Some news on the arrival of the Vx2, S6Fm, G1 refresh, and some V2, U1 info..

Ok, here's some news for you guys that you should eat up... The Vx2 and S6fm will be here at the end of March, so I'd honestly except the first week of April as most likely.

Vx2 (Gold Edition) in Carbon Fiber or Yellow - both $2,999.00 USD
T7400 CPU
WSXGA+ 15.4"
8x Super Multi w/ Light Scribe
2GB DDR2 667
nVidia 7700 w/ 512mb vram
160GB/5400RPM SATA HDD
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
1.3mp webcam
802.11a/b/g/n - notice the N
Windows Vista Ultimate
Awesome carrying case; bluetooth notebook mouse
2 year global warranty w/ 30 day ZBD LCD warranty
*Uses ALL of the V1 accessories, including the docking station.

S6Fm in White, Pink, Dark Brown, or Camel - all $2,199.00 USD
L7200 CPU
WXGA 11.1"
8x Super Multi
1GB DDR2 533 (512mb of which is onboard)
Intel Integrated Graphics
120GB/5400RPM SATA HDD
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
802.11a/b/g - no mention of N here
Windows Vista Home Premium
Again, awesome carrying case and sleeve; leather usb notebook mouse
2 year global warranty w/ 30 day ZBD LCD warranty

G1-AK035G - $2,199.00 USD... yeah, it's getting up there!
T7400 CPU
WSXGA+ 15.4"
8x Super Multi w/ Light Scribe
2GB DDR2 667
nVidia 7700 w/ 512mb vram
160GB/5400RPM SATA HDD
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
1.3mp webcam
802.11a/b/g - no mention of N again..
Windows Vista Ultimate
Again, awesome backpack; gaming mouse
2 year global warranty w/ 30 day ZBD LCD warranty


**Now for me, the surprise is in the fact that Asus is going to bring in 4 colors of the S6 after the last 3 models (3 leather and 1 plain aluminum) all took a while to sell.. mainly because of so many options... Either way, they're bringing them all in and I'm quite surprised they'll be under $2,200... but that's good for everyone.

In the case of the Vx2, I'm not totally surprised here because Asus says Santa Rosa models won't start being produced until probably mid May, for a late May or early June delivery to the states. With that much time, the Vx2 has plenty of life to live, and we probably won't see an update to the next chipset until August at best.... so best to bring the new model in right now.

The G1 refresh basically gets two updates which increase the price by $300... supposedly something people requested... these two updates are simply Vista Ultimate over Home Premium and a T7400 over a T7200... It's still worth every penny, but they may be getting out of their intended target range by pumping it up that much... that's not for me to decide though.

The only thing that honestly surprised me is that both of these models (plus some other some others that are coming in are all set for the end of March... but there was no mention of the V2 or U1, both of which were supposed to be coming in at around the same time, and actually were confirmed... we'll see how that plays out.

 

Thanks for the update Justin.

In terms of Santa Rosa coming in June, any indication on which model will get that treatment first? That's odd there's no news on the U1. According to a report on DigiTimes.com the U1 was in production and would start shipping in a week or two

http://digitimes.com/systems/a20070301PB206.html

It would have a lot of overlap with the S6f too, from what I can tell.

 

I think by pushing up the price past $2,000 the G1 will be a pretty hard sell toward those who will truly be purchasing these notebooks.

 

Yeah, the talk around here is that the U1 was supposed to be shipping in the next couple of weeks...
As far as overlap with the S6, I dont think its all that much, because the S6 weighs like 1.5lbs more (1.8 vs 3.3 lbs), has the integrated DVD drive, more colors, and no LED screen, plus its got the way faster processor.
Will there be a cheaper version of the S6Fm with the metal casing like last time, or is just the leather colors at $2200?


The G1 may be worth every penny, but at that price, its out of its range. At 1800, it was great. $1900 was pushing it. The people who would buy the G1 can actually now say the A8Jm is smaller and lighter, and now also cheaper, so the case for the G1 now adds up to those... rather indiscreet... neon lights and WSXGA screen, not worth it IMO.

