Z61a's in stock --- some questions answered..

OK, well the M3n replacement, the Z61a has been in since early last week. I wanted to answer a couple questions and address a few other things.

http://www.proportable.com/detail.aspx?ID=139

Things that were refined from the previous models:

1. 4-in-1 card reader built-in
2. the magnetic hidden port bay door was removed (some people used to break those)


Things that might be confusing.....

1. they are the exact same price as the Z63a... the Z63a is 14" widescreen glaretype and the Z61a is 14" regular ratio matte type. Other than that, they are very similar in spec.

2. there is an s-video cable that comes in the box.... there is NOT an s-video out on the notebook. there was never supposed to be one, but for some reason the same came in the box. some people have been confused by that already.

Hope that helps.

 

The m3n always reminded me of a waffle maker for some reason, thus this one does too

Glad to see ASUS is still rolling out new laptops every month or so!

 

It's the kick out in the back... I sort of see it too. Now remember, the M3 was THE reference design Centrino that Asus and Intel developed to show other computer makers and the world what Centrino was going to allow notebooks to be........ This notebook is as pure to the original Centrino prototype as anything ever could be... it's great to have a new version added to lineup to fill it out more.

 

Yea, ever since I first saw it, I was like, Waffle Press....

That or George Foreman's grill

I've been the m3n as examples for Centrino alot of times, especially in Magazines and sites, but I only realized that a few weeks ago since the z61a was announced.

 

I've always liked the M3Np... glad to see it come back.

Maybe I'll get the Z61a instead of the Z63a as my next notebook...

Although I'm surprised that they didn't change the power button to resemble that of the Z70v/Z33a ... I like that style more than this one

 

hey J.
those pics are the ones from vipforums.asus.com/.../Z61A/index.html ... right? ... is the keyboard the same on the ones you've got in ?

 

Are they gonna have an SXGA option like on the older one?

 

J - yes, two back space buttons and a shortened space bar. The enter button is normal height but a tad shorter in length.. normal for an M3....... already confirmed that.

No SXGA....... Let me clear something up about that.... Asus brought in about 50 of those SXGA models a year and a half ago........ they were sold up till almost six months ago even though they were oooold unit. It wasn't a widely available model. It was actually something that was special ordered for a business that then fell through and some of those were spread around.... It just too some longer to get rid of them. We had a handful and we were out by september of 2003........ Just because some places couldn't get rid of them, it seemed like it was a model that was a around a while and it was never supposed to be.

 

That's too bad.. SXGA+ on a 14" display is quite nice. I know that if I were to buy a 14" Thinkpad (which I am considering...), I'd want one with SXGA+

 

Depends on what you're doing...... the M3's main customer base is basic office needs...... high res does nothing for most of them... and it'll cost about $100 more. Just not the market for a high res screen without dedicated graphics.......... with that said, no they aren't going to put a dedicated gpu into the M3 series.....

 

This model from the pictures...looks like the silver one.
Will they also be shipping the charcoal/black model?

 

No........ Lets break this down..

M3n (5/03 - 5/04) - Silver w/ white accents

M3np (5/04 - 6/04) - Silver w/ white accents --- these were put in the older bodies until the black ones were made...... some people still had these for almost a year, but only one shipment of them every came in.

M3np (6/04 - 5/05) - Black w/ silver accents (official M3np coloring)

M3a (Z61a) (current) - Silver w/ black accents... That's all that's coming in.