ASUS Eee PC 1215N Netbook (ep.7)

Nice little “portable” is almost as good as a complete computer

My old laptop died recently … well, the video card died, and it is not able to be replaced, so I’m stuck with software rendering low-res only, which makes it virtually unusable. And I needed something fast to fill the void in my “mobility” of life.
I thought getting a high-end laptop … an Alienware, for example. I still think I will eventually, because this little thing is not so capable. But money is tight for now, and portability was an issue as well, and this unit is a great stop-gap measure until I can get a “monster” laptop.
In fact, the capabilities of this little thing is much bigger than my old laptop, on the whole … with the main drawbacks being the lower resolution, smaller screen, and speakers quite poor. Otherwise, it’s a great little unit.
I bought this with an external DVD-writer (a unit of Samsung) and I’m using the same Logitech wireless mouse I’m using all along. Yes, you will need an optical drive if you ever want to install anything from the disk, of course, and it is not provided.
There is also no physical support provided to “restore” the system. (You can buy a recovery disk from Asus, but this disc will cost you $ 50 or more.) There is a “recovery partition” on the hard drive, apparently.
I heard stories about the touchpad goes haywire occasionally. But I am one of those people who hate the keyboards, so I usually just turn it off anyway. I have a small handheld mobile trackball (plane / train / car) use, and my nice mouse for use in hotel rooms and more. I only use the touchpad in rare cases, and so far I have had no problems with it.
So … what have we here? Well, we have a nice display, though small. My old laptop had 1600×1400 resolution, while this is 1388×768, and half of the screen real estate. We have speakers poor, but if you use your headset, you will have beautiful, if not impressive sound reproduction 2.0 (typical for Realtek audio quality, which is what this laptop has). We have a pretty nice keyboard, if not as beautiful as a full keyboard with a full depth of strikes, and I mistyped on it more than once (something I never do on a full keyboard, as I now use).
What I am impressed with this machine that will run the software, I never thought he could run, and can it work well. I just run Far Cry with almost zero hickups, and a pretty good pace.
The Atom dual-core CPU is not the fastest on the planet, by a long shot, but it works better than I expected. The second generation of graphics chips ION did a great job, a little better than the Geforce 4 in my old laptop.
In other words, while it is not a play station, it is far, far better than I ever expected, and works something I never expected it to be able to handle ( and my old laptop could not handle).
The machine comes with two RAM slots populated by both 1GB sticks. You can replace those with sticks of 2 GB to get up to 4 GB of total memory … and I think I’ll do it, since the machine is often hit the ceiling of his memory installed now (which is my main performance problem, I think).
It comes with a 500GB hard drive. This drive is partitions … a small “restore” partition is hidden, a 100GB “C:” partition and a ~ 350GB “D” partition. I would rather just have one system partition, but I do not want to risk the loss of data due to partition-patch, because I do not currently have a recovery CD. Suffice it to say, when the portable 1TB drives become commonplace, I will transfer this disc, in proportion to a larger drive, like my two partitions are in the top right 2 / 3 full now.
This device comes with Windows 7 64-bit “Home Premium”, which is nice (most of the “netbooks” come with “starter” edition). I plan to upgrade this to “Ultimate” at some point in the future, as there are some features I’m used to having what I did not on that machine right now.
There is a pitfall of Windows 7 (which also came into play with Vista) … the “WinSxS” directory grows in size very quickly ridiculous. It is “windows side by side” and is a tool for building Windows Vista, which has the advantage of supposely to access any application in progress, or more different versions of the installed system operating files. Well, every time you pass a Windows Update, the directory grows … now, “WinSxS” is about five times larger than my “Windows” directory installation and three times great that my “program files” and “Program Files (x32)” directories combined. At this rate, it will consume my entire hard drive, there’s no doubt! But it’s a Microsoft problem. At least with this system with a good-sized disk, there are some buffers before it consumes my entire hard drive!
So that’s my summary of the system. I am very happy together … more than I expected to be. I’ll eventually buy a “notebook monster” but for now, it is meet my needs better than I expected!
The main disadvantages of this system are the main advantages … small size of the keyboard means clumsy and small screen, and small (and “tinny”) speakers as well.
But for a traveler … this thing has an HDMI output … connect to a TV in your hotel room and you can get the output 1920×1080 on a giant screen. Use a nice wireless mouse (the touchpad on and off) and it is easy to use. Get a cheap keyboard so if you want the equivalent of a full keyboard, but I do not plan to. It is almost a “desktop replacement mid-range”, which is far from the netbooks just a couple of years, is not it?