 

I guess it doesn't hurt to have choices with the G1, but I think I'd just as soon buy a G1 for $1799 or even $1899 and have a slightly slower CPU and only XP Home Premium (with the option to upgrade to Ultimate if I really felt the need).

 

I think all these prices are high. The trend is down not up.

 

wow this is the first time i'm relieved i bought a gadget early rather than later yes my G1 only has a T7200, but it's already plentiful and it's 400 bucks cheaper :O

 

Its a retail store item now. It needs a high retail price so it can go on sale.

 

Yeah, 'supposedly' is the right word. ASUS thinks that people are asking for an OS upgrade and marginally faster CPU? Justin, please set them straight... the G1 needs a faster GPU. A 7900 would have easily been worth $300 and would have made the G1 a true gaming system.

 

I love my G1. I would have paid $2100 for it compared to anything I saw in the store. And I'm not a gamer so I'm already overpaying (IMO) for a graphics card that isn't much use to me.

 

It's a 15.4" system, not a block heater

 

Meh, a laptop wont fit around an engine block anyways.

The 7900 didn't go into the G1 because it would raise a lot of temperature and power issues. Its like putting a big block V8 into a Chevy cavalier, except with higher quality materials. Why it didnt go into the G2 is a better question.

 

I think we're still a while away from the 7900GS being able to fit into a laptop like the G1 without heat issues, etc. Hopefully not too far though.

 

Yeah, I've kind of wondered about that. It seems like the only reason to get the G2 over the G1 is if you just want a larger screen, but the G2 doesn't seem to really compete well with 7900GS-packing systems like the E1705 or Toshiba P105.

Is it perhaps an availability issue, just that Asus couldn't get any 7900GS's to use or something?

 

Sad to c that the VX2 not going to be in Santa Rose. G1 raised in price? Bad move even with higher CPU & Vista. Guess the owners of all G1 with XP Media Center r in luck

 

v1j is now cheaper then g1

 

Good point!

 

OK, I'm not clear on this; is this G1 actually replacing the current $1799/1899 G1 (the one with Vista Home Premium and a T7200), or is it just another config that will be available?

 

CPU's especially the Core 2 Duo are no longer bottlenecks in a system. What really bottlenecks computers these days if not having a fast SSD, these HDD are too slow and no longer meet my needs. Also we will now almost always need 1.5GB or more of Ram to operate well in Vista let alone 2+GB to game in Vista.

I don't see how any possible G1 owner would want Vista, especially if they are gaming, since Vista has already shown a huge performance decrease all round. I know it may take up to 6 months before we see similar performance to XP, but I will rather stick with my XP Pro over Vista with the annoying UAC and DRM system.

With the G1 so highly priced very few people can go around stating, "hey look what I got for 1800$ compared to what you got" As soon as you break through the mental barrier of 2000$, people tend to shy away.

Now that the V1JP is cheaper than the G1 which is all performance plastic, why wouldn't anyone just pick up a V1JP, it has a much nicer, clean look, and many features. Now there will be more V1JP owners, and I wanted to be unique hehe.

Or even worse, there may be a drop in sales for both V1JP and G1, who knows. In my honest opinion the G1 is no longer worth the money, the G1 CPU upgrade is useless, there's no real difference between T7200 and T7400, except the PRICE. One of the greatest thing I loved about the G1 was the price for performance. It was the all around winner.

I could now see people running around trying to find any reseller who is selling the last of the XP and Vista Home Premium versions of G1 if they still exist, so that they don't have to pay a premium for the measly 160mhz increase in CPU speed, and the upgrade of Vista which is currently useless anyways since there's an overall performance decrease in Vista, plus the drivers for Nvidia are not out yet?

I do like the VX2, the price is high for what your getting, the the logic in releasing it now is perfect. I can't wait till I see the specs revealed in Justin's preview at the price of 3000$ USD.

The S6fm looks nice but is very very expensive for what your getting, minus well end up with a Macbook for half the price, but whatever, I'm not into ultra portables. It seems Asus does seem to sell these, just like Justin stated, but at a slow pace. Which is fine in my opinion since it will be a while before they get refreshed.

