Leaderboard

Just got the ASUS UL30VT-A1 13.3" laptop which I have imported from US as this specific model is not available in India. Importing it from US wasn't going to be easy, but thanks to a client of mine in US and kshah (& Sadikk) it reached here without having to pay any duty fee. The ASUS UnLimited (UL) Series boasts for its 12 hour battery life performance which is dubbed as "all-day computing". I have gone for this model specifically for that reason, so that I can stay online for at least for 8 hours when on the move and no access to a power outlet. It achieves the maximum battery life when the settings are changed to the minimum configuration like on-board graphics instead of the Nvidia GeForce G 210M 512 MB graphics card, power saving settings, etc. We can switch the graphics card (between on-board and dedicated) without having to restart the laptop while the "Turbo33" technology (where you can easily overclock the CPU for extra performance) will need restart. Turning them off will help with the battery life. With a 1.3 GHz processor (which is just 300 MHz more than my Droid Incredible!) I wasn't sure if the performance would be good enough. However the Core 2 Duo CULV Processor does extremely well in terms of performance along with the 4 GB DDR3 RAM. It is this processor that helps achieve the high battery life it claims, so one can't expect a Intel Core i series processor here. For the hardware parts, it includes a 500 GB (5400 rpm) hard drive, integrated bluetooth, 802.11n Wi-Fi, 3 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI port, VGA port, SD Card reader, RJ45 LAN port, chiclet style keyboard, multi-touch trackpad, Altec Lansing speakers, 0.3 megapixel webcam, etc. It isn't too heavy nor too light, but very compact at 1 inch thick. It comes pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. I noticed there were a lot of pre-installed softwares including non Asus ones. I removed most of the non-Asus software and left some Asus softwares which are pretty cool like FastBoot, Fancy Start, etc. It also has a virtual OS that allows you to access web browser, instant messengers, etc. instantly (within 5 seconds after pressing the dedicated button) without having to boot into the operating system! It is powered by "Splashtop Instant-On Desktop from DeviceVM" and is called "Express Gate" by ASUS. I have checked the battery life for the first conditioning (full charge and discharge) and it did give around 12 hours battery life. With WiFi ON and normal usage I would expect at least 8 hours from what I see till now. Things I don't like in the laptop is the hard-to-press trackpad button which is stiffer than the soft trackpad button in my Dell Inspiron and the lack of hardware volume control keys on the outside which my old Dell Inspiron has. On the bright side it doesn't get uncomfortably hot as my Dell Inspiron does when using on "lap". This specific model was launched in January 2010 and was replaced with a newer model (ASUS UL30VT-X1K) by now. The pricing for this laptop was the sweet spot of the deal which I got from B&H store here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/671904-REG/ASUS_UL30VT_A1_UL30Vt_A1_13_3_Notebook_Computer.html - It was for $699 with a FREE 320 GB Leather External Hard Disk Drive which can work via USB or eSATA without external power. As you can see in the page above it is listed "Discontinued" now and they discontinued it a couple of days after I purchased it! I haven't seen that price tag of $699 elsewhere as most other stores like Amazon offer it for $750 - $850. Anyway this laptop would cost a LOT more if it was launched in India. Oh, and it also comes with a 2 year limited global/international warranty from ASUS! Thanks to Anupe for recommending me this laptop which has turned out to be a really good one for me, after all it had many good reviews on most websites.