question on A8J and V1J - Asus at CeBit 2006

I'm sure most of us now have went through Abaxter's Asus Cebit exhibition thread in the review thread and saw some of the cool models there..

the ones that stoodout to me was the A8J, a 14" widescreen with what looks like an Nvidia 7600? card (wording is blurry) and the V1J a 15.4" with an x1600 and imho, looks much nicer than Asus' other 15.4 line up for this year.

any word if these will come state side? i'm guessing A8J will be a built on and V1J an ensemble?

 

here's a link to that thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1290699

unfortunately I did not ask the reps about release dates, hopefully someone in the [forum who knows] can help out.

 

I'll repost this over here too:

Well with release at a public show.... I can comment on a couple things now...

The V1j is the widescreen V model I have been hinting at. Now that you can all see a picture, I can tell you that the general ETA is August.. probably around back to school time. This is the reason the W1j isn't coming here..... If the V1j get's pushed back into the fall, then we'll get the W1j in July..... but if everything is on target, the W1j won't come and the V1j will here at the end of the summer. That's a HOT system.

With that..... anyone who sees the p525 and wants one..... drop me an email. I've got the old p505 and I'm fairly certain it's the only one on this side of the earth.... for good and bad... Asus didn't have enough support here to bring them in, even though we had hundreds of people salivating over them. I've seen different specs, but this one claimed to be VoIP... I've seen GSM specs and that's what the old was also.... but it's a hot new design and I would like to find the support to bring these in - because I want another one!

... and on another note...... the F3j looks a LOT like the Z96j... so take a good look if you're interested in that model..

 

The "romantic asus display" picture is of two S6f's...... one in pink croc and one in white croc....

 

Will the A8J be coming to the US? Any idea when?

 

Any idea on the specs of the V1J (Specifically the video card)? Will the V1J have any huge differences when compared to the W3J?

Why wasnt the W3J pictured? They had the V6J.

Finally, I saw on the proportable web site that the W3J is available the week of 4/16. Is that confirmed? The week of the 16th doesnt seem to fit the ETA of late march early april.

 

The W3j's ETA isn't "confirmed" because it doesn't even have a mass production yet.... That ETA is of 4/16 is actually later than Asus has given me..... and our ETA is "week of"... meaning 4/17 - 4/21.... but "late march - early april" are again... dates I've set and that was last month's latest news.... 4/16 is this weeks' latest info.

The V1 will have a 256mb x 1600..

 

Its a relief that they have the same video card, I didnt want to have a reason to wait until august for the V1J. If they have the same video card, then other than an upgraded processor and ram (1.83-2.0, 2 gb of ram) then there shouldnt be much of a difference when compared to the W3J. Why would asus have two 14 inch notebooks with almost identical specs. To me the V1J appears to be the W3Ja.

 

The A8J looks sexy. It seems more right up my alley compared to the the W3J. I don't game anymore so I dont' need a super powerful graphics card. I worry the x1600 will produce too much heat for my needs.

I'm also very intereted in the W7J. It seems like the A8J with just a tad bit smaller screen. Since I'm very much into portability (12.1 inch screen to small) these two laptops seem to fit the bill.

Justin, any info on the two would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

I think the V1J is a 15" widescreen.

 

how much do think they'll be going for, prop? or is there at least a price range or something?

 

W7j is a 13.3" widescreen... likely the choice for the US over the W6..... it looks like a W3/W5/W6 got it on and the spawned that creature.... 128mb nvidia 7400.... wicked...

V1 will most certainly be priced and configured between the V6j and W2j..... so $1900-$2500... I'd say $2,100 probably... depending on configuration.

 

:O

thanks prop!

 

lol all of a sudden f3j looks pretty good then. Btw is it that the a8 going to carry a 7600? i thought that was the nvidia equivalent to x1600, so the diff between a8j and w3j (if that's true) is going to be refinement ?

 

Thanks for the response Justin.

I have a bad feeling if I want an A8J or W7J I will be waiting for a very long time.... sigh. The fact that the W3J release date got pushed back reinforces my assumption. If anyone has any info on the release date and price range of the AJ and W7J I would appreciate it.

edit: spelling

 

God ****it Asus! Why do you have to keep making me wait?! I was almost settled on the W3J or the W5F, and then I have to go and see a picture of the W7J. That is pretty much the perfect laptop for me: A balance of portablity and power.

Justin, I know you wouldn't have a set date for the W7J, but what would your estimate be on when that is coming to the states?

 

The A8 and W3 aren't going to compete with each other.....and I'd be willing to bet won't be coming to the same countries.... This year Asus is flooded with 13.3" - 14" systems.... so not every country can support all of them... but they'll have more of a choice in what comes in....