As for the V2 and U1, hopefully some new information will be available later on about them. I am very interested in seeing how well the V2 performs overall and how good looking the U1 will be in real life.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Just to add, the person who stated they would want a 7900GS. He was actually referring that he would rather see an upgrade to the GPU rather the CPU and Vista for 300$, since G1 owners wouldn't mind a better GPU if it was able to be done.

We have currently yet to see something higher than the mainstream GPU in an Asus notebook, other than the older laptop with a 15.4" screen and a 6800, which eludes my mind right now.

Meaning if the people had an option, The new G1 with T7400 and Vista Ultimate, versus G1 with a new better GPU, like a Go 7900, for the same price premium, 300$, I am sure everyone will pick the one with the new GPU.

But you have to remember this is only hypothetically speaking, and we already know the G1 can't handle anything higher than the Go 7700 in terms of heating. Unless a new cooling solution has been created and introduced.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Yeah they've got their feedback wrong, or they're listening to idiots over at CNET. G1 needed a GPU update not a CPU update. They should have targeted the G2 with a newer GPU, that would have made that system more attractive. Only reason I didn't go with the G2 is because it was identical to the G1 except larger... so weight became a consideration. If it had a nice higher end gpu to power the larger screen that would have thrown out the weight consideration

 

Maybe when they're refreshing the G1 with Santa Rosa they'll avoid the mistake and put in something like a T7300 and a Geforce 8600

But I gotta say, the clock speed craze created by Intel just a few years ago is still stuck in many people's minds, my friends are still asking me why the notebooks seem to get SLOWER AND SLOWER (after all, doesn't 2.0ghz sound slower than 2.8ghz?), and I don't know how to answer that. A higher clock speed might be easier to advertise. People looking for a "gaming system" but really don't know much about computers might wonder why the G1 has such a "slow" CPU. They might be willing to pay more for the CPU.

 

You guys are actually the ones that have it all wrong... let me explain a couple things

1. The G1 price increase is in relation to the increase in cost of what's going in it.... it's not like an inflated cost so people can put them on "sale"... that's obvious, just look at the cost difference in the cpu and os...

2. best buy will have their own "lower end" models with their own code.... the higher end configurations will stay with their long term dealers... for better or worse.

3. The Vx2 CAN'T be santa rosa NOW because Intel won't ALLOW it to be released by anyone until almost the middle of May.... this isn't an issue to cry about, it'll be updated, but Asus pushed it out now rather than July.... which makes room for them to update it towards the end of the summer, if not even before... Gets the model out there and all those people who were waiting can buy it now rather than 5-6 months from now.

4. I don't think the S6 is going to hurt the U1 sales, but rather having 4 different color models will hurt sales within the S6 range... this time they're all the same configuration and price and based on sales of the previous models, the dark brown sold better than the camel colored model... the pink only outsold the rest because it came in with a higher configuration and was limited to only about 50 models in the US.... now, I think they're going to see problems with getting rid of the pink and camel models.. the dark brown and white should sell well... but I honestly don't know about the other two.

5. As for the U1 and V2, just because there was no mention of doesn't mean they're not coming.... The BS that flies around here about production times is just that.... Asus physically starts to produce a lot of stuff at different times and it could be a month or more at least because we get them.. and that's if the US decided to put an order in for that first batch. Asus was saying end of March a couple weeks back for the U1 and V2... any updates that I get today I'll certainly mention, but perhaps those two were moved to Early April??? If so, it would explain why they're not in the current info because it only extends till the end of the month.

 

.. It was confirmed.... The U1 and V2 won't be in until April, or perhaps even later... Taiwan still haven't confirmed an exact ETA to the US office, but they certainly won't be here by the end of the month...

Also, although models we carry and big box stores will carry will be very different configurations in the near future... I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this or found this out, but for now, for instance, the G1 that best buy is carrying is without the Targus backback and without the Light Scribe option on the DVD burner.. I think there may be some other things that are different, but I know those at the very least make up the $100 difference between them and everyone else.... since I know we've been getting calls wondering why the difference for the last week or so...

