Customer Reviews

ASUS Eee PC 1001PXD-EU17-BK 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I've been using this Asus Netbook for about a month now, so I thought I'd give my initial impression of this device to help future buyers make a informed decision.
First of buying a netbook was not my first choice, as I already have a 17" Toshiba laptop. However recently a friend/fellow grad student of mine purchased an Ipad and was showing it off. Out of jealousy I decided to get a tablet as well, but after reading about them online, got diverted to purchasing a netbook instead. I wanted a mobile computing device(since I walk or bike to school, mall, downtown etc, and a 17" laptop is just too heavy) on which to check mail do minor document editing, maybe play a game or too. For these reasons a netbook seemed a nicer, more productive alternative than a tablet. Now that you know the reason I bought this let me get to the pros and cons of the Asus netbook.

Pros
1. Its light and small. I had a HP mini back in 2008(which I gave to my sister) and it was at least 35 percent more weighty. The Asus could even fit in my jacket pocket. I feel that it is much easier and less delicate to carry than a tablet.
2. Asus Brand name. Asus is the most reliable company when it comes to making laptops. It even tops Apple in reliability(really! google it), even though all laptops seem to be made by Foxxcon(?).
3. I installed Ubuntu Linux Distro on it and everything worked without any additional work.
4.The battery life. Currently I can squeeze anywhere between 3 to 4 hours out of the battery. However this will go down as the battery ages.
5. Colors. I like the color choices that come with netbook. I went for the blue one.
6. The hardware seems to be robust. I've watched movies online, while editing office documents and having 7-10 tabs open in firefox and the laptop worked great. However I'm looking to upgrade the total RAM to at least 2GB.

There were also things that I did not like about the netbook.

Cons
1. The Keyboard. They call it the Chiclet keyboard and I feel it is quite small, even for a netbook of this size. As I mentioned earlier I had a HP mini before and it has a much better, roomier Keyboard than this one. The keys also make a "springy" sound that I don't like. It reminds me somehow of the old IBM keyboards. It is difficult but eventually one gets used to typing on this netbook.
2. Windows 7. The windows is the one really bad addition to this netbook. Don't get me wrong, I love windows 7, just don't like the version installed here. With just 1 GB of RAM, windows starts to get sluggish very fast as opposed to Ubuntu. If you are going to use this, I suggest you buy additional RAM to run Windows 7 (even starter) on this machine or do as I did, install a Linux Distro.
3. The power plug. I feel that the power plug and outlet in the netbook are just too fragile and would snap with just a little stress. And since I use this device on my lap and when I'm in bed also, I feel I have to be careful to avoid bending the power plug.
4. Audio input/output. The audio input and output are through the same hole. So I am unable to use my mic whenever I need to skype. And the internal mic is too weak, so that I have to hold the netbook screen next to my face to talk. Will have to purchase a mic/earphone in one combo thing.

I hope this will help the reader make a better decision on their purchase. Will update this review after a year.

Okay, so I have only had this computer for like a week so not a whole lot I can say right now. I got it out of the package (which arrived within three days of ordering) and yes it is small, but cute. VERY light, like the size of a Stephen King novel and very portable too. Anyways, setup was simple, took about 10 minutes for the OS to install and boot for the first time. It found my WiFi immediately and I just had to enter the password to connect. Very easy to install programs, but I only installed Firefox and Advanced System Care at this point. Comes with Word but it is the starter edition, which is basic functionality of word. I freelance write so the basic Word is good for me.

It seems to work like a charm, the webcam is nice and pretty good quality for a .3 MP. Took a couple pictures and they came out looking pretty good. The battery life is pretty good I am ranging about 3 hours to 3 1/2 hours, which is better than the 20 minutes I was getting on my previous but still useable computer. Screen size is just right for me since I am just using this computer for writing and emails and such. I have my bigger laptop for movies and other videos. I am keeping this one relatively clean and not installing much at this point.

Really nice overall, I can't complain too much except the background can't change on Starter OS. I choose to use Starter then maybe I will upgrade later on but really no need right now. I can live with the blue screen as the background. Typing is really easy, especially if you are used to smaller and more compact keyboards. Not a big fan of the touch pad so I hooked up my mouse. Plugged it in and it recognized it right away.

Definitely a must-buy for anyone looking for something small and portable but with good programs. Also the sound is actually better than the Toshiba Satellite that my BF has which is kinda cool. Headphones are always better though for smaller laptops. Totally glad I bought this one and hope it will last me a long time. Been wanting an Asus for a few years now and it seems to be as great as advertised.

Also, since it does not have a DVD/CD drive, I just imported files and programs from a flash drive onto this computer. Worked just as well and was pretty easy. So again, something I don't need at this point but if I need it then I will buy it later.

