A great value
This has to be one of the best low price notebooks. I strongly recommend it!

I was happy, and then year 1 ended
I bought this netbook 1 year and 7 days ago when my old laptop died, and for most of that year, I've been a happy camper. But 3 weeks ago, my EEE started dropping its internet connection (with another computer right next to it online succesfully), and then 2 days ago, it started freezing completely with no warning or apparent cause, requiring a hard reboot. I did a factory reset yesterday, wiping the entire machine clean, and crossed my fingers, but today--four more crashes. Not good.

Now, I'm understanding, and sometimes these things happen. But when I called Asus, I was told they would need to have the computer for up to 14 business days to test it, and oh, oops, the warranty ended 7 days ago, so I would be charged for their help. When something dies one week after its warranty period ends, I feel suspicious. This is obviously supposed to be a cheap computing solution, but how cheap is it if you need to replace it one year and one week into its lifespan?

Great for school!!!
I love it! I got it for my school work and it's working great. Of course this kind of computers is not for heavy use, so I have another computer that I use to surf the net and do most of my work. Keyboard is not hard to get used to since it is smaller but it's not as small as the other notebooks. The Battery life is not 9 hours, I've tried it lol however it is around 8 which is not a big difference so I'm ok with that. The screen is small but that is what you get for getting a notebook. The only reason that I'd not recommend this product for is with the Ipad you get the same features you look for in a notebook for school with a little bit more money.

Blue Screen
I can understand how reviewers who received good versions of this netbook are able to give good reviews.

Unfortunately, for me, I received one that completely crashed soon after I received it, resulting in the dreaded "blue screen" and leaving me with a doorstop, instead of a usable computer.

What added insult to injury is that I spent a good amount of time testing the computer before I left on an important road trip I was going to take. On that trip, I was going to use the netbook for documenting my journey. Everything worked fine here at home. But, the first time I started the computer once on the road, it died.

I promptly returned it, got a refund, and will not be purchasing anything from ASUS now or in the future. In fact, I finished building a new computer this spring, and purposely avoided purchasing anything from ASUS.

ASUS needs to exercise more quality control. They have lost another customer due to my experience with one of their products.

I am not too sure
Ok, Here is the long and the short. I got it and it did not work. I gave two stars because it came early in the mail. It has never worked. Then I had to call tech services and had to stay on the phone with them for hours to figure out that the thing was broken and needed to be sent back. I could have told them that from the beginning. I was considering purchasing one for my sister, she is going to college in August but no no no no. It has been a pretty bad experience.

Good Value Good Performance
This is the second UL30A-X5K I've recieved from Amazon. The first one had a dead pixel in the middle of the screen so I returned it and Amazon sent me this replacement very quickly, no problems. Thanks Amazon. I primarily bought this notebook because it offers a mix of portability, battery life, and performance. I have a 10" eeePC netbook and a 17" Sony Vaio FW series. I needed a notebook with more power and functionality than my netbook but with better portability than my Sony Vaio. I chose this version over the one with the switchable graphics card because of the cheaper price. So far the 4500MHD card has met my needs perfectly. I typically use this computer to browse the internet, create MS office documents, and for entertainment such as online videos, and video/ music playback. Video playback is excellent, I have no problems streaming HD video content.

The UL30A-X5 handles multitasking quite well. I was pleasantly surprised at how quick the 1.3ghz dual-core ULV processor works. The 4gbs of RAM is very handy as well for resource intensive programs. As far as build quality goes, I was a little underwhelmed. It feels nice and solid but apart from the aluminum case(fingerprint magnet) it seems a bit plasticky. The build quality is slightly better than eeePC series but I was expecting more at this price point, however the glossy screen does give it more of a high-end look. I still give this laptop five stars because while it's not amazing by any means it is a solid, good performing PC with excellent battery life.

Pros: Slim form factor, quick performance, battery life: around 9 hours of web browsing on power saver, better than average speakers, nice keyboard, good screen, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit, lightweight, HDMI port, large hard drive, 1yr warranty,

Cons: Dated BIOS; does not allow booting from SD card, comes loaded with bloatware, somewhat cheap build quality, fingerprint magnet case, no bluetooth,

Overall I am pleased with my purchase, I recommend it to anyone who needs a notebook with great balance between performance and portability.

Perfect for the future college student
I received my computer a day ago and I haven't had a single problem with it. I'm not a huge computer nerd, but I'm not computer illiterate... so here's my PRO/CON list.

PROS
-It was easy to get it started. I was using the computer as I normally would an hour after I opened the box it came in.
-The keyboard is easy to type on.
-The track-pad is nice. People who have reviewed the UL30A-X5 (basically the same thing only without the Kindle Program installed) say they don't like it, but I like it. It doesn't make the skin on your finger feel "tired" if that makes sense.
-The quick-start option is really cool! I know I'll use it a lot when I want to quickly look something up on the internet but don't want to go through the process of starting up Windows. Windows also doesn't take a long time to start up... it takes a minute from the time you hit the power button to the time you can run a program.
-The camera is very fun to use. It might just be the novelty of it, but it's a fun little plus.
-As others have written before in other reviews (for the UL30A-X5), there is little "bloatware". You're not really bombarded with the free trial stuff.
-No problems with Wi-fi range.
-It stays cool.
-It's quick, as a new computer should be.