 

Certainly the added features cost that much in addition to the G1, but they arent really worth it. The difference between a T7200 and a T7400 is pretty much irrelavent, and Vista Ultimate is also a nearly meaningless upgrade.

 

Call it what you will... people call us up every day... and I get PM's and IM's all the time saying: "i need a 2.16ghz instead of the 2.0ghz"... and we tell them it's a waste of money because you'll never see the performance difference... people just want what they want. Now, for whatever reason Asus is going in that direction and there is opposition the other way. Personally, I can see it on a model like the Vx2, which is supposed to be top or the top of the line... but the G1 isn't great.... this particular model will just make sales of the V1 jump.. and in my opinion the V1 was already a better system, maybe not as powerful graphics wise of standard with as much ram, but it's a better system.

... to each their own..

 

I was going between the V1 and the G1 right up till I ordered, I let my son decide since I will be getting a new 14 inch model early next year and the G1 will be the "Home Computer". Have you seen a higher amount of returns or complaints about the G1 then the V1?

 

I agree with most here this Notebook screams for an GPU update not a CPU seriously this is supposed to be and targeted towards the gamer I'am I missing something?

This cpu update will do nothing for the overall performance of this notebook while a gpu would have been the way to go.
by the way premiumto ultimate all it does is add cost just like the cpu update.

just my 2 cents.

 

Zero returns on the G1 or V1, but have had several G1 orders come in with customers changing their minds before their orders were processed and going with the V1's.. Both are good values, and that's the hardest part...... at least when the G1 was down at 1799, people see the V1 with less "stuff" and think it's stupid not to go with the G1, but personally, there are notebooks I'd use... then there are notebooks that I think are still high enough end that we can sell... then there are those that I wouldn't want our name associated with.... Basically... I'm a W, V, S, R series guy... but that doesn't mean there is anything "wrong with the A, F, G series... they're just aimed at a different type of user.

Ultimate is actually being requested a lot... eventhough you can update through the control panel from say Business to Ultimate for about $90, a lot of people WANT it with the system... Putting it on the top of the line, maxed out... let's say "ultimate" models, really isn't a bad idea.. I think it should be on the W2 and Vx2, but I can't see the purpose on the G1.

 

Ok, I see what your trying to say.

Here's how I see things.
G1: $1800 USD, this is the best affordable gaming 15.4" notebook in the entire North American market. (Version 1, no lightscribe and no vista)

V1JP: $2000 USD, this is the best affordable business 15.4" notebook offering the second best all round performance in the North American market. It's performance is less than the G1, because of the Go 7700 and the difference in ram.

People who considered the V1 and G1 here, were thinking why would I buy the V1, since it costs more and you get less overall performance. V1 buyers thought they are getting better quality and features so they chose the V1, plus they still have good performance.

G1 Version 2: $1900 USD, this laptop came with Vista and lightscribe and cost 100$ more, Asus had to do this because it needs to stay up to current software and technology, so I don't think people mind this change.

G1 Version 3: $2200 USD, this laptop now comes with a upgraded CPU from a T7200 to a T7400, we all know this will just result in an increase in price but this premium is not worth the measly performance gains. Next Asus puts in Vista Ultimate, sure I would feel more comfortable with Vista Ultimate in general, but currently Vista as a whole is not good for gaming notebooks or those who want to game.

The reason is because games run much slower, and we hope that this will be fixed 4-6 months from now.

Now with this G1 and compared to the V1JP, buyers would be a bit weary of an easy decision they could have made about 3 months ago. The G1 cost 200 more than the V1JP, comes with an extra gig of ram, Vista Ultimate, and a slightly faster CPU. Those who can afford 2000+ notebooks are now the only market who can pick from these two.

The lower the price of a notebook the bigger the share of the market you get. Also you have to now consider features and quality, the V1JP hands down beats the G1 in this aspect, and now Price.

