ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005HA-PU17-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 10.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Starter)

Relevant context for this review: This is my first netbook and I have been a strong Mac OS convert for the past 2 and 1/2 years. I swore I would never purchase anything with a Windows OS again, but bought this because the price, size, and battery life were what I needed.

BOTTOM LINE: I have been playing with my netbook for three days now and can say that it is everything I expected.

POSITIVE IMPRESSIONS:

- Battery life is incredible and recharges in an hour (max): I did some light web-surfing for a couple hours one night and had 82% of battery left when I was done. UPDATE: I watched a 45 min. episode of Mad Men that I downloaded and it only used up about 10% of the battery. Pretty awesome.

- Size is great: about the size of a hardcover novel.

- Weight is much better: half the weight of my MacBook Pro, the same weight as my girlfriend’s MacBook Air.

- Price point is right: I got mine for $387 and feel like anything $400 or less is a fair price for what you get.

- Screen is small, crisp, and clear: Larger would be easier to see, but small is the point of a netbook, right?

- Windows 7 Starter is adequate: Not sluggish, even with 4 windows open at a time. I’m still getting re-familiarized with the Windows 7 file structure and how you install applications, etc, but that’s not a fault of Windows 7. There is a wallpaper application on the Asus website that allows you to make any photo your wallpaper (look under “Downloads” for Windows 7…I think it’s first on the list).

- Asus tech support was helpful and efficient: Yes, I had to call when I was initializing Windows 7 because I got an endless “Initializing icon” during set-up. They said something must not have installed right on set-up.

- Keyboard is smaller but acceptably easy to use: Again, small is the point, so you have to expect some difference. I have to look when I type or I make mistakes (normally, I type by touch). I hit “z” instead of “shift” if I don’t look.

NEGATIVE IMPRESSIONS:

- Asus almost hides their phone # for customer support on the website and the book that comes with the netbook just lists the website. Not helpful if you don’t have other access to web when having trouble.

- I had to call Asus support during set-up. Yes, it was resolved quickly, but this is the kind of thing you don’t have to do with Mac OS and why I get frustrated with Windows.

- Have to protect from viruses again: Netbook comes with free, 61-day protection, but I hate having to pay and update protection all the time. UPDATE: See first comment below for a tip about free virus protection.

- Not a great “lap top” computer. It’s very small size, makes it hard to use on your lap. Much easier to use sitting at a table.

- Pretty hokey, kid-like Eee PC toolbar seems like more of a link to stuff you can purchase (games, etc.) than a heavy-duty “tool” that is provided to make Eee PC experience Eeesier. UPDATE: I figured out how to get rid of this under settings, so this is a non-issue now.

Okay, that’s my impression so far. Will update if it changes. I think I’m going to keep it and take it on an 18 hour flight and two week trip to South Africa next week. Hoping to be able to use it to play (on plane), skype, and research travel/touring info while away.

UPDATE 11/2: I’m liking the machine more every day. I have now put itunes and doubletwist on my machine so that I can sync my Palm Pre (phone) and access all of my itunes music and other media purchased through itunes. Both are working great. I have also installed a bunch of things I need to patch the WebOS code on my Palm Pre and that is working like a dream. Lastly, I downloaded open office (free open-source word processing, spreadsheet, and slideshow and more) and plan to use that instead of paying for MS Office. Black friday