Non technical review of W2V

Hi - just thought I'd post first impressions of my new Asus W2V-U011P that I've had for a week now (London)

Firstly, the photos on the web simply don't do the W2V justice - it it a thing of much beauty. It oozes quality - the brushed alumium looks cool and stays cool to the touch even after 8 hours on - and you want to touch it - a lot.

The screen is excellent - a real immersive experience - no bright dots/dead pixels (Asus have a 0BD guarantee on this). We've been having some sun in London (yes it does happen) and it's been a pleasure to work out on a sunny terrace - and actaully see the screen (which you couldn't on my old Sony Vaio z1)

The W2V is actually light - it weighs less than most 15" screens - Not quite as light as the 17" powerbook - the only other laptop that comes anywhere close (but not that close) on aesthetics. It's far lighter than that Quosimodo thing from Toshiba or the A block fro Sony

The keyboard has a slightly matte feel which makes it pleasant to type on

It's fast - really fast - I reinstalled Windows as I wanted different size partitions and it took just 3 minutes (2 mns 59 seconds to be precise!)

The sound quality is excellent - great base, no distortion - I have a JBL On Stage for my iPod and the sound is comparable.

The TV worked straight out of the box! Lifeview make the TV card and you can download alternative free software if you don't like the Asus Mobile Theater (it's a skinned version of Ulead Instamedia - and seems to slow down the unit - but the remote that's configured for the softare is very cool).

http://www.lifeview.com.tw/html/downloads/downloads.htm

If you want to look for a downside, it is true that the fan is on more or less permanently, although it's not too noisy - and apparently you can undervolt the unit and this makes the W2V vitually silent http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/hardware/notebooks/0,39001743,39091420p,00.htm (Justin do you know anything about this?)

The headphone volume could also be a little louder for some people I guess - but it is fine for me.

I work as a writer - so I squat in various Starbucks accross the city to work. In a week, I've had over a dozen people come up to me with admiring oohs and aahs - including two girls who I ended up exchanging email addresses with - so the W2V even works in that domain too. Wish it could make me a nice cup of tea though...

Anyhow - I'd have no qualms about recommeding the W2V, based on my my previous experience with Sony's and Toshiba's

Polo

Asus W2V-U011P
Pentium M 770 2.13 2.13ghz
17.1 WXGA+(Glare)
DDR2 1024MB
100G 5400R
8X DVD Super Multi
802.11b/g + BT

 

Thanks for the review. I'm glad that you took this approach, sometimes numbers and benchmarks don't really matter. It's the everyday tasks that works with me. I'm glad that it's cool to the touch, that was a big point on my list with the brushed aluminum- i thought it would be hot since the system was so thin. Happy that the TV Tuner worked right out of the box, I read elsewhere that the were complications with the earlier models. Have you tried any games yet?

 

That's odd, considering that everybody is complaining about the sound quality. The sound isnot directed in the right way to the 5-1 system. Maybe you have one with new drivers? Could you please check that out?

 

I was going to ask the same thing. Any chance you could run the surround sound test to confirm all the speakers and the sub woofer are working independently? Also what version of the audio driver are you using?

Thanks,

Phil
W2Vc-U005P