UL30A-X5 vs UL30A-A2

i checked on amazon, and the specs are the same? but different battery life, i dont get it. Can someone explain this for me

 

Not sure. From what I know, none of these laptops will ever hit more than 12 hours of battery life. So it is possible there is a typo on that one with 16 hours.

 

The difference I can see from the Amazon page:
* X5 has 1 year global warranty, A2 has 2 year global warranty
* X5 comes in black, A2 comes in silver
* the production description near the bottom shows X5 has 8-hours of battery life, which contradicts the claimed 12 and 12.5 hours -- from what I've learned in the past month regarding Asus marketing, this kind of confusion seems typical.

It's good to see they both come with 64-bit Win7.

edit: the X5 page shows it comes with a 2-year global warranty, then shows 1-year.

 

OK, what about the UL30A-A3B?

http://www.amazon.com/UL30A-A3B-13-...ssional/dp/tech-data/B002P3KMTY/ref=de_a_smtd

 

A3B comes with Win7 Pro 64-bit (and 3GB RAM?). The other two comes with Home version.

 

It's possible that the black version may not have a brushed aluminum lid, I'm just guessing. Otherwise, the specs are actually identical (the product description for the A2 says 12 hours battery life also), which means that there is a $120 price premium for the silver model lol

 

The specs I read on the UL30A-X5 indicate that it too comes with a 2 year warranty. It has, like all ASUS notebooks, 1 year of accidental coverage as well.

 

From the ASUS product page, they have two types of 8-cell batteries. One is rated at 4400mAh and the other is rated for 5600mAh. Using those figures, we could assume the X5 has the 4400mAh giving it 12.5 hours battery life while the A2 has the 5600mAh which gives it 16 hours ( ( 5600 / 4400 ) * 12.5 = 15.9 ).

 

The ASUS rep on Amazon has confirmed the 16 hr battery spec. It is correct.

 

So both the X5 and A2 come with 2 year warranty's?

 

Yes. It's on the Amazon as well as the ASUS product page.

 

Can anyone confirm that this is the difference between the silver and black model

 

Confirmed by Asus on Amazon.com forum post

 

Wow...they need to get their product pages up to date then. Pretty creepy that multiple sources from ASUS have different information listed.

 

The UL30A-A1 had a 5600 mAh battery, according to some sites, with a claimed 12 hours battery life. I wonder if the info for the A1 was wrong or Windows 7 is that good, or Asus tweaked the notebook with voodoo magic?

 

Actually, the claimed battery life for the 5600mAh battery is 16 hours. How they got that number is beyond me.

Seriously, how do manufacturers test for battery life? My screen's usually already at the dimmest or next up setting and I still don't get battery life as good as they claim.

 

Hi ilovejedd,

I was referring to the discontinued A1 model with respect to the battery life.

Also, I think OEMs determine battery life by seeing how many walnuts they can stuff in their mouth. Someone managed to stuff 16 and that is the number they used.

 

I really like the way the black looks but I really wonder if this will get me anywhere near even 8 hours of life. The 4400mha is basically equivalent to a 6-cell battery which is the same as the Acer timeline.

 

From what it SEEMS, it looks like:

A2: Silver, 500gb HD, 4gb RAM, Windows7 Home
A3B: Black, 250gb, 3gb RAM, Windows7 Pro
X5: Black, 500gb, 4gb RAM, Windows7 Home

I'll look more into it....

 

I had an order with Amazon on the UL30A-X5 for $680, but the specs kept on bothering me slightly (e.g. no bluetooth and the slightly smaller battery). For anyone who's interested, HP actually just also listed their HP Pavilion dm3t notebook. This one is available in either SU4100, SU7300, or SU7300 + G105M or SP9300 + G105M.

I ended up getting a SU7300 with Intel 4500MHD, 3GB (free upgrade), 250GB HD (planning on swapping an Indilux SSD anyway), 13.3 1280x800, Wireless N with Bluetooth, webcam, extra 6 cell battery, 2nd day shipping, all for $798.99 + lovely NY's 8.875% totaling $869.90. The good thing is that bing cash back has a 25% off for HP.com, so I'll get $199.74 back, making this laptop ~$670 including tax and shipping.

