T23 owner is looking to upgrade to a new ?

[XTI]

I have owned a T23 for about three years. This was my first Thinkpad and after owning a few Dells I was blown away by the quality. After reading these forums for a while I am slightly hesitant to purchase a new Thinkpad. It seems the T43s have their share of issues. From what I have gathered the T43s are not built as well as the T23s were. Thats really too bad. I have noticed this in many industries when a company is number one their quality tends to slip as they don't have anyone one to compete with. This makes you want to look at those companies that are tring to become number one. So with that being said, has anyone else looked at the Asus notebook line.

They have a new Carbon Fiber model that I have my eye on as a direct competior to the T43.

Here is a review against the T43: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2311

Here are some basic specs:

ASUS Computer International (ASUS), a leading provider of high-performance notebook computers, introduces the V6V notebook. Available in Canada, the US, and Europe, the ASUS V6V notebook’s carbon fiber composite chassis is lightweight, durable, and sophisticated with its sleek, brushed gunmetal colored surface. The result: a fusion of form and function that won the prestigious iF Design Award. The V6V notebook includes the latest personal computing technologies such as DDR II memory, ATI 3D graphics processor and Bluetooth™ wireless connectivity to offer robust computing capability and wireless freedom.

The V6Vnotebook has a Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) LCD panel with an ATI Mobility™ Radeon™ X600graphics processor that guarantees total satisfaction with notebook display performance. The V6V notebook innovates by positioning powerful speakers in the notebook’ s palm rest to deliver loud and clear sound quality.

Comfort, Power and Sound
When designing the V6V notebooks, ASUS placed strong consideration on ergonomics, robust power and sound clarity. The ASUS’ award-winning Industrial design team positioned high-quality speakers on the palm rest instead of on the bottom or side like other notebooks, improving sound clarity and user satisfaction of its crystal clear audio sound.

A Promise of Perfection
Asus promises users Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) LCD panels. ASUS’ ZBD policy means exchanges are guaranteed with no questions asked, even if only one single bright dot is found. With this assurance, users enjoy a perfect visual display without distraction.

Express Lane
The V6V series leverages the latest Intel 915PM chipset, which incorporates advanced 90nm technology for mobile processing, and supports DDR II memory and a PCI Express graphics interface. Users enjoy multimedia entertainment over fast interfaces running graphics intensive and memory-efficient applications with improved speed and efficiency.

The Slim & Sleek
Though the V6V notebook comes equipped with a 15” display, it weighs a mere 2.49kg (5.5 lbs), which is lighter than most 14” notebooks. The V6V notebook’s 8 option keys are placed to provide a distraction-free working area.

Longer Battery Life
The exclusive Power4 Gear+ battery-saving technology controls CPU speed to maximize battery performance. Offering 8 different modes designed for gaming, watching DVDs, listening to music, etc, the Power4 Gear+ battery-saving technology innovation saves battery life by 15%-20% over other notebook brands.
Convenient Wireless Connection
The V6V provides wireless networking anywhere, anytime based on the 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi standard. Its Bluetooth™ wireless connectivity allows cordless connectivity to a broad range of devices such as PDAs, mobile phones, office peripherals and MP3 players.

Specification summary:
Display: 15" SXGA+
OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
CPU: Intel® Pentium® M 750, 533MHz, 1.86GHz, 2MB L2 Cache
HDD: 60GB
Chipset: Intel® 915 PM
Graphics: ATI Mobility™ Radeon™ X600 64MB VRAM
Memory: 512MB DDR2 400MHz, upgradeable to 2GB
Wireless: 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth™
Interface: 4xUSB 2.0, 1 x IEEE 1394 port, 1 x multiple-standard card-reader, 1 Type II PCMCIA slot, 1 Infrared port support IrDA, 1 x SPDIF
Dimensions and Weight: 33.1 x 27.2 x 2.54~3 cm, 2.49kg
13 x 10.7 x 1.18 inches, 5.5 lbs

[K. Eng]

I found a review:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2311

It looks very good, with one exception:

The V6V offers a full sized keyboard. It's easy enough to type on and there's little flex (although some if you push very hard to force). Key feedback is decent and travel when pushing in a key is good. Overall I'd say this keyboard is a bit better than a Dell Inspiron but not as good as an IBM Thinkpad (but none are).

The touchpad is tough to use. I found a lot of jumpiness at times and it took several finger strokes to move the cursor across the screen when in SXGA resolution. You can of course play with and configure the touchpad, but I ended up being happier using a mouse as many people do when working at a desk with a notebook any way. The scroll area is a nice addition and it's easy to enable/disable the touchpad via a button at the top of the keyboard.

The mouse buttons below the touchpad are pretty bad too. It's good design to raise the buttons a little bit to make them easy to "feel", but the V6V buttons are completely smooth and flat and there's very little to no travel when pushing these buttons -- just a slight click. They're just not very satisfying or easy to find and push. So yeah, get a Bluetooth wireless mouse for easier input!

Input devices are, as typical with many ODM machines, less than stellar. If there's one reason to buy a ThinkPad, it's because ThinkPad designs haven't skimped on the keyboard in recent years.