The computer runs slow out of the box because of all the bloatware/adware/nagware. As soon as the computer boots, get rid of the bloatware. Go to start > control panel > uninstall programs, to remove bloatware. The Trend antivirus is the most annoying, throwing up a nag screen every 2 minutes. Next most annoying is Bing, a Microsoft browser toolbar. Be sure to uninstall Bing before installing Firefox to avoid Bing parasitizing Firefox. On the control panel uninstall page there is a turn off features option. Use the turn off features option to remove additional Windows baggage.

Program updaters slow the computer. At the default settings the updaters run in the background and check for updates, download, and install continuously. Adobe, Asus, and Microsoft are the primary offenders. To improve performance either turn off the updaters or remove them through control panel. I prefer manual updates at times I choose, but even that isn't a perfect solution. The Microsoft updater had the bad habit of trying to update programs I had already uninstalled. I removed almost every program with "update", "Microsoft", "Asus", and "Adobe" in the title. That ended the periodic freezes.

A memory upgrade is almost mandatory. I upgraded to 2gb ram using the Crucial chip, 2GB 204-PIN Sodimm DDR3. Memory is easily accessed through a hatch on the bottom of the computer. After I put in the 2gb chip I entered bios (push F2 during boot) and verified that I now had 2048 meg (2048meg=2gb) of memory installed. Extra ram pays off with more speed, more multitasking, and less wear on the hard drive. You can also usually recycle a big ram chip into your next computer.

In response to a question, I have explained memory replacement in the comments, and posted images to illustrate the process. Also in comments there is a discussion of various memory types suitable for this computer. The memory I bought is not the cheapest that works.

An additional performance boost can be achieved cheaply and easily by inserting a 4gb SD card into the card reader and dedicating the card to ReadyBoost cache. After inserting a blank SD card, the option of "use to speed up computer" should pop up. If not, use the "file>properties" drop down menu of file explorer to find the "dedicate to ReadyBoostCache" option for the SD card. I used a Transcend 4 GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card TS4GSDHC10E. Use the fastest SD card you can afford to get the most improvement.

This computer is an excellent Linux platform. I booted Linux Ubuntu 11.10 and Mint 12 from the internal hard drive, an external hard drive on a usb port, and from the card reader. Linux recognized all the hardware, including the camera. Connecting to the net was quick and easy. DVD videos played smoothly in Linux Mint. Everything was faster, and wallpaper could be changed.

Booting from the card reader is easy. You can choose the card reader as a boot device by pushing esc during boot or by entering bios. To enter bios, push F2 during boot. In bios the card reader is listed as a hard drive. Go to bios > boot > hard drives and select memory card reader as the primary hard drive.

The wifi card is good, picking up more transmitters than my other netbook.

DVD playback was crippled in 7 starter. In Windows, I installed the free K-lite codec pack to play dvds. Video performance is good for a netbook (video only tested with 2gb memory).

The touch pad is overly sensitive, making typing difficult. I always turn off the touch pad (Fn-F3) and use an external optical mouse.

Cost cutting is apparent in some features. There is 15 pin vga out, but no hdmi. There is only one jack for both headphones and microphone. There is only one tinny sounding speaker on the underside right front. There are only 2 usb ports, one on each side. I use a single tail drive to play DVDs and input programs Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Writer Black.

The small stock 2200 mAh battery only lasts 3 hours. I need my netbooks to last through long plane rides and a shift at work. I replaced the stock battery with the 5800 mAh battery from my old 1005. The bigger battery gives me well over 8 hours of service.

Backup of the recovery partition is poorly documented. Press F9 during boot to get the screen with "recover" and "backup" as options (see posted picture). The backup media must be at least 16gb. I backed up to a 16gb memory card and to a small hard drive on a usb port.

This low priced little computer has great potential. Out of the box performance is hampered by lack of memory and bloatware that hogs resources at default settings. To get the most out of this computer, upgrade memory and aggressively prune installed programs.

One disappointment is that costco lists a warranty of 2 years; however, when you check the serial number tag on the unit, it shows that it only has a 12-month warranty. I thought that the extra year's warranty that costco offers is on top of the mfg warranty, so why list it? Anyway, it's a bit of a confusion for me.
Also, a big annoyance for me is that the usb ports are on opposite sides of the unit; therefore, in order to use the external optical drive, I'm going to have to go out and buy an extension cord for the usb cord.
It also was different from the acer One model, which had windows live mail already installed; this one didn't come with it. One reason I need the optical drive is that I'm going to uninstall the office 2010 starter-it's terrible-you have to put up with advertising and I can never find the "save" key when saving files, and then I'll install a real Microsoft office program.
Other than that, I like the keyboard, the computer's slow but not too slow; I was easily able to connect to my network (something I couldn't do on my Samsung N145); I wish the windows would fit properly into the available screen space; you have to force the window farther up into the top of the screen so you can see the "apply" or "ok" buttons

Update May 16, 2011:
I have grown happy with my Asus, after having tried the Acer and the Samsung. It seems to be taking all the programs and downloads I'm throwing at it, and still doesn't seem to need to have the memory upgraded, although I will probably still do that.
I lowered the resolution on the display, which helped to be able to see all the buttons that are normally displayed, and then just increased the size of the font and of the icons; that works.
I couldn't just use an extension cord for the usb problem; I had to get an electrical usb HUB-about $25.00, but then I also have more than just two usb ports, and it runs the external optical drive just fine.
This Asus feels like it's going to be a decent work-horse, which I guess I tend to need my computers to be. So far, so good!

