What is your question for Asus notebooks

I have a meeting with Asus notebook PM tomorrow, if you guys have any questions want me to help you to find out, list them here, I will try to get you an answer.

 

I want to know if there is a better way for us to contact them with problems. There have been numerous, some have been fixed, others haven't. The big one for me right now is the V6j battery, but I know there are plenty others. If you can find a better way for us to work with them or communicate with them about fixes and patches, that would be amazing.

 

why are there no asus notebooks with the 7800 level gpus and are there going to be some in the near future?

 

A concrete one:
when is the new Bios (for graininess) be "officially" available?

 

Any news on the S7Fm or other single-spindle offerings?

 

Sorry, couldn't help myself...

 

First is why are they using low end CPUs in their new W3J's??? I know several people who are not buying W3J because of this.

To retain Global warantee, it would be nice to have one W3J for the masses at price point with average CPU, but at a minimum I believe that they should release a second variation that has a fast processor, I mean come on......... Asus are supposed to be the best arent they!

I know I keep on about this point but, its not asking much is it? to ship two models with a release?

Anyhow my W3J is performing great since June and with the new bios, I just love it! there is only one issue I have and it seems that others have a similar problem, basically it is the not quite normal hibernation/standby operation.

I have noticed a couple of times when it doesnt standby or hibernate properly (when you have several applications open) it will come out with an error that said

Insufficient system resources exist to complete the API

3 times it has shut the cooling system down and temperatures rises to 90 deg, a simple forced standby and resume (or restart) will trigger the fans to activate again, but it does make me nervious to walk away and leave it unatended for long peroids of time.

As I mentioned not a biggie, it has only turned the fans off 3 times in the last 4-5 months, but it is a bit scary, and when I see other people having heating problems, I wonder if they left their machine and a similar problem occured.

But at the end of the day if you set it never to hibernate, you will not have a problem, I am more concerned about the lack of high end processors in their laptops, I tell my friends to buy Asus because they are great, but all they see is the low end CPU's.

Hope you have a good meeting, thanks for giving us the chance to respond!

oh yeah would be nice if they had LED battery meters on their batteries, like my 6 year old Compaq

 

I have a good one.

When is the ASUS G1 coming out in the US?

If it's at $1800 or less, i'll choose that over A8Js.

 

How about an extended main batteries for the w3j??? I want to be able to use my optical drive, not have to sacrifice it for another battery. Not much point having a longer battery life if you are unable to use your computer to it's max capability

 

There are plenty of people in the North American market for the higher end notebooks. Many people have bought the W3 series, V6 series, and are wanting versions with better specifications. As a brand that is known best for high end quality why are there holes in the high end lineup?

Don't bother putting the VGA port on high end (or any) systems any more. Just put a DVI or micro-DVI port in and throw in an adapter. You'd be surprised how many people are looking for this specific feature.

Put the "Ctrl" key to the left of the Func" key. I have yet to see one request for the other way around.

 

Dear Asus,

Where are the real power laptops? The strongest portable laptop you have out is the A8Js. If your company will release a 15 inch and 17 inch laptop with specs that match Alienwares and Dell XPS, you could scoop the entire market!

Also, why did your company decide to lower the specs of the Merom version of the W3J? You've discouraged many people from buying the W3J, and moving to laptops from other companies.

And, why are there such little shipments for Asus laptops here in North America? As demonstrated in the NBR forums, obviously there is a high demand for Asus laptops here in North America as well. W3Js and A8Js are getting so hard to find!

My rant/question for Asus. Hope you ask them that, and make sure you say its asked by me, smartsam11 and not you, Danny (so you don't take the blame for my complaint ).

 

By the way, maomanmaman, Justin from PROPortable said it should be arriving around December or January this year, priced around $1800-1900.

 

Thank GOD I am not the only one that thinks this...... Asus is supposed to be top end, so at least give us the choice to purchase top end!

Also @ wettek, normally extended batteries stick out of the rear and seeing that the W3J screen hinges and opens "around" the battery, if you get an extended battery I think it would get in the way of opening the screen, unless they could pack more cells into the existing case.... bring it on.....

 

I subscribe to this. (although I'm from Europe so maybe the solution won't directly apply here)

 

Will asus have an updated version of the W3J by early next year, after vista comes out. If not when will we see an updated version, maybe new vid card?

 

* Does Asus have plans with MXM after the Z81/A4?
* Is the GPU card in the A8 series electrically compatible with MXM?

 

Dear Asus,

can I have a free G1 notebook? Please?

 

NZ, have another look at your battery. If ASUS stuck another row of cells in the indented part of the main battery, it goes nowhere near the hinges.

 

They hiring?

 

Definately bring up the Ctrl/Fn key locations... In addition, more laptops need the modular bay! Battery life is so important to some of us and right now the market is filled with poor options. I'd kill for an A8Js with a modular bay battery...

 

Ask them if they can show how to install Bluetooth in A8Js, so eventually people like me can add internal bluetooth, with the modules they use in the limited NA versions or in the overseas versions.

 

I second the question regarding the exact release date of the G1 in North America, as well as the pricing.

 

Always... Mostly sales and repair/support type jobs though [both branches].

 

Yea, though relocation isn't something a lot of people can do

 

Well, why are you asking for a job then?

 

Was hoping(in my head) that'd there be some sort of 'at-home' job

But alas, It was just wishful thinking!

 

They dont pay very well either. alot of reps leave for bigger better things with other companies. I have been through 4 reps over the years. All 4 either left leaving or take on new positions. whatever...

 

Hopefully that changes down the short road with the global restructuring happening in 2008...

 

The person I met with today is Asus North America Notebook product director, he is new here from Taiwan. Here is a brief summary:

--- The first thing I pointed out to him was the R1F headset static problem, he wrote it down, looks like he didn’t know this issue, also the stylus scratch issue.

