Upcoming "Luxury", powerful Asus models?

Asus laptops have always been good to me, back to my old W3V which was both aesthically pleasing and powerful for its time. I'm in the market for a laptop that is powerful, without sacrificing aesthetics and "premium" build quality. The MacBook Pro and the HP Envy 15 is a prime example of this class of notebook - aluminum/magnesium construction, glass multitouch trackpad, (in the case of the mac) premium AC adaptor/connector, thin and light for the hardware that is inside it, great LED backlit screens with edge to edge glass, backlit keyboards and high powered hardware inside (Core i7, recent "mid or better" gfx card like a GTX 260, ATI 4830/50 or 58xx series).

Is there an Asus like this on the horizon? I see many U series offerings that are aesthetically pleasing, but often they have an underpowered processor and lower end graphics, combined with plastic construction. The G51J looks to have excellent specs, but alas looks more college gamer than chic and is thick and plastic-y. Even if they modified the G51J and made it out of aluminum (with a larger, multitouch trackpad), that would be excellent. I love Asus' RoG series in terms of power and features, but I'd like to see a more premium option.

I'm waiting for Apple's next refresh with new graphics and a Core i7 proc, but I REALLY don't want to give money to that company if I can avoid it. Asus has a wide range of notebooks, but does anyone know if they'll be starting a "premium/luxe" line?

 

You can't really compare Apple and Asus G series because they target completely different market segments. The G series are budget gaming laptops built for people on a limited budget. The Apples are overpriced and underpowered with some nice features (aluminum body). Personally I despise Macs and think they're terrible computers.

The HP envy is a Mac rip-off that fails. It has no optical drive and it runs hot, two compromises that do not make it a worthy contender for the price. If you want a nice slim machine that uses a high quality display, take a look at the Dell Studio XPS 16 which features an ATi 4670 GPU.

If you can deal with something thicker that is built out of quality components, look no further than an AW M15x or M17x. The M15x has a magnesium alloy chasis and lid cover with a top quality LG display. The track pad is probably it's biggest shortcoming. The M17x takes it a step further by having an aluminum body but no Core i7 support yet.

 

Asus seemed to have a lot more luxury/premium models in the past (thinking back to when the W3 and W7 series were around). I was always interested in Asus as they tended to use some better materials than other manufacturers in the same price range.

The bamboo model was an interesting design but I don't know that it was too appealing really. I am really surprised they have not released an all aluminium cased notebook in similar nature to the Macbook Pro.

I read an article maybe 6 months back and the ceo from Asus mentioned he wanted to compete with Apple. The comment seemed to hint at premium quality and that something "luxury" was on the horizon. So far I haven't seen anything - unless maybe the UX/UL series is it? I like the UX/UL series but it seems like Asus could really offer something more. I'd be willing to pay a premium if Asus is able to inspire

My white W7J interested a lot of people for a while - I too would prefer to avoid having a Macbook Pro like everyone else.

 

The Alienware series are no-go for me. Perhaps those that use it as a true desktop replacement would be fine with it, but I find it nearly impossible that AW created a 15" laptop that isn't all aluminum, that still weighs 9 lbs and is 2 inches thick. I'm looking for the 5-6 lb or less, 1 inch thick models.

The Envy actually wasn't a bad PC. With a better edge to edge screen, backlit keyboard, and fixed BIOS I would have kept it. Part of the reason it runs hot is the BIOS is not ACPI compliant, which is completely unacceptable for a premium option. It did however have the option for the Core i7 820, ATI 4830 1gb which is a brand new 40nm piece that is in some cases on par than the GTX260, which could NEVER be crammed in such a thin and light laptop, all while being made of magnesium and aluminum, with a multitouch trackpad, and thin and light

The Studio XPS would feel like settling for me. The design isn't that great, the Core i7 offerings are paired with sub-par graphics when they're offered at all, and I read of a lot of cut corners in the build quality, for what will likely still turn out to be a $2000-2500 laptop when all is said and done.

I just wish that Asus would come up with something that didn't make customers choose between luxury and power.

 

The UX30 or UX50 notebooks? Though those are more ultra-portable-like.

 

Alas, the UX series (Are these even available stateside?) seem to suffer from being underpowered. The processors are ULV variants from the last generation, either Core Solo or Core Duo, and the graphics are either integrated or lowest-end Nvidia G 100 series. They have the right sort of design elements, though I'd still love to see more metal instead of just lids and accents.

 

The 4830 is barely faster than a 4670. Neither is anywhere close to a GTX 260m in performance (don't even think about pointing to Asus's underclocked 260m as a comparison). The Studio XPS is a lot more original in design than the Envy which, as I said, tries to be a Mac and fails miserably.

