ASUS Eee PC 1015PX - Value for Money Redefined

12,999

ASUS’ previous netbook, the 1015PEM seemed to be quite decent in terms of performance and while it wasn’t the best, it still made for a good netbook. Now with the 1015PX, I definitely hope that ASUS is trying to bring in something different here. Design and Build Quality The 1015PX that came in our labs was a white-coloured one. While there’s nothing really great about the design, the non-glossy finish on the lid is a good thing especially to avoid smudges, something that’s pretty common with glossy surfaces. The bottom half of the netbook has a fine textured design which gives it a nice firm grip. White coloured lid doesn't have a glossy finish After opening the netbook, the 10.1-inch non-glare LED Backlit screen with a 1024 x 600 pixels resolution which has a matte finish, stood in contrast to the glossy bezel around it. The keyboard has a chiclet design which means that the keys are well spaced out. One issue I had with the keyboard was that the size of the keys was too small. Also, while it’s quite subjective, I somehow feel that the keyboard should have had a nice firm feel to it while being pressed. The trackpad is quite smooth in terms of response, but the button below follows some of the rare conventions of having a single button with both, left and right click functions. Keyboard has small keys but is well spaced out The 1015PX’s build quality is another good thing of the netbook, by which I mean that right from the lid, the screen, keyboard and all the ports around the netbook are very well built and have a solid feel to it. Features First let’s take a look at what specifications of this 1015PX (there’s another variant, as well) is on display. The netbook is powered by an Intel Atom N570 dual-core processor clocking about 1.66 GHz. It’s got a nice big HDD with a capacity of 320 GB. It might not be the best, but a 1 GB RAM is pretty much sufficient for average netbooks. Ports are well placed Apart from those specs, the 1015PX is well stocked in terms of connectivity with a Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth 3.0 as well. Also, there are three USB 3.0 ports around the netbook which makes it pretty much future proof. Also included are ports for RJ45 and a VGA display port supplied on the left. There’s a SD/SDHC/MMC card reader thrown in as well. While it might not be called the best, the 1015PX’s features are pretty decent. Looking at the specifications, the 1015PX is not meant to crunch numbers but is more for casual use like a editing and viewing documents, surfing the internet, watching a few movies, and so on.  Performance While the design and features of the 1015PX are pretty good to mention, only now can we see whether it will actually live up to what we expect from it. I ran the regular benchmarks to check the various scores that it can come up with. Looking at the scores, I can say I’m really impressed with it. File copy tests saw a speed of 25.44 MB/s, while transferring a Single 4 GB file and as always the assorted sets made the transfer speed drop to 16.71 MB/s. Test scores However, there’s a good difference in scores amongst the 1015PX and other netbooks. File compression saw a speed of 2 minutes 39 seconds which is about 9 seconds faster thanSamsung’s NF210 and 12 seconds faster than the Toshiba NB520. Also, video encoding takes 5 minutes 31 seconds which is a lot more faster than Acer’s LT23 or even for that matter, the ASUS 1015PEM. Even the synthetic scores like that of Cinebench R10 has a steep 46 percent boost in comparison to the LT23 and about 10 percent if compared to the NF210. While the scores look quite decent in comparison to most netbooks that we’ve seen recently, there are a couple of other things that should be mentioned as well. The 1015PX’s anti-glare screen definitely adds to comfortable viewing, but the viewing angles themselves are not pretty good. While opening/closing the lid, the screen’s brightness dims. Also, we tried running some videos and music on the netbook. It’s quite safe to say that while watching videos is really nice, it’s the speakers that are not loud enough and don’t have any great sound quality to boast of. Nice design The 1015PX has a 6 cell Li-Ion battery which churns about 3 hours and 22 minutes in our battery test. For a netbook, it’s not too great, but it’s not too bad either. Verdict The ASUS 1015PX has a good design, is pretty much loaded in terms of features and performs as good as any average netbook. However, it deserves to be called value for money because at Rs. 12,999, the netbook is priced a lot lower than the rest of these netbooks. There’s a good Rs. 7,000 - 10,000 difference if you compare to any of the netbooks done before. One thing for sure is that it’s not perfect, but is good value for money. If you’re looking for an expert in performance, theDell M101z will be a better choice, but in terms of a good budget netbook, the 1015PX is up there. Processor Description Processor Name Intel Atom N570 Processor Speed 1660 Processor Cache Memory No Information Front Side Bus No Information System Memory Standard Ram 1024 Upgradable Ram 2048 Hard Disk Drive Type Inbuilt Hard Disk Dirve Capacity 320 Speed (RPM) No Information Display Features Display Screen Size 10.1 Max Display Resolution 1024 x 600 Internet and Fax Utilities Modem Speed No Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/n Multimedia Sound Card Yes Sound Card Make Hi-Definition Audio CODEC Microphone Yes Speakers Yes Security Fingerprint Reader No Computer Interfaces (Ports and Cards) USB Port 3 x USB 3.0 Fire Wire No eSATA Port No HDMI Port No Bluetooth Yes VGA Yes S-Video No Infra Red No Digital Media Reader 3 Camera Built-in Camera Yes Resolution 0.3 Operating System Operating System Windows 7 Starter Battery Battery Type Li-Ion Battery Life 3.22 Hrs Colour Colour Options Matte: Black, Blue, Red, White; Glossy: Black, Red, White Dimensions Width 262 Depth 178 Height 36.4 Weight 1.25 More Features Unique Features After Sales Service Warranty 1