Asus would have been better off, giving what I think would have been a better decision is:
V1JP Chassis + Go 7700 with same clocks as G1, 2GB of ram, 160GB HD, Vista or Vista Ultimate and price it at $2000-2200. Whatever price they feel fit in that range.

As we already know, many would LOVE to have the specs and performance of the G1 in the chassis of the V1JP, also the price (but that's not going to happen $1800). This would ultimately alleviate the G1 of its purpose, but hey, the VX2 in my opinion has everything correct, the best specs, best chassis, best features, why did Asus give the V1JP such good performance, when the G1 which costs less excellent performance with the Go 7700 and 2GB ram?

I still love all three Laptops, V1JP, G1 and VX2, but I can no longer call the G1 as the only true affordable gaming notebook on the market, since the price is just way too high. This does not mean people will not buy it, actually I am curious as to what will happen when we compare G1 and V1JP sales upon the release of this new G1.

Aside, yes, there are people who do think and believe they need the absolute best in a notebook, there's a mental game with this. As we know 2.0ghz excellent, but mentally thinking 2.16 is better, despite the % difference it is simply just better.

How many here would feel comfortable with a 1.86ghz CPU in their G1 with a 50$ drop in price, as opposed to a 2.0Ghz with 4mb cache for a 50$ increase. We already know everyone will pick the 2.0ghz because it sounds, feels, mentally better stating you have a full 2.0ghz, despite the performance difference is still somewhat negligible.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

... It's all gotta be taken with a grain of salt... for everyone that complains now about the increased configuration, the same amount of people ***** that the V1 *only* comes with 1GB of RAM.... or this, that, or the other.. We all know it.. at least anyone that's hung around here for a while knows exactly what I'm talking about. No one is ever satisfied, nor should they be... and nor would it be humanly possible.

Asus thinks making the models we carry "higher end" is going to help... but rather the models they sell to best buy should be lower end, because even with a lower configuration and less added goodies, everything Asus has to offer is a dozen times better than anything else they carry..... When people are looking for a laptop and they start by going into best buy... they already most likely don't know of Asus, and will question who the hell they are in the first place.....

I shouldn't bust on Asus because I think their actions speak louder than words anyway. They see "progress", but I think they're seeing the fact that their fact ground in the market as their doing something right (in marketing, pricing, configurations, etc), but I personally think they're simply gaining ground they already should have had, and their previous good reviews are taking longer to catch up with them (I can't tell you how many people are recently call or email about 2 year old Dothan versions of systems and they always start by saying "I read this glowing review and I wonder if you guys carry this yet?".... So, I believe that Asus's success is warranted of course, but I think the genius' over there think it's for their more recent contributions and not those of all the good people that finally ditched them to work else where because there was no true direction.

... we'll see, right?

 

Haha I agree, your right to a certain degree. People do need to understand there's a limit, which is basically Time and Technology available today.

Here's a list of the best all around performance setup and value:

• T7200 - performance is excellent, price is good
• Go 7700 - currently with XP the Go 7700 dominates over the ATI counterparts, however ATI is currently on top due to driver support for Vista, but this will be changed in time.
• 2GB DDR2 @ 667mhz Ram - gaming basically requires 2GB of ram, Vista also requires a lot of ram
• 160GB @5400 rpm - great amount of space with decent price

This is still the TOP of the line equipment today, and yet only 2 notebooks I know of utilise this combination of parts, the G1 and VX2...all other laptops only hit or miss these.

The V1JP only hits the CPU, but in my opinion the V1 is still the best business notebook in the market, but it would have been the perfect notebook if it had the those specs above.

Likewise the G1 would have been the perfect laptop if the design was more subtle ( but that's not the intent of the G1 in the first place).

So then Asus released the VX2 it has everything anyone could ever want in a notebook, except the price, LOL, but that was a given since the target market is much different, but it is truely the only notebook that meets a pure hybrid market of Ultimate Gaming specs with business style and features (if you select the carbon fiber version, the yellow one will stand out too much).

