Compare Prices on Asus Eee PC 1001P-MU17-BK 10.1-Inch Intel Atom Netbook Computer Black
Asus Eee PC 1001P-MU17-BK 10.1 inch Intel Atom N450/1 GB/160 GB/W7S Netbook Computer (Black)
- Amazon Sales Rank: #17 in Personal Computers
- Color: Black
- Brand: Asus
- Model: 1001P-MU17-BK
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.44″ h x 7.01″ w x 10.31″ l, 2.80 pounds
- CPU: Intel Atom N450 1.66 GHz
- Memory: 1000MB SODIMM
- Hard Disk: 160GB
- Processors: 1
- Display size: 10.1
Features
- 1.66GHz Intel N450 Atom Processor (512KB L2 Cache)
- 1 GB DDR2 SODIMM memory, Max Capacity upto 2 GB
- 10.1″ WSVGA (1024×600) WideScreen matte LCD w/ LED-backlit
- Integrated Graphics Controller
- 160 GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Perfect Netbook
Ordered this netbook because I was looking for an n450 powered device akin to the 1005 line.
Well let me say that I’m glad I didn’t spend the extra 60 bucks. This computer has everything the 1005 line has minus bluetooth (honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who uses bluetooth) battery life (11 vs 14 hours, real world 8 vs 11 hours), harddrive space (160GB versus 250GB which is a negligible difference), display (matte screen vs glossy screen equal resolution), wireless (g vs n) and finish (matte vs glossy).
Now, that seems like a lot of differences, but all of them, save battery life, are pointless bells and whistles that do nothing to affect the performance of the computer (akin to putting a moon roof and a spoiler on a car and jacking the price up).
Battery life is the only worthwhile difference between the two models (maybe worth 60-80 bucks depending on what your plans are). It would have been nice to have wireless n, but most users probably won’t notice a difference.
As far as the screen and finish go, I think matte is actually an advantage. A glossy screen is exhausting to read on in bright light. I’ll never understand what the recent obsession with glossy screens is; they are murderous to the eyes. As for a glossy finish, your netbook will look like a piece of well worn packing tape after 15 minutes (big greasy fingerprints everywhere!).
I’ve heard a lot of people complain that the keyboard of this model feels spongy, but I think they must be typing with mallets, because the 1001p keyboard feels like every other laptop I’ve ever used. It does not depress in the corners or anywhere for that matter and I’m a fairly hard typist.
The first thing I did when I got this computer was clean install windows 7 ultimate and office 2003 (office 2007 being an unholy abomination; a grievous injustice perpetrated upon all of mankind). So far the netbook has been breezing through applications on 1GB ram with nary a stutter. I would highly recommend upgrading from the absolute garbage windows 7 starter, it doesn’t even let you change the wallpaper and is solely intended to annoy you. Furthermore, you might as well get rid of all the asus software (it periodically generates pop-up ads asking if you want to pay for something) and just install the drivers for lan and wireless, you really don’t need the others.
In conclusion (ah, high school english where would I be without you) The 1001P is a solid, surprisingly powerful little netbook with excellent design. It is more than adequate for most computing tasks short of video editing. And for 280$? Are you kidding me? How can you complain?
Initial reactions
I’m very pleased with this netbook! I’ll break my review into different aspects of the device, to try to keep things relatively organized.
AMAZON PACKAGING
No issues here, perfect. I ordered mine overnight, so it came via FedEx. The box was easy to open, and there was sufficient packing material inside.
APPEARANCE
Very attractive case on this. The faux carbon fiber (it’s not REAL carbon fiber, wish it were) pattern is very slick looking. I will say that I’ve only had this one day, and there are a couple of scratches on the surface–nothing serious, and they’re only visible at certain angles, but it sort of sucks, and I’d recommend getting a case for this thing, such as the Case Logic PLS-9 Ultraportable Netbook Sleeve for 7-Inch to 10-Inch Netbooks (Black). Again, too bad it’s not real carbon fiber casing. 
Otherwise it would be virtually indestructible! The display is a matte backlit LED, with a native resolution of 1024×600. It’s crisp and bright, and mine had no dead pixels or any other issues. Very nice screen!
ERGONOMICS
As expected, this thing is small! Not overly small like the older 8″ netbooks, but small enough to stash away into a briefcase or attaché case for sure. It also doesn’t weigh much, which makes it highly portable. The keyboard is a 92% full size keyboard, and I’d say it’s perfect. I can type at nearly full speed without feeling cramped at all. The keyboard “gives” a bit under typing pressure (mostly in the upper left portion), which makes it feel a little cheap, but it’s nothing to be concerned about. All the keys themselves are pretty solid. The one thing I DO not like about this netbook is opening it. It’s very awkward to open the lid, because there’s just a very small lip to put your finger under and lift it up. There are no other decent spots to get a good grip to open the lid, unfortunately, and that’s one of the main reasons I only give this netbook four stars. The other thing that’s mildly annoying is it’s very back-heavy, due to the 6-cell battery, so the laptop tends to tilt backwards. Minor, but again, something that makes this a 4-star product rather than a perfect 5-star.
HARDWARE & SOFTWARE
This comes with Windows 7 Starter installed. Ignore any comments or product details that state it comes with WinXP – it doesn’t. Win7 Starter runs pretty well, just what you’d expect with a netbook: not super fast, but it’s not like you’re tapping your foot waiting for things to load, either. To be honest, I didn’t spend a lot of time in Windows before I reformatted and installed Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10. More on that below. The battery life in Win7 claims 9-11 hours, which is quite impressive. The wi-fi card works without a hitch, and all power-saving capabilities work quite well.
Now, onto some Ubuntu stuff…
This device isn’t quite Ubuntu-ready. Or maybe I should say, Ubuntu isn’t compliant with 1001P hardware just yet. With a fresh install of Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10, several things do not work: wi-fi, multi-touch, built-in microphone, and brightness controls. The brightness controls do work, but they are unpredictable. With some searching around, though, you can find helpful resources to guide you in the right direction to getting these things working. If anyone has specific questions on Ubuntu, post a comment and I’ll do my best to reply.
One important note: if you decide to format this and put some other operating system on it, do NOT wipe out the 10GB and 17MB partitions! The 10GB partition contains the Windows 7 clone source which you can boot on and use to revert the netbook back to using Windows 7 as its operating system. So no matter how bad things get, you can always boot up that partition and reinstall Windows. If you’ve installed Ubuntu, there might be some extra leg-work to get that recovery partition to properly do its job (you may have to re-create those two extra partitions and make them FAT32 or something). I’m still fuzzy on going back to Windows after having Ubuntu installed.
I may give an update later after using it more. Feel free to post comments on this review.
Terrific little netbook
This small light netbook exceeds my expectations. I did not imagine it would have such a user friendly keyboard; I use it for word processing of short items such as this review. This product is so easy to lift, manipulate and carry. Battery life seems to be as advertised. I thought pink would be distracting; it isn’t. This has quickly become my favorite computer. It’s my first ASUS, and it has sold me on the company. As always, kudos to Amazon for sensible packaging and speed of delivery.
