Asus W1 opinions?

After looking over the Asus laptops it seems I've narrowed my decision down to either the W1 or the W3v. There seem to be many opinions about the W3 but I read much fewer about the W1. I was wondering if anyone who owned one could chime in about the pros and cons of this laptop. The aluminum design is really appealing and i'm told it will be updated to reflect the sonoma platform in the next few months. -Rob

 

I am also looking at the W1 when it is released in May. The preliminary specs are in one of my post title "Refreshed W1 and V6". From what I can guage it looks like it will be a nice machine. I have not found any user reviews yet.

 

You're right....... I don't know if they are going to go as far as to change the color to a black anondized brushed aluminum....... but basically it's a carry over with a new chipset. The next month should bring the refresh....... We're hoping before June.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
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do you think it will be any thinner or lighter? just how much does the current w1 weigh and how thick is it (i know it says on several websites but i don't trust them, i'd like to hear it from someone who has personally measured it.)

thanks,

Sam

 

no..... it's a carry over...... same case.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I'm hoping they consider adding a glossy type screen as an option. Any idea about whether the price will be similiar to current models or increased/decreased?

 

It's not going to be less........ The colorshine screen may be added, but I have not heard anything saying that it will yet.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
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Something tells me it won't get any more than a Crystal Shine screen... that's what my gut feels, anyway.

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

Well the W2 is "supposed" to get a color shine...... so in that case.. having a color shine in all of the W series would make sense. But if the W2 doesn't, then I guess that'll ruin that theory.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Just a quick question about asus batteries on the W1 or W3 series. If you buy an extra can you charge the battery without it being connected to the laptop or must it be in the laptop and plugged in to charge.

 

no....... can't do this on an laptop Asus has ever made. If there is another company out there that has a feature like this, it's a good idea, but I've never seen it.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Oh ok. I'm really looking into laptops for the first time so I wasn't sure how the battery worked. I've never seen an asus notebook in person but it looks like from teh pictures that the battery sort of just plugs in on the back. I was just wondering how stable the battery is on the back and if there are any issues with it coming loose when moving the laptop around. Thanks

 

Actually, I take some of that back... I have seen batteries that have the power supply built into the battery and you'd just plug that in...... but that was many many years ago and when you did that, you couldn't power the system without having the battery in place....

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Thanks for the info. The more I look into asus notebooks the more I like them. Certainly seem to be made better than the dell I thought I would buy before I started researching. Now I just have to decide between the W3 and W1.

 

Very..... it connects to the laptop and then is supported on the sides.... so you have a connection on three sides..... it's basically a mortise and tenion type joint..... it's more likely to break somewhere other than that connection if at all.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

tough choice..... right this minute the W3 is a step ahead, although a little smaller...... if consider the weight vs screen size and decide what's most important to you and it'll make it a much easier choice...... even if you wait until the W1 is refreshed.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

My coworker bought a W1 last summer [that's how I found about ASUS's line of laptops btw]. First off, it is BIG and HEAVY for a 15.4" widescreen. I think it's something like 6-7 lbs. So if you travel a lot, it might be cumbersome. Design and aesthetics wise, it's much nicer looking than the W3 in that the whole palmrest area/touchpad is aluminum. The screen is also the traditonal black matte type.

So things to consider that are different from the W3:

-It's bigger and heavier
-Bigger screen/resolution, but no bright glossy screen
-All aluminum chassis
-More expensive

It's a nice laptop for a desktop replacement, but I don't consider it as a "laptop" since it's not portable in my opinion.

[l]ikwid.[f]uzion

 

The W1 was meant more to compete against those media center desktops (although the tv tuner originally didn't work on US cable.... so it was scraped) ...... but it was competing against much heavier systems.

You have to keep in mind things like the subwoofer and the THICK aluminum palmrest when considering the weight. Also, whether it has a tv tuner or not.. it's one of the only notebooks that is built with two mini pci card slots inside.... may or may not be useful. But, the W1 isn't all aluminum... it's just thats most of what you see. The bottom case is all carbon fiber. If the bottom case was aluminum it's be thicker and heavier and the bottom would get MUCH hotter do to the properties of aluminum.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Here is a link with a review on the current W1. There are others if you do a search for W1 on google.

http://www.mobile-review.com/nb/review/asus-w1-en.shtml

I hope it will be released soon![ ]

 

Well the W1 has been out for just about a year now and considering the refresh will only improve and basically look the same since it's using the same chassis..... it's not half bad to look at and get an idea of the system... but don't take everything they say as gold... The notebook was already updated three times (as far as configuration goes) and the price is also much lower than it was a year ago...... so keep that in mind.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]