ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1201N-PU17-BK 12.1-Inch Black Netbook - 5 Hours of Battery Life

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:

Review 6 to 10 of total 111

A Brief Review for a Netbook that Gets the Job Done,
by Wes, 2010-04-05

I debated for about six months on what Netbook to pick up. My wife was using an Acer 8.9" 270n version with the 1024x600 res. and she loves it. I was sick of lugging around my 15.4" HP Laptop that is a powerhouse but a pain to take back and forth to work everyday. With an upcoming trip planned I had my excuse to buy a netbook and I found myself waiting and waiting for the next upgrade.

My Big Concerns were Screen Resolution and Battery Life. I have learned slowly over my last 8 laptops what I tend to prioritize in my use of them. At this stage in the game those are my big ones. I had narrowed my choices down to Asus Eee PC 1005HA-PU17-BU 10.1-Inch Intel Atom Netbook Computer and the ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1201N-PU17-BK 12.1-Inch.

Initially I was PRO 1005HA because i felt the physical size of 10.1" and under 3 Lbs and still getting the 10.5 hr battery life seem like a phenomenal mix, But it only had a 1024x600 resolution and 1 GB of RAM. If there is one thing I have learned it is to pay attention to resolution because you can change it... RAM is an easy upgrade, just factor it into your cost analysis. I liked the N280 Chip in the 1005HA and of course drooled over the 10.5 hrs of purported battery life.

When I found the 1201N I fell in love with the 1366x768 res. I like to multitask and the ability to have multiple windows open side by side or easily manipulated means a lot to me. I also work with spreadsheets and its nice to be able to see most of a spreadsheet when working on it... This option started looking better when I saw that it already came with 2GB of RAM and a large hard drive. Incorporating the modern 802.11N and Bluetooth seem like a no brainer must these days. The 5hr battery life was a bit of a turn off when comparing it to 1005HA. Then I weighed in the Dual Core Processor and thought that for the type of multitasking I like to do this seems far more advantageous. I was coming from a 2hr battery life on my big laptop which made the power cord a must to have around all of the time. So 5 hrs still seemed pretty good to me.

I Bought the 1201N
The plane trips were broken into 4-8 hr segments with 3-5 hour layovers (I flew to Malaysia) totaling 16-18hrs of travel and I found this was great I could watch a movie (using my bluetooth head set) and do some work, then sleep a little; Plug in on my layover and charge up for the next leg with no trouble. While at my conference I was one of few who didn't have to plug in their laptops which made it easier for me to show up and leave without any hassles. The netbook had no trouble running Adobe Acrobat Pro with about 10 windows open, several power points up and logged into facebook... I ran some simple photoshop work and excel work with no significant delays. Currently at work I can bring my netbook and don't have to lug anything around besides the netbook itself (I do leave the power adapter in the car just in case). I average 4.5hrs of battery on and off for a 10.5 hr day before suspending and keep it at full brightness all the time.

My Conclusion now that I have had it for a couple of months and took my big business trip with it: I Love It - a Must Buy.
Summary
Keyboard - My big hands love it!
Screen - Resolution and quality are superb
WiFi & Bluetooth - Work like they should :)
Video Playback - Came with some enhancement software but didn't work with many of my files- VLC Rules and Video is awesome
HDD - 250GB - game me plenty of room to rip some movies and have tons of space left :) 5 stars
RAM - 2GB work great and in this day and age i wouldn't use any less.
Touchpad - I was a little apprehensive at first but I found that I love it and miss it when I use my other laptop.
Processor/Computer Speed - I love it - I am Able to over task it but it performs better than I expect any Netbook to do.
Webcam - I don't really know, I skyped once but its not my thing and cant really judge- but it worked perfect for me.
Speakers - ONLY CON- this is the only thing I wish was better - They just don't get quite loud enough
Battery Life - 4.5hrs regularly - I use it on and off all day long with no trouble it does get a little short when doing straight video playback for several hours I don't plan on watching two 2hr movies but maybe two 1.5hr movies.
Multitasking - No problems for Business Class multitasking
Gaming - Put on some games I got for the wife like the Tycoon Sims and they played fine, didn't get to try anything serious yet.
Overall- 4.9 Stars with the only thing lacking in this Netbook being the speaker quality.

 

Wait for 1201PN or Buy 1201N now?,
by Jiunjr Feng, 2010-05-07

June 16, 2010 Update (1201N > 1201PN and 1201T)

So, disappointment of ASUS next generated EEE PC 1201PN. The processor isn't D510 or D525. It's N450 (Single Core Atom).
Atom N450 benchmark score is "320" per Passmark, which is way low comparing with 330 (Score 632) or D510 (Score 656).
(Atom N270 (Score 304), N280 (Score 314)......

I would say EEE PC 1201N is way better comparing with next generated 1201PN.

Let's also talk about EEE PC 1201T, which is AMD base.
You can tell what happened from windows 7 rating.

