Release might be sooner than expected

Update: F3J; V1J.

I often check the internet on new updates about the V1J.
Today I found out several webshops in Europe already state it on their sites.

An example:
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.asp?sku=323370
http://www.pcutstyr.no/main.php3?PI=info&PNO=159907&QSID=11522883404879X821761022450
http://www.minnie.se/asus-v1jak002p-wsxga-t2400-186ghz-x1600-512m-p-10062.html
Sweden Kronor 19.495 = approx. 2135 EUR; Sweden Kronor 18.035 = 1971 EUR. I'll not convert the amount to US Dollars, as ASUS might use different prices, or 16.609 Norway Kroner, which is 2082 EUR.

I am not to sure, but other webshops state it will be here (Europe) within several weeks (07-17-06?). If this is true, it would be very good news for the US as the planned US ETA might be right.

V1J
EU Specs:
15.4"WSXGA+
ATI X1600 256MB
Core Duo T2400
1 GB (1x DDR2 667Mhz?)
100GB (5400?)
DVD±RW,WLAN/BT,XPP

Edit: could a MOD edit the title, by adding the model number?

http://www.pcutstyr.no/main.php3?PI=info&PNO=159917&QSID=11522883404879X821761022450
F3Ja
15.4"WSXGA+,
ATI X1600
Core Duo T2400
1 GB (1x DDR2 667MHz?)
120GB (7200?)
DVD±RW,WLAN/BT,XPP

 

The notebook isn't produced yet, period.... so no one actually has it.

Again though, the US release depends on a few things and price does as well.

Why Asus may have to push their order back to the fall:
1. To get a WSXGA+ screen.
2. They won't bring in a totally new platform within a quarter of a new cpu coming out.
3. Taiwan might even put production off themselves and no give us a chance to order them.

Price is based on:
1. US pricing starts by finding the place in the lineup for the notebook. In this case it will fit between the V6j and W2j and do fit it in there, the price needs to be between the two, which is why I think Fremont's goal would be to configure the notebook to fit in around $2100-2200..... So after they do that, then they take the cost of the notebook and figure out what cpu, hard drive, ram, acessories, etc can be offered for that price. That would depend on the time of ordering and the cost things are at that time, but you can imagine that the V1 would get at least a 1x1gb stick of 667 DDR2, a 100-120gb/5400rpm SATA HDD, a T2400 2.0ghz cpu...... at least.

Why Asus wouldn't push into the Fall:
1. Intel screws up and pushes the 64bit cpus into the late fall
2. Taiwan gives the US a WXGA+ option that they don't currently have

Even though it's not really "competition", the 15.4" Apple MacBook Pro would be the closest thing on the planet to the V1j....... expect the selling point to include more features, better design (subjective of course), better materials, and a lower price than an equally configured MacBook....

Personally I think for Asus fans, 14" has become THE standard size for screens over the last year (considering how many W3v and j models have been sold), but 15.4" is still the worldwide standard, which should make the V1j extremely popular and bring in totally new customers to the Asus family.

 

Justin, thank you for your swift reply.
May I ask whether you think the 'in stock dates' the web shops state are purely speculative?

The latest time I checked the internet I didn't find any web shops stating the notebook, in my opion there's quite some chance ASUS informed the retailers, or am I wrong?

 

I don't focus any of my efforts on what other countries Asus dealers are doing...... but the V1j hasn't started production in Taiwan yet, from the information I have.... if that hasn't started, no one in the world can have them. I know I'm focused on what we're doing here and the reasons above are what would keep things from happening here for a while...... but in years past I've been accussed of giving BS stories when I say that Europeans will buy anything and don't care about the next big thing like the US customers do. Asus put out an 855 chipset W3n in Europe a month before the Dothan release........ and the US was so far behind because they knew an 855 chipset model would be considered "old" and not sell. So, if anything the US office is more conservative than Taiwan is, and has higher expectionations than Europe does...... so we could certainly see V1j's in Europe by the end of the month, but they will certainly have the lower res screen and the current cpus..... Taiwan will produce whatever their subsidiaries will buy..

 

I am not in a hurry purchasing a new notebook, so I'll patiently wait till August and see if Merom actually will get released by then.

And hey, generalization is a wrong thing . I've seen many questions on Dutch forums similar to questions of the US people, namely: should I wait for Merom or not, however, once you have to say ''Now I buy'', if you don't you probably never buy. If Merom is released ASUS might announce the x1600 will be replaced by the x1800 for instance. (No hard feelings ).

One last question Justin, I know you focus on the US market, but do you have any clue whether ASUS has rebate programs for Europe as well? I haven't seen any rebate offers here before... but it sounds strange to me that ASUS wouldn't has such a program in Europe as well. Or is the rebate program managed by Fremont?

 

wow, kinda expensive...more than 2000 bucks!

 

when is the f3j / z96j expected to show up in the US? and at what price?

 

Yes, can someone update the title? I clicked on this thread to suggest thinking about baseball...

 

Let's go Yankees!

 

Too bad we Euros can't watch it

 

More than $2,000 is expensive? Yeah, I guess it is and for those who can't afford it, they won't be buying the notebook, but it'd be worth every penny... so there is a difference.

Anyway, let me explain something. Asus in the US is a seperate entity from Asus in Taiwan..... yes, they're name is Asus and they have some rules to follow, but essentially they are they're own company who buys from a Taiwanese company.... The same goes everywhere else in the world. The regional Asus makes an order and pays for that order and Taiwan makes them and ships them..... they are essential the end-user as far as Taiwan is concerned..... Rebates are not common, but are one way to deal with price changes. Usually they try to work it so that stock is gone near a price change and the new shipment will reflect that price change by staying at the same retail price, but having more ram or a step up in cpu or a bigger hard drive.... or some accessories.. something. At times, Asus things the current configuration is good and they want to keep it, but they'd rather lower the price. For those of us who stock they're notebooks, we're at a disadvantage because if Asus says today that the price is now $100 or $200 lower, we physically lose money and that's a hell of a way to reward the few who have overhead and can guarentee shipments based on in stock items............ So they run a rebate for a while so that we don't lose money, but in the end, the customer gets the same price as if they just dropped the price.

What they do in Europe is non of my concern and not even something I could find out. I know some people in the Milan, Italy office, but their view on these notebooks is totally different... they're a premium item there and they're concerns are the notebooks won't be high enough end or high enough price...... and I'm only heard horrible things about the UK office..... I wouldn't really bet, but jokingly, I bet we have more orders to the UK than the UK dealers get combined..... We ship a lot there, but obviously not that much... but every one of those would rather import than buy from down the street.... it says a lot about their service there and the configurations they bring in.