ASUS UL50VT-A1 Thin and Light 15.6-Inch Black Laptop – 11.5 Hours of Battery Life

5 comments

1. 

   PhD Physicist on December 8, 2009 at 5:18 am

   I purchased this Laptop on 27 November 2009. At first it was amazing, thin, light, solid and perfectly designed. It was fast enough ( not a performance laptop), and the specs were very good.

   But when I use video chatting I realized that the mic makes a lot of noise which was bad for me because I’ll use it a lot. Then I ordered a replacement but I had the same problem with that one also. I’m not sure that this is a constant problem or I was very unlucky. Another minor problem is the keyboard but it is kind of common for ASUS laptops that keyboard is noisy and more flexy than normal but was not a big problem for me. So I returned the ASUS UL50VT, unfortunately.

   I must say that the real amazing thing is “AMAZON.COM”. I am really surprised with the service. I think as long as it is available at AMAZON I will not purchase anything from any other reseller or store.

2. 

   Jimmy S. Ghostine on December 8, 2009 at 7:45 am

   Great product, well designed, very ergonomic, well thought out. The battery life is not a hoax (I thought it would be). I haven’t gone to 12 hours yet, but have gotten to 10 hours with about 22% battery life left.
   
   I’m very familiar with ASUS components from multiple desktop PCs I’ve built over the last 15 years, and have always been impressed with their quality, features and performance. This laptop, a new foray in finished products for ASUS is a success.
   
   The discrete and integrated video cards transition involves a 1-time blinking of the monitor, but it’s not annoying, especially when you realize the battery savings you’re making when switching to the Intel card. When you wish it you have an ultra fast Nvidia G210 at your fingertips. I believe the addition of the discrete Nvidia in addition to the integrated Intel graphics card, is well worth the 50 or so dollar difference of the UL50V vs the UL50A.
   
   The ultra low voltage CPU is overclockable and you have a noticeable improvement in performance when doing graphics and processing intensive applications such as photoshop or video editing. It’s very satisfying in standard mode as well, but the overclocking ability is unique to ASUS from my prior research.
   
   My other laptop is an HP Pavillion DV 9200t. It’s a monster size-wise compared to this laptop, without any noticeable performance advantage despite a 2GHz dual core 2 CPU. The fact this had DD3 memory vs the HP’s DDR2 may be part of the reason.
   
   I endorse this ASUS product without reservation.

3. 

   L. Vasilevskiy on December 8, 2009 at 10:12 am

   I decided to pen this comment to correct the previous 3-star review. It is petty to give this magnificent piece of tech a low rating simply because of a defective built-in microphone. So it is. Buy a USB mic for all that is holy! That is not a centerpiece of this computer. What it really was designed for is battery life. I’ve been doing a lot of research trying to decide on my laptop choice with longevity in mind as I am going back to medical school and intend to stretch the battery for the entire 8-hour day of classes. My research has shown that there are a lot of portables and ultraportables out there with far superior specs in terms of processor speed for the money. However, none beat the ASUS on two fronts: the battery saving features which are truly seminal and the warranty policy included in the price of the computer. In terms of the warranty, it is the absolute best on the market. This computer was designed specifically to be ultraportable in terms of battery life. My experience shows that on low-medium to low energy setting (entertainment/energy-saving modes) it lasts anywhere between 6-9 hours. If you turn off the Turbo feature which overclocks your processor to 1.7 from 1.2 GHz, and surrender some of the screen brightness, the included 8-cell battery will last even longer. I shudder to think how long it will run on a 12-cell battery. The built-in video card switch is an amazing and unique feature which allows you to double the laptop as an entertainment center. Obviously the video card is very power-intensive and the battery won’t last beyond the 2 hour mark, but how terrific is it that you will have that option! The battery for this model from what I’ve seen is only $45 USD. Even with the charge going down by 1/3 every year, replacing the battery won’t be an issue as it was for my Sony VAIO whose battery was priced at $200 USD. Hardly comparable. THe bottom line is to evaluate any product you have to look to the designer’s intent. This product was designed for long battery life and also to double as a competitive product for power-draining graphics applications like gaming and video giving the user the ultimate power to choose one over the other whenever and wherever. It has succeeded fabulously at it. Kudos to the ASUS design team.

