First off, I purposely waited several weeks before reviewing my netbook to make sure I gave it a fair grace period before reviewing it. (NOTE: I actually do own the PU17, not the PU1X that many reviewers have mistakenly posted in this computer's comment section) I started my look for a netbook shortly after the release of Windows 7 in late October. I am a college student-athlete and I wanted a netbook to take with me to class and on road trips. At first, I refused to buy a netbook with Windows 7 starter. I had read many negative things about the OS and figured XP would be a safer way to go. About a week before Thanksgiving, I noticed a Gateway netbook with XP in Best Buy's ad for $229.00 so I went out and bought it. At the time, I was actually leaning towards buying an ASUS simply because of the great things I had heard about the company but for over $100 less, I decided to go with a Gateway despite their awful reputation. Terrible mistake. After using the netbook for a few hours and turning it off, it would not boot back up. I took it back to Best Buy and vowed to never buy another Gateway/Acer computer. However, I'm glad I used it because it made me realize that the XP OS is not the best OS for netbooks. It was never designed to be used on that small of a machine and seemed to be pretty sluggish and the screen just looked cramped. That's when I began to seriously consider this computer. I figured I'd buy a computer with 7 starter and upgrade the RAM and buy the Windows 7 Home Premium to put on the machine if the Starter edition bothered me. As I mentioned earlier, after spending nearly 2 months researching and comparing, I decided to go with an ASUS because of the sparkling reviews I read of the company (Wikipedia it, it's actually a quite interesting history).
I ordered the netbook on Saturday December 13 and received it Wednesday December 17 using the Free Super Saver shipping. I thought this was fantastic. Upon opening the box, I knew I was going to love it. After draining the battery for the first time, I plugged it in and the computer recognized that I had connected the AC adapter. However, the next morning when I went to turn it on, the computer was totally dead. I called ASUS to talk to their customer service and they ran through some troubleshooting. The lady believed it was something to do with the power source. They told me I could send it back to them and since it was within 30 days of purchasing, I would get it fixed for free. However, it might take several weeks to process. I immediately called Amazon and they quickly and painlessly exchanged the netbook for a new one (with 2 day shipping). By the time that all occurred, I was too attached to it to just get a refund so I took a chance and got a replacement. I'm glad I did.
The battery is excellent, though it's hard to guage how long it actually lasts because it depends on what you are doing. I think mine usually lasts between 7-8 hours with word processing, web browsing, skype, and iTunes use. Obviously, the more you are doing, the less the battery lasts. There is a power saver and a balanced option for the power choices. I usually leave mine on power saver and I don't seem to notice much of a sacrifice on performance.
Much like many other people have mentioned, it is a fingerprint magnet, and that actually did bother me for the first few days. Now it doesn't seem to bother me as much. I don't know if I'm being more careful or if I'm just not noticing the spots but this is really a non-issue with me now. I LOVE the touch pad. The raise bumps set it apart from the rest of the casing, but the sensitivity is perfect. I have both a Toshiba (too sensitive) and a Dell laptop (not sensitive enough) and this touch pad is much easier to use than either of my other two computers. It also allows you to zoom in/out, scroll, and rotate within certain programs (not all are compatible), much like you can on a Mac. Under the touch pad there is a single "mouse" button. You simply click on the left or the right side, just like you would on a normal mouse. However, I find this button a little difficult to push so I usually just double tap the touch pad. Also, the design is fantastic. The 6-cell battery barely shows and the machine itself fits perfectly in my lap (Side note: I am a rather small person, 5'6'' 130 lbs so that might make a difference). It feels like a real sturdy build, not like a toy like some of the other brands.
The initial startup did take awhile to initialize but that's to be expected for any new computer. A big issue for me is the loudness of the fan and the heat the computer gives off. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is rarely hot on the bottom and you can only hear the fan if you stick you ear up close to the vent.
I think I will be upgrading the RAM but you wouldn't have to. It runs fine of 1 GB but there are occasional lags. The keyboard is fantastic and I haven't had any problems adjusting. The computer's webcam is average, but it's my first laptop with a webcam so I'm happy to be able to use it with Skype. Start-up and Shutting down might be a little bit faster than XP but I haven't noticed a huge difference.
I haven't had a chance to use the bluetooth feature, though I admit that it was a big selling point of why I chose this particular one. The 250 gb hard drive is outstanding for a netbook at this price (When I bought it, it was $349, as I write my review, its $334). The screen is a bit annoying because it is glossy finish instead of a matte finish. However, the brightness of the screen (even on a middle setting) helps reduce any ill-effects caused by the glare of the sun. Another thing to note is the numerous brightness selections that this netbook offers. I think it has at least 12 different levels of brightness, which really comes in handy when trying to preserve battery life.
The computer comes loaded with an ASUS Vibe docking program that offers games and streaming music. While I didn't uninstall these programs, I simply discontinued them from opening up in startup because their menu was a bit annoying at the top of the screen. It also comes pre-install with a 60 day trial of an anti-virus but i uninstalled this and loaded AVIRA. Other than that, there wasn't too much bloatware that I had to remove.
As with any netbook, you won't be able to do everything you can on your primary computer. If your goal in buying one is to use it for simple internet browsing or word processing, then you'll be more than pleased with it's performance. However, watching video, playing flash games, or editing photos is probably a bit too much it to handle.
SUMMARY:
PROS: Battery life, Keyboard, Build quality, weight, hard drive size, windows 7 is formatted perfectly for the netbook, very responsive, nearly always silent and cool to the touch
CONS: The glossy finish shows excessive fingerprints, the .3 MP camera, and the glossy finish screen.
All in all, if I had to do it again, I'd buy the Asus Eee PC1005HA-PU17 again. For the current price of $333, I see no other netbook that is even close to the same quality for an equivalent price.
If you're scared off by the brad name Asus, go ahead and google them and read their history. I was a little apprehensive since I had never heard of them before but after reasing about the company, I was surprised to find out that they had been making computer parts for many years and just recently entered into the consumer PC manufacturing. Many parts in your name brand computers are probably made by Asus.Get more detail about ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005HA-PU17-BU 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook - 10.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Starter).
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