ASUS VivoBook X202E Touchscreen 11.6" laptop Windows 8 $499 @ Microsoft Store

Quote from jmor : LOL. good one. because you dont like it doesn't mean everyone doesn't like it.

Agreed.
But good luck telling those Internet "Experts" that their opinions are just that, their opinions.

Too many sheep - not enough slaughterhouses.

Quote from bigd212 : in installed $15 copy of win8 yesterday and changed back to 7. I personally think its horrible as well. so i wouldnt be surprised if there are a lot of people whom dislike win8. the app portion of it is nothing special and should only be good for tablets, not laptops. unless they come up with some cool aps? i dont know. i thought it was a total waste of memory. LOL. and to install start button using external software. GOOD ONE.

Wow, you gave a it a good hour, eh?

New lower price $499 at Microsot store.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/sto...wwm0zh2hhx

Quote from bazardeal : New lower price $499 at Microsot store. http://www.microsoftstore.com/sto...wwm0zh2hhx

Updated the OP.

Does Microsoft Store charge state taxes and shipping fees?

I think this is a good buy at $499. Since it's $499 I wonder if it will go down during black friday/holidays. I really would like to pick this up.

Quote from HotMaven : I think this is a good buy at $499. Since it's $499 I wonder if it will go down during black friday/holidays. I really would like to pick this up.

I hope so. I might just pick one up if it was at $450 during BF/Cyber Monday.

Does the Microsoft Store have lots of inventory for these laptops?

If the screen swiveled It would have been perfect.

Quote from pullin-gs : Why ?

The CPU in this Asus Vivobook is a full fledged dual core i3 3217U.... avg CPU mark of 2264 (http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.p...GHz&id=764)

Contrast that to all those Atom CPUs and I think you can tell which CPU is better. The Asus vivobook has great capacity for performance for the value of a small form factor, 11" lappie at a $499 price point, this is almost unbeatable as far as I can tell for the price.

PS the Microsoft store website now has it for $499

Thanks, OP.
Holding out for a slate with i5, 2 GB ram, detachable ASUS-style keyboard with extra battery/SD slots/ports, 6 cell battery minimum.
All for $900 or less.

perfect for the price range with the exception of the battery.

Quote from beeb : perfect for the price range with the exception of the battery.

And the battery doesn't seem to be removable. I wouldn't mind 4-5 hours if a spare battery can be lugged around.

This is OOS from the MS store. Also the MS store version, while similar, seems to be updated more so than the BestBuy version. The BB version is a 2nd gen core i3 where as the MS store one is a 3rd gen core i3

Quote from SpinControl : Thanks, OP. Holding out for a slate with i5, 2 GB ram, detachable ASUS-style keyboard with extra battery/SD slots/ports, 6 cell battery minimum. All for $900 or less.

thats the next version up from the Samsung 500T, correct?

Quote from blackblaze : thats the next version up from the Samsung 500T, correct?

Not sure. I have not see too many keyboards with the functionality of ASUS's. Hopefully, every company will see the advantage of the extra battery and ports.

UPDATE:
Actually the 500T falls short.
1. Intel Atom chip
2. No mention of battery life extended with use of keyboard dock, so there's probably no battery in the keyboard.

I just do not see the Atom chip thrilling people who want the full Windows experience. I want a functional chipset to run all my Windows programs. The Atom just isn't going to cut it.