ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005PE-MU17-WT 10.1-Inch White Netbook
posted by abcnoonoi 1 minute ago
ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005PE-MU17-WT 10.1-Inch White Netbook (Up to 11 Hours of Battery Life) (Personal Computers) I bought this for my wife and spent a lot of time researching and shopping for the right netbook. I knew very little about them before now. We just got this one yesterday but had the same model (different color) for a about a week before I returned to Best Buy because my wife really wanted the white one. Only place I found to get the white one was on Amazon. The battery life is incredible and the netbook is very easy to use right out of the box. The setup was simple and it connected up to our wireless network without a hitch. The overall performance is impressive and I plan to upgrade to 2GB soon so expect it to be even better. I have to say that I expected to have to upgrade the ram immediately but I have not found that to be the case. Videos have performed well and internet surfing has been no issue at all. Overall we love this thing and now I want one... Great price too. .
HP Mini 110-1036NR 10.1-Inch White Netbook
posted by abcnoonoi 4 minutes ago
HP Mini 110-1030NR 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 6.75 Hours of Battery Life (Personal Computers) These are my impressions of the HP Mini 110, so far. I'm going to focus this at the buyer who is comparing netbooks with an eye on battery life, mobility, connectivity, and performance, (but isn't that what every netbook user wants?) specifically at the lowest price. Ideally, the buyer of this machine will not be expecting a full computer. This is not, by any means - I'll assume that you're buying this to augment another computer. Fortunately, the Mini 110 is more than serviceable in that regard. First of all, I should say that this is an excellent price for a netbook. I caught it at $300, which near the very low end of the spectrum, but it still holds its value at the current price of $350. What you should know, more than anything else, is that this is the cheapest you are currently going to get a laptop with a 6-cell battery, period. There's certainly something to be said for that. I put in a good deal of research into other netbooks before buying the HP Mini 110, and I couldn't find one with a better mix of features. There are certainly higher quality netbooks available. But I'll say it again: you will probably not find a better value. For netbook users, battery life is probably among the most significant issues. The Asus Eee 1005ha-p is certainly the best for battery life fanatics, with an upper limit of 10.5 hours - the 1005ha-v comes in second-ish at 8.5. These both have less protrusive batteries and weigh about .5 lbs less, which are plusses. This, unfortunately, highlights some of the Mini 110's flaws, as it only manages an acceptable 5 hours, or closer to 4 browsing the internet at medium brightness. However, it does offer enough advantages to outclass the 1005ha. First, Asus netbooks are notably dark, and can only be brought up to a reasonable brightness with a tool that may void warranty. Also, their glossy screens make them generally less utile in suboptimal lighting conditions. The 110's matte screen and decent brightness make it a better mobile companion in general, if a very slightly less portable one. Perhaps more importantly, Eee's are simply not as well-built as the Mini 110. They range from the flimsy seashells of the 1005 and 1008 to the less-than-aesthetically-pleasing 1000he. The Acer Aspire One 531 falls short in the backlight category. - its display doesn't allow for as much mobility. However, the Asus Eee 1002ha is a good candidate, with a non-glare matte display. In fact, at about $20 more, and for a much slicker design, I'd recommend it every bit as much as this one. Keep the darker backlight, that bane of the Eee PC, in mind, but the 1002ha is the one to compare. There are multitudinous brands that offer 6-cells and similar, often better, battery life. I'd recommend looking at the 1000he, which is a sturdy model with about 8.5 hours - if you're willing to pay the premiums for battery life, at the cost of a lower-quality screen. For those who simply can't stand the aesthetics of the 110, or prefer glossy screens, look at the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 or 10v. They're prettier, and pretty similar in terms of weight and hardware. The screen is the main difference - remember that glossy screens may be an issue. Overall, the Mini 110 is probably the best value for your dollar - other netbooks don't justify their price. That being said, the Amazon price does come at the cost of some features of the HP Mini 110 some buyers would appreciate, versus the customization options at HP. The standard definition screen, at the 1024x576 resolution, is not the best available - HP allows you to customize it with an HD screen at a resolution of 1366x768. This bears keeping in mind, but with the 10.1" display, the higher resolution makes it difficult to read, and the lack of an optical drive makes movies out of the question anyway. Both are matte screens. The processor is the 1.60GHz model, not the 1.66GHz processor that HP offers as a choice - not really a deal breaker, and a trivial sacrifice for the money. The 160GB 5400rpm SATA hard drive included with the Amazon model can be compared to 16 gig or 32 gig solid state hard drives, and as these are developing technologies, they're probably safe to pass on. The only real loss against buying from HP is the lack of Bluetooth, as this may be of particular importance to some. But remember that running Bluetooth drains battery life, and that's not really the point of a netbook. Overall, this model saves upwards of $100, or potentially more, for very minor sacrifices, perhaps excluding the wireless card. This is definitely the place to buy, though I haven't looked closely at the other Amazon packages. The point is, make sure to compare, and see what options you get. As for my personal impressions, I've found the 110 to be at least at par. Starting again with the negatives, the wireless connectivity isn't awesome. It's been reliable so far, but the speed isn't excellent.
ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell 10.1-Inch Pearl Black Netbook
posted by abcnoonoi 7 minutes ago
ASUS Eee PC 1008HA Seashell 10.1-Inch Pearl Black Netbook - 6 Hour Battery Life (Personal Computers) This is my second Asus. I also own the 1000HE. If I had to pick the better of the two I'd have to go with the 1000HE, but there is nevertheless a lot to like about the 1008HA. While the two machines appear to be identical in many respects, I have found some of the "apples to apples" comparisons a little misleading. The 1000HE has a 'chicklet" style keyboard that, surprisingly, I prefer. That said, the keyboard on the 1008HA will feel right at home to anyone who's used to the laptop, and the not-quite-fullsize profile is easy to get used to. More annoying is the multi-touch touchpad. I assumed it was identical on the two models, and I was wrong. The gesturing (iPhone-like) setup is much easier on the 1000HE, and the tactile surface of the touchpad on the 1008HA (sort of braille-like ridges) really bothers me. I actually find the surface irritates my finger tips. This is obviously subjective and I'm sure I'll get used to it, but I wish they stuck with the same version they used on the 1000HE. The two other issues to be aware of, as many others have mentioned, is the difficulty of upgrading the RAM and install issues with Windows 7. I am running Win7 on the 1000HE with 2GB of RAM, and it's fantastic - no hardware issues and faster than XP. While driver and BIOS issues on this machine will soon be solved, the RAM upgrade is more problematic. With all that said, I'm still giving the 1008 4-stars because if you can live with the limitations, it's a fantastic looking computer that is extremely portable (the 1000HE is a brick) and a terrific value for the money. .
Acer Aspire One AOD255E-13633 10.1-Inch Netbook
posted by abcnoonoi 13 minutes ago
Acer Aspire One AOD255E-13410 10.1-Inch Netbook (Aquamarine) (Personal Computers) This is an awesome net book! I have wanted a net book for a while, so I took my time and researched brands and waited for a sale. I love the color of this net book and all that it has to offer. I purchased this net book from Walmart for $198.00! what a deal! Took this baby home and opened it and right out of the box, this net book did not disappoint. What I love is the fact that it has a Barnes and Nobles icon on the desktop that I can use as an e reader! This works well for me because I own the black and white nook and everything that I have on my nook, I now have access to with the click of and icon! I can read my books on my net book and it even picks up on the page that I left off on my nook! This has so many games, the regular games that come with the windows seven which are very fun to play and then you have other game options. Windows Seven is awesome for me, because all I needed was word and excel! So this works for me.. I can also watch movies from my external Seagate hard drive which is very awesome! So I don't need that much hard drive space because I have an external hard drive to store everything.. I use Google Chrome for internet browsing due to the speed being way better than internet explorer (IE) and because (IE) seems to cause my computers to get more viruses and crash.. This also has a Netflix, times reader, Skype, Ebay icons as well on the desk top which are awesome if you use them. This net book fits in my carry bag fine, and will even fit in a large purse. I have ordered a back pack (by case logic) to carry the net book in along with my wireless mouse (micro soft winter blue that I also purchased from amazon). Now as for the keyboard... oh my what a nice key board the keys are to me a large size and both of my hands flow with ease.. They feel like soft touch keys and are spread out very nice. The whole machine is user friendly and I could have not asked for a better mother's day gift! Also I have 17 inch dell lap top and I am using the acer net book more! I wanted the net book for on the go travel, but am using it daily! It is so light and easy to carry along with you. Also the power card for the net book is very long which I love, so that you don't have to be tied to a plug just because the card is not long enough. As far as battery life, I usually keep mines plugged in so I am not sure how it does with out the plug in, but may test that out later. Well back to suffering on my net book! Enjoy yours, I sure am! .
Acer Aspire AO521-3530 10.1-Inch Netbook
posted by abcnoonoi 16 minutes ago
Acer Aspire AO521-3530 10.1-Inch Netbook (Onyx Black) (Personal Computers) This is the best performing Netbook I have ever touched. I had the Intel Atom based Acer AO532h and it was very good on battery life but poor on graphics performance and general computing. This Acer AO521 blows it away in almost every category except battery life. I can get about 4-5 hours off of battery. The coolest thing is that if you have an HDMI cable, connect this sucker to your HD TV and watch it play web video in full HD resolution (Hulu,Youtube) with no stuttering or lag. The design is not amazing but unless you are trying to make a fashion statement the "Onyx Black" shell gets the job done. I give it the highest rating because it fulfills every need I had. It can also play lightweight games pretty well too. It may cost a little bit more that your average entry level netbook but it outperforms almost all other netbooks on the market. Don't be scared because it says AMD processor, just buy it! .
