August 15th, 2010 
admin ASUS UL30A-X5 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (12 Hours of Battery Life)
- 1.3GHz Intel SU7300 Core 2 Duo Processor
- 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 2 slots, 4GB Max
- 500GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
- 13.3″ HD LED LCD Display, Intel GMA 4500MHD, Wi-Fi 802.11 bgn, 0.3M Webcam
- Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System (64 bit)
Weighing less than 4lbs and measuring less than an inch thin, the new ASUS UL30A-X5 is a harmonious blend of form and function. Powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo ultra-low voltage processor, it boasts an impressive 12 hour battery life for all-day computing. It also sports user-centric features such as a multi-gesture touchpad and provides an impressive multimedia entertainment experience with Altec Lansing speakers and SRS Premium Sound. All of these features and more are shrouded in a robust brus
Rating: 
(out of 150 reviews)
List Price: $ 729.00
Price: $ 629.99
Apple MacBook MC207LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop
- Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging
- 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed
- 250GB Hard Drive, 8x Double-layer SuperDrive, 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
- 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors
- Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard, up to 7 Hours of Battery Life
Introducing the completely redesigned, better-than-ever MacBook. It now features a durable unibody enclosure that slips easily into your bag or backpack. And its 13-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display makes your photos, videos, games, and websites come alive with vivid color. The built-in Battery lasts up to 7 hours on a single charge. The new glass Multi-Touch trackpad supports two-finger scroll, right-click, and Multi-Touch gestures that let you interact with your Mac in a whole new way
Rating: 
(out of 98 reviews)
List Price: $ 949.00
Price: $ 929.00
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Review by Jeff Carroll for ASUS UL30A-X5 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (12 Hours of Battery Life)
Rating:
Just received my Asus UL30A-X5 yesterday. After much review, and a try-out with an Acer 1410, I decided that I wanted a full-sized chiclet/island keyboard and the larger screen. I’m already quite pleased with my decision. At the
Review by TJ for ASUS UL30A-X5 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (12 Hours of Battery Life)
Rating:
I recently purchased the Asus UL30A-X5 through Amazon and am very pleased with my decision. Let me first begin by briefly explaining what I was looking for in a new laptop, as I believe that will give the reader better information when deciding if this laptop is right for them. I am currently a student on a budget and was looking for the following: 1) Less than $700 in price, 2) Screen size between 13-14″, 3) Windows 7 already installed (I didn’t want an older computer with Vista that I would have to manually upgrade to Win 7 myself), 4) At least 320GB HD, 3 GB DDR3 RAM, and a Pentium Core 2 Duo SU7300 equivalent or greater processor, 5) Thin and light, and 6) 4+ solid hours of battery life. Although a netbook offers a small size and easy portability, I didn’t want to sacrifice power and performance for everyday tasks. On the other hand, I also didn’t want a large “desktop replacement” laptop that would be a hassle to carry around or difficult to take with me anytime I was away from home. In summary, I wanted a laptop that offered a good combination of power, performance, and size for my money. With that being said, here is my impression thus far after 2 days of using this computer:
Pros:
-Performance: Able to smoothly and efficiently handle everything I have wanted to do to this point. It is even faster than my 3 year old 15.6″ Dell Inspiron that I originally paid $1300 for at the time.
-Size and Weight: Couldn’t be happier with the sleek look and light weight. It looks even better in person than in the pictures.
-Quality: Some people may think you are sacrificing quality for a laptop with these specs for under $700. I think this computer is built very well, and would argue it stands up to the much more expensive or name-brand models in the same class.
-Warranty: The accidental protection warranty offers an extra piece of mind, which is also something not often included without an additional cost in other laptops.
-Keyboard: Very easy to use, great design!
-Mousepad: I love the textured touchpad on this model. It is difficult to see in the pictures, but the touchpad is actually not a traditional “pad”, but a bunch of tiny dots that track the movement of your finger. Also, I really like the extra features such as being able to scroll up or down a page by using two fingers anywhere on the pad.
Cons:
-The only thing that I am not too excited about is the small (or “smaller” when compared to my larger laptop) mouse buttons below the touchpad. This might be something that just takes a little getting used to, but it is more difficult to click the buttons than on my older laptop. Again, this is my first 13.3″ laptop so it probably just comes with the nature of a smaller laptop and I will get used to it with time, but it’s just something I wanted to point out if you are transitioning from a large laptop to a smaller one.
