ASUS VivoBook L203MA Ultra-Thin Laptop, 11.6” HD, Intel Celeron N4000 Processor (up to 2.6 GHz), 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, USB-C, Windows 10 in S Mode, One Year of Microsoft Office 365, L203MA-DS04

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I work and play mainly from a desktop, but I wanted something cheap and portable that I can use when I need a change of scenery. I was looking for three things in a laptop: 1) small footprint, 2) looooong battery life, and 3) low cost. Basically, I needed a typewriter with internet, and I didnt want to invest too much money or time into it. This machine checks all three of my boxes. Its itty bitty and very lightweight, and so far I havent been able to drain the battery in a single day of on and off use. I also purchased this during a Deal of the Day promotion for $179, which is a great price for a PC with these specs. I dont know if I would pay full price for this, which is around $230 at the time of posting. If Im going to spend that much, I might as well increase my budget slightly and get something with a few more bells and whistles, like a convertible hinge or a touch screen. The top cover of the case is shiny plastic, so its a huge fingerprint magnet. Thats kind of a bummer, but look at all the money youre saving! The underside of the case is matte-black plastic. The palm rest, which looks slate gray in pictures, is actually a very warm, classy-looking gray in person. It almost has a purplish-bluish tone in the light? Its a livelier gray, anyway. I really like it. The whole thing looks professional, even though it feels cheap in the hand. Its a case that I wont feel bad about getting my first scratch on, lets put it that way. Thats part of the appeal of an inexpensive computer. The screen is crisp and bright, although it does have a high gloss and tends to get shiny. Theres no fan noise because theres no fan, but the machine barely heats up at all. It runs cool and quiet. The chiclet keyboard is responsive, with just enough clickiness for comfortable word processing. I was a little concerned about the small footprint of the keyboard, as I read a few reviews complaining of difficulties with touch typing, but I never had an issue with it. Touch typing is a breeze at 70-90 WPM, and there arent any keys in weird places, which you sometimes see on cheapies like this. I was pleasantly surprised. The performance is good. Its what you would expect from 4GB ram. You can work on a word document, listen to music, and open a handful of tabs with no problem. You could probably do a little more on top of that, but I havent bothered. Some fancy websites can be a bit slower to load, but I havent run into any unreasonable wait periods yet. Just a matter of seconds here and there. Startup is snappy, about 8 seconds from shutdown to login. As far as space goes, 64GB is not enough for me (and probably most people, unless you keep everything in the cloud--in that case, buy a Chromebook). Windows takes up about a third of that space, so spend the money you saved buying a cheap computer on a micro SD card to expand your storage. Keep in mind, this PC will probably come loaded with Windows 10 S, which is a limited Microsoft OS built for schools, and doesnt allow the use of non-Microsoft apps and software. Upgrading to Windows 10 Pro is simple, and at the time of this review, free. Have I mentioned how inexpensive this laptop is?? If you can get it on sale for less than $200, its definitely worth it. All in all, this is a great budget PC that lasts all day. I would never use it as my main computer, but I am giving it 5 stars based on its function as a mobile typing machine, and on that front, this PC nails it.

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The mother of all motherboard makers, Asus again teams with Intel to create yet another awesome, small but full-function laptop. On day 1 I plugged in the power, then my ASUS Portable USB DVD External Drive , with the ISO of Peppermint 9 (64-bit) on it, plugged in a USB C to Ethernet Adapter , powered it up and booted to the DVD/CD player, and installed Linux alongside Windows, which is still lurking in there somewhere on its own smaller partition, undisturbed. The build is great; its so thin and lightweight; the keyboard is soft which is good if youre a light fingered typist. I peck, but its doing great. Everything worked the first time; the trackpad, WiFi; everything. Installed Chrome, etc., and otherwise tweaked the OS to my tastes. Have not booted into Windows yet, and if this laptop continues to perform so well, Ill just delete that partition and all within it. The N4000 Processor is quite peppy with Peppermint, or w/ Linux Mint , Ubuntu or its many fine derivatives, with a light desktop (a DE like xfce). At $179 this was/is a steal (and the price varies, I know). A Sandisk Ultra 128GB Micro SD Card disappears in this unit, for all your on-board storage. Theres no hard drive access; see pics, and just web search eMMC Flash Storage (this unit is not expandable). Windows 10 requires more hardware than this unit provides; hence all the bad reviews, when the problem is not Asus/Intel, but Win-10. If you must use Win-10 a minimum of 8G RAM, 128G HD, and the Intel Core I-3,5,7 Processor, or youll likely have problems with any laptop/PC. Click profile name then blog. Another similar option is the Acer Aspire 1 A114-32-C1YA. UPDATE 10/18/18: Installed Linux Mint 19-C and wiped everything else; performance is outstanding! UPDATE 02/19/19: Still cranking full speed with Mint 19.1 Cinnamon. UPDATE 06/22/19: Trouble free still!

