Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 36-40 of 57
 Excellent laptop, confusing specs December 24, 2009
Ryan Mercovich (Rochester, NY)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
This is an amazing laptop with a super bright screen, and amazing battery life. My only complaints are that the screen is a little too glossy (but what laptop isn't these days) and that no powerful dedicated GPU is available that can provide this much battery life. This computer can do basically everything though, and is a great buy.
With so many variations of the UL30A, it is hard to know which is the best.
A break down given by an ASUS rep somewhere on the web is below (unfortunately i can't find the link).
A2 vs. X5 vs. A3b
Battery:
UL30A-A2 = 8 cell 5600mAh
UL30A-X5 = 8 cell 4400mAh
UL30A-A3B = 8 cell 5600mAh
HDD:
UL30A-A2 = 500GB 5400rpm
UL30A-X5 = 500GB 5400rpm
UL30A-A3B = 250GB 5400rpm
RAM:
UL30A-A2 = 4GB DDR3
UL30A-X5 = 4GB DDR3
UL30A-A3B = 3GB DDR3
Operating System:
UL30A-A2 = Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
UL30A-X5 = Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
UL30A-A3B = Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) with XP Professional downgrade option
Warranty:
UL30A-A2 = 2 year global, 1 year ADW, 30 day no-bright-dot
UL30A-X5 = 1 year global, 1 year ADW, 30 day no-bright-dot
UL30A-A3B = 2 year global, 1 year ADW, 30 day no-bright-dot
Fantastic machine December 17, 2009
Jason Clishe (Cincinnati, OH United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a great little machine, one of the best laptops that I've owned (and I've owned a ton). There has been a lot written about its pros and cons already so I won't rehash everything that's already been said, but here are some top of mind thoughts:
* Great build quality, very sturdy
* Performance is better than I expected for a 1.3GHz machine. As has been said, it's not a powerhouse but it's far more powerful than my netbook that has the 1.6GHz Atom CPU
* Great battery life. I haven't fully tested the total length but 10 hours of basic use seems realistic based on what I'm seeing
* The screen is *awesome*
* The AC adapter is small and light, doesn't add much bulk in my bag
* The keyboard is great. I'm 6'4" and have big hands and have no problems with the keyboard
* The trackpad is mediocre and is really the only thing that I'm even slghtly disappointed with
* It's sexy! It draws attention and people ask about it when I use it in public places
* The only things I can think of that would make it absolutely perfect are bluetooth, a gigabit NIC, and an integrated CDMA broadband card. I won't hold that against it though, because I knew it didn't have those features when I bought it so not having them doesn't impact my expectations of the machine itself
I should note that I'm using this as a secondary machine. My primary laptop is a full size and very powerful Lenovo, but I wanted a 2nd machine that's light, thin, and has a long battery life that would be easier for me to travel with. I originally had a netbook as a 2nd machine but was unhappy with its performance and the screen and keyboard were just too small for me. Then I moved to an HP tablet as a 2nd machine but it was thicker than I wanted, and the battery life didn't meet my expectations. So the Asus is my 3rd attempt at a secondary machine and I knew minutes after I opened the box that this was exactly what I had been looking for. All of that having been said, I would find it small and a tad underpowered if this was my only machine that I did all of my work on. YMMV.
WIFI issue December 15, 2009
A. Weinstein (Waaaaaaay East)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
After ordering about two weeks ago I finally got hold of the laptop.
In the meantime I was busy getting freaked out by the WIFI issue and was already preparing myself for having to fix it myself.
I have a X61 notebook and I'm glad to say the Asus gets a better connection than the Lenovo. I am sitting about 30ft. from the router and have 4 bars. Otherwise a nice unit, two only nuissances are the prominent keyboard flex and the right side keys that shouldn't be there - I keep pressing home instead of backspace and pagedown instead of enter.
in other respects it performs as written by others here.