Processor: 3.2 (1201N), 3.2 (1201T)
Memory: 4.6 (1201N), 4.9 (1201T)
Graphic: 4.3 (1201N), 3.2 (1201T)
3D: 5.3 (1201N), 4.7 (1201T)
Hard drive: 5.7(1201N), 5.8 (1201T)

Processor, Memory, and Hard drive performance are similar.
However, 1201N has way better Graphic and 3D performance comparing with 1201T.

Personlly, 1201N is still the best choice if you want a portable 12.1" netbook for casual gaming and business trip if 12.1" with screen resolution 1366x768 is better for you and you aren't looking smaller EEE PC 1015N with screen resolution 1024x600.

I totally have no idea why ASUS product management team selected 1201PN and 1201T as next generation.

Feel luck to buy ASUS EEE PC 1201N in the begining of this year, and I don't feel any ASUS EEE PC or netbook can catch my eyes during 2010.


Conclusion: GO for EEE PC 1201N now before it's gone and replaced per EEE PC 1201PN and 1201T.



---------------------------------------------------------------------- May 6, 2010 Review

Should I buy Asus EEE PC 1201N (Atom 330 + ION) instead of waiting for Asus EEE PC 1201PN (D510 + NM10 + ION2)?

The answer is YES! Don't wait! BUY EEE PC 1201N now!


nVidia anounces ION 2 for Intel D510 processor, so Asus also have next generated EEE PC 1201PN with this combincation.

I were planed to wait for it, but I recently changed my mind and purchased EEE PC 1201N due to below reasons.

Atom 330 + MPC790 (ION = Chipset + nVidia 9400m)
Atom D510 + NM10 + ION 2

You can see the different part that ION is chipset plus graphic card, but ION 2 is graphic. So, ION 2 has to combine with original Intel chipset.

1. From power consumption.
Atom 330 (8W) + ION (Around 26W) = 34W
Atom D510 (13W) + NM10 (15W) + ION 2 = 28W + ION 2 (Possible less than 6W???)

2. From CPU performance (PassMark testing result)
Atom 330 = 632
Atom D510 = 656 (Good, but it's just A LITTLE!)

3. From memory controller
ION MPC790 = DDR3 1066 or DDR2 800 (Well, Asus picks up DDR2 800)
NM10 = DDR2 800

So, there is no difference.

4. From Graphic performance (PassMark + web info search)
ION 2 = 1.35 x ION, so 35% increasing. It doesn't have that much meaning for gaming because the orignal ION based on 107. ION 2 only jumps from 107 to 144.

ATI 5730 index is 666 (620% of ION performance)

I don't want the big monster such as Asus N61 series even it has powerful graphic. D510 plus ION doesn't provide that much exciting improvement for me. Asus 1201N is ok to play Dragon Age Origins as wild screen (1366x768) and Mass Effect 2 under (800x600) even mass fight with laggy due to processing power (D510 should be the same).

End out, I paid for $484 + $46 x 2 (2 x 2GB DDR2 800) for Amazon to get this netbook.

Cheer!

 

Very powerful for a netbook,
by Maloran, 2010-01-14

This is my first netbook, bought to replace the 10 lb monster laptop I used to carry around (including all the required peripherals). I was waiting for a certain amount of performance before I bit the bullet, having had firsthand experience with some friends netbooks, older generations with smaller screens. The performance of those left a bad taste in my mouth and I didn't want to sacrifice that much for mobility. After reading reviews and comparisons, the choice was between the HP Mini 311 and this one. I chose the 1201n because gaming and hd video playback was important to me.

The only real thing that bugged me is something that most people wouldn't really care about. I use a 5.0 ghz network at home on my dual band N router, and while this netbook can pick up wireless N signals, it can only pick up 2.4ghz ones. I'm already rectifying that by buying a dual band concurrent router, which will help the other devices around the house out as well. I've only been able to test one game out so far on it, Torchlight. It isn't a demanding game, but it did play well. When I get an external dvd drive I'll be able to test it out on other games. It plays HD video really well, youtube HD plays flawlessly, and the speakers don't sound bad at all. When I do use the track pad I only use the multibutton thing for right clicks anyways. You can also turn the track pad off with a press of a button above the keyboard. I normally use a mouse anyways.

Another review was talking about the extra heat and hot air coming from the left side. I don't mind that at all. My old laptop had heat vents on both sides, so if you were using a mouse its like your hand had a personal heater. This way it would only bother you if you were left handed I guess. I might look into a cooler eventually, but I doubt it will be necessary even when playing other games. Anyways, I'm satisfied with the purchase. I even upgraded the ram to 4gb. Do note that the 8gb max ram is theoretical at this point, because according to reviews on newegg, people are having a hard time getting the ram to recognize it all. It may be a firmware issue, it may be a typo, I don't know. 4gigs works fine for sure though. Also note that this is a 32 bit OS so you'll only have 3.25 gigs actually available. You also need to disable boot boost in bios (F2) before it will recognize the upgrade.

