ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

I just got this notebook it is great so far. I think that this notebook is fairly fast but it is not the leading edge. My only complainant is that the speakers are on the bottom so the sound is not very good,but it works well with external speakers.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

The best Netbook/Notebook ever made.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

Best price / quality relation

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

I have been using this laptop for about a month and I really like this product!
Unbeatable price and works perfectly well.
What I really love of this unit is the keyboard. It looks so pretty and typing makes me so happy.
12.1 inches bright screen looks beautiful, and light weight!
I upgraded the ram to 4gb, even faster and quieter.

I really would recommend to others!!

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

I did a lot of research on computers and couldn't be happier with my decision. It brings together the best of both worlds - from the netbook side (the thin frame and light weight) and the laptop side (full keyboard, large screen, all the functions). My only negative is that the mousepad area could be more defined, but really I am happy all around with this computer.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

I have been using the Asus laptop for a couple weeks and my experience is positive. I am seeing about 6 hours of battery life. The machine is responsive under Windows 7, and I have had no problems with any of my software except older version of Ghost, which doesn't work. I installed Ubuntu 10.4 by unetbootin as dual boot and that has also worked great with this hardware (battery life is somewhat less than windows, for me). Installed extra 2 GB ram and that was a snap (3 screws on the back). Keyboard feels pretty good, and the 12 inch screen is big enough (a big step up from a previous 8.9" netbook). Build quality is good (it actually feels a little chunky with 3.5lbs in a small form factor). I don't have any problems to report. The machine shipped w/o a windows disk, so you are forced to rely on 14GB of restore partition if you get a virus, etc... If your disk dies, you are out of luck. Not the best situation, but I understand a lot of netbooks ship this way. I guess I'll have to buy the new Ghost, and back up the image to a usb drive. Then I can delete that recovery partition. Otherwise, I am impressed with the machine [...]

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

cost effective. fair performence. esthetic. Bettery last 4-5 hours.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

This is by far the best portable laptop for its price range. Very light (like a netbook) but more functionality. Bought this as a gift, buy am thinking of getting one for myself. Very snappy. Excellent keyboard and screen. Good batter life.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

there is only couple things bad about this notebook - keyboard has "flex" in the middle -feels kind of cheap,keyboard also could have back light,don't have bluetooth ,and touchpad dont have borders - it is flat with the casing so it takes some time to get used to it because sometimes instead of dragging pointer on the screen you will scroll page up and down or side to side ,
the good - it is quiet - barely can hear the fan ,runs pretty cool - no hot bottom ,speed from su7300 it is just enough to run all the stuff - even hd videos from youtube - i didn't expierence any problems - just have to set it to "entertainment" mode
i install older game "simpsons hit &run " and it was running just fine on it
also office apps and other running ok
battery life : i would say it last around 5-6 hours but didnt check exact time
wireless working good

overall if asus fix the mouse just a bit and add bluetooth and better keyboard it would be perfect small notebook

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

Can't beat the look, feel, and specs of this computer for the price (though if you do have the extra cash, go for the higher model: HDMI, more RAM, etc)! The screen is a perfect size, and the battery life lets me get through a whole day in classes without needing to worry about finding a place to charge it. Speakers are better than my friend's Macbook Pro when placed on a table (sound bounces off it and becomes louder)

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

I use my Asus UL20A-A1 in the field to generate report drafts and produce real-time equations. The generous hard-drive allows me to bring to the field all the resources I might possibly need for reference.
I love how fast it boots up. Battery life is amazing. The keypad is very comfortable. No noticable difference from a full size laptop. The display is bright and crisp.
What's not so great? I could list some things to be nit-picky, but it's only a 12" portable. There has to be some sacrifices. Nothing that would cause me not to buy this product again.
It's a GREAT little machine.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

Perfect size for on the road use as long as you are near a power plug as real time use limits usage to a little over 4 hours on the battery. Still, not so bad.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

I was looking for a replacement for my trusted Asus M5200N which broke down unfortunately. I really liked its size and features so I was starting to look for a 12.1" notebook that I can take with me easily and that provides me with the computing power I need. Not being into games anymore and having switched to Linux a while ago I was pleased to see this little fellow's specifications.

I installed ubuntu 9.10 right from the start as a dual-boot system - it works like a charm. So far I didn't run into any problems whatsoever. So I'm quite confident that I've purchased an ultra-portable notebook that is powerful enough for program development and to handle all the private stuff like music and pics conveniently.

I haven't tried to do any serious photo editing yet and I'm afraid that I'd need to get a decent ext screen for that since the notebook's screen is quite glossy and the color reproduction is not good enough. To me that's not much of an issue since I much rather spend my time taking pictures properly than trying to fix the results digitally. But if you need accurate colors this might not be what you need.

All the other stuff is just great - in contrary to other reviewers I really like the touch pad and the keyboard flex doesn't bother me much. It's a bummer that there are no 4:3 12.1" screens out there anymore since I find them more useful than the notorious wide screen formats but this notebook's screen resolution makes it really easy to work with it properly - given you have an OS that provides for multiple desktops.
Battery life w/ ubuntu is at 4 hrs which is enough for me though it's far below what Asus propagated at other places. Note that I haven't tweaked the settings yet, so maybe I get more out of it.
Performance w/ ubuntu 9.10 is just great, I can't say anything about Windows 7 since I'm not using it at all.
There's no optical drive which isn't much of an issue. I've installed ubuntu from an USB drive easily and am going to get all the other software I need online anyways.

