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

Average Rating:
Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5
List Price:
$499.99
Our Price:
$484.00
You Save:
$15.99 (3%)

Buy it now at Amazon.com!

Product Info

  • Brand: Asus
  • EAN: 0884840550662
  • Manufacturer: ASUS Computer International Direct

Features

  • 1.6GHz Intel Atom Dual Core N330 Processor
  • 2GB DDR2 RAM, 2 x SODIMM Slot, 4GB Max
  • 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) + 500GB Free Web Storage; NVidia ION Platform
  • Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System (32 Bit)
  • Bluetooth; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n; 0.3MP Webcam;

Spotlight customer reviews:

  • Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
  • Summary: Dual Core Processing + nVidia = Outstanding Netbook!!!
  • Comment: I had an older (4 yrs old) Alienware m5500 laptop with a 1.73 Pentium M processor, 2GB RAM, and an nVidia GO 6600 256MB dedicated graphics card, but was looking for something smaller and lighter to carry around. When I got the Asus 1201N, I was surprised to find out how much it outperformed my old laptop. My old laptop struggled to play Eve Dominion with all the settings at their minimums, where as the Asus can run the game smoothly with all settings and enhancements at max!

    The nVidia Ion graphics will make you totally rethink your opinions regarding integrated shared-memory graphics processors. nVidia performs on a completely different level than the Intel integrated graphics engines that come on most notebooks and netbooks, as the nVidia processor dedicates 256MB of system RAM at all times to graphics, with up to 50% of the total available system RAM available as needed for more demanding video processing.

    I liked it so much that I bought a second one in black for my wife. I prefer the gray, though as it isn't as much of a fingerprint magnet as the black is.

    Amazon offered same-day local delivery when I got my first one, so I had it in my hands the same day that I ordered it fro only $4 more (with Amazon Prime)! Alas, it was on backorder when I ordered the black one for my wife.

    Unfortunately, if your looking to upgrade this laptop to the full 8GB of RAM that it is capable of handling, you will need to buy your own 64-bit version of Windows 7, as Asus does not have a 64-bit OEM version available for the 1201N to use with the supplied windows product key.
  • Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
  • Summary: to increase performance, enable Windows 7 ReadyBoost
  • Comment: I've been using the 1201N for almost a week and am very happy with it.

    - I'm a fast typist and the keyboard took just a few days to get used to. Track pad is also fine. I've seen reviews where people complain about both.
    - I upgraded to 4gb RAM right away. Needed to boot into BIOS screen to get the machine to recognize the RAM. I emailed ASUS support before I figured that out, but after five days haven't heard back from them yet.
    - I plan to upgrade from the standard hard drive to a 7200rpm eventually.
    - I merged the dual hard drive partitions using the free version of EASEUS Partition Manager. Very easy, very fast.
    - I didn't do benchmarks, but it seems faster now that I've added a 4gb SD flash card and enabled it fro Windows ReadyBoost. Given the low price of those cards, there's no reason not to do it.
  • Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
  • Summary: Great machine! Great price! Perfect Size!
  • Comment: Experience: Computer Support Specialist/College Student

    Just got the PC today! I've been playing with it all afternoon. As soon as I pulled it out of the box I was astonished at it's weight. The baterry weighs almost as much as the laptop itself!

    ***PROS***

    Size/Weight:
    I used to have a 10.1" Eee and thought it was a bit too small. I owned the 1000HE model (I loved the battery life on that mini!!! -- 9hrs) but it was just too tiny. This one is just big enough to type on but not large enough to be cumbersome.

    Keyboard:
    As I stated above, I have owned the 10.1" Eee and thought the keyboard to be a bit cramped for frequent typing (I'm a college student who takes notes in class). This one was wide enough to type at a consistent rate for an extended amount of time. The spit keys (like Macintosh) were a nice touch. It adds to the elegance of the keyboard. It types smoothly and anyone who has used one of the newer Macintosh laptops will enjoy this keyboard.

