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I honestly don't know where to start with this review of the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BU netbook that I bought. I have read all 152 previous reviews on Amazon.com and a whole bunch of others that I found on computer oriented Internet sites. The four and five star ratings far outnumbered the negative ones, but it was the couple of dozen unenthusiastic reviews that scared the heck out of me. I delayed ordering the computer because of the horror stories of bad batteries, faulty chargers and blue screen crashes.
Eventually, I noticed that most of these critical reviews referred to the battery or to the charging brick and most of those were describing what could have easily been mistakes made by the owners of the machine. They didn't attach the power cord properly or the charging time was too short and some didn't seem to understand how to determine when the battery was fully charged. Some complainers faulted the battery life, but didn't take into account what was running or turned on when using the computer. The battery is drained more quickly when the computer is operating with all rockets running. In other words, when I subtracted the operator associated problems or misconceptions from the difficulty with the Asus hardware there were only a few legitimate complaints about the machine. In reading reviews of other machines it was obvious that they had their share of detractors too. One gripe I can verify is how the Asus Eee PC lid is a fingerprint magnet. It really is.
I researched about all of the netbooks on the market today (Acer, HP, Toshiba, Dell, Samsung and of course the Asus Eee PC line. Having purchased one of the first Eee mini-laptops (the 7 inch 701 with a Linux operating system) when they first came out I have been impressed with the quality and dependability of the Asus product. I suppose that is one reason why I kept gravitating to the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BU as I explored the reviews for other brands--in spite of the warnings about unworkable battery chargers and inoperative batteries I bought the Asus Eee PC.
Frankly after exploring the field, I concluded that most of the netbooks for sale today are not all that much different in features, price or even quality. They all have built-in cameras, 10.1 inch screens, Windows XP operating systems, a plethora of USB ports, a card reader, WiFi and most have a few color choices. The main difference is probably the ten hour battery that is unique and ships with the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BU. All of the other netbooks had three or six hour batteries on board. I wanted the netbook to use on long airplane flights so the long life battery was a real plus for me. I also liked the idea of being able to restore the computer with an fn-key instead of relying on a CD to come out of hiding in case of big trouble. The Asus Eee PC is sleek and that big battery doesn't stick out on the back edge like the other netbook high capacity batteries do. The `P' model of the Asus Eee PC has Bluetooth built in and a nice cushy zippered sleeve to protect it while traveling.
I have been using my Asus Eee PC 1005HA just as it came out of the box--no memory upgrade, no Windows 7 and no additional software. I find it just about perfect the way it is. You should understand that this is not a full featured laptop squeezed into a smaller and manageable size. The keyboards are 92% the size of those found on a standard computer and the machines run a little hot. Those 10.1 inch screens are a bit cramped if several toolbars have been turned on. The main thing you might miss on the netbooks is a CD/DVD drive. There ain't one. However, an external CD/DVD drive can be purchased for about $65. Anyhow, a netbook is meant to be a small back to basics mini-computer for word processing, e-mail, Web surfing and other fundamental computing, but don't expect to play a lot of high end games or edit photographs on it. Once you see a netbook in your future, the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BU is worth a look.
OK, here is my feeling about the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BU after two weeks of use: I like it a lot; the battery and charger problems I feared so much have not materialized. I am satisfied with my choice and recommend the machine over all of the others I researched. If something really bad happens to my new Asus Eee PC as I use it longer, I will edit this review and let you know about it. I am still a little worried about that battery thing.
P.S. I used a thin coating of guitar polish/wax buffed onto the lid and the finger print problem was diminished considerably.
FOLLOW-UP:
I thought it is about time to update my earlier review of the Asus Eee PC 1005HA netbook. I may have left you with some question about the battery and charging system--I am sorry about that. I no longer have any qualms about batteries or chargers. After almost two months of using my new Eee PC 1005HA I can report no problem with the battery, bringing the battery to a full charge (realistically about 9 ½ hours) or the charging brick itself. Flawless is a word that comes to mind.
While I am at it, I might as well report complete satisfaction with the Eee PC 1005HA build. It is a well made netbook and everything fits and works. It is sleek and solid. It is a little bit on the heavy side, but I don't have a problem with that. The keyboard is large enough to accommodate touch typing with ease. The machine boots up quickly. It has plenty of memory (1 GB) on board for how I use it--e-mail, web surfing and word processing with the Microsoft WORKS program which is included.
The Windows XP operating system has functioned perfectly. I set up my home network WiFi connection with the netbook easily, quickly and effectively. The Bluetooth feature worked very well too. Some of the Asus special on screen controls, update and expand features built into the machine have not been all that useful and some border on being advertisements for buying Asus stuff. Those things are not obtrusive and can be easily ignored.
I have added the ASUS USB 2.0 8x DVD Writer External Optical Drive to my little machine, but have not really used it very much. I got it just in case I wanted to add some software to my netbook or perhaps store some data on disks. Frankly, making that rather spendy purchase for "just in case" reasons is probably rather silly, but I did it anyhow.
The Asus Eee PC 1005HA remains a fingerprint magnet in spite of my occasional clean up with guitar polish. I guess having to live with some smudges on the shiny lid is not a big deal.
I still recommend the Asus Eee PC 1005HA after using it for awhile. I am convinced that this netbook is the best one on the market today.
Update some more:
I just solved the fingerprint problem that exists with the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA shiny surface lid. And at the same time, added a layer of protection for the machine.
I bought and installed an mCover® CLEAR Hard Shell Sleeve Carrying Case for the Asus Eee PC 1005 Series Netbook. I acquired the mCover hard shell from Amazon.com for about $15 as protection for my netbook while traveling. When I got the shell attached (a simple process) I immediately noticed the lid no longer picked up fingerprints. The plastic shell simply does not show prints and the appearance of the netbook is not changed very much. It is just like adding a second skin.
Update even more:
My face is really red today. The mCover shell I bragged about turned out to be a loser--not a winner. The bottom half of the shell became impossible to install and usless when one of the attachment tabs broke off. I am very sorry about recommending that plastic sleeve. I still have the top part of the mCover on my Eee PC, but the bottom section went in the trash. By the way, my ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BU Netbook is still the best there is. I continue to like it a lot.
| Standing screen display size | 10.1 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1024 x 600 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1024 x 600 Pixels |
| Processor | 1.66 GHz intel_atom_n280 |
| RAM | 1000 MB DDR2 |
| Memory Speed | 667 MHz |
| Hard Drive | 160 GB HDD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel GMA 950 |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Graphics Media Accelerator 950 |
| Wireless Type | 802.11bgn, 802.11b, 802.11b/g |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 3 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 10.5 Hours |
