Will I get a G1 for £1000?

I was thinking about posting this in the "Help Me Choose A Notebook" Forum, but I wanted the viewpoint of people that are either in the same position as me, or know a lot about this notebook through research, and general knowledge about how Asus operates.

I have a budget of £1000. I want to get a G1, but its currently £1250 here in the UK, at the best price I have seen it for
http://www.technoworld.com/productdisplay.asp?ProductID=46147

I will need this notebook for university, and I believe that term starts in late September. I would want to ensure the notebook was working 100% fine before I move to university, so I would perhaps like to own the notebook for at least 3 weeks before I take it with me. Therefore, factoring in a delivery time of about 2 weeks, I would need to order middle to end of July.

My question is, will the price drop to £1000? Or will this model simply be replaced with a higher spec more expensive model in that time?

Failing that, can you recommend another notebook with the same portability/performance/style that the G1 achieves? I was thinking about the F3JP, but the headphone jack problem has put me off somewhat, and if the Asus G1 drops in price in a few months time, it would be ideal.

Plus, I really really want this notebook bag. If I cannot afford the G1, is there any way I can purchase this bag .

Thanks.

 

You can buy in August and have it at home, 100% tested and be good to go in time for uni. I know as I did it this time last year Laptop prices do drop. Whether it'll drop £250, I do not know. Also laptops do get refreshes, e.g. a processor upgrade (see recent move from CD to C2D). Perhaps there would be a Santa Rosa version? I do not know. Even then, that would mean "older" but still excellent configs would drop in price

I say wait till July/August as you get back to school/uni deals. See what is on offer then

e.g. my laptop with a X1600 (best GPU in 15.4" back then) was £800 inc 3 year collect and return warranty as it was a back to uni deal that turned up late on in my search for a laptop from late July-Aug. Good considering NC8430s sold for near a £1k back then, without the warranty

 

I think I read somewhere that the refreshed version of the G1 was going to be a few hundred US dollars more than what it is now.

 

Yeap. Pretty much ASUS does what only a few notebook companies do, increase or let the price stay. Instead, they upgrade the specs of it, and in the case of the G1, it'll go up in price and include a higher CPU and Vista Ultimate if I recall correctly.

They only drop prices if the model is not selling well, or if its end of line or end of season, when they give out user rebates.

 

Hmm... Okay, I think I will wait and see what happens, whilst exploring other options. I also read that this notebook is missing out on expresscard slot, meaning it may be outdated in the near future. Is this anything to worry about?

In relation to the backpack, is there anyway I can purchase the one bundled with this notebook?
I assume its made by Targus, as the design is similar. Perhaps they retail the same bag but without the G1 trademarks. If so, would anyone know what model the bag?

 

coming to hong kong anytime soon?

i bought mine for HK$13.5k, which roughly translates to 900 quid. even with the said price hike, assume 10% hike which brings it to HK$14.85k it's still less than 1000 quid.

i would offer helping you via an e-bay auction or sth, but figured the chances of them charging you import tax at customs is quite high (i used to study in UK, and whenever i bought something from the states/other countries they never failed to charge me tax... those bastards ) and the shipping wouldn't be cheap, i figured it's much more convenient to get it straight from UK with the price u've been quoted for so far

 

Not sure on the bag, it could be a specially made bag for ASUS by Targus, as I recall the inside meshing have ASUS striped badges and all. It makes it look really nice

The G1 is based off the A7 chassis, so pretty much ASUS 're-made' the insides of the A7 and added a little bling bling. If they were to add ExpressSlot, it would mean changing the chassis and the build, which may lead to either downtime for the change or/and increase in price as they need to make new 'molds' and design for the chassis and motherboard. As for outdated, I can't really say, majority of accessories for ExpressSlot is still limited, but still plenty of PCMCIA items. However, there will be advances in the future, so if thats important...