Personally, I still prefer the look of the UL30A (I LOVE the hinge, looks so cool!), and the 2 year global warranty + 30 day LCD guarantee. But this is also a pretty good priced computer for anyone who cares to jump on this.

Sorry to be posting an HP deal on this forum, but I have been following all the UL series thread for the past few weeks very closely awaiting for the release, and I thought that others may be interested in this HP if they want a more customizable CULV laptop. Granted, I am going out on a limb buying this laptop sight unseen & no reviews, but the pictures does look pretty cool, and estimate 10/28/09 ship date!

 

Whoa ... 16 hours of battery life?

How'd they DO that?

Don't care though ... I am seriously considering this model now ... that is absolutely amazing!

 

Probably 16 hours just letting it sit there... batt life is never as advertised lol.

Is someone making a list of all the different model numbers?

 

16hrs is BS and forget about 12hrs with smaller 4400mAh battery.
Every test I saw has been done with bigger, 5600mAh and conclusion was that 12hrs is possible in some usage scenarios, no way 16hrs.

 

True ... but Considering that these are ULV cpu's if you were in word mode only (which I regularly am) than 16 hours is very possible.

With other Asus machines (in particulat the 1000ha netbook) they advertised 7 hours max and I got a teensie bit under that regularly - something like 6 hours and 50 minutes - when only in word mode.

So for me 16 hours is eminently possible!

Even if it is not, 16 hours as a rough guestimate still is better than 12.

 

As a update note I went ahead and pre-ordered the ul30a-a2, so I will be able to update you all with regards to battery claims and the rest.

Seeing as I was already planning/budgeted on getting the 13" asus ul30 for around $800 ANYWAY I am more than willing to be the "guinea pig" in this matter.

If the info is faulty I still get a max of 12 hours, which is not bad at all! If the info is correct then I am a winner in this situation. In either case I can help the other NBR folk make a clearer decision!

 

The HP dm3t looks really nice.
I'm a sucker for brushed aluminum.(I wished the dm1 was the same).
My problem with it is why is it 4.21lbs when the Acer 3810tz and Asus ul30a are 3.5lbs and 3.74 respectively.
There should be no reason why the hp is a good .7lbs heavier than the Acer.

 

Does the hp come with an optical drive?

 

dm3s do not come with optical drives.

 

Does anyone know if the Hard Drive is user replaceable?

 

I did notice that it was quite a bit heavier and was not sure what the reason may be. But it definitely does not come with any optical drive. Here are the pros/cons I see with dm3t vs ul30a:

Pros (for UL30A) / Cons (for dm3t)
- Lighter and slightly thinner
- 2yr global warranty (on some models)
- 30 day 0 dead pixel warranty on LCD
- Seems like it may have larger battery (on 5600mah) not sure what dm3t's 6-cell has. could not find details on this
- more width on LCD pixel (1366 vs. 1280)
- can get it in black or silver (dm3t is brushed silver aluminum for now only)
- probably more "moddable" vs. HP

Pros (dm3t) / Cons (ul30a)
- more height (800 vs. 768)
- ability to add bluetooth
- additional 6-cell battery for $49.
- Has a hardwired wifi switch
- Has dual button on the touchpad (I really don't like the button on UL30A, wish they went with the 1000H/HE netbook's touchpad button design with separate buttons)
- Has an on-off switch on the touchpad (not confirmed, but based on the picture with a button next to the touchpad and an led light, I am guessing it does).
- ability to customize CPU - SU4100, SU7300, SU7300 with G105M, SP9300 with G105M.

I ended up going with the SU7300 b/c I don't really plan on playing any games on this, as long as it streams Hulu and others decently, it's fine. My laptop is estimated to ship on 10/28, 2 day ship. Will let everyone know what I like/don't like about it after getting it.

 

I believe you are right about 16 hours being BS. The only place on the Amazon page that says 16 is at the top. The rest of the page lists 12 or 11 hours. I don't see how UL30A-A2 can magically improve 4 hours over UL30A-A1 on the same 8-cell battery (5600mAh, 84WH?). Asus marketing is too inconsistent.