Source : http://www.bestnetbooksbuy.com

ASUS Eee PC 1215N Netbook (ep.6)

Slim, lightweight and fast

Summary
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This netbook works just as well as a bone just above naked, Modern (2011) a laptop with a dedicated video card base. In other words for a netbook is a central especially for the price. It is elegant, light, and the keyboard / touchpad are comfortable to use. The resolution, bright display and a decent native high yields sharp images.
Details
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-The basic functions (Microsoft Office, web browsing, video playback on youtube for example, etc.) work well.
-As for the games will: World of Warcraft and Starcraft II running pretty well on low to medium settings (my framerate in Stormwind on a restless night with people spell was annoyingly spamming ~ 25-30 and BG were roughly the same, but I Haven ‘t even searched on this).
-Partitions are set up nicely if you want to dual / triple boot operating systems. Windows is on its own partition of 100 GB, there is a recovery partition, the data partition of about 380 GB and a 16 MB partition you’ll want to reduce the data partition, then delete the partition 16 MB in order to install Linux, for example.
Comparison with the ASUS 1215N-PU17
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If you watched the predecessor to this model, PU17, there are a couple of improvements I’ve noticed so far:
1. This model is Bluetooth 3.0 compatible
2. To reply to a comment made to another reviewer below: if you buy the system here at Amazon is * absolutely * is installed with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, not 32-bit (this should be fixed in the product description, it seems, but everything else seems correct). For those who do not know: it means you’ll be able to get the most out of your 4 GB of memory if you want to upgrade.
3. As mentioned in a previous comment, this model has much less bloatware than older Asus products. At this point, it has even less bloatware that Dell, HP, etc. You will have to spend some time in Add / Remove Programs with this model (huh, “Programs and Features” in Windows 7 now, I guess).
(In short, the price difference of $ 15 is worth it)
Warnings:
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1. As with the previous model, the female connector power port of the laptop contains a thin roll. It may be a pin slightly thicker than the previous model, but looking at the small size of the male connector of the adapter is, I would still consider this a bad design fragile. Knowing this, if you decide to buy this netbook understand that you will be tricky with the power connector and power cord. As long as you are careful and do not have children wild animals, or klutzy roommate who is likely to pull the cord, the risk is probably worth it.
2. Update your video card drivers on the NVIDIA site as soon as possible. I had some initial video disconnections that have been fixed with the update.
3. Edited) There is a significant problem that may make some touchpad touchpads unusable. Mine fell into this category and there is a solution, but it’s not fun. There is a static grounding pad located directly below the touchpad to be removed. This involves removing the rear panel (where the RAM is located), then removing the screws on the inside of the panel that hold the panel on the touchpad. Once done, you run a credit card or other between the base and touch the front panel to display the tabs. You can then remove the rectangle, pad of money that is close to where the center of the touch pad was. This was either mechanically or getting in the way of screwing things electrical (driver and it has a resistance of 1 ohm that I discovered via a meter). In any case, remove it and it works like a charm. There are also videos on Youtube that will show, if you search for “1215N touchpad problem.”

ASUS Eee PC 1215N Netbook (ep.4)

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ASUS Eee PC 1215N Netbook (ep.3)

Gallery

ASUS Eee PC 1215N Netbook (ep.2)

Specification

• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
• Next Generation NVIDIA® ION™ discrete graphics offers better graphic performance and video experience
• Massive 12.1″ 16:9 HD LED-backlit glare-type display for multimedia enjoyment
• Enjoy Full HD 1080p video playback on a HDTV or big screen via a HDMI port
• USB3.0 enables to transfer data at speeds up to 10 times faster than USB2.0
• Features a camera cover over the webcam’s lens to give you added privacy
• 500GB ASUS WebStorage complimentary online Eee Storage

