mistake my A$$

This sort of thing goes on all the time.
The only way to test any product is to get -retail samples- from different venders/shops over a period of a few weeks and insure all tests are run the exact same way.

This is a typical case of lack of INTEGRITY. Things will be different if only ASUS admitted it first but it is still not to late for them to correct this "mistake" with exchange program immedidately instead of just "consider it". WHAT YOU SENT TO REVIEWER SHOULD BE THE SAME AS WHAT YOU SELL or it is called CHEATING.

Asus does not RMA expensive/new items, it sends dead/used items to replace them. It was my first and last item I'll ever buy from Asus. It sickens me to see them get so much coverage here and at Maximum PC. They simply don't stand behind their products. It doesn't matter if a product trumps all others with a hundred times the performance without overclocking or anything special if when it does break you get not only used but broken replacements on $200+ parts!

"Asus would like to assure our customers, we never intended to get caught."

LOL

"This is a typical case of lack of INTEGRITY. Things will be different if only ASUS admitted it first but it is still not to late for them to correct this "mistake" with exchange program immedidately instead of just "consider it". WHAT YOU SENT TO REVIEWER SHOULD BE THE SAME AS WHAT YOU SELL or it is called CHEATING."

I disagree i think it's stealing.

Yeah right "Accidentally Shipped"! You got caught with your pants down and now you are trying to justify that.

commies. How can a huge company "accidentally" ship different batteries, and not know about it. Either they have absolutely no quality control, or they just scammed a lot of people. Either way, I'm not going to buy from asus for a while.

Asus is the Anus of the PC hardware industry.

Priceless.

LOL!!!
Sorta reminds me of several recent companies, i.e. Enron, Global, Worldcom, etc.

C'mon, it's not even 20 per cent less the capacity. And you make it look like the computer is useless now... and Asus is a serial killer.
First of all, you should have read the computer's specs at the hardware/internet store before you bought it. If they would sell/ship you the PC with inferior specs, you could argue about scamming and you could just RM that.

You can't really classify this as stealing. Fraud, deception, misdirection yes but stealing, no.

It sounds absolutely dishonest, but Martel does have a point. Having read the article, I'm not sure that consumers were told one thing but given another. One could even say that the onus should be on the reviewers for not pointing out that they were testing using an extended-life battery rather than the standard one. What did Asus tell the reviewers about the battery they got? Did they claim it was the standard? If so, then everyone who bought one based on the reviews should get the better battery. If not, then people too lazy to read suffered the consequences.

Marketing departments tend to prefer scamming customers over telling the truth. It makes their jobs much easier.
Take a look at the EEE PC 900 page http://eeepc.asus.com/global/news04152008.htm - there is no information there about the battery. Rarely do you get much information about the battery, reviewers had no reason to suspect they were getting a bigger battery. The blame is 100% on ASUS for being scumbags.
This happens with a lot of products. When Toms gave the Viewsonic VP930 a glowing review I went out and bought one. When 6 months later it died, I got a replacement unit which was terribly inferior to the original. Nothing I can do about it. What can anyone do about it?

Sounds like the reviewers didn't ask the most basic questions and are trying to pass the blame on to someone else. Idiot reviewers should know what they are actually reviewing. How can you not tell the difference between an extended battery and a standard battery.

The 4G also has more than one battery option as well (4 cell 4400mAh and 4 cell 5200mAh) so this really shouldn't have been a surprise for reviewers.

I see the Asus employee trolls have arrived...

That's the question, Sandman, what did the reviewers know, vs. what SHOULD they have known. Did Asus lie to anyone, or just not bother to make sure people weren't making favorable assumptions?

And no, I don't and have never worked for Asus. I haven't used an Asus mobo in too long to remember, although a pair of Asus EAH3850 video cards I bought for different systems (mine and one for my niece) have worked well.

A failure to think for oneself is NEVER someone else's fault, even if that someone else could have been more clear.

If you are a reviewer of laptops and you get a new one up for review whats the most important feature??? The friggin battery!!! Isn't it the reviewers job to scrutinize the changes from the past model and reveal to the end user why that change occurred. Sounds like people here wanted Asus to write the article for the reviewers...

