fail.

 

haha i knew you were going to that! LOL, i din't wanna say it myself, because i have not dealt with many laptops on a first hand basis, everything i know comes from the forums.

But i point to dell through this thread because, they are the MOST popular brand amongst NA. It would be wrong of me to use Acer or Tosh because their name is nothing compared to Dell. Their Empire is immense! So they are the perfect example for this thread.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

You are right most people go to dells. It really is amazing that a brand that is never in stores has so much of a customer base.

 

As i said throughout the thread Dell has the winning formula that no one can match yet....

Direct Sales to consumers, offering OK products, at OK prices, plus coupons to make outstanding deals. Plus Good customer support. I know i could get flamed for saying this. No i have not dealt with their customer service. But when you ask a person what you think about Dell. they will tell you customer service. (this is extremely subjective) So plz lets not go through it here lol.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Dells customer support sucks. The reason people say its good is because the comercials say it is. The people that say they have good support are the IT people because they deal with their bussiness class support which is great. but the home support is completely different.

 

LOL, ok no more Dell bashing... it really is a subjective matter. Lets leave it at that. Your definately entitled to your opinion. I'm not gonna take sides on this. LOL!

So lets go back to the consumers and what the people want.

It definately looks like the people's expectations are getting higher for ASUS as we go along. We know ASUS prices are higher than others, but we know there's better build qaulity and usually we get the X1600 instead of a X1400 in our laptops.

But it seems like people want more, we want cheaper prices, and more flexibility. Sorta like the BOA models. We have heared some people wanna have more ram or bigger HDs or faster CPUs to suit their very own needs.

Yes we don't wanna void our warranty, we know swapping the ram and HD is possible, without voiding, but RAM is a pain to change.

Now we do see the new VBI (verified by Intel) BOA models, which is spose to create a common building block system for a range of BOA models. Ultimately bringing down prices and but also bringing down quality and looks (sleekness and sexyness).

So what are your opinions?

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I agree asus is going away from the sleak and nice looking barbones models. I understand they want to separte the lines more ensemble and barebone. but now the barbones look like any other brand quanta twinhead uniwill. But asus doesnt want to even be associated with the barebones anymore they want them generic. I think its still possible to make them look nice but still be generic.But changing ram is a piece of cake. The only time it takes more effort is when its under the keyboard but asus makes their keyboards easy to take out so its still not a prob. Asus is not going to become cheaper. I mean their ensembles really arent that expensive. They are priced along with other brands sony etc. i think the w3j is a bargin. and as for v6j and v1j coming out there are no other windows machines that come close to as nice looking and thin for their size. They are like the equal to a mac book pro asthetics wise. so i really dont think asus cost that much they are just higher end pcs thats all.

 

^ yes, i definately gotta agree. Well said.

Still, i would like to see their ensemble units become Barebones and with the ASUS logo on it, so that our consumer price can be lower, and so teh notebooks fit our needs.

Other than that, ASUS is doing an amazing job with their good looking, high quality, good performance Ensemble units. (despite screen discrepancies)

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I personally am for this distinction between the ensemble and built on lines of ASUS notebooks as it is a direct representation of the intended target market and its associated price. If they were to make their barebones with the same chasis as their ensemble units, the naive user wouldn't be able to differentiate between them and may end up getting swindled. Furthermore, with no asthetic discrepencies between ensemble and built on notebooks, any price difference between these two lines would make the premium ensemble line redundant.

While it would indeed be nice for the ensemble models to have certain variations (as we already see in the A8Jm and A8Ja), from the perpective of a businessman, it wouldn't be as efficient as it would be to just have a single model with bleeding-edge tech in it. There should ofcourse be the option of having a 2300/2400 processor or 1Gb/2Gb Ram or 60/80/100Gb HDD, but nothing more than that. If the customer wants more options, get the built-on line; if the customer wants asthetics, get the ensemble models.

I personally feel the ensemble line is at an appropriate price range for the looks and build quality it provides, while the built on series models are mostly a steal (compared to other brands with similar specs, higher prices and absymal quality). The only thing bothering me is the lack of ensemble notebooks with high resolution (SXGA/WSXGA+) AND a powerful dedicated graphics card (x1600). I keep dreaming of a V6J with a x1600 and almost all the ports on the right side moved elsewhere, but I suppose that will never come to pass. I know that the upcoming Z96J has this, but there aren't any ASUS built-on resellers in Singapore and I can't get an international warranty if I were to buy it from elsewhere.

 

The W3J is a fair deal.

The A8Jm is unknown in U.S. price and configuration, but could turn out to be a bargain.
The A8Jm has the potential to be the best linux 14" laptop available (please please
provide something more than 1280x800 though).

The S96J is a bargain. If the step up to the Z96J (better screen) in price is small enough,
then the Z96J could be an outright steal.

 

indeed the S96 and Z96 would be a steal in terms of Price vs Performance.

But considering the weight of the S96 and Z96, 6.6lbs and i don't know the dimensions yet. The looks are OK... and teh built quality is not up to Ensemble standards.

Nontheless, looking at it as a price vs performance, yes this is good, VERY GOOD.

When you look at all factors, this laptop just looks like another heavy, semi-good looking toshiba, with awsome performance, and a decent price.

^ that's my opinion.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I'm definitely getting price and performance.. because of budget so I'm looking at the VBI's now and some of the built ons.