ASUS EeePC 1215N: Bringing NG-ION to the 1201
by Vivek Gowri on November 25, 2010 12:00 AM ESTNothing New on the Display Front
The screen on the 1215N is about as mediocre as we remember from the 1201N. It has a similar contrast ratio, though it appears that ASUS is no longer artificially limiting netbooks to 120nits brightness as it did in the past. This is good, as the 120nit cap seemed to only be in place to extend the battery life for users who liked to max out the screen brightness.
But this is getting old. Seriously, who do we have to kill to get an ultraportable with a decent screen? Some of the 10” Eee PC netbooks had some good display panels, but other than those and the Macs, I don’t think we’ve recently seen a thin and light notebook with a screen worth talking about. I suppose it’s more acceptable in a $499 unit than any of the more expensive portables, but it’s still disappointing to yet again be focusing on the sheer mediocrity of the display.
And as much as it sounds like I’m calling out ASUS or the 1215N specifically, I’m really not trying to. It’s simply a problem with the entire industry feeling like it can get away with terrible displays on a vast majority of systems, and then actually getting away with it. I don’t often feel this way, but it makes me wish that more companies would do things the Apple way and really commit to having a high quality panel on all of their systems. This is probably the only time I will ever wish that more people would act like Apple, but you get my point.
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kmmatney - Saturday, November 27, 2010 - link
I have to say that I'm almost as productive with the track pad as I am with a mouse. I just have to turn off the double-click feature - that drives me nuts. Overall, trackpads are a very good built-in solution - I just wish mine was larger, like the track pads on Apple's laptops.slagar - Thursday, November 25, 2010 - link
On a netbook? Ew, no. Trackpads are fine for light computing use, carrying around a mouse (and having a decent surface to use it on) is not.stancilmor - Thursday, November 25, 2010 - link
well perhaps just provide a way to disable the track pad, I have clumsy hands that are always hitting the track pad and messing up my typing...usually have to tape over the track pad and use a mouse.Evil_Sheep - Thursday, November 25, 2010 - link
Virtually all trackpads can be disabled in software (typically Synaptics drivers) ...most laptops even have a Fn keyboard shortcut to do that. Try looking for that or use control panel and go to mouse settings.Nataku - Thursday, November 25, 2010 - link
actually, I think if they embed the mouse into the laptop like how some mouse embed the receiver into the mouse as an option from the trackpad, i might actually jump on it ;-)b.kenobi - Friday, November 26, 2010 - link
maybe not such a bad idea to remove the trackpad... how about using a smartphone as your trackpad...Xipto - Thursday, November 25, 2010 - link
"all in a tasty aluminum wrapper"Funny thing, I've just hold one and there's no trace of aluminium in the chassis. Like most Asus laptops now available, it's plastic painted as brushed aluminium. Only a few feature some aluminium screen cover or palm rests but I didn't found one where it was applied all around.
slagar - Thursday, November 25, 2010 - link
"The webcam has the same gimmicky manual shutter over it that the U33Jc has. In my opinion, that’s just one more part to break, but if someone sees value in it, so be it."Why do they feel the need to include this? So people can stop spying on themselves?
Perhaps it's to evade potential lawsuits: 'oops I left a video-conference open while I got undressed - I better sue my laptop manufacturer for not including a safety shutter!!'. Honestly, it baffles me.
Evil_Sheep - Thursday, November 25, 2010 - link
We live in an era where school administrators use laptop webcams to secretly spy on their own students (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61L5R5201002... governments will go to any length to spy on their own citizens, including photographing them naked, and hackers control networks of millions of zombie computers because the incredible complexity of modern technology is far beyond the comprehension of the average citizen.A simple webcam shutter is not only a sensible countermeasure, it should be mandatory on all computers.
Evil_Sheep - Thursday, November 25, 2010 - link
The lesson of the 1215N is that while there's lots of choice in this market (10-12" budget ultraportables), nobody offers a product without at least one significant drawback. Though the 1215 is a flawed product, there is no clearly superior alternative.The conclusion mentions a few possibilities but look at them: if you go with a 10" netbook, you have to live with their cramped 600p screens and keyboards and crippled Win7 Starter. If you go with EOL CULV, typically an Acer Timeline 1400 or 1800, you have to live with Acer's awful keyboards, LCD's, and bottom of the barrel plastic. And if you go with AMD, you get poor to awful battery life and still anemic performance. It's a no-win situation.
Only the Macbook Air 11 comes close to perfection...but at $1000 you're blowing the budget and of course you have to take OSX.