    Touchpad:
    The touchpad is nice, but I will be purchasing a bluetooth mouse for use outside of the classroom. The multitouch feature makes it nice especially when browsing web pages. Also, Asus has added a button at the top left-hand side of the device to disable the touchpad when typing or when an external mouse is connected (Great Feature!)

    Screen/Graphics:
    The 12.1" screen is beautifully designed. The color is crisp and with the ION graphics it takes a lot of the pressure of the CPU for video processing. Streams flash online REALLY well for a mini. The Atoms tend to get bogged down rather quickly with flash and this one held it's own. The extra 2" makes it nice for doing split-screen also. When running multiple apps side by side (a new Windows 7 feature) it's wide enough to have adequate room for comfortable viewing of both. I run MS Word and Firefox side by side frequently when writing reports...this works great! Have yet to test the HDMI out.

    Fingerprints:
    I was SO excited to see that the silver model had a brushed finish. Though it's still plastic and not quite as durable as the Macintosh's brushed aluminum it is designed to hide fingerprints. I don't know whether or not the black one is brushed, but my 10.1" was black and everything showed up on it. :S

    ***CONS***

    The only con I have so far is that there were an unnecessary amount of reinstalled files. I almost felt as though I turned on a Gateway (hardy har har). I spent an hour or so uninstalling all the unneeded apps.

  • Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
  • Summary: Excellent Netbook!
  • Comment: Hello,
    First off I want to say WOW.
    This is an awesome little netbook!

    The size is perfect!
    It is very thin and extremely light.

    First thing to note.
    When you first turn it on it takes a little over an hour to "initialize".
    So make sure it is plugged into a wall and that you DO NOT turn it off while it is doing this.
    It may seem like it has hung but just give it some sweet time to finish.
    There will be options to fill out information as you go so check in on it every once in awhile.

    The Operating System.
    Windows 7 Premium is amazing.
    It runs so much better and overall smoother than any previous Windows OS.

    After it has finished its initialization boot time is right about One Minute on the included 2 gigs of RAM.

    The high res screen is very nice.
    For only being about 12 inches it still manages to give you a good bit of room to play with.

    The Trackpad.
    The trackpad is Multitouch and is pretty easy to use.
    Especially scrolling. You simply use two fingers and glide down or up to scroll.
    The pinch to zoom and rotate feel more like a gymic and I doubt many people will actually use it.

    Processing Power.
    This processor won't ooh and aww you to death but it definetly can multitask pretty well.
    The only time it slows down are on weird high def codecs.

    When I was uninstalling the trial of MS Works 2007 it took about five minutes and than a additional five for each language pack to be removed as well.

    Running Firefox 3.6 is pretty smooth. Multiple tabs are not a problem.

    The HDMI out is very handy. It will instantly turn it on and put the audio out to the HDMI upon plugging it in.
    I get to watch downloaded/streaming videos on my home HDTV without going through a middle man (Xbox, PopcornHour, Ect.)

    Only con I have found is that its been "Nerfed".
    Hopefully it will be updated / hacked in the future to allow the full 8 gigs of memory it is capable of.
    I am still loving it though.

    I upgraded my with some OCZ dual core RAM from NewEgg and it does help with the boot times and some heavy mutitasking.

    Overall I like it alot and highly reccomend it if you want the best netbook available as of writing this.
    Just remember this is not a gaming PC. This is for HD video streaming, word processing and web browsing.

    To conclude.
    Tiny netbook, good processing FTW!
  • Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
  • Summary: Best value
  • Comment: I bought it because i needed a small laptop for traveling and with a reasonable battery life. I didnt want to buy 10" netbooks because of their small screen and basic operating systems they use so i focused on 12". It is fast, you can play games and it is light. Only thing i dont like is it's glossy finish so daily polishing is neccesary. Best laptop you can buy for this money.