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. Sure, there are better laptops on the market as some will argue, but only if you are willing to spend $1000+. This computer definitely earns “5 stars” and I think anyone who is looking for an affordable, ultra-portable laptop with powerful performance will be very happy as well.
Review by A. Quan for ASUS UL30A-X5 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (12 Hours of Battery Life)
Rating:
I really love this computer despite the facts that it has some issues. I really like the finish, it’s very thin, less than 1 inch, but by no means is thinner than the macbook air. The casing is very sexy, it looks very nice from all angles. The keyboard is amazing, the only problem is that it has a little flex but its not the end of the world I can type pretty well. The most annoying thing might be the touchpad, whenever you type and you have your hands positioned close to it, the touchpad might register some click while you type. A lot of people are talking about the battery life of this computer that it won’t even reach 10 hours, I can confirm I get 11+ hours on this lappie, Windows 7 is much more energy efficient than Vista (note: I tested under wireless off, lowest screen brightness, power saving mode, word 2007). I really enjoy the price point its less than $700, which is the perfect price for the performance.
PROS:
– Stylish, very sexy looking.
– Keyboard feels amazing.
– Multi-touch track pad works well
– Fast compared to a netbook (C2D, 4GB DDR3)
– Battery life 11+ hours
– Smart Logon, very nice cool feature
– Big hard drive 500GB
– LED screen has nice viewing angles
– Very light and portable
– The charger is very small and portable too.
– Loud quality speakers from small size
– Warranty, 1 Year of accidental Damage
– Price its a deal!
CONS:
– Fingerprint magnet (inside and outside)
– Loud Hard drive (a little annoying)
– Little flex on the keyboard
– ASUS bloatware
– Intel GMA4500MHD, where’s the UL30A-VT? can’t do gaming
– It doesn’t cook, do laundry, or cleans my room.
This computer is perfect for students, and travelers. Recommended
Review by M. Floyd for ASUS UL30A-X5 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (12 Hours of Battery Life)
Rating:
Update 11/14: I’ve decided that I’m going to return this laptop. The glossy display is too reflective. It’s not really that noticeable if you are looking at a web page with a white background with the brightness turned all the way up, but in almost every case it’s just too glossy for my tastes. Also, as mentioned blow, this display fails horribly for sharing the screen for something such as watching a movie. If they swapped out the display and trackpad, this would be the perfect budget laptop.
—
I was torn between this product and the Acer Aspire Timeline. I ultimately decided to go with this product because of the battery life claim. Obviously the battery life claim on ANY laptop is quoted using settings that will not be reflective of the typical user.
One of my biggest concerns with this laptop was the processor. I was not sure if it would be able to handle my daily computing activities. This machine is by no means a powerhouse, but it is more than capable. As long as you do not need to do anything such as gaming or multimedia editing, you should be fine with this laptop. This machine is capable of playing HD videos with a little extra left over for background tasks.
Notes:
- While you do receive recovery DVDs, if you need to take advantage of them you will need to get an external DVD drive. I have heard some reports that some external DVD drives do not receive enough power through one USB port and require either a powered USB hub or plugging the drive into two USB ports. (This is why USB cables for portable HDD and portable disc drives have two heads.) I am pleased to say that the Samsung USB 2.0 8x DVD Writer External Optical Drive for Mac and PC SE-S084C/RSBN (Gloss Black) works perfectly with just one USB plug.
- The power brick can get hot. One review claimed it got as hot as 130 F. I have not personally experienced temperatures this extreme.
Usage: Microsoft Office, Web Browsing, Media Player
Pros:
- Great balance between speed and battery life.
- The keyboard is fantastic.
- Very lightweight and portable.
- The laptop does not get so warm that it is uncomfortable in your lap.
- The laptop has a very sleek look.
- Excellent value for the price. Even on top of the specs, they throw in one year of accidental damage protection. That’s an incredible value.
- The fans are very quiet even when they are on.
- Comes with little bloatware.
- Ability to play HD movies with no tweaking whatsoever (using VLC). Keep in mind that Adobe Flash will soon be releasing an update that will push HD decoding off to the GPU. If the new 1080p at YouTube is choppy for you now, just wait for the new version to come out.
Cons:
- The screen is very glossy and reflective.