 

Asus has completely changed their business model over the past 3 years. No more W/V series notebooks with their high quality build and materials - now focused exclusively on budget-mainstream gaming/multimedia and ultraportable (U series). Lamborghini still out there, but priced beyond means to make it a true mini-niche product. Their last attempt at high power high-end, the W90, was a sales flop and no one believes they'll go back to testing those market waters anytime in the forseeable future.

The corporate approach is recently shifting over the past 24 months as figuring out how to sell the most product possible and compete directly with HP, Dell and Acer in the top 5 OEM worldwide markets. This means producing what the *masses* will purchase in the sub-$1500 and sub-$1000 markets, and not necessarily the higher quality of previous generations. Manufacturers have to evolve in order to prosper and survive, but there are many who miss the golden days of yore .

 

I so have the same issue. I want a nice looking multimedia laptop the asus N61 and N71 look nice but the N61 is only in the low resolution 1366x768 so then only the N71 would be an option. Only then the CPU thats a core 2 duo and i rather have an i7. I heard that in januari Intel is releasing dual core i7 CPU's so should we get any new laptops announced soon by asus? They better design a few with an aluminum design

 

To be honest if you want a macbook pro clone that much buy a macbook pro.

Spec wise it really isn't that great for the price but if you want looks and like their style why not get it?

 

Joker - http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-4830.14954.0.html specs like this show the card certainly holding its own. I don't claim it eclipses the GTX260, but considering the lower heat and power draw, its significant. I'm not really concerned with the originality of design as much as I am what that design accomplishes. I'd love to see a retooled Studio XPS with a multitouch trackpad like the MBP or Envy, all metal construction etc.

ClearSkies - You make a great point. I hope that Asus can see that it has covered the rest of their bases well at this point and can afford to make a truly premium, powerful, luxe model. I feel like Lamborghini branding on a notebook is unnecessary. I'm not sure why they thought people (except perhaps, Lamborghini owners) would want to buy a notebook at such a premium price that was a walking advertisement for a car. The W90 was excellent, but alas far too large for widespread purchasing. A 13-16 inch model that's thin, light and powerful for being so will get many more buyers than a behemoth at 17+.

ippikiokami - Mainly because I have an objection to Apple's business practices. I dislike their walled garden, attempts to make sure their products operate "The Apple Way" and restrict users who wish to deviate (see: iPhones cannot sync with any music player, can't transfer media via mass storage. Its iTunes, complicated hacks, or nothing). As much as I dislike the company, I will be keeping a close watch on the next MacBookPro models with what I expect will be Core i7 and a new graphics card.

I don't understand why another PC manufacturer like Asus, Sony, HP etc... can't do everything Apple does hardware wise, better? I want to see...

Highest end LED backlit displays with max color gamut possible and edge-to-edge display glass instead of a bezel. A high quality webcam would be great. The Envy's IR low light vision cam is a great new feature that stands out.
Chassis made of metal. Aluminum, Magnesium alloy etc.. built for quality. True carbon fiber and leather accents would be acceptable as well, but it seems that companies always cheap out on these and they end up looking tacked on or trashy.
A power adapter that is superior to the regular barrel plug. I assume MagSafe's process is patented but there have to be other improvements that can be made, right?
Internals should be the most powerful available in whatever the formfactor might be. Use the newest processors, in this case Core i7, preferable in a socketed formfactor for later upgrade instead of soldered to the mainboard. Put in multiple slots for RAM, like 4 for dual channel chipsets and 3 or 6 for triple channel. Use the best graphics solution available; don't skimp. As far as removables like hard drives and optical drives are concerned, do NOT force the price up by having mandatory SSDs or Blu-Ray drives included with the "Good" build. Companies love to do that so that you have to pay the premium for an optical you could replace later go along with the high res screen or good graphics card.
The keyboard should be island/chiclet style, and backlit. Bonus points if the backlighting color can change like the Alienware M15x, or Logitech G19 keyboard. Function keys should all be defined properly and able to be controlled via BIOS as opposed to only through windows (ie. the brighten key shouldn't rely on the OS to do so)
The touchpad should be glass, and multitouch/gesture capable.

Etc.. I could go on quite a bit, but I'm rather annoyed at many of the only offerings today, even those over $2000 requiring a lot of compromise. For instance, to buy Apple's current MBP offering, I'd be getting the great design and secondary featureset, but the main hardware is underpowered. Buying the Alienware M15x has the greatest hardware, but is enormous and heavy. The G51j (and upcoming 3D version), StudioXPS 16, and HP Envy 15 are much closer options, all have items (plastic construction in the case of the Asus, lack of e2e/backlit keyboard/poor bios in the case of the Envy) that I look at a $2500 price range and say "Why couldn't they have put _____ in, for this price?"

 

I agree with most part but i don't really need the fastest CPU and GPU out there. Since those mostly also need the most energy and create the most heat. I still prefer the laptop to be quiet and not to get hot that i would burn my legs. So a nice looking version with the dual core i7 CPU and a good enough video card would suit me. I prefer not to buy the old core 2 duo cpu.