Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 47
 NICE! March 11, 2010
gigi71 (chas,SC)
This is my first laptop-netbook I have a home computer which I still love and share with my 6teen yr old but I just needed something for me. After reading and rereading some reviews I decided on an ASUS netbook and so far it was a great purchase. I thought it would be too small but it wasn't, Keyboard is nice sz and battery life is great about 7hrs. The only problems I have is the in-house speakers when watching movies too low and no bluetooth. As far as the netbook getting too hot or the fan being too loud I don't have a problem with. But I will get the Windows7 upgrade and maybe some more memory down the line. But for right now its a great computer. Like I said its NICE!!!
 Awesome Netbook With Great Speed And Battery Life March 11, 2010
Jaymoon (Oregon, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
First things first. Windows Starter is crap! If you are new to Windows, it might be great for occasional use. But for anyone that wants to use this computer as a computer (and not an appliance), then an upgrade is highly recommended. It's $80 to upgrade to Windows Home Premium. Maybe cheaper if you are a shady person. Ubuntu is free, and works perfect on this netbook as is (even when running off of an SD card).
But since I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate on mine, that is what my review will be based around. First off, after having this netbook for awhile now, I see no reason to upgrade the RAM. If you want to upgrade to 2GB, that's great, more is always better. But so far browsing the web, listening to music, playing low-end PopCap games, and watching occasional local and web video, it's working just great with the stock 1GB. I should also mention I have Aero enabled and a couple of Yahoo Widgets always running to show the clock, weather, and battery level.
The size of the netbook is great for me. My previous laptop that is now collecting dust has a 15.7" screen. Going to a 10" screen without having used a netbook before scared me, but I was able to adjust immediately. The screen resolution is 1024 x 600, which some people may have a problem with, but because most websites are built with a 1024 width *minimum* in mind, the hundreds of websites I've visited have displayed just fine.
The keyboard is easy to type with. I don't have many complaints with the layout of the keys. The Function key is to the right of the left CTRL key, so that is a plus in my book. The Function commands are on the top row, and provide the usual volume control, adjusting brightness, turning on/off the screen, etc. My one complaint with the keyboard is the arrow keys. When I look at the physical layout, it makes sense. But the Up and Down arrow keys are more like half-keys. Because the resolution width is a normal size, you probably won't be scrolling horizontally on webpages like smaller 7" netbooks would have you do. But the height, 600 pixels (minus about 100-200 for your browser top toolbars), makes the Up and Down arrow keys something you will frequently use. I guess the good thing about them being smaller is that they are easy to find. The Page Up and Page Down keys are also the Up and Down arrow keys, but you must hold Function first to enable them. Not a problem for me, but the rare time I do use those keys, it trips me up for a second by having to remember to have the Function button held down.
Battery life is amazing on this netbook. My old laptop's battery averages about 45-75 minutes of use. So with this netbook, it's great to not have to even worry about battery life. Windows reports 7 and a half hours left after a full charge with the power plan I use. My brightness is pretty low, but definitely not the lowest possible. Of course running games, constantly streaming via Wi-Fi, or watching full screen video can effect the battery life, but I would easily say this netbook gets a solid 6 hours from a full charge EASY.
My biggest complaint with this netbook is the trackpad. There are raised dots over the touch sensitive area of the trackpad, which feels odd using. It's quite easy to adjust, but if there's one thing I could change about this netbook, it would be a smooth surface trackpad. The left and right click buttons are one big button, and it's not very easy to "accidentally" left-click instead of right-click and vice versa, which is a good thing.
Couple of things to consider, if these matter to you:
- There is no DVD drive. The Windows Anytime Upgrade will upgrade your current version if you purchase a key through that, or if you find a copy of Windows 7 elsewhere, you can just insert the key, without having to install anything off of the disc. It will download the required files in order to upgrade to your new version. Again, highly recommended over using Starter edition. If you want to use Ubuntu (or other Linux distros), booting from a USB drive is quick and easy to do. With persistent mode enabled, you could run your whole OS from your USB drive, and not notice any performance hits.
- The fan can get a little noise in a quiet environment. Not terribly loud, but you can certainly hear it after the netbook has been on for awhile. It doesn't bother me, but I thought I would mention it.
