My New Asus A730

[foghead]

The latest message says that the units leave Taiwan on the 26th. Assuming air freight, they will probably start shipping orders early next week.

[tankee531]

have they shipped 730W?

[pdaadp]

the million dollar question....

[aluluei]

I'm on Proportable's preorder list for the 730W. Thinking that if they were coming by plane and had left Taiwan on the 26th, I could get my order soon, I emailed Justin for an update. They did indeed leave Taiwan on the 26th... but by boat :-( It makes sense if you think about it -- the shipment doesn't just consist of a few hundred handhelds, but over 10 huge shipping containers full of motherboards and other Asus products. It would cost a fortune to put all that on a plane. Apparently the boat trip takes about two weeks, then there's unloading at the dock (in they come in through Los Angeles there's a backlog), then customs, then out to PA to ProPortable, then repacking into individual orders, then out to the customers. Maybe it will all happen by Christmas, but I wouldn't count on it.

Elizabeth Steere

[pdaadp]

When did you place the pre-order?

When did you get a confirmation that the 730w was shipped?

How long did they say it would take?

Thanks

[aluluei]

I placed my pre-order on 11/16.

I emailed Justin O'Dea at Proportable this morning to ask if he had any news about when the A730w's would be arriving. He emailed me back to say that Asus had shipped them to the US by boat on 11/26. If you placed your pre-order before then, your handheld should now be in the cargo hold of that ship.

The boat will take about two weeks to reach the US. The cargo then has to be unloaded by dock workers, has to go through customs, then it will be sent to Asus's office in Fremont, California, then Asus has to ship the handhelds to ProPortable in Dalton, Pennsylvania, and Proportable will then ship them to customers.

I have no doubt that Proportable will ship packages as fast as they can, but right now everything depends on sea conditions, unloading schedules at the docks, customs, and shipping from Asus. Hopefully the units will reach customers by Christmas, but I wouldn't count on it.

Cheers,
Elizabeth

[pdaadp]

Thanks very much for that reply....

Guess I will hold out a bit. It's the only pda I would upgrade to at this point because of the specs...

It gets very high ratings (the non wifi version anyway)... I wish there were more long term reviews.

[aluluei]

I just received another email from Justin@proportable.com. This email was sent to everyone on the pre-order list. It looks like the 730W's will arrive after Christmas, perhaps after the new year. Justin has been told by the Asus Pocket PC Product Manager that they don't expect to get the shipment off the boat and through customs until after Christmas, due to higher volumes of cargo and stricter customs scrutiny at this time of year.

[RiPpeR]

Though Justin is sincere in what he says... and there is no doubt about his dedication to the product-line... his credibility is in question at least with me. He says that he has contact with the highest sources... and is in the know, unfortunately he is just seems to be a portal for rumors... I think he would be better off releasing more generic information than his specific details on issues.

I believe that we were all led to believe that it would be available at the end of November... and now it will be at least another month late. Was the original release date not set at the same time as the non-wifi version...???

I would still like to see the final details on the device... still 1.1 Bluetooth... (will it be an issue, running concurrently with Wifi...???)

Don't get me wrong I like Justin... and his passion... but it is irritating me that the information being passed forward is consistantly wrong...

[aluluei]

Justin's email from this morning does say that wifi and bluetooth will work simultaneously though it doesn't mention a specific Bluetooth version.

I think the delays are at Asus' end. Maybe the US handheld market just isn't a top priority for them, leading to delays in the release date while they concentrate on their core market. I don't think Justin is to blame for anything more than enthusiasm and the deisure to tell his customers as much as he knows. I sympathize with your frustration though. It would probably be easier to remain blissfully ignorant of the product until it is actually available than to suffer the agony of waiting.