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This notebook is not of a great quality. The HDMI port died after two months. I spoke to ASUS tech support, they issued RMA number and I sent the notebook to ASUS with Windows 10 Pro operating system as I upgraded it from Windows S mode. I got back my notebook after two weeks. They had to replace the motherboard. However, it came back with "Windows 10 Home Single Language" installed on it. They downgraded my operating system. I was extremely unhappy. I spoke to ASUS tech support and complained, they issued me another RMA number and I had to send the notebook right back to them for correct operating system. Now, Im out of my notebook for almost a month now. Im still waiting for my computer to get back. Ill post the progress when I get the notebook back the second time. I will never buy another ASUS notebook again. Please be cautious when considering this notebook. 12/20/2018 Update I received the unit second time back from ASUS but it still had the wrong Operating system. They still would not install the original operating system that the computer came with and different ASUS agents gave me different excuses for it. Now I got another RMA number and sending it back the third time. I have requested a replacement unit. Lets see what they do this time, I dont expect much because of the incompetency of ASUS tech support. Im out of computer since 11/17/2018 and today is 12/20/18. At the time of this writing the unit is still on its way to the tech support for the third time. The amount of time ASUS tech support spend on my computer and the cost of shipping the unit back and forth three times already had cost ASUS more than the original cost of the unit I paid. It would have been very smart of them, had they given me the replacement unit the first time since I only had it for less than two months. 4/8/2019 The HDMI port died yet again even after it took them two months to fox it earlier. I hade to send it in the 4th time for repair. Please Dont buy ASUS netbooks especially this model.

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I purchased this PC laptop for school. I didnt want to spend too much, but I needed it to have Windows 10 and the ability to house/run Office 365. I was far more interested in the technical specs, I hadnt paid much attention to the dimensions. It is pretty small (see photos for reference), but other than the occasional need to divide my screen view between 2 programs, I actually like the size. It will be easy to bring along when traveling and it is extremely lightweight. This order arrived to me in winter, so I let the computer sit and come up to temperature before attempting to run it. Windows Cortana prompts you through all of the setup. It connected to my WiFi without any problems. I happen to prefer Chrome as a browser, but Microsoft Edge is the default for Windows 10 S. I was able to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for free and download Chrome as my default. I had no issues executing this & once again Cortana prompted me throughout the process. I was able to install Office 365 without issues. The battery life seems great - a fully charged battery will get you roughly 10 hours of use, depending on how youre using it. It seems to charge really fast as well, which is another nice perk. I have had no problems completing my coursework using this laptop. It seems like a really big bang for very little buck. I would highly recommend it for students, commuters or the general population who mainly will utilize for surfing the web. Obviously internet speed will play a role in video performance, but the visual quality of the screen is great for streaming. The built-in speakers are perfectly adequate for general notification sounds, listening to music or videos. I like that it has a USB port on either side and also offers the mini-SD card reader, HDMI and mini-USB ports. It has a decent amount of capabilities for such a relatively small and extremely inexpensive computer. Given the Intel processor, on-board storage and ram, I find this to be a cut above its Chromebook counterparts which can limit your capabilities being an app-based operating system. I ranked the material quality slightly lower among the features, purely because it is SO lightweight. I dont know how durable this plastic housing will prove to be in comparison to many of the laptops with a metal shell. I dont see it being a problem for me, but I wouldnt recommend this for use of small children.

