Summary: I have read reviews all over the internet about this netbook. A lot of people said that the computer just flat out didn’t work. About 20% of all reviews said this. Apparently a lot of them have problems with their AC Adaptors. I decided to take a risk and buy it anyway.
Boy did that decision pay off. This thing is great.
I’ll start with the battery life. It is advertised to be able to hold its own for 10.5 hours, but of course that is exaggerated. Realistically, expect 7-8 hours on this thing when you’re on power-saving mode (Fn+ Spacebar scrolls through all of the power modes, there are things like high performance, super performance, power saving mode, and auto power saving.) When I leave it on power saving mode with the screen brightness set down to 50% (still very readable) I can get around seven hours of constant browsing time. The battery is integrated into the design, and doesn’t stick out of the back like on the Dell Mini Inspiron 10v. It might protrude out of the bottom some, but if it does it is only about a tenth of an inch. The battery at the back is very thick, so to accommodate it the chassis of the netbook slopes on a diagonal down to the back, so it is thicker at the back that at the front by a significant margin. I love that, because it leaves room for a very fast processor, and also elevates the laptop into a very comfortable typing position.
On the sides of the laptop, there are 3 USB Universal ports (work with USB 1.1 or 2.0), a slim VGA port (slim because there are no holes to screw it in), an AC Adapter port, an Ethernet jack, and a microphone and speaker/headphones jack, along with a Kensington lock port for optional security. All ports work fine.
The screen is a 10.1 inch glossy LED-backlit display. A lot of people have complained about the glossy screen getting in the way and creating glare, but their claims are wildly exaggerated. Yes, there is some glare, but I will deal with the tiny bit that there is to get a more crisp display. Videos look great on it.
The keyboard is a 92% scale keyboard, which is kind of small. I got used to it in no time, because I’m not a touch typist. I just look at the keyboard and punch with about 6 fingers at the most (I can still get up to about 40wpm).A touch typist might have a bit more of a problem with it all. The keys travel (distance needed to press it to make it go) is very comfortable. The only odd thing about the keyboard is the arrow keys. The left and right are full size keys, but the up and down have been cut in half to fit into the size of one normal key. I think that they should all be half size and sill in the empty space with a handier key like page scrolling.
The track pad is interesting. It is integrated, which means that it is not depressed into the chassis by about a quarter millimeter, but is flush with the rest of the palm rest. It has these cool little bumps spread into a grid work to help you find it when you’re staring at the screen or if you’re in the dark. The mouse buttons are not separate, but rather joined into one piece of plastic with a rocker in the middle. I find this annoying, but manageable.
The webcam is not the best, but at least the other person can see your face when you’re video chatting. The computer comes preinstalled with Skype, so you just push the desktop item and it gets you to make n account, and then you’re set. Unfortunately, it is preinstalled with an older Skype version, so you have to still install the latest. No lag in the Skype program at all; it works like a charm.
A lot of people think that it is necessary to max out the RAM to 2 gigs, but I beg to differ. I don’t think it’s necessary unless you need a bit more computing power, which I don’t. All I need on this is just browsing time and MS Office.
The software doesn’t come with as much bloat ware as other laptops. Unfortunately, It only comes with a trial version of office and Microsoft Works, both of which SUCK. So download Open Office or something like that.
That about wraps it up, except for one more thing. The outer chassis is a glossy finish, so it attracts fingerprints like there’s no tomorrow. Get a microfiber cloth like me, and you’ll be wiping it all down about once every few hours.
That’s all. Bottom line, this thing is the King of Netbooks. Get it, and you’ll be very, VERY happy.
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