- Asus has installed a few bloat-ware apps on here, but I was really amazed at how few (unlike Acer or HP for example). I uninstalled all of the trial games that were included, Microsoft Works, and a few other lame things such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. I use smaller and free-er alternatives to most software, so these were an instant turn off. I kept the Asus EeePC software so that the Function keys still operate. I'm not sure if they run without it, but I haven't noticed any slowdown by having it running, so I might as well leave them.
- It's a fingerprint magnet. On the top of the lid, on the black border around the screen, and especially anywhere below the keyboard and on the mouse buttons. Fingerprints everywhere which are noticeable due the blue color, but since I'm not entering my netbook into a beauty pageant, I could care less. Again, some people might though.
- The initial startup is a loooong process. It automatically installs windows for you, installs the applications, and walks you through setting up your login and wireless network. It's all automated except for those few settings that will NEED you to respond to, but it just takes a long time to complete. So if you are impatient, you may not like this about it. It really makes you wonder why Asus couldn't have just turned these on and let the installer do what it has to do up to the point of setting up your account and login. Oh well.
So in summary... I recommend this netbook highly. If you are looking for your first netbook, this is a great choice because of battery life and the performance. Maybe you'll adjust to Windows 7 Starter, maybe not. It took me less than 2 hours to decide to upgrade away from Starter. If you are looking to replace a laptop or desktop with this, it may take awhile to adjust because of the small screen size. I have this netbook as an secondary machine for when I'm away from my desk, but still prefer my desktop for everyday "at the desk" kind of stuff.
Everything I needed March 8, 2010
Melissa R. (Austin, Texas)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I ordered this product as a sort of mobile, around the house computer. It works very well for what it was intended for. The only thing I would do to this computer would be to add more memory. I also highly recommend putting XP on it as opposed to Windows 7, Starter or otherwise. It can really bog it down.
 NO customer service, unable to compute data March 6, 2010
av8tionnut (orlando,fl)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this computer to take with me out of state to police school. I was not happy with Windows Starter so I upgraded to the next level. BAD move. I then put on Office 7, word, excel and powerpoint....ANOTHER BAD MOVE. After about 10 days of the computer working fine, on the 11th day I opened my screen to Skype, and the screen was in a constant roll and was fading in and out. I tried to reboot and took battery out etc... Still no answer to the problem.
I called tech support THE BIGGEST BAD MOVE I made except for buying this computer! The person on the other end (not of this country) was rude, unhelpful and just plain a sarcastic female dog. She walked me through everything I did before calling her and was speaking down to me like I was a child, even after I explained to her that I did everything she is telling me. Finally after 45 minutes of her crap, she told me I would have to send the computer in so that they can fix the computer because I must be doing something wrong. I sent the computer back to Asus, had to pay for my s/h and then finally got the computer back 15 days from when I sent it.
Needless to say, I am selling this peice of junk and will NEVER do businss with Asus again. Even though they have one of the longest warranties in the industry, it does help if you have a jerk on the other end.
Come to find out....you SHOULD NOT upgrade the Windows Starter on the netbooks because it uses too much memory for the chip and you should not install Office 7 either. Would have been nice if someone would have told me this PRIOR to my purchase. Now I am out of $284!!!
No bluetooth ( besides that, love it! March 3, 2010
Veronica Ramirez De Paredes (Las Vegas, NV. United States)
Great computer, no problems so far. Upgrade it to WIN 7 home premium and so far, is running great. The keyboard is OK specially if you have small hands. Is very light, easy to carry around. I use large purses so it fits perfectly. My battery lasts about 7 hours when fully charged. Please note that since is a Notebook, it doesn't have a cd drive. However now a days pretty much everything can be downloaded.I love the system sounds in windows 7, they are short and not noisy like other operating systems. I wish this particular model had bluetooth, but an adapter can be bought separately.I think that other ASUS EEE models have it, not sure though. I also hate that it doesn't have a button specifically to mute sound, you have to use the Fn key combination to mute the sound. Besides those two issues, I would recommend it. I will buy another one for my sister. Hope this helps =D
Showing reviews 1-5 of 47
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