--- Also mentioned to him the F3J headset doesn’t turn off the speaker issue, he doesn’t know either.

--- G1: Mid Dec, $1799;
G2 late Dec ( one week after G1 ), $1899;
G3 first half of 2007, will have 7900 video card, no more than $2500.

--- F5 will be available in Jan to Feb 2007;

--- V1 will be available late Dec or early Jan 2007, with docking station (optional), waterproof KB, finger print reader, 15.4”, 2.7kg…

--- Someone asked about S7Fm, Asus won’t bring it to NA;

--- W6 will come here, 13” with leather finish

--- Ensemble will have 3rd year global warranty option;
Will also have damage protection package, they are both under discussion;

--- I also recommend him 15.4” notebooks full size KB, with separate number key pad, I showed him our LG model, he was very serious on this suggestion, took pictures of my LG keyboard;

--- Also suggested DVI port on more high end models, he said will do;

--- W3J has very little chance to have T7200 CPU;

--- MXM question has an answer of NO, too hard to make all the notebooks with such a good standard, the pipes, screws will be a big problem foe MXM;

--- R1F 2nd battery will come soon, Asus NA has placed the order last week;

--- Suggested more models can take 2nd battery, like A8Js;

 

Thanks for sending the word.

 

Wow, it's pretty cool he was so receptive to so many requests and actually paid attention to the bugs that were pointed out. Thanks for doing all that for us!

~ Brett

 

Thats great.

Is the g3 a g2 with a 7900?

that g2 price seems pretty good.

 

They aren't bringing the S7Fm to North America??? Oh no......

I honestly think bringing *another* 13.3 with a leather lid when they already have they W7J and Z35, and *not* bringing in a single spindle that covers a new segment of the market is a big mistake... Especially when the 13.3s are a bit larger/heavier then the 12" regular ratios they replaced...

That may be a lost sale for me.

 

Wow great stuff, thanks!

...will be tougher deciding between a V1 and G1 now knowing they will both be coming out soon. I'm guessing he didn't commit to any specifics on V1 prices?

Thanks again.

 

Amen to that. Especially for chassis' that only have room for the one port, a DVI-I port makes much more sense than VGA. To be honest, I wish all manufacturers did this.

 

You are right, surprisingly there is plenty of room even with the screen at full extension.

There also seems to be a windows fix for the "API Hibernation problems too"

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1673461#post1673461

So all is good.

MilestonePC.com, great to have a chance to express our opinions through you to Asus, generally positive responses, nice one.

Pitty about the W3J CPU, did he give any reasons why? I was actually meaning with every Asus ensemble they should have one price point and one top line, not just W3J, I am sure it will bost their sales.

My frined who works with me in London, is currently working with me in CA, he is buying an A8Js upgraded by Agear, he is going back to NZ for 6 months then back to out London office for another year after that. what happens if he has to send it in for repair, will he have to send it from NZ to Agear in Fremont for repair?

Anyway thanks.

 

The V1 is generating news yet again...how annoying, I get to re-think which laptop to get again!

By the way, thanks Danny for answering some of our questions!

 

Thanks a lot!

Did the `NO` also refer to the electrical compatibility part?

 

Would anyone know what the F5 is? I've never heard of it until now.

 

What will be the specs of the G3? Besides the Nvidia Go7900.

 

WOW Thank you so much Danny! This info is amazing!

Just like to sum-up a few things for next time

1) Variations of specs for popular notebooks like the W3J and others, so that people can buy them with specs that are closer to their need and wants.

2) FN and CTRL key, please ask them to make a BIOS fix or just start producing all laptops with CTRL being on the Left and FN being on the Right.

3) Thank you for the information regarding the G1, V1, G2, G3 <- very excited to see this!

4) Looks like you got the DVI point across to the ASUS representative, that's nice!

5) I totaly agree with dragonesse on the Multi-bay feature to be available on as MANY laptops as possible, please please please! , I love having more and more battery life, plus it would hurt others using extra storage space too.

BIG Thanks to MilestonePC and Danny!

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Both of these two models have confirmed specs and are posted on our website for pre-order already.

Actually if you guys still have questions for Asus, you can still post here, I can still pass them to Asus if I cannot give you an answer, I will meet him( the notebook director ) quite often, couple of times every month, only yesterday, we met twice already, more than 3 hours, I will have enough chance to pass all the important issue / info to him, we had very good talk on marketing and products, among all Asus employee I have dealt with, I found he has the best knowledge on notebooks, he knows all models well, a few weeks ago, I met the new NA channel president, he is also new from Taiwan, but the new president's notebook knowledge is way below the notebook director.

 

Funnily enough, I believe Asus has multi-bay support in their future plans... in a BIG way. The Asus presentation I attended last September suggested that Asus was planning this across the board, for notebook and desktop PCs.

The rationale put forward was this would reduce Asus' environmental impact by allowing hardcore users to upgrade their machines piecemeal, with the older hardware being sent on to less demanding users. This would also allow you to share a HDD, GPU or optical drive between your notebook and desktop PC. The other shock was that Asus are planning on leasing these components, rather than selling them outright.

The feature detailing the event can be found here.

This is all part of the Green Asus policy, which is detailed here.

 

Here's a crazy idea, why not make the touchpad be able to take input from a stylus or pen?

Then I could use it for editing photoshop work (I use a Cintiq at work) that would be great!

 

And what about A8Jx series and InstantON issue ?

I've purchased A8Js in Germany and in instructions manual that I've got with it, it clearly says that when you press InstantON button it will load multimedia capabilities without loading Windows first (similar to Vaio InstantON where they use hidden Linux partition to boot up in couple of seconds).

Of course, Instant ON button doesn't do what it should do.