 College Student Review December 13, 2009
Chris (Illinois)
51 out of 52 found this review helpful
If you're like me, you research hours and hours before deciding what kind of laptop you want to get. It's a big purchase no doubt, and you want to make sure that you're getting a great laptop for your money, which is why you've taken the time to scroll all the way down the Amazon page to the customer review section. So while I'm procrastinating from studying for final exams next week, I'll write this review for the Asus UL-30A2. While I might be a little biased because I'm already an owner, I'll try my best to give you some of the pros and cons to be fair.
When I bought my first laptop in July of 2008 for college, I thought that the sony vaio I was getting was great because it recieved alot of editor's choice awards. Being young and naive, I thought that it was a good purchase. While it was nice and flashy with the red cover, it didn't suit my needs as a college student. It was large (15.4 in), bulky (6 lb), and didn't even have the blu-ray player, which is why it won the awards in the first place, being one of the only laptops at the time to play blu-ray. It was meant to be a multimedia laptop, which is not what I needed as a college student. So this Thanksgiving, I started hearing about this Asus UL30 that was getting rave reviews and alot of attention. I researched it more, and the more I read about it, the more I liked.
Before going into college, I was positive that I wanted a Macbook. Apple claims that they're the most used computer on college campuses, and just by walking around you can see they're not lying. But the pricetag just wasn't cooperating with my dreams to get a mac. Not only does this computer have a mac-like keyboard, but you won't have to drop a grand to get it! So I stuck with Microsoft, which was further cemented due to my purchase of a Microsoft Zune HD (which I also highly recommend). But I digress, back to the Asus UL30.
Put simply, the Asus UL30 is probably one of the best purchases I've ever made. It is so thin and light, the 'UL' part doesn't do justice. Compared to that behemoth of a vaio, the Asus UL30 weighs less then a Mac for crying out loud! Weight and portability were one of my top concerns because I would be lugging around this laptop with me to campus, going from class to class all day. This laptop weighs less then my calculus book! I can easily carry it in my backpack, and when I get to class, just whip it out and go.
The hardware is simply divine. The screen is so bright and vibrant, as we speak I have the brightness level set to a little less than halfway, because I might get blinded if I put it up all the way. Yes, the screen is quite glossy, but you could barely notice it when you're using the laptop, unless you're sitting in the sun, which would make any screen hard to see anyway.
The speakers are unlike other laptops. They're situated underneath the laptop, towards the front. It kind of muffles the sound if you have it in your lap, but when it's on a hard surface, the sound bounced off the table and is amplified. When I first got the ASUS UL30, I set it on the table right next to my brother (HP) and sister's (some other 15.4 ASUS) laptop. I blasted the same song from all 3 laptops, and my ASUS UL30 completely hit the other two out of the ballpark in terms of loudness and clarity. You seriously have to listen to how loud the speakers on this small laptop really is to believe it. As I'm typing this, I have my headphones on and the volume set to 17% and the pandora volume set to like 25. The loudness capability of the ASUS UL30 is excellent, you will not be disappointed.
The part that I might (and that's a big MIGHT) come to miss is an optical drive. There is no way to play DVDs or CDs on the ASUS UL30, but that's a blessing in disguise! Because there's no optical drive, the laptop is lighter, and uses less battery because all it's running is just the hard drive. I don't really miss the optical drive because these days, everything you need can be downloaded off the internet. Ever since I've gotten this computer, there hasn't been a single time when I've had to play a CD but couldn't. Let's face it, ubiquitous storage on the internet and flashdrives are the future. The last time I used the optical drive on my former laptop was months ago to play some video game I rented from the library. Not having an optical drive should be no big deal.
