ASUS Eee PC 1015PX-PU17-BU 10.1-Inch Netbook (Blue)
ASUS Eee PC 1015PX-PU17-BU 10.1-Inch Netbook (Blue)
- Intel Atom N570 Dual Core Processor 1.66Ghz
- 1 GB DDR3 SODIMM memory, 1 slot, max 2 GB
- 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM); no optical drive
- 10.1-Inch Matte WSVGA LED Display; 802.11 b/g/n; 10/100 LAN; Bluetooth 3.0; 3 USB 2.0 ports; 2-in-1 Card reader (SD/MMC)
- Up to 11 Hours of Battery Life; Windows 7 Starter Operating System
Atom N570 / 1GB DDR3 / 250G HDD / no optical drive / Windows 7 Starter 32 bit / 802.11bgn / Bluetooth 3.0 / 3 x USB 2.0 ports / VGA port / 2-in-1 Card reader (SD/MMC) / Up to 11 Hours battery life / 1yr warrantyDual-Core Power; All Day Computing
Powered by the new Intel® Atom™ N570 dual-core processor, Eee PC 1015PX-P is the latest addition to the Eee PC Seashell series to provide perfect combination of multi-tasking productivity, with a richer multimedia and Internet experienc
List Price: $ 329.99
Price: $ 298.98
Here’s Some Facts to Weigh Your Decision,
UPDATE TO THIS REVIEW: Be careful. Asus updated the px model. Some carry two speakers, while others still have one – reference Alvin English’s review. Aside from the good qualities, the px I bought “on sale” had 1 speaker. The 2 speaker models deserve 4 stars, but enough about that.
A good difference between the px and older models is that the charger does not have a middle brick anymore, just a long stringy wire, which is much more portable and I really liked it.
A feature that could sway you one way or the other is the processor clock speed, the Atom n550 (1.5ghz) versus the Atom n570 (1.66ghz). The reason I am writing this at the moment is because resellers are still selling the n550 model for cheaper. I don’t know if 0.16ghz is worth $30-$50 more, but clock speed is not everything in a processor, so who knows? This is why I updated to 4 and not 5 stars. Another feature that could sway you one way or the other is that the 1015px uses the Intel UMA for graphics, which did well when I used it on the 1015px, as oppossed to the 1015pn which uses the Nvidia Ion Graphics Chip. The main reason that they did this, I’m guessing, is for battery life. Here is a query: do you really need a more expensive graphics card, like the card in the 1015pn, to run 360p streaming video on a 1024 x 600 screen? Standard features that separate the PX from other brands are the accessable RAM slot for easy upgrade (which I highly recomend buying the two GB upgrade).
For those of you who think it’s brain surgery to replace RAM. It’s not. Replacing RAM is like putting a tape in a tape player, a cartridge in an old Nintendo; a VHS in a VHS player. People charge to do it, but shouldn’t. Youtube it, there are guys who do it in two minutes.
Lastly, here is a juicy peice of advice for any Asus you buy, Asus is big on releasing a product and then releasing updates for the bios, which are absolutely essential to get, so make sure you get them. Rate this review if it helped. Thanks for reading. PS Buying from Amazon is quality.
MY, STILL RELEVANT, OLD 3 STAR REVIEW:
I really like Asus products and I think their engineers/designers do a good job, and I still do. To start, I agree with Keoni’s Review. Unlike the rest of the Seashell Series, the 1015px has one left-hand speaker, whereas the right-hand pocket is empty, which is why I gave it 3 stars and why I returned it – I need two speakers for my job. For your return reason, truthfully say “False Advertising: said two speakers, provided only one,” and Amazon will gladly take it. For more about speakers go to his review, it’s spot on. This is not one of Asus’s best ideas, but if you don’t need two speakers, then you’re set…then it was the same as above.
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|Upgrading from 1000he, more good than any bad,
I finally bit the bullet and decided that I would upgrade from my EEEpc 1000he I have had for 2 years, and after reading up on some of the newer models out there this one seemed like a natural fit, so my review will be based on coming from using that wonderful “old gal”.
