Z33A and W5A Build Quality

Anyone have a good idea on how solid the keyboard and general build of the Z33/W5 is? I fell in love with the idea of a 12" laptop when looking at a PowerBook G4, and I was wondering if the ASUS 12" offerings are high quality or not.

I know that there will be no Intel 12" PB, only a 12" iBook. So I'm really not going to be looking at Apple any further on that front. Therefore, my question about the ASUS 12"s.

Just a quick question, really. I'm hoping that Justin at least will know the answer.

 

Well Devari - the Z33ae is just the latest in the M5 line which has been out for almost two years to the day (next week actually).... it shares the same keyboard with the S5 and between the two there have been TONS of reviews done on them. The only complaints about the original keyboard was that the space bar could have been bigger and there number keys were 3/4 sized...... The last two models that have been out this year (s5a/z33a) both had an updated keyboard that solved those problems..... So I think it's really good and I enjoyed my M5 for many long international trips....

The W5 is wider... so, from my experience and others who have done the math.... this keyboard is actually a true full sized keyboard with the same distance between keys that something like the big W2 would have. Now, the Z33ae have full sized keys, but the distance between them is a millimeter closer than a fullsized keyboard. Both are very good, but most have said for a 12" notebook, the W5 is as good as you're going to get and the z33ae comes in a close second..

I would say determine whats going to be important to you first... because one is a regular ratio matte type display and the other is a widescreen glaretype.

 

I have the Portableone UX, which is a modified Z33a. Let me preface it by saying that, in general, my typing is abysmal on the smaller keyboards. In fact, since this unit was really for my daughter, before I would order one I had her try and see if she was comfortable with the keyboard on a 12" unit and the only reason I ordered it is that she was ok with it. I set the unit up and played with it extensively and I must say I was incredibly impressed and quite surprised at how good the keyboard is and how comfortable I was typing on it. Even though it is a 12" unit, the keys are full sized, with the between key spacing slightly smaller and the spacebar and right shift key downsized. She had been using a 14" Fujitsu s7020 and finds this keyboard more comfortable.

Overall, it is a very solid unit. It feels durable. Screen flex is very slight and requires 2 hands. I didn't feel keyboard flex like in many other units. In fact, the only place which has a little flex is over the optical drive area. The hinges are very sturdy. I haven't seen the W5, but the Z33a is a quality unit.

As mentioned above, the biggest deciding factor will be if you want a widescreen or regular screen. I wanted the height of the regular screen for Office applications. As for screen quality, I can't comment on the Asus screen, because I got the modified unit from Portableone; their upgraded screen is outstanding and combines the best of matte and glossy screen features.

 

Good call.. I guess the only people who may not like the Z33 keyboard would be those with HUGE hands..... but usually those people wouldn't looking at a little 12" notebook anyway.

In regards to the outdoor screen that you may have gotten... I feel really bad telling you this but for $400 you could have bought replaced the original screen with an outdoor display and still have kept the original. Outdoor displays really don't give you the features of a glossy display because there still isn't anything that helps the blacks stand out........ they are just brighter to compensate for the brighter ambient light. The Z33's screen is about the brightest 12" screen that's out there as is... But if you're outside a lot, I guess you can't really put a pricetag on something that would even help a bit.

 

I don't think you can make a generalization about that screen unless you have actually seen it to appreciate it. It is not just an outdoor screen and is actually far superior to any screen that I have seen when indoors. It is not just a brighter screen and the blacks really do stand out on it. As a matter of fact, the desktop image is a photo with a lot of black that is incredibly sharp and is as good as the image on the Fujitsu CV screen (and I did have it side by side for comparison purposes). It really does have the color richness/depth of the glossy screens without the glare issues (which of course is the advantage of matte screens), so is the best of both worlds.

I am not disagreeing that it is an expensive option, but for people who are very visually acute and sensitive, as we are, it is money well spent.

 

Actually I can speak about them because I've seen the outdoor screens that samsung makes in 12", and that's just about all that will fit in that unit. So it's really not all that generalized... and outdoor lcd and a glaretype lcd are meant for very different purposes, but glaretype displays with the proper level of brightness doesn't actually reflect anything.... only cheaper ones that can't compensate for the brightness have that problem.

I'm not saying it's not good and there is a difference.... but I think you'd be surprised with a side by side with the screen that's in the system normally...... and for comparison, also next to the colorshine screen in the W5.

 

Of course, you certainly have more expertise in this area than I do. The screen that I am referring to, however, is not made by Samsung and is different than it. I did not see the WS colorshine so it may be a terrific screen and the matte one of the Z33a, judging by Asus' reputation, is probably an excellent quality matte screen. However, there are people who, perhaps due to higher visual acuity, are very sensitive to the glare even in top of the line glossy screens. Many people maintain that Fujitsu makes the best of these screens and I did compare the it side by side to one of their best crystal view screens and the difference was notable to us. While still having some glossiness and maintaining the color richness of a glossy screen, the screen that I am referring to has a slight matte-like quality as well which almost eliminates glare.

I do agree that most of the annoyances with the glare type displays can be mitigated by turning down the brightness and adjusting the screen angle; that takes care of the problem for most people. There are those who get headaches from staring at a glossy screen for too long (although, as you said, adjusting the brightness worked for us in the headache department but didn't eliminate its noticeability) and I was just throwing it out as another option which I personally found to make a huge difference. After having the crystal view screen we did not want to give up the color richness of the glossy screen, but were happy to have the option of cutting down even the minimal annoyance.

Just like most people who wear glasses, for instance, can have a small change in prescription that goes unnoticed between eye exams but there are a very few who get headaches and/or dizzy if their prescription changes even fractionally, there are a small minority of people who are extremely screen sensitive. I certainly was not casting any disparaging remarks about your product, just letting others know that if they really liked the glossy type screen but found it hard to use for extended periods there was a compromise-type option .