W3J Advance Order Thread

Justin why do you always have to crush my dreams?

Thanks for setting me straight though.

So if they are not going to add a 7200 then what about the Jetpack and Coffee maker though. Please don't say those are out to. If they don't add a Jetpack and Coffee maker I might have to start thinking about the Lambo.

 

yes w3j is certainly popular, but don't underestimate asus' manufacturing capacity. we're talking about thousands of units everyday. And plus, asus isn't a mainstream everyone-knows brand yet. compare to the "popularity" of dell 6000, w3j is way behind

 

Let's get one thing straight here...... Asus is super conservative company.... if they were a father, they're daughter wouldn't date until she was 30.

The W3v last year was the first system and last system to really go against the grain...... I mean the W2v was late to the game.... it took Asus 3 years before they believed 17" systems were here to stay... and if they made one they wanted it to be light....

With the W3, at release, it was the ONLY 14" system with dedicated graphics... and one of only like 3 other 14" systems, period. The 256mb x1600 in the W3j is certainly not conservative, is it? So..... they have to be conservative in other ways. Asus would rather stir up a storm of waiting customers than have hundreds of systems sitting in their warehouse. Here's the usual plan...... bring over a decent amount that lasts maybe a week........ if it last longer than they'll push back the next shipment....... if it goes really quick, they'll have the next shipment come in about two weeks, and then they'll set up ANOTHER shipment for 3-5 days after that one to try to catch up. If people who are "dying" for the the system jump ship to another unit because it's out of stock for a week or two..... then they're really "dying" for it, right? Anyway..... If Asus stocks something that there was big talk about and then doesn't sell as quickly as possible.......they'd be doing what they did with the W1. They thought that was going to be a great seller from the get go...... but one bad review (which was bogus by the way), screwed initial sales for a couple months.... So Asus had a LOT of stock of them. They said they'd never make that mistake again because with their name...... people will wait for them, there's no sense in getting caught with your pants down when you don't need to.

Plus - it's going to be June before W3j reviews get out there and it becomes a good seller on a weekly basis.... so all of you with advanced orders are really the first wave of reviewers.

 

So much good info Justin is just great. When I first came here it was to learn about notebooks. I am not only learning about notebooks. I am learning about so much more. Sometimes you could give a short easy answer but you usually go in depth and give some crazy (funny) analogies also. Thanks!

 

Yeah, thanks for the info justin. Hopefully Asus will get the ball rolling on those W3J. Can't wait...

 

All this hype about the W3J could actually make me consider go out of my way and pay about 500$ above my budget for it.
But I must ask first, what is the cause for all this hype ? I'm relatively new to notebooks, and all I know about Asus is that they make good GPUs and Motherboards etc...
And another thing, could it be customized ? say if I want a 2ghz processor ?

 

the hype is that it has the best video card for a notebook right now. the price is really a bargain. the design is slick. asus is known for quality. and it is not heavy with all that firepower.

 

I plan on doing a review shortly after I get one. Stay tuned!!

 

There isnt a 14" with a more powerfull GPU in it.

 

well, actually compare to competitors, asus isn't all that conservative. Think about dell, they are much more conservative. Check out their mundane notebooks. but then their business model is much more flexible.

 

Wow this notebook looks like its going to be a big seller! I must admit it has a very impressive spec.

I was wondering if any people here in this thread own the W3V and are now going for the J series?

Also are you all aware of some palm rest fading? This is the only turn off for me really. If it didnt fade then i'd have no doubt to go for this machine.

Was going to go for the V6J but that is too big.

 

I think you can get the HP dv1000t with a T2500 in it but you can forget about the x1600: integrated graphics only. Can't understand why HP didn't give an option for a dedicated card on that machine. They'd sell them like hotcakes.

One thing is pretty clear to me. Between the W3J and Sony SZ (and others), it is clear the market for 14" and under lappys with muscle is absolutely huge. People want portability + power in a big, big way.