4. 

   Michael McCray on December 8, 2009 at 1:06 pm

   I have been playing around with this laptop for about a week now. I dont know what people are doing to their keyboards. I type very fast using this notebook and do not see the complaint about it flexing.

   Now I am not new to computers or notebooks. I have believed the hype and bought an Alienware a few years back. It was probably beautiful on paper and reality it was something else.

   This time around though. I was looking for two things. Portability and good graphics. I found this laptop with switchable or hybrid graphics. It is quite impressive to say the least. I enjoy the portability of it. First time I took it out of the house. I had to check the bag to make sure it was in it. It is that light. If you turn off the wireless radio when using it. You can get over 10 hours of battery life and with the wireless radio on. You average about 7-8.

   The heat situation in laptops is something else people talk about. I don’t think this even generates heat. I have yet to feel any type of discomfort due to the heat issues. You can not say that about the previous laptop. I probably could have cooked an egg on the shell.

   I really dont mind the glossy shiny coating. It stands out and says to people walking by “Hey Look at me!” If you want a dull leather wrappings that crack with age. Then go for it. But i prefer the gloss. It serves as a reminder to wipe the laptop down and keep it clean.

   The speed is great. Windows 7 is great. Its very responsive and you can hit that power button and be literally working on your computer in less than 30 seconds. Its that fast.

   On the warranty, You can apply for it online. You dont have to send that card in. You can register and go about your merry way.

   On the graphics on it. I was running high settings in Dalaran on a heavily populated Warcraft server with zero lag. Not even a bit. That is something that i thought was impossible.

   Being this is the first generation in a new direction in laptops. I look forward to seeing what ASUS can do with it. I know Nvidia is planning more for Hybrid Graphics and we as laptop users can finally get the best of both worlds. So in two years or more. I am going to look forward into seeing what asus has to offer. They earned a new customer and that loyalty is not misplaced.

   So take the chance on this laptop. You will not reget it.

5. 

   Evan T. Mcdermott on December 8, 2009 at 2:55 pm

   This is my first computer since my Apple Powerbook G4. I decided to shop around for a new PC because a new Mac simply doesn’t exist for the amount of money that I was looking to spend.

   I shopped around for a few weeks and once I finally came across this model, I jumped on it.

   The laptop arrived in two days thanks to Amazon. After all of the bad press about Vista I was hesitant about coming back to the PC world. Now after using Windows 7 for a week, I am hesitant to ever go back to a Mac.

   I was immediately impressed with the look of the brushed aluminum lid and the chiclet style keyboard. The numeric pad is also nice and overall the laptop has a very sleek, impressive look. However, coming from a zero gloss aluminum Powerbook, it took me a while to adjust to the high gloss of the UL50VT. The screen, the plastic surrounding the screen, and everywhere else besides the aluminum lid and underside are all glossy black plastic. The track pad is directly on this glossy plastic which takes a little getting used to. Also the mouse buttons are a little stiff and I wish they were two separate buttons instead of just one. These small gripes almost turned me against my new laptop, but after a week I am used to the look and feel of the laptop and more importantly, I am very happy with its performance.

   With an Intel rated 5 star Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, I have no complaints about performance. I use my laptop for movies, music, web browsing, and college. I don’t often play games but it is nice to know it’s a definite possibility.

   The UL50VT boots up fast and lasts for a long time. With brightness maxed out while doing web surfing and homework, I am averaging about 6-8 hours. This is more than enough already and if I lower the performance and brightness the battery lasts for around 10.

   The screen is widescreen and bright. I do wish the resolution was higher than 1366 x 768. For a 15 inch laptop I found that to be a little low, but it is not a show stopper.

   Overall the Asus UL50VT is a sleek, well performing portable laptop. This laptop is well worth the price and so far has easily handled everything that I have thrown at it. If you don’t mind the glossy appearance and can get past the less than great track pad and mouse buttons, the Asus UL50VT is a very solid purchase.