 

Are there any huge differences between the W3J and the V1J?

 

W7j wasn't even in the last roadmap.... that and the origami demo are two things even the guys at Asus saw for the first time in the last couple days...... Usually, everything at CeBit comes out before August.... if it makes it here..... with the W5f and W3j - the W7j really would steal sales away from both... and both of those models were the two best selling in the US last year.... soo... I don't know, but it's certainly appealing to me.

... I like the pearl chassis'... I like dedicated graphics... and I like small systems... 12" widescreen is too small for long term, all day use... 14" isn't... 13.3" has to be decent...

 

Thanks for the quick response Justin.

I never got a chance to see the Asus laptop roadmap. I agree with your assumption that the W7J would steal sales from the W3J because from the pics and specs that I know so far alone, it has turned me into a W3J follower to a W7J follower. I need portability, not gameability.

The question now remains can I wait that long.....

 

I hear you.......... there's always going to be something..... I figure the W7 will come in at probably 4.75 - 5.0 pounds......

This year, Asus is going to have notebooks at 11" / 12" / 13" / 14" / 15" / 15" / 17" ....... and not just one at very size... right now only the S6 is slated for 11", but that's an amazing lineup and lucky for us we'll have input for what gets over here because everything can't come...... but it's better than having something come over because it's the only thing at that size.. That may mean that some people can't get the system they were hoping for, but that's life I guess.

 

Well as long as it IS coming to the USA, I can wait til august. Now I can buy that new television I want.

EDIT: Well if you do indeed have input, please put in the good word for the W7

 

Right now obviously the W5 / W3 / V6 / W2 are set and here or coming shortly.... I think the big new models for the year here in the US will be the S6 / W7 / V1... I don't think we need to worry too much about them actually coming... because look at this:

S6 / W5 / W7 / W3 / ** / V6 / V1 / W2
*indicating most likely models to fill ensemble void in the US.
**speculation of a 14" regular ratio to replace what was the M3... maybe another model for the V series.

 

eh
i just realised something
i noticed it, but didnt pay any particular attention
the 'docking' solution tyhat is mentioned along ViJ's specs..
what's it gonna be like? any ideas?

 

Yeah... I mentioned it last night..... Well it could be as simple as Asus' Port Bar... I believe that a 4th version will be out this year as version 3 has been out for over two years. So it may be identical to 3, but maybe have some sort of update.. maybe DVI... but my best guess is that it'll be an evolution of the Port Bar system.

 

Will the W7J be available in Black? I really dont like the white, it reminds me of an iBook and i hate Apple!!

EDIT: another question.....what materials does the W7j use?

 

Anything Asus makes that's 6 pounds and under use carbon fiber composite chasiss'

I'm sure the W7 will be available in black also.... infact, if it comes to the US, most likely Asus would go with Black, only because their focus on the W5 is white and the models are too much alike to sell both of them if they were the same color.

 

Does that mean that V1J will be shipped with Windows Vista when it comes out in the Fall?

 

Vista isn't going to be out by time the V1j gets here.

 

I would definitely consider the W7J if it is under 4 pounds and has a 5 hour battery life (real world) without having to buy an extended battery. I like my Sharp MW-70J but am tempted by a dual core, and the Sony SZ is nice, but what puts me off is its lack of ease of changing the hard drive.

Any more detailed specs on the W7J available?

 

Also on the S6, does it use a 2.5" HDD? or 1.8?

 

Doesn't Asus manufacture Apple's iBook line?

 

yes they do.. or did. not sure. haha..

 

They do. I think they still do anyways No reason to change whats not broken

I'm hope the S6 will use a 2.5", though who knows

 

from Asus global site, seems like the A8j will carry both the 7600 and the x1600. From what Justin posted back in January.. no word if A8 will ever come to the US.. if it does.. i wonder how it'll affect the sales of the W3V and the Z62j

 

If you look at the previous posts on this thread, Justin stated that the A8J will most not likely come to the US and that we will probably get the W7J instead. He also mentions how the W7J will probably steal sales away from the W5 and W3....

 

I think physically a 1.8" hard drive may be the only thing that would fit in an 12" system..... but I'm not sure. The original S5ne had a 1.8" hard drive in the first batch...... interesting, I must say... the only time I've ever worked with one, but they were expensive, small and slow. They did save a bit of weight and physically they could save space, although the S5 chassis didn't need it. The S6 makes the S5 look big... it even makes the W5 look tall.... so I don't know... we never have a chance or a need to use 1.8" drives and if that's what it's going to take, it's going to make it harder for me to upgrade the drive.... but for most people who buy a system that's pre-built, that shouldn't really be a concern. Even if they want to upgrade down the road, by that point they should be more 1.8" drives on the market and their price should go down. Eventually all notebooks are going to move to that standard as they get faster and larger..

