9 responses so far ↓

• 1 Mowrey

  This has to be the greatest netbook currently on the market. When I first saw the tech specs of this PC, I was blown away. 250GB hard drive (plus the 500GB 1 year free trial online storage), an impressive 10.1 inch clear screen, and 10.5 hours of battery! I found it all too good to be true, especially from a company that I had never heard of before. But after hearing many good reviews, I decided to go ahead and buy it. This proved to be an excellent choice. This PC far exceeds my expectations. To begin, it has Windows 7 which is a major upgrade from Vista. Windows 7 makes computing much more easier and efficient. In addition, this PC also comes equipped with wireless N (in addition to G), which makes the internet even faster. Amazingly, the hard drive on this PC is 100 GB larger than my HP dv6000 entertainment PC! It is more portable and can hold even more files. However, the battery isn’t quite 10.5 hours, but is still more than enough for my uses (it is around 8.5-9 hours on battery saving mode). Also, if you buy this PC, you should also buy another 1 GB of memory for it, especially if you plan on watching movies or TV shows on it frequently. Other than that, I found it very difficult to find a better netbook on Amazon or the rest of the internet.

• 2 Kaufman

  I have been using this netbook for about 2 months. It is my first netbook and I like it quite a bit. It runs most of the applications I have tried to install without difficulty. It is compact and has a great battery life. I have had no problem using it to browse the internet via LAN or wireless connections. The 98% size keyboard is easy to navigate and the touch pad is convenient to use on the road.

  There are only a couple of shortcomings. First, this netbook is more limited in the video resolutions it can run, compared to a desktop computer. It’s maximum resolution is 1024 x 600 which display crystal clear. This doesn’t present many problems except my favorite graphics editor (PhotoImpact) requires a minimum of 1024 x 768 and, therefore, will not run. This is inconvenient since I have so many graphics saved in PhotoImpact’s proprietary graphics format. So, I purchased another photo editor that is compatible at that maximum resolution. (I think this video resolution limitation is common to all netbooks produced at this time, though.)

  The other problem is that it comes with Windows 7 Starter Edition installed. This is a feature limited version of the Windows 7 OS. It does not allow as many options for personalization such as using a custom wallpaper. The other shortcoming is the Windows 7 start menu. I found it more cumbersome to navigate so I purchased an alternative menu (Berokyo) which provides an easier, more visual way to access programs.

  I am very pleased with this purchase and feel it fits my needs for remote office work, programming and graphics touch up work. I should add that I do not use the bloated Microsoft office suite and cannot evaluate its functionality on this netbook. The first thing I did when I got this netbook was uninstall the Microsoft office product that came installed on it and purchased the SoftMaker Office 2010 (which had just been released). It is a very lean product that functions extremely well on a netbook and provides compatibility with MS Office 2007 document formats. That has been an excellent choice!

  I give this netbook 5 stars because it functions very well and has exceptional battery life. Most of the limitations are due to the operating system, not the hardware. I should add that Windows 7 Starter Edition works well, too. That is the primary reason why I won’t opt for the Anytime upgrade.

• 3 Lupton

  In this review, I won’t repeat the well-done reviews below. I purchased this computer from Amazon and liked it at first. It does a lot of things well and the quality seems good. The performance is better than I expected — it actually ran acceptably some pretty heavy-duty programs, such as Corel Draw and Photopaint. However, in spite of finding many things to like about it, I am returning it for a refund for two key reasons:

  1) Screen does not tilt back far enough
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  I am just a bit over 6′ tall and I noticed that at a comfortable typing height, the screen tilt at maximum does not go back quite far enough for the viewing angle to display the screen contents clearly and brightly. In a small machine like this, the screen angle will necessarily need to be steeper because it is used closer to the body, relatively speaking. At first, this seemed like a minor issue. However, I noticed that after using the machine for 30 minutes or so at a session, my back began to ache. I realized that I was unconsciously hunching over to get a viewing angle that would make the screen clear. One solution is to lift the front of the computer up a bit, but when I did that, it made it too awkward to type.

  So, what started as a minor annoyance quickly became an issue that made it uncomfortable for me to use the computer. Why the screen does not tilt back another 10-15 degrees is a mystery to me. The computer base/keyboard side seems heavy enough to counterbalance the screen even when tilted back the additional amount to make the screen viewing angle comfortable (as I mentioned above, it is uncomfortable to type when the keyboard is lifted up like that). The same general thing is true when I tried to adjust my chair height. With the chair height positioned so that the screen angle is good for viewing, it put my hands at an uncomfortable angle for typing.

  I post this because this is something that was not immediately apparent when I received the machine, but becomes noticeable after I used the machine for a while. It is interesting that the manual makes a point of warning users not to try to tilt the screen back too far (past the stops), so apparently people have tried . If you are concerned about this, be sure to investigate the maximum screen tilt viewing angle before purchasing. It may not be a problem for you, but it became such an issue for me that I am returning the machine.

