*Official UL30VT-X1 Owners Lounge*

Here's the BASIC info:

Available @ AMAZON
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XZLURC

Product Features

* Intel SU7300 Core 2 Duo Processor 1.3GHz
* 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 2 slots, 8GB Max
* 500GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
* NVidia G210M Graphics with 512MB DDR3 + Intel GMA 4500MHD (Switchable VGA); Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) Operating System
* 13.3-Inch Widescreen HD LED LCD Display; Wi-Fi 802.11 bgn; Bluetooth; 0.3M Webcam

Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

* Memory Slots: 2

Hard Drive

* Size: 500 GB
* Speed: 5400.0 rpm

Cases and Expandability

* Size (LWH): 12.9 inches, 9.28 inches, 0.98 inches
* Weight: 3.74 pounds

Power

* Rated Charge (normal use): 12.0 hours

Intro
ASUS is a name many system builders are familiar with. With the introduction of netbooks, ASUS made an even bigger name for themselves with their popular 900 and 1000 series offerings. Many who bought one praised its portability and battery life but grew increasingly frustrated at its limited performance. The ultra-portable market has always been the middle child in terms of size and performance but often is not popular due to high cost. ASUS aims to claim this part of the market as its own with the UL series laptops.

Recently, the UL80vt and UL50vt models were released to the public and critics mostly praised ASUS’s efforts. However, there was another model up their sleeves. The UL30vt-X1 is an Amazon exclusive that will provide a clear vision as to what the UL series means to ASUS. The unit in this review is the UL30vt-X1 and comes in the following configuration:

Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 Processor (1.3GHz, 3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB) Microsoft Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy type screen (1366x768)
Inte Graphics Media Accelerator/Nvidia G210M 512MB Switchable graphics
4GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM
500GB 5400RPM HDD
WiFi (Intel Pro 1000 802.11a/b/g/draft-n), Ethernet, Bluetooth
8-Cell 4400mah Battery
Dimensions: 12.9 inches, 9.28 inches, 0.98 inches
Warranty: 1 year ADH warranty (must register to aquire)
Weight: 3.74lbs
Price: $799

Build and Design
Those that have read the review of the UL80/50vt will be familiar with the look and feel of the laptop. The back end of the laptop is the thickest part while the front tapers to a thin wedge. Just imagine ASUS’s 1000 series netbook stretched in all dimensions while maintaining the same thickness. The brushed aluminum on the top of the laptop is handsome and provides good support for the screen. Sadly, the rest of the laptop is made with glossy plastic which is very prone to fingerprints. Regardless of what people say, why the OEMs insist on using glossy plastics is beyond me. But I’m sure it has something to do with cost savings. The biggest difference will be the lack of CD/DVD drive. This definitely shaves a few ounces from the total weight and most people won’t miss it. There is a host of connectivity options that will keep most people happy as well. One thing that may bother some will be the odd shaped laptop lock. I call it laptop lock instead of Kensington lock because it’s not the standard size and some have complained of not being able to find a good lock that fits.

The keyboard has a chiclet design and exhibits very little flex. Some users are reporting that the spacebar isn’t registering all of its clicks. However, the unit I received isn’t showing such behavior. The touchpad is flush with the palm rest and will take some getting used to. The glossy plastic makes gliding across the track pad difficult without greasing it up a bit with your finger oils. Once you get used to it, it performs adequately. The single mouse button will be a polarizing feature as well. All in all the build quality is very good without any visible imperfections or audible creaks.

The bottom of the laptop reveals two panels that come off easily for RAM and HDD upgrades. Many people will be upgrading their HDDs for SSDs and this unit begs for the upgrade. I managed to install an Intel G2 80GB SSD and the installation couldn’t have been easier. However, I will be reviewing it as it came. The machine also comes with 2x2GB RAM configuration. Owners will be happy to hear that it can be upgraded to 8GB, but it’ll come at high cost at the moment.

Screen and Speakers
The 13.3” LED backlit screen is point of much conversation on the forums. As subjective as this topic can be, there is one thing that many can agree on: it’s average. That being said, vertical viewing angles are small and you need to be in the sweet spot to see things correctly. Viewing a movie with a friend next to you could prove to be difficult. The screen is bright but colors tend to be washed out due to the viewing angle. Now this doesn’t bother me that much, but I know there are photogs out there that will not accept this. So in the end, don’t expect miracles with the display. It isn’t as bad as the one on the UL80vt, but still could have been much, much better.

