With Centrino Pro, Price Drops?

With Centrio Pro coming right around the bend, will that significantly drop the prices for older models? I am heavily considering purchasing the F3JP, but will/can hold out a little longer if Santa Rosa will in effect drop the price on them.

Any insights welcome.

 

The prices won't drop, though ASUS will probably release mail in rebates(From $100-$400 usually) for older models, so they can sell off all the older models before releasing the new ones.

 

Now will those rebates go to the buyer, or would the resellers get to take the advantage on those, while keeping the price the same?

Would waiting for a rebate be wise if I were to order the F3JP?

*On a side note, I just looked at a 14.1" screen and can't see how anyone could stand to stare, let alone game, at that sized screen. I was about to push the button on the A8JP, but just had to make one last trip to Best Buy to see if they had any Asus models in, and to check screen size. I even think the 15.4" is a little on the small end, but then, why even have a notebook right?

 

Rebates will go straight to the buyer, ASUS will release the rebates on their site, and just complete the form, and send it in.

Well, 14" screens aren't bad, it's more portable in terms of size. But obviously, 15.4" notebooks offer alot more real estate on screens. Notebooks are all about portability and size.

 

Asus usually offers discounts and rebates to older laptops to get rid of inventory. I'd say the average rebate is around $100. Check your Asus resellers around the time of Santa Rosa release (May) and see how much prices for Centrino Duo-era laptops have fallen. Some of the bigger Asus resellers are:

www.milestonepc.com
www.proportable.com
www.btotech.com
www.gentechpc.com


Newegg.com also sells Asus laptops, but they almost never have rebates on older Asus models.

 

They probably will not have any inventory left by the time pro comes out so they will not have to rebate them. f3 series will hopefully be discontinued as its not really selling well at all and had its fair share of small inherent issues. They have learned over the years to keep low inventory by the time chipset upgrades roll around. If you do see rebates it will be maybee 100$

 

Really? I was unaware that the F3 series was doing that poorly. I have read some reviews on it and the majority of people were very happy. What were some of those inherent issues? After hearing this, it might persuade me to go back to the A8JP.

 

It may have been overseas models or previous models of the f3 series, not sure if the latest model still has these issues, but it is a known inherent issue with the audio dj where the onboard speakers do not cut off. there have been a few reports of the onboard nic failing. obviosly minor issue which most people will not even notice. You dont hear about it on this forum too much becuase frankly f3 is a poorly selling model. go for the a8 or g1.

 

That's a shame, because I really had my heart set on the F3JP after many attempts to persuade myself to enjoy the A8JP. I was also looking at the S96J, but it didn't offer what I wanted, such as DVI, Fn+Ctrl key switch, screen resolution, etc. I still may bite the bullet on the F3JP. If they aren't selling well, perhaps resellers will drop the price? One could hope.