  2) Windows 7 Starter does not allow presenter’s view for PowerPoint
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  Perhaps this should not have been news to me, but it was. One of the reasons I bought this machine was to use it for PowerPoint presentations. However, I quickly found out that Windows 7 Starter does not allow an attached screen to be configured separately from the main screen. You can clone the screen, but you apparently cannot have the presenter view on the computer and the slides on the projector as with “full” Windows versions. The only way to resolve this is to upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium edition for another $70. For another $70, the price on these machines is starting to get close to a small laptop with more memory and a more powerful processor. I was already debating between getting a netbook with XP or with Starter. If I had known this limitation of Windows 7 Starter, I would have purchased one with XP, which apparently has full capabilities.

  I wanted to like and keep this machine, but these two issues, particularly the limitation on the screen tilt, have led me to return it.

• 4 Allbright

  I purchased this for daughter, for Christmas. I included the Windows 7 upgrade and the 2 gigs of memory. The quality built into this is great. I would easily compare it to a full size laptop. If your looking for a Netbook buy this one

• 5 Giammalva

  I’ve had my netbook for just over a month now and feel ready to review it. I do plan to come back and revise as my impressions change.

  First off, I have to say that it is a little frustrating seeing all the reviews for Asus netbooks that are NOT this model. Many reviews on these pages are for the 1005HA-PU17-BK. This is a different machine from the 1005HA-PU17-BU. While Amazon identifies those reviews that are not for this machine, it would be even more helpful if Amazon would move the reviews to the correct models.

  That said, from what I could ascertain, the issues and problems raised seem to apply more to the BK model, not the BU. It seems that most of the comments for the BU model were generally quite positive, and I would like to add my voice to those favorable comments.

  I really enjoy using this machine. I ordered it through Amazon Prime on December 13 and had my hands on it by December 16. I decided to upgrade the RAM immediately to 2G because everything I read indicated that Win 7 (even the hobbled Starter edition) runs better with 2G RAM. Changing the memory was fine (getting the door open without stripping the screw was the hardest part) and after a day of fooling with Win7 Starter, I splurged on the upgrade to Win7 Home Premium.

  I have used my netbook almost constantly since the day I got it. I took it with me on a trip over Christmas and it performed beautifully. No, the battery life isn’t 10 hours, but using it the way I want to, I get anywhere from 6 to 8 hours, depending on what I’m doing. For example, I used my netbook a couple of hours last night, and went to bed leaving it on accidentally. When I woke up 8 hours later, I still had a couple of hours of battery life left. Love that!

  Setting up my wifi and wireless printer was a breeze. I think having 2G RAM really helps with watching video streams, which I enjoy doing on my netbook. Of course, checking e-mail or internet surfing is no problem at all.

  Asus included some helpful features that I really appreciate. It has a dedicated button that turns the touchpad off. If you’re doing a lot of typing (as I am now) turning the touchpad off comes in very handy. The keyboard has nice springback and is amazingly comfortable for such a small machine – excellent design. The design of the removable battery is terrific. The only potential downside is that the netbook cannot be opened 180 degrees, but it can be opened almost that wide, so that’s not a problem, as far as I am concerned. I don’t use the Asus utilities that come with the netbook, but I appreciate that they are there. What I really appreciate, however, is the restoration utility that allows you to get your netbook back to factory specs if there is some disastrous crash or virus attack. It’s the ultimate System Restore! Something else I have come to appreciate that I first viewed as a negative – the 250G hard drive comes partitioned into C:/ and D:/ drives. I use Ubuntu Netbook Remix installed live from a usb flash drive currently. Eventually, I plan to install Ubuntu onto my netbook so I can dual boot Win7 and Ubuntu. Having the drive partitioned already will make the installation a lot easier.

  By the way, using Amazon and ordering from Amazon was great. Ordering was easy-peasy and the netbook arrived in excellent condition, exactly when I expected it. I couldn’t ask for a better buying experience.

  Here’s something else to consider: With this netbook, you can set the machine so that it will boot to a removable drive first. This is important since netbooks do not come with optical drives. I have no desire to buy a removable dvd drive (might as well get a regular laptop, then) so being able to boot from a usb flash drive or other portable drive (like a Seagate or Western Digital) is essential. Toshiba and Samsung netbooks do not have this option, although most Dells and Acers seem to.

  Here are some of the negatives:

  The touchpad is OK, but the two fingered scrolling and the zoom features work only inconsistently. If the touchpad features worked as advertised, it would be great.

  The included manual is useless. An electronic copy of the manual should have been installed on the netbook. That would make more sense than some of the installed crapware. It took some time searching through forums to find that the cmos battery loses the time settings if the battery runs all the way down. A useful manual would have addressed this.