 

even with a x1400 i'd buy it just because it'd be much cheaper and easier to obtain, i mean they have the x700 on the 15.4 version of the same one, i think its the dv4000series, it can't be too hard to do the same with the right cooling

 

I may be wrong, but I think the issue with the HP dv1000t was the thickness of the machine. From what I understand, they were trying to get out to market early with a core duo processor, and wanted it to be a light yet capable machine. The dv4000 does have the higher video card in it, however if you check out the dimensions its a good amount larger. The W3J is certainly light and capable, however, so the build could have been upgraded successfully.

 

Does anyone know if proportable pre-installs the OS and includes a CD copy of the OS with delivery? Also what about the drivers and utilities? I checked on the web site but couldn't find any mention of it.

 

The W3j is all factory installed, and you don't get an OS disc, but instead, a system recovery disc. Drivers are also pre-installed, and included on a disc.

 

What are the pros and cons between the OS disc and a system recovery disc? I don't have the computer knowledge like most of the people that post here, so forgive me if these are basic questions.

 

The OS disc is, the regular OS disc.

A system restore disc is when you full reformat your HD, but is reformatted to factory default, with all the original drivers, etc. Just like when you first get the laptop.

 

What's the negative to not having the OS disk? Considering am a newby.

 

Actually the discs included with the ensembles are better than oem os discs in many ways..... one, you don't need to install the drivers disc.... that's a secondary disc that the program will ask you to insert, but you don't have to. The "recovery discs" are just that....... for someone who doesn't have a clue, or someone who doesn't want to spend the evening installing the OS and drivers, it's great. Basically the first recovery disc is just the OS --- but it's automated... it'll partition, reformat, reinstall in a matter of minutes instead of an hour....... and if you choose, it'll promt you to install the drivers the same way..... cut about a two hour job down to maybe 15-20 minutes.

 

with an OS disk you can reformat and then only install what you deem necessary, whereas the restore disc returns it to factory default. With other systems like hp or dell it could come with bloatware aka junk software you don't need, but since asus laptops *usually* don't come with extra junk, you should be fine with just the restore disc

 

Thanks, you guys are really helpfull and it's appreciated. I hope to order the W3J in the near future, don't really need it until the summer. Let the die hards have the first shipment.

 

Justin updated Proportable.com W3J specs on the W3J page it now reads having an Intel Pentium-M T2400 Yonah (1.83Ghz; 677mhz w/ 2mb Cache) and 8x Dual Layer DVD Burner.

 

If that doesn't appease the people, I don't know what will

Besides an earlier release date of course...

 

LoL agreed!

 

I would rather have the restore disc as well like Justin said. That is exactly what I create when I get a new computer when all I have is my copy of XP Pro. It reduces the amount of heartache to reinstall drivers and a perfect system setup to zero.

 

An actual PCMCIA slot...
PC express may be the "future", but until the accessory builders catch up to the tech, having no legacy support is kinda silly.

Don't mind me, just upset that I most likely won't be able to get a w3j since I need to use cellular wireless.

 

Right now the ONLY thing people really need the pc card slot for is cellular wireless... I'm one of them as I use it probably more than anyone in the fourm.... yes, I've got an express card coming, but most people won't have access to them for a while... but to be honest with each other.... it is the "future" and it's an "expansion" slot..... for "future use".... so most people will appriecate that it's there by time they need it --- when that's all companies are actually making.

.... now....... Intel's next 802.11n card is rumored to also support gsm. I doubt that, but I can see two mini express cards in a system... one for whatever cellular network you use and one for wifi......

 

The extra software thats listed to come with the W3J such as Microsoft Works, Norton, etc. - Is this stuff preinstalled? Is it all on the recovery disk? - Or does the extra software come with its own cd's?

 

Any Word on when i'll be able to pre-order?

Instead of "Next week and 1/2" ?

 

I'm going stir crazy waiting for this thing.

Please help W3j - You're my only hope.

