Asus - Eee PC Netbook with Intel® Atom™ Processor - Black

The 1201HAB does not have the Intel GMA 950 with 224MB RAM as stated in the specifications list. It has the Intel GMA 500 with 8 MB RAM. This is confirmation of what was stated by another reviewer. I have also confirmed this directly with Asus technical support.

I have been wanting to buy a netbook for long time now but I really didn't care much for the 10 inch screen netbooks with their tiny keyboards. I just couldn't see myself getting anything productive done on one of those things since I do a lot of blogging and, now with this new netbook, a lot of journal writing. The keyboard on this netbook is excellent so far that I can tell. I have absolutely no problems almost whatsoever with typing on this computer. I absolutely love typing on this thing. I bought this netbook mainly to have for a back up computer. I just wanted something small that I could store my music, pictures and documents on. It is basically going to be used for my portable jukebox, digital frame, journal writer, website editor, email checker... and basically that is mostly it....... for all I need it to do I think it will serve it's job well. I kind of wish it had a bigger hard drive but I think I can manage with the 160GB it came with. I can always buy an external drive if I need more space. The size...... The whole netbook including it's body and it's screen I think is absolutely perfect for traveling, grabbing on the go for a trip to the coffee shop or mall where you can sit for hours without plugging it in to do your writing or check email and surf the web. The size of this netbook is awesome for all of that. You don't have to squint your eyes to read pages and the multitouch touchpad is kind of nice but the two finger page scroll is a little weird for me but I adjusted to it ok. I would have rather had the page scroll built into the touch pad like on my other previous notebook computers.... but that is just a minor gripe for me. Fingerprints............ I do not like fingerprints all over my devices and I always dreaded the day I would buy a computer that would be a fingerprint magnet like this one is but I still like the computer. I don't understand why Asus didn't make a matt finish on the keyboard/touchpad part of the netbook like they did the top of it..... that would have made it so there wouldn't be fingerprints at all on it......... Asus gets a failed mark from me on that one. Let me talk about my ratings before I go any farther: Overall Rating: 4 stars..... The fingerprints subtracted a star. Value for Price: 4 stars..... Since the release of the 1201N I think the price should have been dropped below $280 for this lower end model. Display: 5 stars..... As far as I can tell it is bright, clear and I have not noticed any dead pixels. Performance: I noticed while typing in AbiWord (a word processor) a bit of flickering between letters. I don't know if that is because of the slower processor it has compared to the 1201N or maybe it is just the AbiWord program itself. I haven't yet tried watching videos on YouTube or anything like that but there are tons of reviews about that regarding this model online that you can look up and read. Convenience: 5 stars..... I have dreamed of owning a laptop this small since 1991... and that is the truth so I can't think of a better size computer to have to carry with me wherever I want to go with it. NOW I WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING.......... WHERE IS THE CAMERA APPLICATION? When I read the manual that came with this netbook it told me to press the FN + V keys to toggle the camera application. Well when I do that nothing happens. Can anyone who owns this netbook tell me how to start the camera application. I haven't even been able to find any such software on this netbook. I do however know that the built in webcam does work because I tried it online at a social webcam site..... but it would be nice if I could find the camera application so I can take random snapshots to store on my computer from time to time. Oh and one more thing I must add. When I bought this netbook I did not purchase any extended warranty but I had to return it to Best Buy for an exchange the next day after purchase and they exchanged it for me with absolutely no questions asked. I was afraid they wouldn't exchange it but they did and that to me is awesome customer service. Thanks Best Buy!!

This is my first Netbook and I'd have to say I'm impressed with the product thus far. I was contemplating purchasing the ASUS 10" (1005, 1008 models) or 11" (1101 model); however, the incrased keyboard size and resolution guided me toward the 12". Pros: - The Keyboard is soft, silent, and easy to press. They have a few millimeters of space between each key that makes it easier to press than the 10" - 11" models, with smaller keys and no spacing. - There is no large gap between the monitor and keyboard, which is apparent with the 10" - 11" models. - The Packaging and Setup are very simple, and they don't have a bunch of extra software to clutter your desktop. - The touchpad's multi-finger input is very responsive. Scrolling is really easy, as long as your have your fingers spread apart. However, the 3 finger gesture is a bit difficult due to the small input area. Cons: - The increased resolution from the 10 - 11" models can be make it really hard for people with poor eyesight to see. This monitor has very, very high DPI. Otherwise, the color and refresh rates are pretty good. - As with the rest of the models, the screen and black finish is extra glossy. Fingerprints will always be there. - The mouse clicker is a little stiff - but I've tried several other models and brands, and their buttons are also pretty hard to press. - Touchpad area is textured and the same height as the rest of the keyboard. It still gives me a strange sensation in my fingers when I use it.

I got this for netbook-level stuff- conferences, off-site work, writing dissertation in coffeeshops, surfing the internet. No serious games, no graphics software or statistical packages, but I wanted to be able to watch movies on planes/ in hotels, maybe play solitaire, basic stuff. I like the bigger screen- the 12" is a big difference from the next size down. The keyboard is nice, too. Responsive, not too loud, and the little bit of extra space between keys is really nice. Windows XP (comes installed) ran horribly on this machine. Nothing worked well, everything lagged. Watching a video would cause a crash every time. I installed the Jolicloud OS (free) and it works like a dream. OpenOffice and Google Docs, Firefox, and VLC player all work beautifully. I don't really do HD video, games, etc, so I don't have anything to say except that I doubt they'll work very well on this under any OS. But for basic functionality, installing an OS designed for netbooks - in my case, Jolicloud- made it totally worthwhile. You don't have to uninstall XP, either, so if you really need to work in Windows software you can restart and choose to boot XP. If you want the 12" screen, a pleasant keyboard, and solid basic secondary computer functionality, the 1201HAB + Jolicloud is a great $300 option. If you don't want to do Jolicloud or some other netbook-specific OS, I'd give the 1201HAB a pass.