ASUS Eee PC 1015PN-PU17-WT 10.1-Inch Netbook
posted by abcnoonoi 19 minutes ago
ASUS Eee PC 1015PN-PU17-BK 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black) (Personal Computers) Just got this netbook a few days ago and I must say, out of the box, it's pretty disappointing. First off, Windows 7 Starter. This computer was not meant to be used with this extremely limited os. You're definitely going to want at least Home Premium in order to get Optimus (automatic graphics switching) working. Second, only 1gb of ram. I don't think I really need to explain why this is a shortcoming. Good thing I already had my Windows 7 upgrade from my old laptop. First thing I did was a clean install of Windows 7 Premium in order to get rid of all the asus bloatware and get Optimus working. First of all, this computer plays excellent video out of the box. You'll read lots of hardcore PC people grumbling about the exclusion of a true HD screen, but I honestly saw no problem with the current screen, considering how small it is. Installed Firefox (my web browser of choice) and kept getting hang ups on this computer. Firefox has become quite a resource hog over the years (this is the price you pay for top-notch extensions). Decided that I really needed to upgrade the ram on this to its max (2gigs). Installed the new ram and now this computer is absolutely great. Did a non-scientific test run with the battery with normal web browsing and quite a bit of video watching. The battery lasted about 6-7 hours before hitting 5% capacity. Installing the extra ram was a real problem, in my opinion. There's a little plug on the bottom and under it is a single screw to get access to the ram. It all looks nice and simple at first, but then you spin the screw and realize that only that one edge with the screw pushes up. You can pull at the little door but it doesn't budge. I had to take my little flathead screwdriver, along with a huge leap of faith with my brand new computer, and slowly work my way around the door, hoping it would completely unhinge at some point and pop off. The door felt like it came crazy close to snapping in half at a couple points but then I managed to work it off. Taking a look at the bottom half of the door explains the situation much more clearly. Asus, for some inexplicable reason, has decided to put unnecessarily tight teeth on every side of it to hold it in place on the computer. They could have done great with hooks on one side and screws on the other, like most laptops. So modders beware! Prepare for extreme fear, and possible hardware breakage, if you decide to upgrade that ram. I'm actually kind of glad the ram is maxed out at 2gb, because that means I'll never have to take that door off ever again. Overall, this computer is awesome out of the box for a light user, but is also an excellent base if you're looking for a fairly powerful netbook and are willing to invest a little extra into it. UPDATE: This computer HATES firefox. It's been running better since I upgraded the ram, but I still get quite a few hangups. I'd recommend Chrome or Opera, these browsers show no such problems. Also, buyers should probably know that this netbook, with its increased horsepower and small footprint, overheats like crazy. Picked up a Thermapak heatshift pad and this thing works wonders, but don't expect to be running HD videos non-stop for hours unless you're in an ice cold room. .
ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1001P-PU17-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook
posted by abcnoonoi 22 minutes ago
ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1001P-PU17-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook (Up to 11 Hours of Battery Life) (Personal Computers) I was absolutely surprised by how well fabricated this little netbook is. The Quality is excellent, the keyboard, takes almost zero getting used to from a full size keyboard. I am typing this review from the unit itself, and I can type to 95% full speed. Most surprising in order: 1. Speed! I wouldnt have imagined with a gig of ram and an N450 ATOM that windows 7 would run this fast. My wireless downloads come in as fast as my athlon multicore desktop. IE launches quickly, as well as other applications. Windows 7 Starter runs superbly. I don't imagine that a CAD CAM or any heavy duty graphical app will run fast on this at all but this is a netbook, and it is surprisingly snappy. 2. Component Quality: I was so happy to find that the touchpad is a synaptics brand touchpad, everyone knows that the synaptics touchpad is the best and the driver software allows you all the advanced touchpad features. 3. USB Ports: I can hookup a Smart Card Reader, a USB Logic Analyzer, and a 4gb Sandisk cruzer all at the same time. I imagine that if you owned a bluetooth mouse or a bluetooth smart phone you can also get that up and running simultaneously. Overall, an amazingly capable netbook. One more thing, the aesthetics were just what I was expecting, it is a sharp looking netbook. Good Job asus, 5/5! .
ASUS Eee PC 1008P-KR-PU17-BR 10.1-Inch Netbook
posted by abcnoonoi 25 minutes ago
ASUS Eee PC 1008P-KR-PU17-BR 10.1-Inch Netbook (Coffee Brown) (Personal Computers) So far, I really like this. I waited for this model because it has Windows 7 Home Premium instead of 7 Starter. I've taking it on a trip and it was perfect. I've only encountered one problem which really concerns me: I haven't figured out a way to install the Canon program I need in order to view Canon RAW photos. The problem is that there is insufficient screen resolution for the Canon program to even properly load. If anyone has a solution to this problem, PLEASE reply. ASUS Eee PC 1008P-KR-PU17-BR 10.1-Inch Netbook (Coffee Brown) (Personal Computers) This Net-book works well as advertised. Exterior is such that it does not show smudges etc. The documentation does not tell you that there is a mini VGA to regular VGA connector embedded in the base..