 

I am guessing but since Justin updated the W3J specs and price then I am assuming this is the final config. Monday is all I have to say Monday!

 

**** Asus....they show us no love!!!!

 

W3J is Pure LOVE! Thats the Truth!

 

Monday would be great, but I'm sure Justin doesn't want any problems a second time around. We'll just have to wait until everything gets sorted.

 

Yes I am sure he wont open pre-orders till he has the Final config and production confirmation from Asus. Hopefully soon!

 

How will the W3J hold up during outdoor use? If the screen is similar to the W3V and someone has viewed it in bright outdoor light please post your thoughts. As I sit here with the sun shinning in my face, my Dell 8600i is terrible, actually unusable. I know the W3J will not be perfect but will I be able to turn the brightness to a point where it is comfortable to view outside. I guess my other choice would be to wait for portable to come to market with there next laptop built on an Asus model and buy it with the transrelective screen. Hate to cough up another $400, if not needed.

 

The W3j won't be an exception using outside, just like all laptops.

The best thing to do while outside, is to completely turn off all backlighting, I find that I can see better that way.

 

I tried emailing proportable but I got an undeliverable error. I was going to ask how I would go about getting the student discount with this advanced order and if I could email my student ID instead of faxing it.

 

I believe that for this advanced order we're going to give a coupon code out to any member at all that is looking to pick one up.... so none of the other member discounts or student discounts will be applicable.

 

ooh, intriguing. what will these special benefits consist of, and are there any stipulations we should know of? (i.e. minimum posts, considering im a few under the max allotted postings for any member discount.)
takk..

 

Hopefully everyone who originally ordered one will qualify. I know I'm pretty new here and definitely still don't qualify for the NBR member discount. Then again I don't have much say since I am new here. I'll keep my mouth shut and hopefully good things will happen! :-X

 

If i read correctly...I dont think there are any "special benefits" except that we are able to get the w3j earlier then those who dont pre order..

 

no, that was always available to us considering that most of us have already pre-ordered it. if it supercedes any other discount, then it is most likely monetary.

 

It's either going to be a $50 coupon or free 2day shipping..... most likely it will be a $50 coupon. Although for some people it's valued less than what shipping would cost them.... it's valued more for other people. We'd like to try to make everything equal and in my case..... easy to process. So, right now, I'm planning on a coupon code for forum members.... no other criteria such as post count or membership length... if you use the code you're reading the forum and that'll be good enough. Most forum members already had orders in, so they'll have a dedicated spot in line and that can be their "special" thing on top of the coupon.

... but for this advanced order, we'll do this said coupon and no other member discount will be able to be used.

 

great news, now i won't have to spam the boards to get the member discount haha. now all that's left to do is place my order asap once pre-orders are available again.

 

That's great Justin. So nice to offer a board coupon for casual members.

I checked the 2nd day Fed Ex shipping and that would be better for me by a little bit. I will use the 2nd day Fed Ex shipping member program thingy since I qualify.

Ooh BTW the bank released back my hold on the order that was canceled. So whenever your ready Justin I am ready.

 

I don't think you caught on... and nothing against you or anything, but I wonder sometimes how my typed words could be taken incorrectly.... not just by you, but by others.... you don't use the member program because I'm not going to allow it...... i'm not going to do a this or that or the other type of discounts because for these advanced orders it adds to the processing time and if I can't get through them quickly, I'd rather not do them... So if I offer a coupon - that's it.. either use it or wait till the system come in to use the member discount.

 

Justin, I'll pick up the tab next time I see you ... then again it'd be the first time I saw you. Thanks again, coupon idea sounds great!

 

Ok I see. It sorta sounded like you were offering another type of discount for board members as an option, and if they took this discount then they just couldn't use the other options. Sounds good to me the 50$ off is just a little under what the 2nd day Fed Ex would be for me so its all cool if that's what you decide. Anything to make processing easyer to send the systems asap is OK with me.