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April 20, 2019 update: Well, you can see my earlier, glowing report below. But now eight months later, the screen went black while using, cant reboot. %^&*. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I installed Linux Mint Cinnamon 19 on this machine, intentionally wiping Windows off the disk in the process. Turns out to be an excellent combination! With this particular Linux distro, the notebook is quite peppy and everything works. Installation took about 10 minutes. Updating the software via wireless was another 10 minutes. Great wireless reception. After installation, I had about 40GB of "disk" space left for my documents. If I find I need more space, I can get a 128GB card for about $40. But this is all I need for now. Everything works -- Asus function keys, auto suspend after timeout or lid close, resume on opening lid. Linux bootup time is about 25 seconds, power button to desktop. Libreoffice, which Ive been using on my desktop machines for over ten years, is included in the install. With my documents, Ive never had trouble reading or writing MS-compatible files. I havent checked battery life yet, but I expect it to be as good as with Windows. I like the airplane-mode button. It shuts off the bluetooth and wi-fi, saving on battery life when Im not using the internet. With Linux, for document processing and web browsing, this is almost as fast as my newish desktop i3 machine. It would not be able to do as many things at once, but thats not what I want this notebook for. The appearance is sleek and pleasant. And I love the 11.6 size. Small as the notebook is, the keyboard is fine: full-sized, with nice ergonomics. The touchpad is fine for me, also. Nice crisp display. Viewing angle makes a bit of a difference, but it hasnt caused me a problem. The letters on the display were initially a little small for me. Increasing the font size by one point from the Cinnamon system settings menu solved that. This notebook has all the connectivity I would want: HDMI and three usb 3 connections, including one usb-C. I dont expect to connect it to ethernet, but if I do, I can get an ethernet to usb adapter for under $15. A few details ... On first startup, I did the auto-registration with Asus / Microsoft. In this security-conscious age, I was amazed the registration program would not let me proceed without entering a date of birth. It took over two hours to write the Windows "recovery" information to a usb 2 thumb drive. Then after I had installed Linux, I checked to see if I could restore Windows. I was able to boot from the usb drive to some utility screen (not to the Windows OS), but could not begin a recovery operation. Apparently Windows recovery cannot be done after Windows has been completely wiped from the machine. Since I dont intend to reinstall Windows and everything works, Im not concerned about it. After installing Linux Mint Cinnamon, I experimented with a few other Linux distros. MX-17.1 was not able to see the wireless on the notebook. [This has changed for the better with MX 18. See update note below.] I tried LInux Mint XFCE, which seemed fine, but discovered it would not do a suspend on timeout -- a big deal for battery life. The only reason I tried those two is I thought they might be a little more efficient than Cinnamon. They were maybe a tiny bit snappier, but Linux Mint Cinnamon is pleasant to use, and everything works with it. I have not found myself wishing it were faster. Another reviewer noted the difficulty with getting a manual. I encountered this too. When I called Asus, I was talking to someone in less than a minute(!) Their advice was to do a web search on Asus E203 ma. This took me to the Asus product page for this model. Click "support" near the top of the page, and then "manual and documents" on the next page. Download the manual. The only thing I really needed it for was how to get to the boot menu. (Hold down F2 while you press and release the power button.) Apparently the manual info is on the product page, but hasnt gotten to the main Asus support page. All in all a really excellent machine, so far, for a great price. ----------------------------------------------------- Update Dec 31, 2018 The MX LInux people came out with version 18 of their software during the last month, so I gave it a try. It installs and updates fine, works great with my wireless, and is very, very peppy on this machine. It uses the xfce window manager and utilities. Again ... this is a really nice laptop for running LInux.

