ASUS reveals 15.4-inch M50 multimedia laptop, Blu-ray / Penryn included

Just a week after we laid hands on a pair of new multimedia powerhouses from Acer, along comes ASUS to keep things interesting. Announced today, the 15.4-inch M50 packs quite the punch, with options for Intel's latest smattering of Penryn processors, an optional Blu-ray drive and an available ATI Mobile Radeon HD3650 with 1GB of VRAM. The unit also comes with your choice of WXGA, WXGA+ or WSXGA+ panels, any Vista flavor you like, WiFi, up to 4GB of RAM, HDMI and a built-in hybrid TV tuner. Also included is a dual-function trackpad, which enables users to flip through tracks or playlists and adjust the volume of the Altec Lansing speakers when not mousing about. Regrettably, ASUS has yet to dole out any accompanying pricing information, but we doubt this bundle of joy will be anywhere close to a bargain.

[ryan moore @ Mar 19th 2008 3:52PM]

"if this was a mac there would be atleast 3 posts about it"

just kidding. but someone has to do it. start low ranking me... right about.. now.

[Esat @ Mar 19th 2008 3:56PM]

I did it. But only because you asked me to :)

[Sharakar @ Mar 19th 2008 4:01PM]

me 2

[chrisaroz @ Mar 19th 2008 4:01PM]

Good job on making the webcam HUGE!

[hapablap @ Mar 19th 2008 5:20PM]

It's not that ugly. At least it serves a function: to swivel.

[nikster @ Mar 19th 2008 8:26PM]

I agree. Asus design seems to be regressing - they made some nicely designed laptops for a while.

My Acer laptop had a swiveling webcam. I have used this feature exactly... hmm... lemme think... never. For those rare opportunities where you actually want to film your surroundings it's easier to turn the laptop around.

So that huge webcam is a minus.

Second minus: The off-center trackpad. That just looks dumb. Forget about the number pad and center the trackpad, please, it looks about 1000 times better. Granted, I never had a use for number pads. Not even for gaming.

[Kamokazi @ Mar 19th 2008 4:08PM]

Newegg may have pricing info for you:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220279

Unfortunately I can't find the ones with ATI cards.

[therewillbeapples @ Mar 19th 2008 4:14PM]

Will it run OS-X?

No?

Oh.

[Mace Moneta @ Mar 19th 2008 4:38PM]

Will it run Linux? Yes? Great!

[The Dude @ Mar 19th 2008 5:35PM]

Not Asus's fault in that respect at all. Go through the trouble of making it a Hackintosh or sit and sulk while someone calls you a waaahmbulance you big baby.

[Steve A. @ Mar 19th 2008 4:37PM]

I'm just here to remind people that Asus makes nearly all of the motherboards inside of Apple laptops, including the Macbook Pro. Asus' build quality is excellent, and they undercut pricing of almost every manufacturer out there. That is all.

/happy Asus G1s-1B owner

[Ethan @ Mar 20th 2008 12:32AM]

What about sager?

[Ethan @ Mar 20th 2008 12:32AM]

What about Sager?

[Chuckles McGee @ Mar 19th 2008 4:42PM]

Blu-ryn, mmmmmm.

[Charles Marino @ Mar 19th 2008 5:15PM]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8761217&productCategoryId=abcat0502003&type=product&tab=2&id=1202650467562#productdetail

nicer price on bestbuy.. better than newegg.. jeez

[Casey @ Mar 19th 2008 5:56PM]

Best Buy version is watered down: lower screen resolution, 1GB less RAM... just at a glance.

[Mestizo122 @ Mar 19th 2008 10:28PM]

The Bestbuy model also does not have blu-ray.

The touch pad is offset because of the keyboard layout. Keep in mind that there is a full number pad on the right hand side of the laptop. If the touch pad was perfectly centered it wouldn't be ergonomic. That was one of the main complaints that I have been reading about the M51.

I have been reading about this laptop for a few weeks now and I think that I am going to buy this one, I just wished that I could have found a laptop with higher resolution.

[Ethan @ Mar 20th 2008 12:34AM]

What the hell kind of keyboard layout is that? A number pad on a 15.4" is pretty big news (this is the first, if not the only, laptop with that configuration) but the giant enter key is just wrong. That's where \ goes...

[cyberstraz @ Apr 28th 2008 4:27PM]

Just to verify - the enter key is not huge, it's one of their stock photos from a non production model. The final model has a normal width enter key.