 

I have it on good word from Asus that although we're not going to be importing all the ensemble models this year...... there are going to be some that don't come here that DO go to Canada.... Apparently ensembles have sold extremely well up there... so there's always an option.

 

Oh, sweet

I've seen ENSEMBLE units being sold in retail stores, pretty cool

Usually The V6v, A3e and the A6va

 

woops totally missed that. and shucks.. was hoping the A8J would come over to the US as a built on ah wells, guess it means w3j for me.

 

found some specs and info on new models.
can't say if they're correct but maybe it's interesting

O, and it's in german (but who can't read german )

http://www.notebookcheck.com/Newseintrag.54+M50cd39e76cf.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.com/Newseintrag.54+M5df343c1127.0.html

I really hope the mini DVI is on the W2J and it isn't just a mistake

 

The JVC MP-XP741, built on the ASUS platform (forget which), had a 2.5" hard drive. I liked my 741, which has a 10.6" WXGA. So it's extremely possible to put a 2.5" in such a small form factor. The previous gen of the Fujitsu P7000 series also had a 2.5".

The other limiting factor of the sub PCs is that they limit it to 1GB or just over of memory. I never could figure that out.

 

Yeah, I own an Asus S200... the S200 and S300 (internal optical drive model) were licensed to JVC for sale in Japan and some have gotten imported here by a couple companies....... honestly, I've had that notebook for almost 3 years now... the model I've got is actually a P3.... 1.8" drives weren't around then, so the chassis was designed around a 2.5".... Also desiging around a P3 cpu and chipset is quite amazing, but if they had a current market for the same size system, I think they'd be able to shrink the thickness by 1/3... maybe even 3/8 of it's current size.... in fact, we're going to see the evolution of these models in the new S6... the S6 most likely coming to the US..... with an 11" WXGA screen.

Now, sub PC or not, the work being done on them is usually not all that intense...... not a lot you can do on such a small screen...... but it's also a matter of space. In big laptops you've got two open so-dimms......... In smaller systems like the S5/W5/M5, you've got the room for one open slot and some memory on the motherboard. The W5 turned to so-dimms because they could fit them, but the S5 and M5 used micro-dimms and I bet that's what's used on the S6. Micro-dimms only come so big - that's their real limiting factor...... not really a factor of what the system can handle. Most likely we'll see the S6 with 512mb on board with an open micro-dimm for another 512mb........ now if they make a 1gb ddr2 533 or 677 stick, then you've got 1.5gb... but that would be very expensive if and when they put them out.... the reason behind the high price and lack of supply is because 90% of the systems that even use them are made by Asus -- either for themselves or in the small Sony Vaio line.

Things like... micro-dimms..... 1.8" hard drives... 9.5mm super slim optical drives..... the new mini express card slots for wifi cards..... all of these, combined with the more intelligent use of carbon fiber in the designs is soon going to allow for one hell of a small full blown system. Even if you take out the optical drive altogether, the use of 1.8" hard drives and the mini express card slot could allow the old S5 to be even smaller..... just those changed may not change the thickness of the unit, but it could change the footprint. With an 11" widescreen coming in the S6 - I think this may actually be the product of what I've been ranting about here.... it's about the width of the S5.... about the thickness of it as well.... but somehow has a smaller footprint to match the smaller screen - but has the same sort of components inside.

... something is going to to shrink these systems.

 

V1J looks like the prefect laptop. I'm glad I didn't jump on the v6va so soon.

 

I would say the W3J is also a perfect laptop. The V1J looks better but the W3J has everything the V1J has and its avaible next month insead of August.

 

I love the V1J... the fingerprint reader is so cool.

However, something about it just seems... too "packed"... like they put too much into it. In a way, I'd still rather have a V6...

 

I'd trade for the V1j in a heartbeat, I mean the IPS screen is godly but....ahhh

My head hurts...

 

... there's also a camera, don't forget that.

 

What are the specs on the S6 besides the 11' screen? Is it widescreen? Thanks.

 

lol .. the v1j looks purrrfect for me! I wanted a gameable but portable laptop; but with a high-res screen, preferably wide - which cut out the excellent 14" line (w2j etc) .. in the 15.4" category I was wondering if I should just pull the trigger on the z70Va since nothing in the new lineup looked as sweet .. still, I kinda wanted updated graphics, a core duo, and maybe a webcam .. enter the v1j