Operating System	Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium This version contains all product updates (SP1)
Display	12.1″ LED Backlight WXGA (1366×768) Screen
CPU	Intel® Atom™ D525 (Dual Core; 1.8GHz) Processor
Memory	DDR, 1 x SO-DIMM, 1GB ( Maximum 4GB )
Storage	2.5″ SATA 500GB HDD 500GB ASUS Web Storage*
Wireless Data Network	WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n@2.4GHz Bluetooth V3.0+HS(Optional)
Camera	0.3 M Pixel Camera
Audio	Hi-Definition Audio CODEC Stereo Speakers High Quality Mic
Interface	1 x VGA Connector 1 x USB 2.0 (Optional) 2 x USB 3.0 (Optional) 1 x LAN RJ-45 1 x HDMI 2 x Audio Jack (Headphone/Mic-In) 1 x Card Reader : SD/ SDHC/ SDXC/ MMC
Battery	6 cells Li-ion Battery Pack, 6hrs
Dimensions	296 x 203 x 23 ~37 mm (WxDxH)
Weight	3.22 lbs. | 1.45 Kgs (w/ 6cell battery)
Color	Glossy : Black, Red, Silver

Source : http://www.bestnetbooksbuy.com

ASUS Eee PC 1215N Netbook (ep.1)

Description

Entertainment HD-enhanced with NVIDIA Optimus

With more HD content available now than ever, you need a netbook that can keep up. The Eee PC 1215N-PU27 has both performance and mobility to respond to the call. It features the new Intel Atom D525 dual-core processor, the next generation NVIDIA ION graphics, and a superb 12.1-inch HD screen to give you all the power needed for on-the-go enjoy HD. And with NVIDIA Optimus, the Eee PC 1215N intelligently switches between the NVIDIA ION graphics and embedded graphics to maximize battery life without compromising performance. Add to the LED backlit screen and ASUS Super Hybrid Engine, you can stay unplugged for up to 7 hours between charges. With sustainable mobility, it has a compact, scratch-resistant design that fits in cases, and backpacks – perfect for long trips or daily errands.
The Eee PC 1215N is one of the few select with HDMI connectivity. So when you feel like super-sizing of HD movies, simply connect to an HDTV and enjoy 1080p HD video and up to 8 channels. In addition, you get a total of 1000 GB Hybrid Storage – 500GB of ASUS WebStorage and a spacious 500GB hard drive – to store, share and store your music, videos and other valuable data. The Eee PC 1215N comes with chiclet-sized keyboard, stereo speakers, high-speed Wireless-N, 2 GB DDR2 memory, and Windows 7 Home Premium.

Ergonomic chiclet keyboard for comfort

The Eee PC ™ Seashell chiclet keyboard is more comfortable and less fatiguing to type on for prolonged

Comfort On-the-Go

The Eee PC 1215N has more surface area for a wider wrist comfort. The ergonomic chiclet keyboard is huge, with concave keys that direct your finger to the center of the surface.
Weighing less than 3.3 lbs (with battery), the PC thin and light Eee 1215N is compact so that you can use in an aircraft or any small space with room to spare. The multi-touch trackpad lets you easily zoom in and out to view photos or read documents simply by dragging two fingers together or separately.

Satisfied with the unprecedented performance of energy efficiency

The Eee PC ™ 1215N defies the notion of netbooks being designed just to meet basic computer. The 1215N packs Intel ® Atom ™ D525 dual core processor and next-generation NVIDIA ® ION ™ graphics processor with discrete NVIDIA ® Optimus ™ technology to deliver a netbook with powerful capabilities of multimedia performance.
NVIDIA ® Optimus ™ technology intelligently switches between discrete and integrated graphics to provide the optimal graphics needed, thereby extending battery life in the process.

Power with Enhanced Battery Life

Equipped with the Intel Atom D525 dual-core processor, the Eee PC 1215N offers a more efficient power than its predecessor. Moreover, the ASUS Super Hybrid Engine allows you to instantly switch between power profiles to optimize the system for your task.
Now with NVIDIA Optimus, the Eee PC 1215N intelligently switches between NVIDIA ION graphics processor and Intel integrated graphics to give you maximum battery life without compromising performance.

High speed, efficient connectivity

The Eee PC ™ 1215N comes with USB 3.0 *, allowing you to transfer data at speeds up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 **. Speed ​​and efficiency in a mobile platform stylish Eee PC ™ 1215N is a perfect combination of beauty and performance.
In addition, the 1215N is capable of charging mobile phones via the USB port even when the Eee PC is off. The mobile phone can also be powered by the battery of the Eee PC.
Built-in 0.3M pixel webcam is 1215N lets you video conference with business associates in a world far, while the Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth 3.0 * ensures that you are connected even when you’re on the road.

