The Construct

Being that my lappie is already two and a half years old, it’s really high time to consider retiring it. But goodness what a workhorse this ASUS A8Jr is. Left on for 16 hours a day for those two and a half years and the only hitch I ever encountered was the hinge issue (a physical issue) which ASUS covered under warranty. And because of that I’ve developed a brand loyalty to ASUS.

I’ve actually been meaning to replace it last year but I had to re-channel some of my budget for other reasons that I gave up on purchasing a laptop after that.

I was meaning to get the ASUS F81-Se (all because of the beefy ATI HD 4570 video) card but even when Risha tried to buy one last year, she ended up with the K40IN thanks to limited stocks. The ASUS sit still lists the F81-Se as part of their product line, but alas, can’t seem to find one locally.

Because of that experience, I’ve been constantly looking at the product offerings to check if ASUS is coming out with a new model.

If I were to buy one now, I’d probably buy the same one but I’m trying to hold out just in case ASUS decides to come out with one that has better specs. The K50AB – a larger 15″ screen and the coveted ATI HD 4570 video card – looks promising but it seems that it isn’t offered locally as well.

Time and again, on this blog, I’ve always stressed the importance of customer service. Having worked sales before, I know how tricky it is to guide a person from being a prospect to a buying client. I don’t know if computer salesmanship is a totally different ballpark but I don’t think it is. Too bad there are a lot of sales people who miss out on the basic salesmanship skills.

Credit cards and lower laptop prices have made it possible for many to purchase on installments but, in my book, any transaction above Php 10,000 is a serious purchase – something that would require financial planning for at least a couple of months. Heck, I even sleep over decisions on Php 1,000 purchases given my kuripot nature. Acquiring something as valuable as a laptop is a year-long project for me at a minimum.

I’d have to say that I’m not the run-of-the-mill customer and I do pose a challenge to sales people. I do know my tech and I’m shrewd when it comes to money. You can’t just come up to me and bullshit me into buying. I do my research before I approach stores so it’s very hard to fool me with bogus claims and the like. But I’m not tough of a cookie to crack either. For one, I have often made my decision about buying even before I go to a store so closing a sale with me often hinges on the deal and customer service.

(more…)

On to more personal concerns here. I’m really, really suffering from a bad case of GAS. Or maybe not. Perhaps “investing” on work-related technology would be a worthwhile move. Then again, I already have the functional tools to do my work so investing on new tech is quite unnecessary.

My ASUS A8Jr’s finally fixed but not after waiting six months for the parts. To top it off, it’s only a couple of weeks before the warranty lapses. I always hate it when any piece of electronics I own ages past its coverage. I hate knowing I legally won’t have anyone on whom to place the blame if it breaks down.

So I went out (with Rish) yesterday to scout out some possible prospects. Narrowed them down to two – the Lenovo Y430 and the ASUS F81Se.

(more…)

Whenever my tool of the trade isn’t in fully functional condition, I get depressed. Attribute that to my OCD and AR perhaps. Bottom line is that my Asus A8Jr workhorse’s Achilles heel surfaced yet again – the dreaded hinge problem is back. It has been the design flaw of Asus’ A8 series but just when I thought I could finally live a happy computing life after I had it fixed last year, lo and behold, the LCD casing is cracked, yet again and the LCD screen has a nasty wobble.

This isn’t news exactly as countless others have reported of having to get theirs fixed more than twice already. I was just hoping that mine was fixed for all eternity after having it repaired once. The only good thing about this is that I still have a good five months left in the warranty though I was troubled when Asus World (the distributor’s service and showroom at SM Megamall) informed me that they still had to check whether they can still process my request. Two reasons: 1) because it was already my 2nd claim on the same issue and 2) because Asus already has their own office here in the Philippines .

(more…)

Finally, after three months, my laptop is fixed and fully functional. It was around February when I noticed that my laptop’s hinges were shot. The ASUS service center was happy to assist me then but I had to wait for parts. So they just got my details and ordered the parts for me from Taiwan. My laptop is still under warranty so all I had to do was wait for the parts and for them to replace them.

The whole process should have just taken 1 month but ASUS Taiwan was uber slow in shipping parts here. And since mine was a factory defect common to all A8 models, there were a bunch of us waiting for the same damn parts. I can’t blame the service center since they’ve been awfully nice in calling me up to update me on the status of the shipment.

Last week, they called me up to inform me that the parts have arrived. Unfortunately, their Megamall space was under renovation and I had to wait for this week before I could drop by. I didn’t want to go to their Shaw office or their Makati service center since both are practically out of the way.

(more…)