- I’ve really discovered that the viewing angles aren’t all that great if you want more than one person to look at your screen at one time for something such as watching a movie together.
- The track-pad is less than ideal. The track-pad tends to move the cursor position while you are typing. The gestures are nice, but I found that the scrolling doesn’t register. The trackpad utility is greatly lacking in features.
- The hard disk squeaks. It’s not terribly loud, but you will notice if you have no other background noise.
- The chassis is indeed a fingerprint magnet. Again, this seems to be an issue with every make and every model laptop these days.
- No back-lit keyboard. This is not necessarily a bad thing since a back-lit keyboard would drain on the battery.
Review by Dave the Love Enforcer for ASUS UL30A-X5 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (12 Hours of Battery Life)
Rating:
This little laptop is a wonder. It’s a beautiful piece of hardware, runs very quick, multitasks great, is dead silent, and I’m getting 10-12 hours of battery life on stock configuration.
I’ve never seen anything like this; you just keep using it and using it and using it. Even when I’ve got every MS Office program running at once + a bunch of Firefox tabs + iTunes playing music, I still get 6-7 hours.
I was pleasantly surprised how little bloatware came with it. The only annoying piece of software I really needed to uninstall was some antivirus program. MS Office Home/Student came preinstalled on a free trial, but I was going to use that anyway so they saved me the installation.
Windows 7 runs great on this laptop. Power management and networking features work beautifully. The great sleep/wake functionality in Windows 7 makes startup time largely irrelevant, but even when you do have to start up from scratch it’s nice and speedy. There are lots of nice little touches to this machine that let you know Asus is a really class act. Things like attractive on-screen displays for volume and brightness adjustment for example.
My only nitpick is that the trackpad is a little jumpy. It’s a little hard to land the cursor onto some of the smaller buttons, like scrollbar arrows. This is probably a driver issue, so it likely will be fixed soon enough. The keyboard is very spacious and pleasant to type on.
Overall I’m extremely satisfied with my UL30A-X5.
Review by D. Bowman for Apple MacBook MC207LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop
Rating:
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1UZDPX5TFLZ8G
I made this video to hopefully add a little more life to the product.
Snow Leopard adds a lot more than I thought.
This is a great computer if you want to play with pics, surf the web, mess with your music collection.
This is not the Mac if you want serious processing power of lots of inputs to create a home network.
Look to a MacBook Pro or iMac for that.
I would have given it 5 stars if it had more inputs.
This is a pricy computer already, now I have to spend more to get adaptors.
I wish it was still available in black or you could opt for the non-glaze display.
I hope you enjoy the video, I had fun making it.
Review by Stephen Hall for Apple MacBook MC207LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop
Rating:
I had intended to purchase my mother a Macbook for some time now. I wobbled between the several models I considered. However, Apple’s late October 2009 update to the white polycarbonate MacBook made the decision much easier.
Reasons for my Decision – With this update to the 13-inch white MacBook, Apple gave its entry-notebook impressive numbers. The processor a 2.26 GHZ Core 2 Duo is the same processor found in the 13-inch MacBook Pro. 2GB of memory? Same as the Pro. Nvidia 9400 Graphics, Same as the Pro. Hard drive? 250 GB, bigger than the MacBook Pro (it has 160GB only).
Yes, considering the larger hard drive, 250 versus 160, this white MacBook actually gives you a higher specification computer in some regards than the $200 more expensive MacBook Pro 13-inch. Remember this updated white MacBook also now incorporates the unibody under its polycarbonate shell. The unibody provides strength, and I must say this notebook is very solid. Furthermore, Apple has incorporated a long-life battery! The only downside is Apple must replace it, though it has a longer life cycle. In terms of performance, my mother reported to me simple usage of nearly six hours on a charge. Impressive. Blows away my older Mac notebook’s battery.
Yes, this white MacBook does lack the remote control sensor, Firewire Port, and backlit keyboard that the MacBook Pro would offer, but my mother would likely not use those features and she had an affinity towards the white polycarbonate. The white does look nice, but handle and place it on surfaces very carefully as it will show light scratches easily.
The bottom of the MacBook is a bit strange. It is a rubber seal so to speak like what is found on the bottom of Airport Extreme and Apple TV. I’m not certain I like that choice by Apple. The material does pick up dirt easily. I would recommend wiping off whatever surface you are going to sit the computer on, to remove light dust, if you worry about the computer’s appearance.