The speakers on the other hand are above average on a laptop this size. The sound is very loud and comparable to those found on larger laptops. However, there are limitations just like any other laptop speakers. While the mids and highs are good, there is hardly any bass to speak of. That being said, the speakers are more than capable for most people.

Performance and Benchmarks
The CULV line of processors from Intel are not going to win any speed contests, but they weren’t meant to. Their main goal is to provide adequate performance while being efficient. This translates to lower drain on the battery and longer time spent away from a plug. However, ASUS has a trick up their sleeve. They’ve managed to overclock the processor 33% out of the box! This is generally a bad thing to do with laptops due to heat limitations. Furthermore, the type of overclock one achieves on laptop can vary greatly. ASUS has managed to do this safely on these machines greatly increasing the effectiveness of these processors. Another great feature is the hybrid graphics. When the job calls for it, the Nvidia G210M graphics can be called upon for some heavy duty tasks.

Here are some numbers:
wPrime (@1.3GHz): 60
3DMark06 (w/G210M): 3453
HDTune (w/Intel SSD): Avg Read: 204MB/sec

Please refer to the original review of the UL80vt for more in-depth benchmarking. The hardware is practically identical and the numbers should be the same.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=430668

Heat and Noise
During normal use, the UL30vt remained quite cool and very quiet. Only during intense gaming did the CPU fan start becoming audible. Temperatures were definitely were low considering my palms never got sweaty or hot during usage. You could use this laptop on your lap without any discomfort. However, the 500GB HDD did make a lot of noise during the first couple hours of use because of all the indexing going on. Once that was completed, it was fine. However, with the Intel SSD upgrade I made, the laptop is now nearly silent. You could take this machine to a classroom without having to worry about bothering your classmates.

Battery
This is a topic of great concern because one of the main selling points is long battery life. On Amazon’s website, ASUS claims 12 hrs of battery life with a 5600mah battery. However, this model ships with a 4400mah battery making such aspirations impossible. However, battery life is still great and with the machine set in Power4Gear “battery saving mode,” I managed to get a respectable 8-9 hrs of battery life. I’ve managed to easily go the entire day on a single charge doing things such as websurfing, watching videos, word processing and light gaming. However, I am a little disappointed with ASUS and Amazon. I think that it is misleading to tell everyone this machine can do 12 hours when in fact you need a larger battery to do so.

Conclusion
The moment I read about the ASUS UL30vt, I knew I had to have one. The combination of portability, performance and battery life was exactly what I was looking for. Now there are things that could have been better but these are small things and aren’t deal breakers in my opinion because there are solutions to these problems.

Pros:
Excellent build quality and design
Good price
Excellent performance

Cons:
Screen
No optical drive
Touch pad/mouse buttons

Overall: 9/10



















Sorry everyone, pictures are too big...I'll resize later.

Here are some comparison shots with a Sony Z750D









Updated 5600mah battery pictures. (THANKS to gk_jam)







Useful links (compiled by E.B.E.):

UL30 Backlit Keyboard Mod

 

Second post!

I had to do it....

Seriously though, huge rep to the first review of this highly anticipated system!

}:^)~

 

will post a nice, detailed review when i'm able (won't be until around christmas).

 

bookmarked!

 

You know what we need? A SILVER version!!

Sorry, but I can't rant on the amazon forums since i'm not USA lol.

 

Silver is not going to happen since ASUS has confirmed no other models of the UL30VT. However, you can always get some spray paint.

 

In! Getting it delivered to work so hopefully I have it before noon so I can review it during lunch.

 

Amazon now shows a better set of specs! According to this it does ship with a Gigabyte lan card. Hopefully that should put the whole wireless issue to bed. I am assuming it's the same card as the UL80VT and I haven't heard a peep about any wireless problems with that model

Here they are:

Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Display: 13.3-inch HD LED-backlit Widescreen (1366 x 768)
Intel Platform: Intel Core2 Duo processor SU7300 (1.3GHz)
Graphics: Switchable: Intel GMA 4500MHD and ASUS DGE powered by NVidia GeForce G210M with 512MB VRAM
Wireless: WLAN 802.11b/g/n (draft 2.4GHz n)
LAN: 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
Memory: 4GB DDR3 DRAM, 2GB x 2 (upgradable to 8GB)
Storage: 500GB 5,400RPM Hard Drive
Camera: 0.3 Megapixel
Speakers: SRS Premium Stereo Speakers by Altec Lansing, Hi-Definition Audio CODEC
Microphone Digital Array Microphones
Card Reader: 1 x 4-in-1 card reader: MMC, MS, MS-Pro, SD
Input/Output: 1 x Mic-in, 1 x audio-out (S/PDIF), 1 x VGA, 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x RJ45 LAN, 1 x HDMI
Keyboard: 13.70-inch keyboard with MS Windows function keys
Battery Pack: 8-cell Lithium Ion Battery, 4400mAh - Up to 12 hours
Dimensions: 12.68 (L) x 9.17 (W) x 0.59 ~ 0.97 (H) –inches
Approximate Weight: 3.7 lbs (with 8-cell battery)
Color: Black

If it only had the 5600mAh battery I would be so stoked THe other thing I notice on the Amazon page is conflicting information on the global warranty. The text says 1 year, but the accompanying graphic says 2 years.

