I ordered this netbook from Amazon. Partly I needed a machine with Windows XP on so that I could run some legacy software, and such machines are hard to find these days unless you look at netbooks.
First, the screen. 1366x768 resolution - same as my 15" laptop. I know I would find a 1024x600 resolution as is so often seen on netbooks very cramped.
You'll need good eyes though, or you can increase the size of the fonts used.
Performance-wise, the netbook appears a little sluggish at times to me, but it is perfectly adequate. That in part is the price you pay for such a long battery life.
It is best to go into the BIOS and select 30% over-clocking as opposed to the default 10% (the options are 5% to 30% in 5% increments and there is no option to disable the feature), which gives you a performance boost. A variable-speed fan keeps the CPU cool enough.
The netbook runs quite cool (by which I mean that it doesn't cook your lap). The backlight can be varied from extremely dim to very bright, and for indoor use it is adequate to use a setting just slightly higher than the dimmest.
The audio sounds tinny. It's adequate.
WiFi performance is reasonable, although not as good as my 15" laptop.
1Gb of RAM is adequate, bearing in mind that the machine is running Windows XP. It is upgradeable to 2Gb but there is only one slot, so you will need to buy 2Gb to upgrade to 2Gb, and you will be left with a redundant 1Gb module.
The webcam and microphone are good, so VoIP calls (e.g. Skype) should work well with the machine.
I have not had occasion to use the Bluetooth feature yet.
In summary, if you require a machine with Windows XP on so that you can run legacy software such as printer drivers, or you want a laptop that is slightly smaller than the conventional, this netbook fits the bill. If you want a machine with better performance and you can live with Windows 7, I would recommend that you investigate the 15" laptops, but you will not get as good battery life with them, and the weight will also be higher.
Excellent product
Review Date: January 13, 2010
Reviewer: Stuart Hamilton, oxford, uk
I bought this product for my girlfriend for christmas, she loved it. It's a very nice netbook because the screen is larger than the 10inch netbooks. It works fast and well.
my only issue is that it cam with a case to protect it in and this was not stated on the sales page and i ordered one seperately. Although this is only a small issue
overall a great product
Great Product
Review Date: December 24, 2009
Reviewer: Paulo Villa, Dublin, Ireland
This netbook is great, runs 7.5 hours on battery easily with wifi and not minimum brightness.
great!
Review Date: January 10, 2010
Reviewer: min, Dublin
I still can't get over how quickly this arrived - I chose stadard delivery, and it arrived the next day! amazing
netbook is great, asus make great machines. only two issues one with it dropping wifi connection now and again, and the other that the battery does not last 8.5 hours. Then again, no pc is perfect, and on all other counts it's great. I guess there's some small print about power options you have to choose for it to last 8.5 hours. I doubled the ram to 2gb, and that was dead easy. Great seller!
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Excellent screen resolution and battery life