CONS
-Fingerprint magnet, as others have said before. But does that really matter?
-The right-hand shift key is shorter than your average shift key. I find myself pressing the up arrow by accident, but I think I'll be able to train myself not to extend my pinky so far sooner or later.
-The battery life for using normal Windows is 7 hours. Still not bad, but don't get your hopes up for 12!
-I did get one "This application is not responding" message when I used the application that comes with the webcam. I think I was clicking different things too quickly and it got confused.
-No optical drive. This isn't really a CON, but a forewarning. While not having one makes it harder to install software, it also makes the laptop lighter. You can buy an external one that burns DVDs for .

And that's all! If I ever have anything else to add, I'll be sure to write it here. Feel free to ask me any questions!

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EDIT: Today I logged onto my computer and I had some snowy rectangles on my screen, as well as some horizontal snowy lines. It's hard to describe. I simply restarted the computer and everything was back to normal. I'm hoping something is not wrong with the monitor's connection. I'll keep you posted if it happens again.

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Good Product
I was pleased with this model UL30A, I did not need or want the switchable video, so this was a good bargain at 599 for the larger 13.3 screen and full size keyboard. The screen is very thin, notebook is light and solid. I have a few other Asus notebooks and like the chicklet style keyboard they use. It is also very cool running. The reason I would not give it 5 stars is the ridiculous battery claim or 12 hours. This is not realistic in any fashion. I would say it is in the range of 7-8 with normal use, so even if everything is turned off I don't see any way to get to 12.

Overall, if you are looking for a 13.3 thin and light netbook it is a fantastic deal. If you want to go a bit smaller and save about 0 I would look at the 1201N-PU17-SL as an option.

Underwhelmed by first production run. Try again.
I actually own the 1005-PR, so I am aware that Asus CAN delivery high quality work. This laptop was purchased to run outside as a document writer while in travel. Unfortunately, the one delivered to me had a hard drive that already starting whirring the clicks of death. I didn't even have a chance to really install anything or do much beyond patching the OS when the computer starting randomly clicking. Hopefuly the second version which arrived today works better.

I did do a battery test run doing nothing. On the PowerMark recommended settings, the battery lasts for 7 hours, not 11 as advertised. It played video well contrary to some other reports on this machine. This machine does not run hot in your lap compared to the 1005-PR.

This is also the first time I have used the Amazon RMA process, and from a customer's perspective, it's awesome! The RMA ticket process is easy to generate, UPS easily handled my package, and a new one was shipped even prior to the delivered return. I'm never going to worry again about buying an expensive piece of equipment from Amazon again.

-----Modified after I received an exchange from Amazon RMA from 2-3 stars-------------



So, now that I get a functional one, I really like it. I don't need a optical drive directly attached. Even with being extremely battery efficient, I only get 7 hours (the other reviewer is right). It is fast enough that I don't notice hanging with the standard Microsoft suite, it will play video fine, it will actually run Eclipse and NumPy (relatively painful on the processors) without noticable issues in interactive mode. The speakers aren't bad, and the screen is decent if you are looking straight at it. Wi-fi is a cinch, and I don't notice range issues with the card.

For people who insist on putting their laptops through the wringer, it will play Quake 4 without noticeable lag, and LFD1 with noticeable lag. This is by no means a present day gaming rig, but the Intel 4500 is more than adequate for the normal run-of-the-mill tasks.

Basically, if you need a light document writer, a long battery computer, this one is great. If you are trying to use RAM-dependent programs like Stata, NumPy, or Matlab, it'll be slow, but the IDE's will work fine. If you want to use Itunes or 1080p, the screen and even the speakers aren't bad. If you want to put GOG games on it, it'll work fine. If you are trying to play Crysis, *(& no.

BTW, about Amazon's RMA process. Request in 6/2, Amazon mails out 6/3, Arrives 6/5, return was just delivering to the local UPS acceptor (Kinko's in my case). Yea, Amazon for making the exchange painless.