I got this netbook strictly for email & internet access on the go. I love it. After reading some other reviews, I went ahead & bought the 2 gb RAM recommended by amazon ("Often Bought Together" section). That was a wise decision. I'm not used to doing hardware upgrades, but the RAM changed out so easily even I could do it. Just open up the little door on the bottom of the netbook, gently pull out the 1gb chip, slip in the 2gb chip, & it's done. I looked into going to Ubuntu operating system, which I'm sure would go faster than Windows, but decided it would be easier to interface with my regular computer if I just stuck with Windows 7 Starter. I use Internet Explorer 9 & gmail for internet/email. No complaints. I may go to Goggle Chrome for a little faster online interface. I got rid of Microsoft Office & went with OpenOffice, since it's less of a space hog & it's free. Installed a freebie called Advanced SystemCare, which has an incredibly easy interface & helps speed up the computer a bit with its "turbo" mode. It also cleans the registry & gets rid of spyware, adware, & malware. This will never be a real speedy computer, & if I tried to use it for my main computer it would drive me crazy. But I don't, & it does just what it's supposed to do. Very light, small, fits in a purse, I'm very happy with it.

I have owned this laptop for almost 6 months and it really has surprised me. I bought it as a back up laptop while my "good exspensive" laptop was being repaired. But, honestly, this little EeePc has not once disappointed and I have used it everyday. Short of not having a CD/DVD drive, it is perfect. It computes fast, loads everything fast, I can watch Netflix, load games on Facebook, and have no problems loading music, watching Youtube, or viewing picture files in my email. I love all the resources included to help keep it updated. My Dell or HP laptops never had these programs. I can actually keep this little EeePC tuned up and running very efficiently alot easier than anything I have ever owned before. It is lightweight. I love that I can stuff it in my medium size purse. I had a couple back surgeries and am disabled, and this is so lightweight that it does not bother me to carry it. My other laptop is heavier and requires its own carrying case. The webcam and it's program work great and are easy to use. I only have good things to say about this little laptop. It's affordable enough to get everyone in the family one of their own. So far I have had no issues whatsoever with mine, and I am pretty hard on stuff. So this thing gets a two thumbs up.

Its been good so far. The white one is cute, kinda looks like a MAC. Don't like windows 7 starter but whatever ill try to upgrade it soon enough. Battery has been pretty long lasting like four hours maybe. Definitely recommend it to students that do college online. Very inexpensive and gets straight to the point.

I had an early eee pc and with one exception it was fine for my traveling needs. The exception was the wifi reception - terrible! So it was with some trepidation that I purchased this one. No problems whatever. If you have traveling needs that can't be satisfied by an ipad, I highly recommend this little guy.

I have used Toshiba netbooks in the past and decided to give Asus a try this time. Well, ASUS is slightly more expensive than Toshiba and doesn't work half as well. The keyboad of the ASUS is fine, but not as well laid out as Toshiba. The BIGGEST gripe I have with the ASUS netbooks is that they are S....L....O....W!!

It is extremely frustrating working on this netbook. Web pages that take a second to load on other PCs or netbooks take a good 10 seconds or so to load on the ASUS. Every time you start or shut off the device, it will take a good 2-4 minutes gathering information - I know this is not a Windows thing because this doesn't happen on the Toshiba netbooks or any of the PCs I have used. It is unacceptably slow.

Another issue is that the charging port is very small, I am always concerned it might break off any minute. A well designed PC or netbook mostly has the charging port and the ethernet port on the same side (or one on the back and other on the side). This one has the charging port on one side and the ethernet cable on the other. Both wires come from the same side on my desk, which means I cannothide the ethernet wire even if I wanted to.

On the plus side, the battery life seems fine and the weight seems acceptable.

Overall, I would NOT recommend the ASUS netbooks. If you are looking for a netbook, my advise is to go for the Toshiba. Those are cheaper and the performance/battery life is excellent. Those are just well-built solid netbooks.

I purchased this product for my "abroad" trips since it is small, light, fast and sturdy. Unfortunately the battery was defective and I was getting only 2 hours of battery time per charge even under the power save mode. I called Asus about the problem and they instructed me to send the battery (at my cost $28) back to them and they would send me back a new or refurbished battery. So for at least two weeks I will be traveling without my netbook. I am not sure I will use a "vendor" for my next purchase because ultimately I will have to deal with the company that produces the item. Lesson learned.
Had the battery worked, the netbook is great!