  When you get the netbook, you will have to spend quite a bit of time updating internals. The Asus support site gives the whole list of relevant items to update, but they are not at all tailored to the serial number of your system so that you install only the updates created after your netbook was built. It’s up to you to go into the BIOS to find the build date and install the correct system updates. Asus provides little to no guidance about this task – which could brick your system if you are not careful.

  Asus support leaves a lot to be desired. I dutifully registered my netbook for the VIP membership. I sent an e-mail about the cmos battery issue I referred to earlier. I got an e-mail saying I would get a response in 48 hours. Two weeks later, I am still waiting.

  Bottom line: I love this netbook and I am very happy that I bought it. So far, no power supply problems (like those with the BK model have mentioned). With 2G RAM, it’s zippy and responsive. The screen is fine. Working on wifi is very easy. The keyboard is great. The battery life is excellent. Overall design elements make this worth the buy.

  Just don’t expect support from Asus. They are MIA, as far as I’m concerned. My review would be 5 stars, but because Asus support is truly lacking, I am taking off one star. Also, I am reserving judgment as I have only had this netbook for a month or so. I plan to come back in a few months to say whether I am still happy with this netbook. In the meantime, I am keeping my fingers crossed…

• 6 Newsom

  My E was delivered on time (of course- it’s an Amazon thing), was well packed, and had just enough directions to get me started. I’m currently using it to surf news, email, and a little word processing. I also plug my 35mm SLR in and view photos. I’m totally satisfied. I’d like to get a little better with the scrolling buisness but will with time. The touchpad is new to me also. The keys are nice size and feel solid. It is a backup to our desktop, and note that I’m not a geek just a user so I can’t really evaluate speeds, capacities, etc. I did read many of the other reviews and must say I’ve had zero battery problems. A very cool productright out of the box!

• 7 Haase

  This little guy is awesome. I’ve had it for a month, and it works great. It is everything that they say it is in the description. The screen is smaller than a laptop, but the colors are rich and it works great playing movies from the net. I really had no problem adjusting to the smaller screen. It’s a little speed demon on the net too. Even with a low signal it still flies and can download a movie fairly quickly. The battery does work great, but you also have to consider that if you have any other devices plugged in that need power then the time of your charge will not be the same. I’m running a USB modem and it takes off about an hour from the battery life when unplugged. I haven’t had a problem with it overheating like my last laptop either, and there’s also none of that vibrating from the optical drive like a laptop, and i don’t miss it a bit. Most software can be downloaded from the net anyway, and if you really have to have a DVD player you can spend a little extra and get an external one. The cover does attract fingerprints easily, but those are easily wiped off. Over all, if you want a small portable laptop to do pretty much anything the other laptops can do, then this may be the one you’re looking for.

• 8 Kirk

  I bought this machine for Christmas. The backlight on the lcd went out after two weeks of use. I paid to send it to Asus for repairs three weeks ago and haven’t heard back from them as to when it will be done. It is “waiting for a part” and has been for two weeks. How long does it take a boat to get here from China? I have called Asus to ask for a replacement, which they say they don’t do. When I ask them when my part will come in, they say they don’t know. I’ve never encountered a less helpful group of customer service reps. They truly have zero interest in making me happy or doing the right thing. These machines look good, but pray nothing goes wrong, or you’ll be without it. I will never buy another Asus product.

• 9 Gaule

  The only thing I dislike about the EEE PC is the touchpad. There are no borders at the edges. It sits flush with the rest of the computer body. So sometimes your finger slides off it and your input has no effect. Scrolling with it doesn’t really work, so when you’re browsing you need to use the arrow keys. Also, the touchpad surface is pebbled but not textured, so your finger will tend to stick to it, making it less responsive. Having a good touchpad is a big issue for me since a netbook is meant to be portable. You shouldn’t need to carry a mouse. That said, it will do pretty much anything you need it to do with the touchpad, you’ll just be a little frustrated sometimes. One partial solution if you can find one that sticks well enough is to purchase a clear protective film such as what they make for touchscreen phones. Cut it to the correct size. At least then your finger won’t stick when you’re scrolling. Compared to an HP netbook, their keyboards are almost identical (and very good), but the HP netbooks I’ve seen have a better touchpad.

  The battery life is great, as claimed. I also find that it runs very cool. Only when you’re running several apps at once does the fan even come on, but it’s very quiet.

  The sleeve it comes with is just the basic neoprene, but it’s fine for what it is. You’ll need to buy something else for carrying accessories.

  Startup time is quick since it’s running Windows XP. Performance is ok, but I’m guessing it would be much better with an upgrade to 2GB RAM.

  I have no complaints with any of the features. The camera and microphone work fine; the card reader, ports, everything. No complaints.

  I wouldn’t go as far as to say this is the ultimate netbook. If battery life is your primary concern, it’s probably your best option. For functionality, HP probably has a slight edge.

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