Surpassed expectations
There are many in depth tech-savy reviews already posted for this little machine, so I will be to the point and brief.
It is worth every penny. It is fast, quiet, efficient, and the battery gives me an average of 6 to 7 hours before I have to plug in. This is perfect for me. You can get more like 9 or 10 hours if you are just doing some light web surfing and email type stuff. I use this netbook for web surfing (install Firefox on this netbook) and managing my itunes. Surprisingly it even handles my netflix movies with no problems! What a great little movie player it has turned out to be! AND...it even runs one of my favorite online games near perfectly. and it is a full 3D game called Wizards101. It finds and auto connects to any WIFI with no problems at all. I take this netbook to work and have it with me on my desk next to my work computer. Its so small and good looking and it gets me into some of the websites that I may not want work to know im browsing...like Amazon haha! So yeah...im pretty darn impressed with the capabilities of this netbook. I did upgrade the RAM to 2GB before I ever turned the netbook on so I couldnt tell you how it works on the standard 1GB. So for me it is a great netbook. it has totally replaced my big heavy laptop and with such a huge memory this liitle netbook can grow with me. And heck, its so inexpensive that I could just upgrade to a new one every year if I really wanted to haha ;) Great for the internet. email. certain games, even 3D...although its not going to run a lot of them too well. for my game its just fine! great for managing your iTunes and updating your iPhone. Watch all your Netflix movies with no problems. Windows 7 is a breeze and user friendly. Store all your photos, music and videos on a seperate hard drive if you want because it come with 2 HUGE storage drives. Its light and the screen is not a glossy high reflective fingerprint magnet which is great! Anyway, I love this netbook, and Im so happy i found it! I will buy another one when they come out with one that just blows these specs away. until then, im a satisfied buyer.

Giant step backward for ASUS EEE Netbook
I am a big fan of the ASUS EEE-PC 1000 models. I had a 1000HA that I used every day and enjoyed. It was durable and resilient to my usage. This new thing is inferior, though. (1) The keys don't feel as good to the touch. (2) The touchpad buttons are on a single bar, meaning it doesn't have a separate button for left and right, which I find kind of annoying. (3) The Windows 7 Starter is cumbersome and not intuitive, so I've now gone back to an older ACER with Win XP, which is still the best windows I've seen.

(4) THIS WAS THE BIG PROBLEM: I upgraded to a 2GB memory card, perfectly consistent with ASUS specifications, and then whenever I plugged in the AC Adaptor while the laptop was already turned on, the laptop would crash. Happened every time I plugged in the adaptor, when it was already on. I had read one review with the same problem and the fix was to get a higher GHz memory upgrade, but that's what I used and it still had the problem. I called ASUS and they said they would research a solution, even though they must have heard this from other customers already. Anyway, they never got back to me about it. I didn't like being lied to by ASUS and I can't believe they would sell it without being able to upgrade the RAM, especially when that laptop really needs the memory upgrade to effectively stream video. I returned it.

Bottom line, you'd be better off with the (older) EEE 1000 series, in my opinion.

Good until broken
ASUS eee pc has everything I was looking for. Long battery life, light weight, cheap etc.

I have had a couple of problems that is worth sharing with other who are looking to purchase this.

1. The rebate is scam. I did not get my rebate despite filling up all forms properly, and sending them to right place. They first denied my rebate notifying me that the UPC does not match. I emailed them, and they told me to resend the documents to a different address. Next time, they denied notifying me that my paperworks were too late.

2. The battery life reduces much faster. It powered up around 9-hours initially (at nominal use), but within 1-year it is reduced to about 5-hours with the same work loads.

3. Mic died. The built in mic and speakers do not seem to be reliable. The mic does not work at all. I now need to carry an extra external mic if I plan to use it. I can't believe that the components are made of cheap materials that stops working in a short time.

4. Hard drive disk slow. Sometime it takes several seconds to execute an operation, if it needs to access the hard drive.

ATTENTION: No recovery disc included!
After extensive research into netbooks I bought the Eee PC 1001p-pu17. I wanted the following features (in order of importance): non-glare screen, recovery disc, long battery life, wlan b/g/n, decent keyboard, and bluetooth. The other netbook I considered was the HP Mini 210. I chose the 1001p because all the e-retail sites stated that it comes with a recovery disc, which is important to me because at some point I want to upgrade the hard drive. I was shocked and dismayed when I opened the box to find no recovery disc. I called ASUS and they told me they no longer shipped the computers with a recovery disc. If I still wanted one I would have to buy it from them for . Well it actually is .93 with S&H and CA tax. I really felt cheated that ASUS decided to do this, yet didn't bother to tell their retailers about it.

As for the computer, it is decent. I get about 7-8 hours of real life use from the battery. The Express Gate alternate OS is neat to have if you want to quickly get on the internet. But since it is a different OS the resolution is lower than Windows 7. The keyboard is on the flimsy side, with a noticeable flex when I type. But the size is decent and I am able to touch type without much problems. Windows 7 Starter is decent, but I wished it included a full version of Windows Media Player, since it doesn't play videos/DVD. And I have noticed that upgrading the RAM to 2Gb has made an improvement in performance.

pleased
In the two weeks that I've had this netbook (my first) it has consistently exceeded my expectations. Battery life is excellent - not quite 11 hours, but definitely 8+ hours with moderate use and screen brightness several levels above the minimum. The design is aesthetically pleasing and the keyboard is comfortable enough to type on and use. I may upgrade the RAM in the future, but I haven't felt any need for it yet; the system is surprisingly snappy. My main computer is a Mac and I haven't really used Windows computers since XP, so I was wary of Windows 7 Starter, but I've found it to be surprisingly elegant and intuitive compared to XP. Asus's on-board application for changing the wallpaper even eliminates the only thing that the Starter version purposely cripples that I would have missed.

All in all, I'm a very satisfied customer.