Un-boxing my 1015px two things struck me; there is no OEM disk this time (it’s learning!), and what is this funky looking cord? After a couple days of use I actually readily enjoy this new power cord compared to the old ones (and their horrible failure rate), it sticks out – of the opposite side, mind you – only half as far as the old one, and having the brick and plugs being one in the same means that when I’m up and about carrying my netbook I’m not dragging the brick all over the floor like a leashed miniature chihuahua. Awesome.
The unit itself is in the “Seashell Series” family this time ’round which makes it thinner and noticeably lighter than my 1000he, even carried with the new power cord, and it is mostly finished in a matte coating that is going to work out way better than the glossy one grease-wise. The keyboard is 99% the same, the extra buttons at top are missing (which is fine by me as I wasn’t aware they did anything anyway…), and the power button is a lot more sturdy and well seated than the last one.
This brings me to my only two physical misgivings about the 1015px. The first being the mouse button bar that is fairly wobbly (I plan to add a couple of bits of air filter material at either end when I get under the hood. Hopefully that’ll fix that, but why am I solving your mistakes for you Asus?). The second problem is that on the bottom of this machine, instead of the one-stop hard drive/RAM access panel, there is only clear access to the RAM. Sigh.
The software package for the 1015px is comparable to anything else out there, in some ways more and in some less annoying than the copy of Windows XP that came (and quickly went)on my 1000he, but it is all definitely hindered by a horribly amputated version of Windows 7. Now I wont be getting into a large rant here about why Windows 7 Starter is the devil, but I am going to tell you that Windows 7 Starter is the devil. Plan to be upgrading or replacing it, and adding that cost (unless you know your way around a Linux distro) to your netbook budget. Though I will add that the new N570 processor and 3150 graphics set is running everything like a finely tuned hot-rod.
In short:
Pros: Light and seemingly well constructed matte finished body, the strange new power cord is better IMHO, so far about 2 more hrs of battery life at about 9hrs (wow), snappy and surprising operation from the N570 and GMA 3150 graphics.
Cons: A .3 megapixel webcam instead of the old 1.3 (when did this start?!), loose and rattly mouse bar, no easy hard drive access, Windows 7 Starter is a worse OEM operating system than Vista (ya, I went there).
Misc: I keep an Ubuntu 11.04 install on 16gb sd card that worked wonderfully on my 1000he, and it worked just the same on this machine.
Overall, minus the missing hard drive access, i would recommend the 1015px to anyone upgrading from an earlier EEEpc, at least I am really enjoying mine.
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|Great Little Machine, But Read the Specs Carefully,
For me, the 1015PX does precisely what I wanted it to do. It’s small, light, with a bright screen. I’m not looking to edit video, or play games on it — it’s a functional work machine. That’s why I caution folks to read the specs, on this, or any netbook. It’s not a full-sized laptop, nor is it intended to be. With that out of the way, here are the pros and cons:
PROS:
1) Really solid build quality. Everything feels tight, well fit, and sturdy. The hinges snap, the power button doesn’t wobble. It’s well put together.
2) Although cramped, the keyboard has a fantastic tactile feel, and great response.
3) The matte finish on the outer case is a nice touch. Good fingerprint hiding abilities — and the blue model I ordered looks great.
4) Fantastic battery life. It truly will go all day, doing routine things.
5) Excellent design in terms of venting and heat. You can actually, comfortably, use this on your lap.
6) The N570 Atom really adds some zip. Very nice update.
CONS:
1) The big one: Windows 7 Starter is junk. You may as well know that going in. It’s badly conceived on just about every level. Doesn’t affect me, as I wiped the drive as soon as I got it, and installed Debian (which runs like silk, btw).
2) The memory. Seriously, it should just come with 2 GB installed from the start.
3) Hard drive access on the new models is a pain… I honestly can’t figure out why they couldn’t come up with something different, but this won’t be of consequence for most users.
4) Touchpad, while generally fine, is a tad twitchy. Nothing major… just be prepared.
5) They (and I mean all netbook mfrs.) need to do something about the tiny ‘shift’ key on the right. It’s ridiculous.
So, in conclusion, I have no real complaints. I knew what I was ordering, got exactly what I paid for, shipping was prompt, packaging was excellent, and the netbook is running wonderfully. With my caveats in mind (especially regarding Win7 Starter), I’d gladly recommend this little machine to anyone.
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