Another part that I absolutely adore about the ASUS UL30 is the trackpad. The dimples are very unique and the single mouse button makes the laptop seem more simplistic, and I love simplicity. I remember reading a review about the ASUS UL30 and someone said that once you get a little 'finger grease' on the trackpad, that it's becomes really smooth, which I found to be a little disgusting, but now I know what the reviewer meant. When you first get the laptop, the trackpad is really dry, imagine yourself swiping your finger on any dry plastic surface, and thats what it feels like. But once you get some of that 'finger grease', the trackpad works like a charm. And it's so cute and unique, what other laptop has little dimples?
One thing about the trackpad that I do NOT like is the multitouch thing, like how you scroll down by using two fingers, and can right click by using 3. The 2 finger scrolling isn't that accurate, and the 3 finger right click is kind of a shot in the dark if it works or not. Often time, when 2 finger scrolling, accidentally I get that arrow thing that scrolls the page when you move the arrow to the edge. I admit it's kind of annoying, but hey, it's great when it works! lol fml
When buying this laptop, I was debating whether to get the A2 or the X5. I ultimately chose the A2 because its silver, and I read that the black attracts finger prints like crazy, and I liked the better battery life. I was already slapping down $700, so why not just spend another $100 and make sure that I'll be completely satisfied with what I get?
Some people say that the laptop feels like it's made of cheap plastic. I can see why they would say that because if I press the front part down, it makes a little clicking noise. But that is barely noticeable and doesn't really affect the overall laptop. The ASUS UL30 doesn't get overly hot like my old Sony did, I could use it one my lap all day/night and I still wouldn't notice the heat. So now I kind of regret buying a logitech lapdesk for $40 a couple weeks before I got the ASUS UL30.
The battery is one of the strongest points of the laptop. I'm sure you've all heard how great the battery life is by now, and while I don't get the 12 hours as advertised, I probably get a good 8-9 hours from a single charge. And that's from browsing the web, playing music, watching videos, and the many other multi-tasking things that college students do. The battery life simply pays for itself over and over again. Whenever I go to the library, I don't have to walk round and around for a table that's close to an electric outlet. Now I just smile as I watch people walking all over the library looking for an outlet to plug in their drained computers that only last 2-3 hours on a charge, or at other students who have to turn their brightness down to the lowest level to conserve battery while in class. It's like they're reading from a fricken kindle for crying out loud! All the while, my screen is bright as the sun, and untethered from the bondage of electrical outlets.
Now I have to say something critical of the ASUS UL30 just to be fair in this review. If I had to choose something, the only thing that I wouldn't like about this laptop is that there's no bluetooth capability, so I cant wirelessly transfer pics I took on my phone to my computer. But that's not that big of a deal because there's a memory card slot so I can just pop that SD micro card into a SD mini reader and bam bam thank you ma'am, everything works fine.
Even though I gave the rating of a 4 out of 5 simply because I think 5 is some perfect, imaginary laptop that can only exist in our dreams. But this computer is fairly close to that!
The graphics are great, the sound and screen are great, the chiclet keyboard and dimple trackpad is real cute, the ASUS UL30 is one of the best 13.3" laptops on the market, and I'm extremely glad that I bought it!
Everything I was looking for in a laptop December 7, 2009
John Pacelli (Grand Rapids, MI)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have used the laptop over the weekend after receiving it on Friday and so far have been very impressed. The backlighting is even and the display is clear and easy to read. I have an entry level N router in my basement and receive at least 3 out of 5 bars everywhere in my story and half house. I was a bit concerned about wifi reception after reading a few reviews but I have not seen any issues. Battery life is the best I've seen, 7 hours easily with constant use with wifi and brightness set to half. I think I could get the 12-16 if I used the max battery setting. The touchpad is a bit sensitive but has not been difficult to adapt to. The performance is less than my desktop but is very capable for watching videos and using office 2007. The fast bootup mode with browser allows for quick internet browsing. It also has Skype, a music player and a few other features in quick bootup mode. A great feature for making phone calls or checking email quickly. The laptop remains cool during extended use.
Showing reviews 36-40 of 57
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