Gawd the way the Amazon and ASUS can't produce a single consistent set of specs drives me around the bend

 

Did anyone pay attention to the price flucuation on Amazon with the UL30A-A2 or the UL80VT after they were released? Was the inititial pre-order price lower and then climb before coming back down, or did it just keep dropping from the pre-order price?

I want to pull the trigger on this soon, but if the price is likely to dip within a week, I would kick myself. (and as I am ordering from Canada it's going to be complicated enough as it is cause Amazon.com will not even direct ship it here).

 

yes exactly. i find it annoying that there's things contradicting itself. what happens if we place the order, then take screenshots of ASUS's specs. when something does happen, show them the specs and have to repair your comp because they messed up on the specs...

 

Anyone of us that pre-ordered will be able to give you actual specs when they start arriving.

 

I'm pretty sure its 1 year warranty including the Accidental Warranty plan. ASUS probably made the choice of using the $799 price point, and had to cut the battery size and warranty in order to maintain that price point.

 

Whats so funny is that all they would have to do is pop in the larger battery, up the warranty (and possibly use the natural aluminum case instead of the black) and release a second model with a higher price point at the same time. They got all the parts, I mean offering an alternative with the larger battery is so simple it hurts to imagine why they didn't.

Oh well, the colour is not a deal breaker for me, although I did have the UL30A-A2 (returned over the whole wireless kerfuffle) and the silver was so sweet, but the black brushed aluminim looks like it's pretty sweet too. The battery thing is just annoying.

Hey how do you find the build on the Acer 3810 compared to the UL30? I know we are talking apples and oranges due to the single core processor in the model you got, but it did come down to the UL30 or the 3810 (with the 9400 or 7300) for me before the news of the UL30VT came out. Now with the reduction in warranty again I do find myself second-guessing my decision, cause the 2 year warranty always was a part of the decision.

 

Unfortunately, the UL30A never shipped due to stock issues(It was $720 taxes in when I 'bought' it, they want $200 more for the same model but with Win 7 so I just said no thanks).

I'm waiting on the UL30VT I believe, the 5600mAh version


Overall, the 3810TZ is a very nice machine, thin, light, has a great keyboard feedback but the layout(small shift, weird home/PgUp/PgDn placement) is horrendous. Battery life is about 6 hours, which is decent, advertised as 8. The build is pretty good, no creaks but the LCD lid which is aluminum easily bends and has a very weak spot in the middle of the LCD lid.

The SU2700 is majorly weaksauced, it suttters at times which is pretty bad. However, for under $500, its a hell of a laptop.

 

Well i got mine an hour ago!! I post up the specs tomorrow. No time to mess with it!

 

no such thing as the higher batteyr model. 5600MAH

 

i'm calling BS w/out specs

 

You can call BS if you want. I post up the specs on Thursday. The laptop is just sitting in the corner. No need to rush.

Update: Opening it right now. What do you guys want to know?

 

Any idea of what sort of run time will be pulled out of the 2200mah? Is this the one that they are stating a 12 hour run time on? And any idea on how much thicker that 5600mah will stick out? My UL30VT is suppose to be here Friday

 

The 4400mAh battery and 5600mAh battery are the exact same size, with the latter being a higher capacity obviously. I'd also hold off on battery runtime 'speculation' regardless of the source until real users have tried it out themselves, which will hopefully be soon.

 

How much power does the Su7300 compared to T or P series cpu's?

 

Exact same size, hm? It is too bad that they didn't put that in there to begin with or perhaps done like some have said and released a higher end model with some different choices. Seems to me like this will be a quick seller.

 

pictures! first... does it come with sleeve?
HAHAHAHA thx

 

Atheros ar8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20)
Intel)R) WiFi Link 1000 BGN
THERE is bluetooth
no pictures no digital camera right now

 

How's your wireless internet? Is it strong compared to your other laptops? (No drops, lots of bars)

 

The wireless connection is fine. Walked around the house and the bars didn't drop. The wireless connection is better than my other laptop.

