TigerDirect recently lowered the price at $299.99 from $349.99 to make room for the new Fusion E-450 model coming out.
There's no difference in performance between this model with the E-350 APU compared to the E-450 APU that's coming out. You are only getting a little graphic boost in the 3D arena with the E-450 APU. You are paying for a full laptop performance at a netbook price with this model.
0. The notebook has a dedicated power button to boot into Asus Custom Gate Cloud OS which runs Google Chrome browser so you don't have to always log into windows 7. I would think this would save you battery.
1. Compared to other Fusion notebook like the HP DM1z, Lenovo x120e, and Sony YB: you are getting bigger 12" screen and a USB 3.0 with the Asus.
2. Battery: I'm getting around 5-6 hours on a full charge doing web surfing and streaming videos.
3. Keyboard: keyboard is nice. There is a little flexing but it's not that bad.
4. Built Quality: On par with other fusion notebook. This notebook does not feel cheap.
5. RED VS. BLACK Model: This RED model is less of a finger print magnet compared to the ugly matte black model. This red has a nice block-like print which makes the notebook look nicer than the ugly matte black.
6. Touchpad Issue Fixed: The touchpad issue is FIXED on the red model. You do not have to remove the silver plate underneath the touchpad which caused weird behavior.
7. Power Cable: The power cable head is very, very tiny. You have to be carefull when plug in and out. You can easily bend the head.
8. What is it good for: web surfing, Light photoshop, Audio mixing, Daily productivity, MS Office work, music, Watch HD movie, Light 2-D/3-D gaming, DVD convertion, Bed room Djing with Serato Softwares
9. What is NOT good for: HD Video editing, Heavy duty photoshop, Heavy duty 3D gaming, Professional DJing with Serato Softwares
10. RAM UPGRADE & OPTIMIZATION: I suggest spending the extra $25 for a 4 GIG RAM upgrade. This will boost the RAM 6 GIG Total which will improve in performance speed. Also, if you are techie savy, go to CONTROL PANEL>>SYSTEM>>ADVANCE SYSTEM SETTING>>PERFORMANCE SETTING>>ADJUST FOR BEST PERFORMANCE. This will turn off all Windows 7 animations which will speed up the notebook performance speed.
11. TigerDirect Policy (little bitchin' helps): Do NOTE that TigerDirect will charge you for shipping if you decided to return the item and only gives Tiger Store Credit for price adjustment. They lowered the price of this notebook the same time they shipped my notebook. It took a little bit of bitching for them to refund me the different as an exception. Demand to talk with the manager.
12. Conclusion: This is the best Fusion E-350 notebook you can get for $299. Other fusion notebook are selling at least $400 and up. Major advantage of this Asus 1215B is that you are getting a bigger 12.1 screen and a USB 3.0. If you are on a budget and looking for a powerful notebook on the go, you can't go wrong with this Asus 1215B.
| Standing screen display size | 12.1 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1366x768 Pixels |
| Processor | 2 GHz amd_e_series |
| RAM | 6 GB SO-DIMM |
| Memory Speed | 1.6 GHz |
| Hard Drive | 320 GB HDD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | AMD Radeon HD 6310 |
| Chipset Brand | AMD |
| Card Description | Dedicated |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 2 |