Pros
Ion Graphics
very manageable power cords
hdmi port
dual core processor
nice keyboard, not too difficult to adjust to
Battery life isn't amazing, but it is very manageable
Screen is nice

Cons
Finger/wrist print magnet
Hard drive partitioned weird
Price? (High end for a netbook, but it shows I guess)

 

One of the Best, even rivals a MAC book,
by Gary Van Schaick, 2010-01-21

I was looking for a 12 inch lap top, 10 inch is too small, Mac Book is too expensive. Along comes the 1201N. Specs looked to put this machine right at the forefront of good computing. This is easily one of the best notebooks that have come along in a long time. It comes with 2G memory, 1.75G useable. I have actually upped the memory to 4GB, 3.5GB usuable...it runs much better. Crucial did not have the 1201N in their database for memory upgrade but they do now. Spnd the $100.00, it's well worth the added cost.

On startup, Win 7 will ask whether you want 32-bit or 64-bit operatins. Well not having another computer to look up the pros and cons of 32-bit vrs 64-bit and that I didn't know if this machine handles 64-bit, I chose the 32-bit option. It would have been nice if ASUS had put in a little something about this option.

Win 7 starts up very fast, I'm very impressed. The screen is crisp and clean. The keyboard is just the right size for a small laptop, ( a 10 inch netbook is too small for my fat fingers )

The power supply module does get a little warm when using the laptop continuously. Also the power supply module in the bottom of the laptop, where the power connector snaps in, gets a little warm. As a little preventive maintenance, make sure there is enough space under the laptop for the air to circulate, I've added four rubber feet to the bottom of the laptop to aise the laptop up about 1/2 inch higher. But again this is only preventive maintenance. I'm an electrical Engineer first and heat is the killer of electronic components.

Software:
Microsoft office 2007 home comes in a trial version, nothing to add here.
Iternet Security: Trend Micro trial version
Email: Downloaded thunderbird, works great.
Skype: Now we're talking...very useful app for making internet phone calls to other Skype members. This allowed me to test the built in speaker and microphone audio system and the video. This has a very neat built in video that works very well, be careful whats behind you when your connected, this video will pick up everything.

Also being a professional Photographer, I've added the LightRoom Beta 3. The memory upgrade was primarily for my photos and this has made Lightroom acceptable to use. With only the 2GB, manipulating photos was slow, 4GB is really required if you want to process photos. NOTE: Processing photos is probably not what this laptop was designed for but it does work. I can now back up my photo shoots before leaving the wedding reception.

The laptop comes with an SDHC flash card slot. For certain cameras that use SDHC cards and non-proprietary format, the SDHC card slot is for uploading Photos by removing the card from the camera and inserting the card into the laptop. My D90 uses a proprietary format so I have to connect the USB cable to the camera. I'm looking into gabbing a 32G SDHC card, reformatng it and using it as a virtual memory device for the laptop.

Wireless connections: Windows is never as easy to connect as MAC OS. What can I say? And wireless connections are more dependand on the wireless network then the computer. I've had no problems so far by when in my home office, I always hardwire anyway, much faster network conneciton that way.

Three (3) USB coneections...probably enough...especially since there's bluetooth.

HDMI connection for tying directly to HDTV...haven't tried this yet.

I haven't really checked the battery life. With WiFI and Bluetooth both on and the power management set for performance, I'm sure the battery life is shorter then the five (5) hours specified.

 

Big Power, Small Package,
by Theodore J. Madsen, 2010-01-17

I was looking for a reason to replace my old Toshiba laptop when fate jumped in spilling the laptop off of my car while displaying the .pdf repair manual and crashing to the ground... screen dead. I got the Asus eeePC 1201 to use for work with a little play sprinkled in.

There is a trade off of battery time for the additional power, roughly halving battery time of the smaller Asus netbooks to about 5 hours but it is well worth it. I have been very impressed with the Asus's ability to handle tough applications. Adobe CS3 Master Suite runs like a breeze as does my Office 2007 applications. It is light, portable and a dream linked in through my Windows 7 home network... able to work on files off of my main PC without sacrificing storage space on the netbook itself. In my case I dont need the extra Asus storage but for those using this as a solo piece of hardware I can see it as invaluable. If far outperforms my old laptop and as far as work applications isn't far off from my desktop. I will add memory and eventually have to switch to Win7 64bit to take advantage of it.

As far as gaming for those wondering... the only thing I have tested is EVE Online via my wireless N network. I was amazed that there was no real falloff so far in gaming,(that may change with a big skirmish) but so far the only dip in performace I realize as compated to my desktop (Q6600 quadcore, 6GB, Nvidia 8800GT) is load times when warping between star systems or docking and undocking from bases.

Using the homenetworking of Win 7 I even shared my desktop DVDROM drive with the ASUS and can load programs that way.

5 stars, lightweight, powerful, nice sized screen and overall versitile! Great netbook. Very impressed with the processor and the ION.