Also , on battery saving mode with wireless on estimated to about 10 hrs (96% charged) Thats Just wow! Didn't do a real test though

 

ordered one this afternoon. amazon said would ship on 12/7 for the free shipping, but ended up out to ups today, and said ETA tomorrow! tracking not working yet, so not sure.

 

I think you might of missed the point. The UL30VT X-1 ships with the 4400 battery not the 5600

 

Is it picking up other signals from around your niegbourhood besides your own router? This might seem like a paranoid question, but for those of us who had the UL30A-A2, rely on public networks a lot of the time, and went through the poor wireless debacle we really are a little gun shy.

BTW can you confirm the warrany info? Not that Amazon has ever got it wrong on their site . . . but is it 1 year?

 

I know, I am just wondering when it will be released . . . I can't put if off much longer, the ASUS rep on Amazon said no more 30VT models this year, and have got to pull the trigger on something in the next week or 10 days. But then again he also said no no gigabit card on the X-1.

From everything I read, the screen quality is somewhat better with the acer, but for the price of the 3810 with the SU9400 I can have the UL30VT and a little change left over. I got to think the graphics support would more than make up for the inferior screen brightness (I believe its around a 15% difference in brightness - or at least thats the case with the UL80VT vs the 4810 Acer).

 

no more atheros wireless card?

 

Nope none its intel

 

OK what's really funny about that is I wrote ASUS after returning the 2nd of 2 UL30A-A2 models that I bought. I asked them specifically what card the VT model would ship with. After some 2 weeks, they finally responded and said it would ship with the ame Atheros card as the UL30A-A2.

Go figure. I am so glad to hear this news!

 

omg so excited cant wait til i sell my e6400 to buy this =-) or i mite just wait for the a-1 model. since i dont need it now and i really do want the silver. and the 1 more year warranty and bigger battery is a bonus.

 

Oh hell yes, integrated bluetooth!!! no more dongle for my cellphone tethering

Mine arrives today too ........except i cant pick it up till the 10th

Oh well, Can't wait for the reviews pics...

If someone could post side by side shots compared to the 13 inch macbook pro I would appreciate it.

Cheers!

 

bowtokrazy, could you confirm if the UL30vt from Amazon comes with a sleeve or not?

 

I'm so glad that they started arriving!

I'm also glad that it's been mentioned that other retailers will be getting hold of the UL30Vt-A1 in early 2010. I will certainly be waiting for the A1, as in Canada, Amazon.ca charges way too much for the UL line -- about $80 - $100 more than the competition.

The benefits of waiting are the larger battery and the extended warranty, and likely a lower price.

Can someone give us some detailed first impressions? I'm on the edge of my seat!

}:^)~

 

Mine is out for delivery this morning.

 

Counting seconds until we get a review! This is going to be awesome!

I'm looking out for quality or functional flaws. With confirmation that the WiFi is functioning well that's one less thing to worry about. Of course, this leaves the build quality and potential heat issues with the G210M.

Looking forward to hearing whatever you have to say!

}:^)~

 

no reviews yet... i wont be able to post anything till dec18.

 

My laptop is here at work but I don't know who has it. errr

 

My guess would be the one running towards the door with a big brown box

 

Amazon said I would have it by tomorrow on their thingy... So, I bit... If it does not ship today, I will cancel my order. I go out of town on Monday... crossing fingers....

 

Got it. Windows 7 is taking forever to configure itself. Probably all the damn Asus software.

4400 battery btw, 10+ hour battery life sticker on the front. 1 year warranty sticker

 

Fingerprint magnet confirmed

 

got mine. noticed a centrino 2 sticker instead of the core 2 duo on the a2 even tho same cpu. also no nvidia sticker haha
also not positive on this but wanna say power brick is thicker/larger than i remember a2 being. which should expect i guess

 

No wireless issues here. I'm seeing over 10 wireless networks around my building

 

pics are up.

 

woot - nice pics, thanks! time to order one muwahahahaha

 

Wireless seems fine so far. Picking my router and about 20 others (I live in an apt. building)
Screen is nice. It's as bright as my Sony Z750D. It is glossy but doesn't seem to be that big of a problem.
I'm not that picky so take that with a grain of salt. I'm definitely not as picky as some of you can be.
Build quality out of box seems fine as I type on it. Doesn't have any sharp edges or squeekiness to it.
Keyboad has little or no flex at all. Palm rests are fingerprint magnets. Nothing a microfiber cloth can't fix.

More to come.