Your Companion portable Internet

Not only is the Eee PC 1215N have a 500GB hard drive, it also comes with 500 GB ASUS WebStorage complementarity, for a total of 1000 GB of storage capacity. WebStorage ASUS makes it easy for users to share media with friends and family via simple drag and drop a line interface so you can save your data and access it anywhere online.
Connect, communicate and explore online with features that turn your wireless world. High-speed Wireless-N connectivity is six times faster than 802.11b / g to surf the Web Snappy between your favorite sites and streaming video faster. The integrated webcam with lens cover and microphone lets you Skype face-to-face with friends, family and colleagues in crisp, clear quality.Connect, communicate, and explore online with features that turn your wireless world.
Bluetooth V3.0 gives transfer rates 160 times faster to your Bluetooth devices for synchronization of data faster and more reliable connections. The integrated webcam with lens cover and microphone lets you Skype face-to-face with friends, family and

Immersive multimedia

The Eee PC 1215N has a 12.1-inch LED-backlit HD, stereo speakers and HDMI connectivity so you can enjoy movies, videos and photos in amazing HD quality. With a display resolution up to 1366 x 768, you’ll experience crisp, true to life visuals while streaming content on-the-go. In addition, the LED backlit screen saves energy for the battery life longer and provides brilliant, better than the visual display without it. HDMI ready, the Eee PC 1215N easily connects to compatible HDTV screens and external to stream 1080p HD video with 8 channels of audio.
With the next generation NVIDIA ION graphics, the Eee PC 1215N is your own mini-entertainment center HD – provision of literacy HD 1080p via HDMI. NVIDIA CUDA technology further enhances the visual content Eee PC 1215N and casual gaming by accelerating graphics-intensive tasks like video editing and encoding of light.

Provide mass media entertainment

The next generation NVIDIA ® ION ™ discrete graphics processor in the Eee PC ™ 1215N enables it to offer a visual experience never before seen on netbooks. The 1215N is capable of smooth, clear video playback in 1080p high definition on its 12-inch 1366 x 768 HD widescreen with a 16:9 ratio.
Hardware decoders built into the 1215N perfectly decode file formats H.264, VC1 and MPEG2 while the HDMI output allows full HD 1080p playback on large screens.
The 1215N also features a camera lens on the front of the webcam to give you added privacy.

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* Availability is dependent on selected model, country or operator support. Check with your local ASUS website for more details.
** Speeds quoted are component specification. Actual speeds may vary by configuration and devices used.
*** Complimentary one-year 500GB ASUS WebStorage trial. Please visit www.asuswebstorage.com for more details. Specifications are subject to change without prior notice. Please visit www.asus.com for more information.




Source : http://www.bestnetbooksbuy.com

ASUS Eee PC 1215B Netbook (ep.5)