To sum it up: I strongly recommend this to whoever is looking for an ultra-portable notebook that provides more power than an atom-based netbook and that is reasonably priced.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

Music, Video, Web and word processing.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

I chose this Asus to balance travel-ability (small and light) with 12 screen size . This was more suitable for my work (architecture)than the smaller netbooks with atom processors. The touchpad's pinch-zoom adjusts font size also. It goes to meetings and the battery has lasted 5-6 hours with multiple internet tabs open and 1 or 2 other programs running.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

Overall: A well priced, decently performing netbook, but not without its niggles.

Pros: I say netbook because of the 12" screen size and lack of optical drive, but really the performance of the SU7300 ULV processor is quite decent. HD Flash works a treat, multitasking is no problem and generally usage is enjoyable. Decent speakers match the quality 'chicklet' stlye keyboard.

Cons: Be aware though that this machine does have pitfalls. The battery life is un netbook like at only 4~5 hrs a charge. No BT, a somewhat lackluster HDD that tends to slow things down at times, and an annoying trackpad/button combo. How hard is it to make a decent Synaptics trackpad/button combo? Obviously harder than it seems. After installing the generic Synaptic drivers from Synaptics website and increasing the sensitivity things did improve, but I found at times the trackpad would not registered finger movements. The buttons below the trackpad are an absolute pain to use; placed far too low for my hands and requiring excessive force to press. The webcam is also pitiful.

I seem to be focusing on the negatives, but really its a very enjoyable machine to use, especially considering the price. Should you opt for the UL30a? Probable, if just for the extra battery life.

Notes: Mine came with Asus recovery CD's, allowing a fresh bloat free install of Windows. Drivers are all over the net. Brightness buttons work with the Intel GMA drivers installed, but volume controls need the Asus Hotkey app installed.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

My only computer at the moment. I attach it to a large screen when at home... and can still take the same computer everywhere. It's super portable and finally a net/subnotebook with enough bang. Very fast, never problems with video, multitasking, wifi etc... Lightning fast. This is very very different from the experience with atom based netbooks Love it!

Battery life in real use situation is less than what they claim... more like 3-4h.

Looks gorgeous, aluminium lid... but sometimes static electricity build up...

Keyboard is fine, big enough for everyday use, other than smaller netbooks.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

I've travelled a lot, for business, and always need to have a laptop with me. This is, by far, the smallest, lightest, easiest, machine to lug around airports and yet, it has plenty of power for day to day.

Its a keeper.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

I purchased this laptop mainly as a secondary machine. I had fairly specific criteria in mind during my selection process, all of which the Asus UL20A generally met. These were:

1. Lightweight, something I wouldn't think twice about packing and taking with me.

2. Decent battery life so I could use it untethered from a power socket whether it be in my lounge room or on the road.

3. Compact without compromising on screen real-estate and readability.

4. Decent computing power not only for general web browsing, but also for the purposes of running Office applications, basic image editing and playback of HD video.

To give some perspective, my main machine is a quad core Intel i7 860 machine with 4GB of RAM and a 24" monitor at 1920 x 1200.

In general usage for the purposes I have described above, I have found the UL20A to be equally as responsive. No doubt it cannot compete on more intensive Photoshop activities nor on activities such as video encoding or gaming, however these were not considered as the primary usage that I had in mind for this laptop.

I am getting around 4-5 hours battery life on just below 50% brightness, Windows 7 balanced power mode on general web surfing activities which is decent although not quite in the same league as the UL30A or even the Acer 1810TZ. This is one area that I think could be improved upon.

The laptop stays cool to touch, only warming up slightly on the left side where the exhaust vent is and it is silent in usage. The fan can only be heard if I put my ear right up to the vent.

Video playback significantly eats into battery life, however you can definitely get a movie in on a charge with some to spare.

Lack of a HDMI port is a little disappointing given this is present in competing machines, and given the age of the VGA port, however I have had little need to date to connect this laptop to either a larger screen or a TV given it's main purpose in life is as an ultra portable.

Wireless connectivity has been a breeze with the card identifying access points easily and the multi-gesture touchpad has been a pleasure to use.

I had read some poor reviews of the multi-gesture touchpad being unresponsive and unpredictable, however I had no issues with it straight out of the box after reading a few basic instructions. Perhaps my several years of using a Wacom graphics tablet contributed to this, however I had not a single issue with the default calibration or functionality of the touchpad. I love the chiral scrolling feature.

I found the 10" netbooks too limiting from a screen size perspective and the lack of power of the Intel Atom processors was unappealing. On the other hand, the UL20A's 12.1" screen and the ultra low voltage dual core Intel SU7300 processor is just the right balance of size, power and portability for me.

All in all, this little laptop had the best to offer against each of my selection criteria for the money.

Comments about ASUS UL20A-A1 12.1" Notebook Computer:

I have used the notebook for a month. it is ok, well it is a little slow when I　open 4 or more webs. but win7 is great,I like the system than vista which I used before. so if I　choose one again, I　will choose 2.2GHz or up.