The Eee PC 1015PED is one of several new 10 inch netbooks Asus launched late this summer. It doesn't have an HD display or high performance graphics like the upcoming Asus Eee PC 1015PN, and it doesn't have a dual core processor like the Eee PC 1015PEM. What it does have is an identical case design, decent performance, and a reasonable price tag of about $350
Asus sent me an Eee PC 1015PED demo unit to review. It features a 1.83GHz Intel Atom N475 CPU, 1GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and Windows 7 Starter Edition.
Overall, I was reasonably impressed with the performance from this laptop. It's not vastly superior to an average netbook, but that 1.83GHz CPU seems to make a slight difference, with the Eee PC 1015PED edging out netbooks with slower chips in most of my benchmarks. On the other hand, while getting decent battery life, under real world conditions the Eee PC 1015PED doesn't come anywhere close to the 13 hour battery life that Asus promises.
Design
Asus netbooks have come a long way since the humble Eee PC 701. While most Eee PC models released since mid-2008 have 10 inch displays, the company subtly tweaked its design with each new generation of netbooks, adding an island-style keyboard, a curved 6 cell battery that barely sticks out from the bottom of the laptop, and dedicated buttons above the keyboard for toggling the wireless and CPU throttling functions.
Overall, the Eee PC 1015PED doesn't look that much different from the Eee PC 1005-series netbooks released late last year and early this year. It retains the same "seashell" style design, which means that when you look at the netbook sideways, it looks a it like a seashell since it's round and wide in the back, and narrower near the front.
But there are a few new elements in the Eee PC 1015 series of netbooks. First, there's now a cover for the webcam. You can slide the switch above the webcam to the on or off position to cover the camera.
The touchpad has also been redesigned so that the texture is exactly the same as the texture in the palm rest area. There are thin metallic bars separating the edges of the touchpad from the palm area though, so you don't accidentally start swiping the wrong area.
The power button features a textured pattern that almost seems nail file-esque, and there's a blue LED next to the power button to let you know if the computer is on or off.
The Eee PC 1015PED also has a matte display. That's not exactly a new feature for Asus, but the company seems to favor matte screens on some netbook models and glossy on others.
Around the sides of the laptop you'll find 3 USB ports, a VGA port, an Ethernet jack, SD card slot, mic and headphone jacks, and the power adapter jack. There's also a small vent on the left side of the netbook.
The speakers are located on the bottom of the netbook near the front. The audio is surprisingly loud, although I noticed a bit of distortion at times when the volume was cranked all the way up.
There's also a single access panel on the bottom of the computer, allowing you to upgrade the RAM. If you want to upgrade the hard drive or other components you'll need to crack open the netbook case.
While the 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display has a matte finish, the bezel around the display is made of shiny black plastic as is the area around the keyboard, even though the palm rest and lid of the model featured in this review are blue. The netbook is also available with an all black finish.
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