This Netbook is nice. It's a good value for the money. Adjusting to the smaller keyboard. I just got it for Christmas and have used it for a couple weeks. Typos due to adjustment to smaller keyboard, but less and less. There are some pauses, like it's catching up, when I watch videos transferred from my Flip Cam. BUT, since I didn't want it for the sole purpose of videos, it doesn't bother me. If videos are important to you, though, you need to know this. Battery Life is good and I think that's important. The monitor is ample for a netbook. The unit is lightweight. When hooked up to AC I like the way the cable plugs into the unit - it swivels. You can pivot the cord/connector all the way around, so it's unlikely the insertion pin will get bent. This happened to me with my previous laptop, which rendered it useless until I could get a replacement connector. The second time it happened, I had to put the laptop in for repair as it caused something to break off inside. Love the pivoting connector. Glad I own this Netbook.

I like to keep these reviews short and sweet because no one reads the long ones anyways. I have been looking for a Netbook for upcoming trip to Greece. I need a small PC that will fit into my camera backpack and I can upload pics to after a long day of shooting: I found it in the Asus 1201HAB. Its small, light weight and doesn’t get hot in my lap, which is a huge plus. The 12” screen is leaps and bounds better than the 10” and the HD is a nice touch. I loaded Windows 7 ultimate onto it and after a few tweaks the thing flies (for a Netbook that is). I plan on upgrading the memory at some point but for my immediate purpose the 1GB will do fine. A helpful hint, if you are going to wipe the OS (and I highly recommend that) you should hit the Asustek website and download all the drivers so you keep the cool iphone-esque touch pad features among other things (graphics card). I have been using it at home and its quick on my N network, no problems surfing with multiple tabs open on Chrome. Streaming is good too but don’t expect the HD to come in clear, if you want HD content you better load it onto a portable HDD. The keyboard is like that of a Mac book, all the keys are spaced out and its easy to type on, this was actually the reason I sent my first netbook back (Dell 1012). I bought the Asus Bluetooth dongle for $10 and can now tether with my phone and use my Bluetooth stereo headphones. Battery life is good but about an hour short of a 10” screen (got to pay to play). Has the built in card reader for my Canon XSi which is perfect for quick uploads. Keep you music, videos and pictures on an external but that’s pretty much a given with the small hard drive space. There is nothing on the market right now that can touch this in the price range. You would have to spend in the $500+ to get equal or better specs and personally that is way too much for a watered down PC. If you want a nice portable PC for surfing the net, emailing, word docs and video watching this is your machine.

I just purchased this yesterday and was expecting the worst based on some of the previous reviews. After running it for a couple days, I am instead pleasantly surprised. I wasn't about to purchase it based on someone mentioning that the tap pad does not scroll, but in fact it does scroll though. You have to use two fingers versus one though. This can be a little tricky given the overall size of the tap pad. And the fact that it's not recessed doesn't help matters either. If you have large fingers, you might as well forget about it. You can just use a USB mouse then. I was able to watch TV shows, Hulu, news clips, and listen to internet radio with no lag whatsoever with the standard 1GB memory. That might have something to do with the fact that I have 12Mbps internet speed though. I am sure at 1.5Mbps or HD video it would not be able to keep up. Also the trick might be that I switched the performance to super performance mode. I keep it that way all the time. It reduces the battery capacity to 6 hours but that's just fine with me. I believe in power save mode you can get up to 8 hours. The keyboard keys are a nice size and spaced apart. I can type on it with very little mistakes. I attribute that to the 12.1" screen increasing the overall size of the product. It definitely outshines the 10.1 and even 11" netbooks. The screen resolution is quite vivid but if you have trouble with reading close up, you are gonna have some trouble. If so, you can reduce the resolution but with the draw back of the screen will get a tad bit fuzzy. Since this is a netbook, one cannot honestly expect it to replace a full blown regular notebook PC in the least. I got this because carrying around a normal size laptop is kind of a pain. This unit is very light weight and ideal for mobile computing. Don't expect a whole lot from the sound system but what do you expect, this is a netbook. Happy Mobile Computing!!

Went to the store to pick up the 10.2" Asus Eee PC fro my mother but ended up seeing the 12.1" and thought the extra size would be great, also made sure RAM was expandable to 2GB. Ordered online and picked up in store, found out Geek Squad had made some registry tweaks free of charge. Made a few changes of my own right off the bat: changed "registered to" from "owner" to my mom's name, uninstalled Microsoft Office trial and Microsoft Works, installed Open Office and Firefox, ran Windows Update, increased text and cursor size... Haven't yet upgraded to 2GB of RAM, but I imagine doing so will improve the performance of things like watching video, which my mom won't do much of. Just wish the touchpad had some sort of scrolling mechanism to it, but I bet my mom will be using a USB mouse most of the time.