 

I'm still impressed with 12 hours. What I don't get is why Asus got rid of the ba keyboards from the U series... That is rather mindboggling

 

I'm glad someone started this thread, after I asked the question in the 1810 thread. Good job deciphering ASUS poor communications, made worse by too many overlapping models.

 

Lol, my absolute minimum is 5 hours real-world usage. Methinks I should be able to get at least that even with the model with 4400mAh 8-cell battery.

Besides, I'll probably be wanting to buy a new laptop a year or two from now and there's bound to be better options then.

 

Perhaps the increase in reported battery life on the UL30A-A2 is due to Windows 7. A recent report linked from Slashdot suggests that Win7 has noticeably-reduced power consumption (on a desktop):

http://www.infoworld.com/d/windows/windows-7-multicore-how-much-faster-325?page=0,2

Maybe that's how they're claiming an extra "4 hours" (or whatever it really is) from the same 8-cell 5600mA battery...

 

The DM3 has 1366x768 resolution as well, its advertised wrong on HPs store. I confirmed it in their own manuals and with their tech support.

 

Does anyone know if Asus is selling the 8 cell 5600mAh battery anywhere for the UL series?

I really am contemplating on buying the X5 model but the only thing holding me back is the lower battery life. Right now i'm leaning towards just buying the laptop and buying a spare 8 cell 5600 when I can find out where they're being sold.

What do you guys think?

 

I would love to purchase an extra battery for the UL30a-a2 ... I am wondering if a third party company or asus themselves will make an "extra long battery" for this series as well....

 

Whoa!

I just got a notification from amazon.com that my ul30a-a2 shipped out and should be arriving TOMORROW.

Now THAT was fast....

 

Gah... Just checked my account and mine's scheduled for delivery for tomorrow, too. Darn, that wasn't in my plans... I'd have to switch my day-off from next Monday to tomorrow...

 

I have the UL30A-A1 with the 560mAh 8 cell and I am able to net around 10-12 hours depending on usage (perhaps a bit less if I'm doing something processor heavy). I bought my laptop from ExcaliberPC.

 

looks like excal wont have the laptop in stock untill early november?

 

Okay - I have received the beast!

Fiddling with it and setting it up right now in between jobs ... will touch back in over the next few days. Am really curious about the possibility of 16 hours battery life....

 

Hi Mycanid,
any comments about how likely are the claims of a 16hour battery life? I'm torn between getting this or a touchscreen laptop like one of the new timelines or toshiba satellites.

But the idea of a long battery life is very very exciting.

 

I picked up the UL30A-X5 over the A2 almost solely based on price. The battery runtime is less, but I'm usually not away from power so I decided I could deal with that. I think the black looks cooler though...

Hope everyone else who picked one up in the Amazon pre-order is as happy as I am. It's a great little machine.

 

For the battery life, it depends on usage and pretty much how the notebook is set up.


For example, the 3810TZ I'm reviewing now has a 6 cell 4400mAh, with a SU2700 (1.3ghz Single Core at 10w), 4gb RAM and a 320gb HD. The SU7300 in the UL30A is also 10w, has the same amount of RAM and HD space and the rest of the specs are pretty much the same. Assuming software-wise, the setup is the same, the 8 cell 5600mAh should be a step up. I can hit 10 hours on the 3810TZ with wireless off, they advertised 8 hours. Perhaps 12-14 hours is doable.


Can't wait til I get my unit

 

I would say the 8cell 5600mah battery is a step up for sure. But it wasn't a 100+ price premium...FOR ME. I could settle with the smaller battery and same specs as the A2 to save the cash for now.

 

Lol, I'm actually willing to pay the price premium. Unfortunately, they didn't the A2 in black and the aesthetics mattered more to me.

 

Could have gotten the A3B...

 

Same reason why I ordered the X5. Gotta have the black color

I'm still trying to find a spare 8 cell 5600mAh battery for the laptop though. Seems to be more elusive than bigfoot