Customer Reviews

ASUS 1215B-PU17-SL 12.1-Inch Laptop (Silver)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First off, this is the best value of a netbook you'll find. The AMD Fusion e-350 is definitely the best CPU/GPU combo you'll find in a netbook, especially at this price. The e-350 is a dual-core 64-bit CPU that runs at 1.6 GHz (it's 60% faster than the AMD c-50 you find in the top-selling Acer netbook). This is the usual frequency of the Atom processors, but the e-350's clocks are more efficient, making it more equivalent to an low-voltage Core 2 Duo. I tested out the CPU/APU by playing a blu-ray image file. It played perfectly fine, so you definitely won't have problems with any 1080p video or light gaming. It runs pretty cool and the exhaust is in a nice position on the left side.

The 12.1 inch screen is 1366x768, perfect for 720p video. It's nice and bright with a glossy finish in a great size. There's a USB 3.0 port on the right, which is a really nice feature. I haven't used it yet since I don't have a USB 3.0 hard drive, but it should easily double the speed of a compatible external hard drive when compared to USB 2.0.

This computer comes with Windows 7 Premium 64-bit with 2GB of RAM to handle it nicely. I usually run around 900MB of occupied RAM, so 2GB should be plenty for most users. However, I am upgrading to 4GB of 1333MHz RAM soon (this comes with 1066MHz RAM). With the starting configuration my system obtained the following Windows 7 User Experience Index scores: Processor=3.8, Memory=4.8, Graphics=4.2, Gaming graphics=5.7, HDD=5.6.

I love the design of the silver version of the 1215b. It has a brushed metal design (but really plastic) lid and touchpad. This finish is much better than the black version in terms picking up fingerprints. It does pick up fingerprints, but they're only slightly visible. The keyboard is a full-size chiclet keyboard (not 92% size like the 10" netbook), has good key travel, and no detectable flex. The touchpad is quite large, equivalent to most full-size laptops. The multitouch features work great. The bottom is a nice textured black plastic. This type of finish would have probably been better for the lid of the black version since it doesn't pick up fingerprints.

Overall, performance is great, especially for a netbook-sized computer. I can get about 6 hours of use from the 6-cell battery with light internet browsing.

Cons:
-The finish on the black version is a fingerprint magnet.
-The glossy finish on the inside of the lid is and around the keyboard picks up fingerprints.
-Some people may not like the smaller-than-normal right shift key. Personally, it does not bother me.
-The 320GB hard drive runs at 5400 rpm, but I'd obviously prefer a 7200 rpm drive. The HDD works fine, but the extra speed would be nice. Personally, I don't care about this much since I plan on upgrading to a 64GB SDD for around $100.
-This only has a 100 Mbps ethernet port; I'd really expect a gigabit port in 2011. However, I'll just be using Wireless N, so it's not a big deal for me.
-The speakers are pretty weak, but that's to be expected for a netbook-sized computer.
-***Some people have reported trackpad issues with this model. I have yet to have any of these problems, but I know there is a fix available. Just google "Asus 1215b trackpad fix" and you should find a solution.

Overall, this is an EXCELLENT value and the highest-end performance you can possibly find in a netbook. I got mine for around $300 after Circuit City dropped their price by about $50. That's about $130 off its usual price. Feel welcome to make a comment on this review if you have questions.

This is my second ASUS laptop. My first ASUS laptop was a Linux netbook. I still have it and use it when I'm travelling. Now I have this ASUS Windows 7 laptop and love it too! It boots up fast and has a nice keyboard layout. The only thing I would improve upon is the mouse "keys." The single metal "key' at the bottom of the touchpad doesn't seem to stay clean. Oils from my fingers leave lots of finger prints. That's th eonly downsize I've sound so far. The video camera is great for Skyping and the microphone works well too. Nice little laptop.

I shopped for 2 years for a netbook and finally decided on this one. I replaced the hard drive with a 64GB solid state drive. After about a week, the touch-pad stopped working. I determined the issue was hardware related. According to a quick Google search, this model is prone to touch-pad issues. I opened up the unit and used tape to keep the touch-pad out of contact with other metal inside the unit. I have had no trouble with the touch-pad since.

I thoroughly enjoy this netbook and would recommend it to anyone. With the upgraded hard drive it is very speedy. It suits my needs for web browsing, programming, and light gaming. Just be prepared for possible touch-pad issues.