Asus and AMD have a winner … about

Pros
-Came with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processing power, E-350s and better than average graphics performance
Overall, great looking laptop
USB 3.0 Port
+-USBCharge, an application that allows you to charge your devices via USB even when the notebook is off
-6 Hours of battery life
Island-style keyboard with Home, PgUp, PgDn, and End keys (missing similarly spec’d Dm1z)
Cons
-Typical bloatware you find on many PC
-Trackpad is a unique link which is perceptible noise
-Partitioned hard drive came very strangely, it can be fixed easily enough in Windows 7, but the end user should not have to worry about that.
-Charging Adapter is not always responsible for the first plug-in laptop
Trackpad-insensitive when
Overall, I am satisfied with my purchase, but especially because I was able to fix many of the Cons I had with this laptop when I bought it. First I will focus on the benefits.
I think Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit for more, because with a smaller form factor, it has rarely use the power to the 64-bit operating system. The first Pro is directly related to the second Pro, the processor is actually really good. I had Google Chrome works with about 12 tabs open, looking at a trailer in 720p with Microsoft Office applications running in the background and it handled the load very well. The trailer played at a respectable 28 fps without a drop in frames, a typical task of your single or double heart heart Intel Atom CPU could not do.
The USB 3.0 is a better place for future leak if it is not something else. USB 3.0 will become the norm in the case of the use and transferal device so its a pleasant surprise that Asus decided to include the port on this laptop.
Speaking of USB there are a total of 3 on this laptop, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, USB 2.0 port and a port of loading (the USB port on the left side of the laptop). This port in the conjunta USBCharger pre-installed software + program allows you to charge a device via the USB port while the laptop is off, does not sleep, not hibernation, completely cut off. This is the laptop that I travel a lot with its light and since I keep in my backpack. If the battery on my phone starts to run out, I can just plug my USB cable in the existing port and load up my camera, without the power on the laptop. This may not seem like a really great feature for many people but for mobile users is a very useful function.
Battery life is subjective depending on your usage, but I think it provided enough power to just spend my normal school day without having to carry a charger while being able to provide some juice to my smartphone . With brightness set to about 60%, wireless enabled, running on multiple tabs in Google Chrome, and typing into Google Docs, I get about 6 hours of use. Like any computer, if you start streaming video or run a heavy Flash content, you can expect to have your cup run about 30 to 40%.
The last I will speak Pro is the keyboard island. I am sure that this percent is a full keyboard, but it is quite comfortable to type on. The keys have a nice amount of compression and provides a satisfying click without being too noisy. I would prefer if the keys were slightly rubberized and less clever, but it’s better than your average keyboard to this form factor.
Now I will discuss the Cons. The bloatware is really easy to treat, go to control panel and remove programs you do not want. I do recommend you give this application a try first before deleting. + USBCharge is one of those rare gems that I really liked when it comes preloaded applications.
The bar Trackpad is a rare thing that I use with an application called TwoFingerScroll. This application allows you to add something for the MacOS keyboard as typing with two fingers to allow a right click, a gesture that pilots Synaptics trackpads typical PC does not natively support.
The hard drive is something I do not quite understand. The hard drive has about 300 GB available, but you can only access about 90 GB one. I had to use the Device Manager in Windows 7 to re-partition the hard drive. This is something that a technician would certainly not bothered, hell, I’m a geek and I’m bored with it, Asus should certainly solve this problem in the future.
When you look at the charging port on the 1215b you might confuse it with an audio jack or microphone because its so small. The charger has a very small plug that looks very fragile and could easily break overtime. I returned very late from class feeling pretty tired, so I grabbed my laptop from my bag, threw it on the charger, and collapsed on my bed to sleep a little much needed. The next morning I wake up grabbing my laptop to school to find that did not charge at all to 8 hours of his hip was in place. I checked the detachable cable connected and it was as it should so I’m not sure what’s going on. I unplug the charging cable and reconnected and boom, now it decides to load. This takes place at least 10 times since I am the owner of this laptop, it’s not a huge con, but be sure to take an overview of the LED load to ensure that its on before you leave only.
The biggest of them all for a Con trackpad. Simply put, it works sometimes and sometimes not at all. The main entrance to navigate on your mobile may decide to stop working at any second, crazy is not it. I uninstalled the Synaptics Touchpad drivers and grabbed the latest on the Asus website and I still encountered the same problem. I even started a different operating system (Linux Mint) and I still could recreate the same insensitivity trackpad, so I knew he was not in software. Fortunately, eeeuser.com gave me a solution. I had to force open and my laptop and remove two pieces of tape that were placed between the trackpad and the motherboard (to avoid the shock) to solve the problem. It’s really not excusable, all users have not encountered this problem, but knowing that I canceled my warranty potentially use my laptop is really discouraging.
So there’s my mini review of the 1215b, I made sure I used this laptop as far as I could before I wrote an opinion on it. With all the amenities that are listed, I will still give it a rating of 4 out of 5. There are not many E-350 processors available that come in a 12.1 to 11.6 form factor so my rating reflects the similar laptops that are available. The Dm1z have overheating problems that make the fan run continuously and lack of certain keys (those that I mentioned in the pros. X120e The Thinkpad has a 6 cell battery (like the 1215b), except that it exceeds from the rear, a design feature and I hate the Sony Vaio PCV-YB15KX is about 100 dollars more than the other E-350 similar spec’d laptops. You may or may not encounter the same problems as I had, but all things considered (after some tweaking of course), I am satisfied with my purchase. All electronics are going to have their gripes and defects, luckily mine were mostly fixable. He attractive design, attractive price points, respectable specs, really great form factor. When it comes to accessibility, portability and power, the 1215b is a really good competitor.