 

it is actually the a6

the g2 is like the a7 or the z83

 

Right, my bad

 

damm sweet, ill be in HK looking for the G1 in a few weeks, hope i can get some pointers as to were to get it for that price

 

Er, btw, what's the screen resolution on the G1 selling in HK?

 

off the top of my head the resolution is 1900. need to double check when i get home, but i'm 95% sure that it is...

shard do you speak canto (or mandarin)?

 

No unfortunately i don't, i realize that it would make it much easier to bargain the price down if i did.

 

Yeah, I think you are right. Shipping costs are a joke, probably topping £100 or $200 and then in the event I do need to pay import tax, there is a duty levied on top of the Import tax.

Aww... I wish I was in Hong Kong...

A screen of 1900 is massive. I think you mean 1680.

 

hehe yes darkspark you're oh-so-right. it's 1680... i wonder why i had 1900 hammered in my head... must've been when i was dreaming about the fantasy lappy . hmm besides coming to HK urself, i'm really outta ideas... sorry u're not part of this awesome city

shard: u can try anyways, those guys are really nice people (with excellent after sales service... though it shouldn't mean anything to u as u won't be here afterwards ). just tell them u're a friend of this guy who bought the G1 from them in january, i THINK i was the only back then, so they should remember it's in the wanchai computer mall, 1st floor, and the shop name is goodbest (yes lame i know... why not goodbetterbest ). PM me before u're gonna go if u want slightly more detailed directions, though it's honestly not that difficult to find. and of course, as some here have already pointed out, their price might very well have already been jacked up, so don't get your hopes too high for getting it at 13.5k (oh and that's the cash-price. they charge more if u pay by credit card)

 

Okay. Now lets not ruin this for me, but I have found an amazing place to get the G1. If my eyes tell me right, its within my budget, but I have to clarify some things first.

It is just shy of £1000 including shipping and payment by wire transfer (I hope its possible to wire transfer from the UK,). Now if it was this simple, I would have already purchased it. But I dont understand how customs work 100%.

Is it true that notebooks to the Uk are exempt from import duties/taxes and VAT?
http://hardware.mcse.ms/archive27-2005-6-204825.html

If not, what can I expect to pay when I receive the notebook?

 

mmmmmmm... "wire transfer" is setting off the scam alert in my brain... it's too iggy... i can't open that link (my mighty company has blocked the site ) so i dunno wot that link's about. is it regarindg VAT/duties or is that the link to purchase the G1?

just like e-bay, anything that requires you to pay by wire transfer or western union (basically when they for some reason refuse to use paypal, because 'someone stole their credit card and the paypal account has now been 'temporariliy disabled'', or 'my country doesn't allow me to have a paypal account' etc) is almost certain to be a scam... i would ask them if they accept paypal if i were u. or if it's a really established company (eg. expansys, zipzoomfly etc) then i would pay by credit card. but never ever wire transfer or the likes.

anyways, if my memory serves me right (re: "G1 has 1900 resolution" ), i think they charged me 17.5%, which is the VAT. if it's not that i don't think it'll be anything more than that... or else it's just plain ridiculous. if they decide they wonna charge you, they'll keep the notebook at the post office, send a collection card to you to tell you to go collect it, and charge you there before you can take it away.

 

Ditto. Sounds like a scam. Be careful.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. But I think it will cost too much and I'll have trouble such as sorting out the voltage the notebook uses and change the adaptor etc...

Well, in case anyone else it interested, the notebook is here. Its selling out fast.
http://www.excaliberpc.com/ASUS_G1-.../90NLAA1231211CAL400T/partinfo-id-574476.html

They ship internationally, and have a lot of good feedback according to reseller ratings. I assume they only accept wire transfer, but they have said that they accept international credit cards at 6% purchase surcharge.

If you live in America, you would be crazy to pass this deal up!!!

Somebody, please bring me one back if you ever come to the UK! LOL, you can stay with a me a week, free of charge...hahaha.

 

ha! but do you live in slough or in chelsea?

 

I'm not far from those places. I live in Central London.