Asus Eee PC 1015P 10.1 inch netbook (Intel Atom N450 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, WLAN, Webcam, Up to 11hrs battery life, Windows 7 Starter) - Black

Before buying this netbook I owned a Dell Mini 10 which got stolen. I had heard the Asus name, went to their website and found out they sell some pretty slick-looking devices.

This netbook is primarily used by my wife, so it's not intended for heavy duty, however, comparing it to the Dell Mini 10, this little beauty has a couple of major strengths. First is performance, I don't know if it was because the Dell had Windows XP and the Asus has Windows 7, but boot up time is at least twice better in the Asus. Then, performance when starting up programs, on the Dell you could tell you were on a resource-limited machine, starting up Firefox took ages -very disappointing. The Asus feels almost like a desktop... keep in mind both machines have the same amount of RAM. Battery life is impressive, maybe not those 11 hrs claimed, but close.

Another major difference is the materials, the Dell felt like a toy made out of cheap plastic. When holding it by the base you could feel the wrist rest sinking under your thumb pressure. Clicking the trackpad buttons wasn't very reliable you could hear it click, but the click wouldn't actually happen on the screen, unless you pressed harder. Very unreliable and anoying. While the Dell was also a fingerprint feast, the Asus just looks prettier, feels very, very solid, anti-fingerprint pattern all over... lovey, dovey stuff.

I feel I should have paid more for the Asus. It's a perfect netbook for it's intended use. The keyboard might be a tad small for my hands, but for my little wife it's just the ticket! the whole thing!.

This is so dinky and cute, am writing my review on it right now! It has all the functions and less of the weight and bulkiness associated with a laptop. It was a purchase made for my son but to be honest, I have it most days! I have the white one.

It has never let me down or crashed or had any hiccups, it is sturdy and robust for all it's small. I still have my family tower pc ,but this is on my wireless network and can be taken room to room and powered up anywhere.

The battery does last long on a charge, and the netbook is compact enough to go anywhere on the move.

Ten out of ten buy ,and no qualms recommending it.

Using the pad as opposed to the mouse is something I got used to really quickly too.

Bright LCD screen, and enough ports for your media needs ( as no CD drive!)

On summarising it has:

* Function indication lights ie battery level, wi fi etc
* DC slot -on left
* 3 usb slots (on left and right side)
* Built-in stereo speakers
* Kensington lock slot
* Monitor slot
* Modem (wired) slot
* SD Card reader
* Built-in webcam
* Headphone socket
* Mic socket
* Small ,lightweight and durable
* Versatile and very user friendly
* Suits children and adults alike
* Suits both left and right handed users
* Perfect companion to your main pc if you need something 'extra'
* Reliable and well made
* Ideal for travelling keeping kids amused in backseat, holidays,etc
* Space saving
* Low power consumption

I bought this eee PC 1015P after my much-loved two and a bit year old eee PC 901 came to an unfortunate and untimely end. Athough only the eee PC 901 one has been my personal netbook, I have been responsible for buying/setting up a number of other (mainly eee PC) netbooks since I bought this.

Upon opening the box I'm immediately conscious of feeling that this netbook, though up to ASUS's usual good build quality standards, isn't quite as end-user friendly as some of the earlier incarnations of the eee PC. The outside is a dimpled surface plastic that I don't particularly look forward to cleaning, but apart from that everything feels robust as usual. The monitor cleaning cloth and neoprene slipcover included with earlier versions of the eee PC have been jetisoned from this pack, so until you've bought a case you can't really take it with you unless you're willing to get the outside of your new computer all scratched.

Turning the machine on to use it for the first time takes a little while - there's a rather long-winded Windows 7 startup process and the inevitable yards of EULA to agree to before anything becomes useable. Within minutes of completing setup, I find I'm a bit disappointed in the bundled software. Star Office, the excellent MS-compatible suite of Office Programs which has appeared on every other eee machine I've used has been replaced with a truncated version of Microsoft Office (Word and Excel in Starter versions only complete with advertising), leaving you light on Office tools functionality. A quick visit to Open Office sorts out the immediate problem of restricted Word Processing/Spreadsheets and NO presentation software. There is an included anti-virus package - but only on a 1-month trial - and a rather random ereader for the New York Times.

And then there's Windows 7.

The latest Windows behemoth is big, clunky, slow AND as the machine comes with only the Starter version bundled has some major restrictions. For instance, don't like the dull as ditchwater Windows wallpaper? Shame, because there's no native way to change it. Worse, if you make use of third party software to allow changes to be made you are, apparently, breaching the license agreement. Want DVD playback through MediaPlayer and an external DVD drive? Tough. Switch between users without logging out? Not going to happen. Backup to a network device such as a wi-fi hard drive? Nada. Microsoft have held these features back for the premium version.

Salvation is, apparently, at hand as even the start menu helpfully pushes you towards 'Windows Anytime Upgrade'... but the upgrade to home premium offered online from Microsoft comes in at roughly a third more expensive than the version available for sale on Amazon, so if you've got an external DVD drive then avoid this easy-seeming fix like the plague. The best bet, if you think you're going to find the restrictions imposed by the Starter version of Windows 7 too confining, is to buy the reduced-price upgrade currently offered as a bundled item when you buy an eligible PC/laptop/netbook. I'm so annoyed that I didn't do this!

Overall, this is a nice, well-built netbook. It isn't quite as immediately all-round useable as some of the earlier eee PC models, but the ASUS issues are generally little niggles (and things that wouldn't have concerned me at all, had I been new to the brand). Most of this netbook's drawbacks can be laid squarely at the door of Microsoft.

As others have said, bring back XP for netbook users!