Overall, I was looking to find a quality Mac, for my mother. I didn’t want to compromise performance, and I feel I didn’t despite choosing this entry-level MacBook. Truly, with its stats, it can hardly be called entry level. My daily Mac is only slightly faster. These computers are getting faster and faster, and they impress me. Snow Leopard is great, and my mother is enjoying iPhoto and iMovie, all included with the computer.
The price to value of this MacBook is remarkable. At two hundred less than the MacBook Pro you get the same speed and memory, plus a larger hard drive. You can’t argue with that. I didn’t, and the MacBook has impressed.
Review by Jacob J. Gigliotti for Apple MacBook MC207LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop
Rating:
Since Windows 95 I have been a PC user, I have been through 95, 98, 98se, millennium, xp and vista and I have had enough. I’ve been through 3 PC laptops in 4 years and only one of those didn’t have fatal hardware failures or viruses. I used Mac’s briefly in 99′ and didn’t understand them at all and have shunned them ever since. Finally after my last laptops motherboard started failing I decided it was time to take the leap to a Mac. The main reason I did this was because I’ve heard so many good things about them and I have had two iPhones and wanted to continue with Apple products. I waited for the new models to come out first before I got one because I have a habit of always wanting to get the new gizmos. Price is a little higher than what I’m used to but you get what you pay for. It was a little tough getting used to the OS right off the back, as a Windows user this is like going to a foreign country and trying to talk to someone there. I’ve had it for almost a 2 1/2 weeks now and so far I couldn’t be happier. There are very few flaws that I have found, the edge of the laptop is too “sharp” and I get lines on my wrists but my typing teacher would yell at me anyway for that. Performance wise this thing flies! I thought about getting the Macbook pro but could not justify spending more money and getting the same/lower specs (i.e. 160gb hard-drive in the pro, 250gb in the macbook, same processor, same graphics, same RAM, same battery). I can live without the SD slot, simple USB adaptor can fix that, no need for firewire and I don’t type in the dark so I can do without the backlight keyboard. At this rate I don’t see myself going back to PC anytime soon!
Review by Jenny or Jon for Apple MacBook MC207LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop
Rating:
This is my 4th Apple laptop (PB150, White iBook, MacBookPro Alumnium). All personally owned. I’ve also been a user of many PC laptops for work. Our last 2 Mac Laptops have been our sole home computer when we’ve owned them. Getting probably 6 hours of daily average use.
I have to say that this new unibody MacBook is by far, my favorite laptop I’ve ever owned and used.
We’ve been using it for a month now with the same rate of usage. Maybe more because of the holidays.
It has some slight imperfections.
1. I wish it still had composite TV out, but when I become the last person on earth to finally upgrade to HDTV, it will be ready (3rd party HDMI/video out cables are cheap).
2. The edge of where your arms go needs to be rounded because it slightly slices into your wrists. (I haven’t filed it down yet, but will…)
3. And sure, target mode in firewire would be nice. But, it’s rarely needed ($15 for a shell and a disassembly gets you to the harddrive in the disasterous event your system is so fried you can’t get a network hookup going).
4. An SD slot would be nice too. But, everything I have a card in is USB anyway, and I already have card readers for when I don’t (or my devices connect directly anyway).
5. It’s more expensive than Windows laptops. But, at under $1000 ($850 if you’re smart with rebates and deals) the MacBook makes buying a Mac almost equivalent to a nicer Windows laptop. Almost. Well, it’s at least not embarrassing to admit anymore.
But, that’s it with the negatives.
It’s slim and sleek. The unibody means no flex when I hold the corner with one hand (RIP 2.5 year old G3 iBook with graphic chip recall). The plastic means no permanent deformation when I drop it from 4 feet (RIP 2.5 year old MacBookPro with a slow overheating death near the corner I dropped it on.) The battery life is impressive. (RIP every PC laptop I’ve ever used within 6 months.)
The white keys mean keyboard lighting is not such a big deal. The glossy screen is not really that glossy. The screen is bright and sparkly. The processor is speedy. (I run Windows on it just fine.)
The 250 gig HD is big enough (I’d need a few terrabytes to hold all my media anyway.) 250G is enough to simply expose the low end MacBook Pro for what it is – Apple’s cynical attempt to milk money out of folks.