Pros: good price, good speakers, decent keyboard (other than a small issue. see cons) pretty fast as for a netbook, not heavy, USB 3.0, HDMI
Cons: the same trackpad issues as other people reported (looks like it's fixable), Backspace button had a small piece of plastic underneath it so the button did not go all the way down. I've removed it with a sewing needle.
Does not do system backup on DVD. Requires external DEDICATED(!) USB drive with at least 16 GB capacity for system backup. I used a standard Windows 7 backup to a virtual drive. Since I did not want to waste a 16Gb flash drive just for that. Low quality Web cam.
Conclusion: good as a netbook, but considering all the issues I would call it DIY machine. Definitely not for a person that wants everything working right out of the box. but for the people that dont mind to spend some time fixing the issues it's a good deal.

The mouse pad is completely defective. I use a usb connected mouse. Otherwise we are very happy with our purchase.

Not much else to add to what others are saying, but the Mouse is definitely a problem. Thats the reason for the one less star.

I got mine in Singapore in early 2011 so I had one of the first of these models to be released. It soon developed the touchpad issue that other posters have mentioned and its erratic behavior would drive my crazy. I went to using a mouse exclusively until I researched and performed the simple fix I found in a Youtube video. Perhaps, by now, Asus has resolved this issue as recent purchasers have not had the same problem.

Aside from that one significant flaw I would have given this a five star rating. For a netbook, this thing is a workhorse. I have used it for various Office 2010 projects, gaming, multimedia playback, skype calls, multi-tasking, etc. and been very pleased with the performance. You can see from others informative posts that the specs far exceed those of most other units in this class of computer. In particular, the inclusion of a 3.0 USB port is unusual and a big bonus is you will be transferring a lot of large files. This model is a lot more than just a compact and portable device for surfing the web and social media. The build quality and materials will not win any awards or turn any heads but I have not experienced any breakdown to date.

If the touchpad issue has been resolved I would have no problem recommending this to a friend or family member.

This was a great computer; it's light and easy to carry around, has a long battery life, is fast enough for my basic internet needs (Netfix, googledocs, email, usually 3 windows open at a time)and the 12 inch screen is the perfect size--not quite a netbook but not a huge laptop. But like many reviewers mention on here, (and on other sites) the touch pad is faulty. After about 5-10 minutes of use, it will freeze up. It was also spontaneously going into zoom and scroll mode. I contacted Asus through their online support and it's been very frustrating; they say they'll get back to you within 48 hours and it took 5 days to get a response. First they told me to try re-installing the driver for the touch pad, which did not work. A week later I'm still waiting for a reply to the next form they had me fill out--a "request" to return the computer to get fixed through the Asus warranty, (again, they said they'd get back to me within 48 hours). I'm so thankful for Amazon's customer service, who got back to me within 2 hours and are paying for the return shipping and refunding my order. Again, loved the Asus 1215B, and if you're willing to use a mouse on your laptop, go for it. However that defeats the purpose of having a laptop for me personally. There are also videos and instructions online for how to fix the touch pad for this and the other Eee PC models (apparently it's a well known and persistent problem), but it involves opening up the computer which would void the warranty, which I wasn't willing to risk.

I was initially very confused after reading all the reviews. I went ahead and got 2 laptop for $299 each.

So far it has served my purpose very well . I had upgraded the ram to 6 gb.

Installed Linux in one of the laptop and use windows application in the other laptop.

I had also faced the same trackpad issues on both the laptops. did some research and applied the fix .

I would recommend this laptop.

I ordered Corsair 4 GB DDR3 Laptop Memory CMSO4GX3M1A1333C9 (ASIN B002YU83YO) and plugged it right in along with the original memory module. It run on 6 Gb now. No comments about the track pad because I don't use it, I'm more of a mouse person. Keyboard has noisy flex, specially in the center (FGHJ cluster). The F11 key is visibly skewed and partially depressed. I don't have time to haggle about it so..whatever. There's nothing whatsoever to complain about it's core function as a portable, light weight web browser/document editing device. One more thing, I've been able to run it on battery for 4hrs, not that I was trying to or was even timing it but it was fully charged when I started and 4 hrs later, was still running. During this 4hrs I was using PowerPoint 2010, browsing (over Wi-fi) and YouTube (audio using Bluetooth headset).