It should have sent red flags at the beginning when a brand new 5800mAh battery was in the 900. The 4G and 8G both use the 4 cell 4400mAh and 4 cell 5200mAh. If I get a laptop for review and it has a different battery than all the previous models, isn't the prudent first question to ask Why?

Any reviewer that didn't note this change failed. Its also funny that the reviewer now get to write the counter and claim ignorance as a defense and watch as all the sheeple readers jump on the Asus hate bandwagon.

Uh, the usual answer is "it's a new product" ?

Gee, you get in a new MacBook Pro to replace an older revision, and it comes with a faster DVD burner. Would you ask why? Maybe because it's better? Maybe because it makes sense? Do you then go and ask Apple "hey, is this new feature really just for me or for everyone?"

The whole goal of releasing a "new" product is having "new" features? If I was reviewing this thing, I'm going to go and ask ASUS "Hey, why did you update the battery? I don't get it."

"Hey Apple, why did you put in a better LCD screen? I don't get why."

"Hey, I noticed you now include a better, longer lasting batter, which is naturally a good thing. I don't get it. Why did you do it??"

... >_>

retard.

uh yeah you obviously have a case of the morons today or something... The reason why we go to review sites is to get the answers to those questions before we make a purchase. Its the reviewers job to inform people and they obviously dropped the ball on this one by missing a rather crucial piece to the puzzle.

And I dont buy over priced Macs, but you seem to, so I wouldnt expect much out of you anyway. Especially since your first post was modded and removed. I can already tell you are an especially world class sheeple.

To sum it all up this article is being pushed off the front page at a record rate. Even faster than articles that were posted days ahead of it. Its a non story, get over it.

You obviously did not even attempt to challenge what I stated above. Who in their right mind goes and asks a company why did they take a forward step to improve on a product? Is it suspicious that they release a new Eee PC model, and equip it with a new model of a battery? Hello? Isn't this what EVERY company does? I buy a 2008 car over a 2007 car, Usually there's something new and improved there? Do I go and ask the obvious question of why they improved fuel efficiency or why did they add mp3 capabilities to a CD player?

Sandmanwn, please think before you make these ignorant remarks. You are clearly assuming by your response that you think ASUS did not lie, and that the fault lies entirely with a reviewer. The fact of the matter is, you no nothing of what transpired in this case. You don't know whether or not ASUS had male intentions, and you don't know whether the reviewer was mislead, lazy, or lied to? For all we know, it's entirely plausible that the reviewer DID ask ASUS why they included a better battery (a DUH question to ask to begin with), and was given a misleading answer. It's also possible that the reviewer knew they received a special battery and failed to mention it.

The above, is fair from both sides.

What you've written, obviously is one sided, putting the blame squarely on the reviewer.



If you do not have the full answer from ASUS (and you'll never know if either side was honest or mislead), then you can never say you know 100%. By the statement I quoted above, you clearly picked your side.

Know your shit before you write. And in this case, no one knows the full truth behind this tale, so shut your 1 sided slant.

Just read the store's specs of a product carefully before you buy it or cry me a river...

Seriously I don't know how you can honestly back the reviewers. They screw up constantly. Every article is written by someone who has apparently never heard of spell checker or who hasn't passed basic high school English and you want me to take their side. Asus put a product up for review, which also happens to be hitting the market very soon. So much for the lie crap you keep spewing. It isn't Asus's duty to monitor how stupid the reviewer conducts that review. Although, I imagine their will be a few less sites getting Asus Eee PC's after this latest brain fart on behalf of some review sites.

And again I will reiterate since you don't seem to understand, this is a production battery that is hitting the market along side with the standard battery. Its not special. Its the exact same scenario that they already have a track record with on the 4G and 8G EeePC models. Sorry that little bit of rocket science went over your head.

@sandmanwn:
You are dumb arse. If that is a production battery how come nobody who bought the EEE haven't got one?!? How come ASSUS is now apologizing and promising to replace those batteries? Idiot.

Uhm ok, I'm the dumbarse and you can't even spell Asus...

Haven't got one? Wow, you need to go back to middle school and learn English from top to bottom again.

Read the article again moron. The standard battery will come first followed by the extended battery. And just for idiots just like you they will give the retards who can't read and spell a free upgrade.

Do you get it or do I have to break it down further for you idiot?