I strongly believe bringing Asus to Best Buy is a good idea. In Canada we are very price sensative, the first thing we look at is the price, if too high then we don't even bother with it, despite better specs, quality, and etc. But the fact that BB is now carrying Asus, this will further help with Brand Name, since yes, I agree, there's still a lot of people who say "Asus (A-sys) (Ah-seus) what's that?", "Wow Look at that laptop, it looks so cool (G1)". But the price tag will then scare people away. LOL

Have you seen the prices of most laptop in BB, they are all basically sub 1500$ except a few.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

It looks to me like the S6Fm is already in stock at Newegg, at least the dark brown version anyway no?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834220153

 

Thats a good find...Wasnt it supposed to have the L7300 CPU though?

 

No.. it was supposed to be 1.33ghz, and the L7200 is the 667mhz FSB 1.33ghz.... the L7300 won't even be made until Q2 for the Santa Rosa Platform... at 800mhz FSB.. I think that's also 1.33ghz or so.

 

Newegg told me they got their Dark Brown S6Fms in a couple of days ago and have 3 in stock, how did come they already have it in stock? What other online retailers aside from Proportable and Newegg will carry these?

 

Oh wait, I read the specs wrong in the first post.

I would assume that MilestonePC, btotech.com, and anyone else carrying the S6F currently will also be carrying the S6Fm as well.

 

I am sorry to hear the U1 won't be available till next month at the earliest. Can it be pre-ordered?

 

I would assume not, since the NA U1 release point hasn't even been announced yet.

 

Until price and configuration are confirmed we won't take advanced orders, but we certainly have been taking names of anyone that contacts us interested in it.... Obviously without a price or a configuration it's hard to "sell" something... but information on it shouldn't be all that far away, and the configuration and price should be similiar to that of the S6... maybe a little more expensive if they go with the external bluray drive.... but in terms of everything else, it should be similiar.

As for the S6fm's... yes, a handful of the carmel colored ones did come in to the states.. we got a couple, but they went to fill some backorders.... it was a fluke that they came in in the first place... it'll be the end of the month before there is any sort of real "stock" on all of the models. Expect the white one to be *the* hot one from the spring...

 

I am set on a G1. Just waiting on finances. Can anybody tell me how long I have to order the G1 ver2 before the new ver3 price increase kicks in?

Thanks in advance.
Charley

 

Im in the same boat as CharleyS, anyone know when the price increase goes into effect??

 

As soon as all current G1s are sold, ASUS will bring out the 'refreshes' of the units specified.

 

Just as a note, I finally got mine today and more are coming in this week.... it's beautiful:

U1F-1P016E
$2,199

ULV U2400 (1.06ghz) Core Duo
11.1 WXGA LCD w/ LED backlight
External 8x Super Multi
1.5gb DDR2 667 (512 embedded + 1gb stick)
80gb pata 4200rpm (1.8” w/ shock protection)
a/b/g wireless
2 batteries – a 3 and a 6 cell
8 in 1 card reader
2.2 lbs
carrying case, Bluetooth mouse
2 year warranty w/ 30 day zero bright dot guarantee
0.3mp web cam
TPM (trusted platform module)
finger print reader
Piano black lid, black leather palm rest, stainless steel frame

 

Can you take some photos of it? Also curious to see it alongside other laptops.

 

One thing I can't do today is photograph it... I'm in NYC this week for the auto show and this is the only joy I brought with me... I saw the box on my way out this morning, opened it and took it with me. The guys should have the product page up soon, but in terms of comparing it's size to other laptops, it's basically the footprint of the S6 at about 2/3 the thickness.... it dwarfs the the W7 which was my "car computer" until I lef this morning... For about a second I put them on top of each other.... anything that can make a skinny 13" notebook look HUGE is really, really small...

 

Justin, I hope you don't mind my posting links to a competitor's site in your thread, but for anyone interested, Dynamism has posted some product shots of the U1:

http://www.dynamism.com/asus-u1/gallery.shtml

Looks like a really beautiful machine.

 

Asus has some in high resolution on their own site (along with VX2, S6F, W5Fe)

http://usa.asus.com/event/TKO_Spring2007/contest_resources.html

 

U1 looks amazing, I sort of wish I needed a ultra portable notebook.