The mousepad is just wonderful. Takes a day or two to get used to not having a “button”, but it’s simply wonderful after that. Two fingers for a right mouse click and for scrolling. I zoom in and out of dual browsing sessions with the pinch like I never expected to do. And it’s CENTERED in front of the screen. I don’t know what Windows design idiots decided to stop centering their mousepads and keyboards and to give them tiny recessed buttons, but I refuse to personally purchase a lopsided laptop where you have to flop 4 inches off one leg just to type and where your thumb is rigidly fixed to an ergonmically challened button. The keyboard is equally well designed and easy on the fingers for this touch typist.
And, 2 of my Apple pet peeves have been fixed: the latchless lid is perfectly designed, and, there’s no feet to get rubbed off the bottom anymore.
Oh, and it’s light. Not MacBook Air light. But, surprisingly light and thin. I carry a 17″ Windows machine for work. Yet, the 13″ screen rarely feels restrictive. And, its performance blows away the MacBook Air. Try running full screen video off of YouTube on a MacBook Air. It can’t do it. This MacBook has the juice to display without stuttering.
Plus, importing the old data from my old MacBookPro was seamless. Import and done. Just a few apps that needed to be upgraded for 64 bit and Snow Leopard. No crap on the desktop to remove like a new Windows computer. No annoying security messages. No virus worries. Basically, ZERO “Windows” worries. (Yes, I’ve got XP running on VM ware fusion and Vista on Boot Camp for certain games. So, I know of what I speak… Yes, I’m a masochist.)
And finally, it’s MacOSX. I’m the kind of guy that has people coming to me for tech help at work, asking for recommendations “for a new PC cause their old one has a virus”. They need help reinstalling windows. They have driver issues. They have reps from foreign countries advising to “recover” their systems (which means wiping the entire Harddrive). They have trojans running wild. They are always confused and frustrated. The only ones who don’t have problems are the ones who are too scared to do anything with their computers. Or, who are technically savvy enough to navigate the waters. Who like the complication.
The annoying things people have come to accept from Windows computing astound me. As a daily user of both OS’s for decades, I always breathe a small sigh of relief when I get back to my Mac.
MacOSX is wonderful. It rarely frustrates. (Just scan down the list of Amazon’s laptop best sellers, and see the average stars for Mac machines vs. Windows machines. Clearly, there is a difference in quality and ease of use that justifies the difference in cost.)
So, this review is much longer than I intended. But, after reading the initial reviews a month ago — of Mac zealots who hadn’t purchased one who were whining about “no firewire” — of clean freaks who worried about microscopic scratches (barely a blemish on ours in this household with 3 cats, a dog, and 3 and 6 year old kids), I just had to put my 2 cents in. This is, in my opinion, the best laptop Apple has released.
Why? Because it is inexpensive (for a Mac) and does everything you need it to do.
Review by LG for Apple MacBook MC207LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop
Rating:
Pros:
- Unibody enclosure
- Same battery as the MacBook Pro
- Same graphics and processor (low end) of 13″ MBP
- Glass multi-touch trackpad
- 250GB Hard Drive (bigger than entry level MBP)
- DDR3 RAM
- LED Backlit Display
- SuperDrive
- New AC Adapter (I just like it better. Basically the same as a MB Air’s)
- Snow Leopard
- Price
Cons:
- No backlit keyboard
- Bezel around the display isn’t as “refined” and the edge to edge glass on the MBP
- No Firewire. Isn’t that big for current products as most things are going USB, but legacy items and high transfer rates of Firewire 800 or sustained throughput of 400 would have been nice.
- Battery is non-removable. Again, could be a big deal for some.
- “Non-slip” bottom is rather slippery and tends to gather crud easily, but then again, it’s easy to wipe clean
- While I would surely say that the new case is more pro than con (looks better, doesn’t get dirty as easily, fingerprints rub right off) that high gloss is rather easy to scratch.
- Finally, this is more neutral than con, I would have liked to have seen a $50 price drop, putting this machine for students and educators, who make up a sizable chunk of Apple’s target demographic, at $899. With everything that has changed on this machine, I can see why it didn’t happen.
Overall, I would say that this is an very solid machine. For those looking for the “best overall value” in the notebook line, I say that it would be a toss up for me between this guy and the 2.53 MBP. For most users, this is more than enough machine and would be my pick for them. With the overall features, value, and redesigned exterior (and interior), this is really a great machine.