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I would like to ask the people who give this computer a bad review: whats wrong with it? This is one of the nicest computers that I have ever owned. Not because it is a workhorse computer--because it isnt. But because it works perfectly for what it was designed to do. It is super light; it is small; it is very fast; it has a battery that lasts all day; and it never fails to perform the functions that it was designed for. It does a fantastic job for the price. Of course you are not going to do any heavy gaming or video editing on this computer. If that is what you want a computer to do then you have to spend big money. But if you want a computer that does the basic functions, like web browsing or using Microsoft office, then this would be the computer for you. There is no such thing as a company that doesnt produce a lemon on occasion, and if you are one of the unlucky people who happen to buy a lemon, then, of course, buy all means, return it. However, after using the replacement for awhile you will find that this computer is really perfect for what you want to do. I see so many bad reviews that end by saying "I am going to return this computer." Really! maybe you should have returned it and received a replacement and then used it for awhile before you gave it a bad review. If, by chance, you did receive another lemon--which is highly unlikely--then, and only then, would you be justified in giving it a bad rating. All-in-all, my personal opinion is simply this: this computer far exceeds the purpose for which it was designed. I have had not problems with it whatsoever. It is faster than I thought it would be. It runs cooler than I thought it would. The screen is brighter than I imagined it would be. The sound is louder and more clear than I expected. The track pad works smoother than I anticipated. And, last-but-not-least, the keypad is very responsive. I have not been disappointed in this computer, and for the price, I dont think you will be either.

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I bought this specifically for Linux Mint. I was surprised fast boot was enabled by default. This made setting the boot order or any Firmware settings impossible without starting Windows. I used advanced startup in Windows to make it boot to the Bios. I disabled fast boot and secure boot , then saved and restarted. Now the F2 key worked to enter the Bios. Then a restart and tapping the ESC key provided a boot menu. The Mint 19.1 installer live provided my wireless network. I did a custom install using Btrfs with no swap (4GB memory is plenty for what I use.) Everything went well. When I booted to the freshly installed system, everything looked okay. At this point I decided to update the firmware in the Bios. I had downloaded the file from Asus using the model E203MA version 304. The Bios flash did not complete. It informed me it was the wrong one. After much digging, including a support call to Asus, I was ready to give up. On a whim, I tried the Bios flash for a E203MAS version 202 and it worked. The Asus tech had assured me this laptop was an E203MS. So m guessing these are either E203MAS or E203MA. The laptop says model: E203M on the back. It is a very confusing way they have their models identified. Anyway, Everything on this laptop is real nice. The location of the power button (and indicator light) the responsiveness of the whole system, and the build quality. Neither Mint nor Windows show the hyper threading is active. I tried several system monitors with both OS and no certainty. It may be active or not. I have read that due to security recently, hyper threading has been disabled on some mobos. At any rate, the machine is very responsive. Its not easy to find a laptop that runs Linux these days. Ive returned 2 others from Wally World that would not, or had issues like wireless cards that I could not find drivers for. On these Windows 10 Pro can be clean installed. Just download a copy of the Oct version of Windows 10 and use the Media Creation Tool - select USB with an 8GB - to 32GB flash drive attached. It will create a FAT32 installer. It must be FAT32 or it wont show up in the boot menu. (tap ESC key after pressing power button) Some PCs will detect a GPT table flash drive with NTFS - not these Vivo. Boot to it, Erase the drive and install. It wont ask for a license key or version of Windows you want (auto-detects.) Once installed and connected to the internet it will activate your fresh copy of Pro. Before doing this make sure you have previously booted the factory install of Windows 10 s. I did this after having Linux on it just to test. I put it back to Linux when done.

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I dont like to write immediate reviews on any of my Amazon purchases because first impressions can easily change with some experience, but Ive now had three weeks to use the ASUS E203MA, and I am very satisfied with this purchase. The battery life has remained good, and theres little doubt that I can get between 9-10 hours of life with normal use and the screen brightness reduced from the highest level. Under those conditions, Ive used the computer for just about 8 hours and the battery still has about 22% left on it. The battery meter does give some screwy readings occasionally regarding the length of time the battery will continue to run; for instance, with the percentage remaining at 50%, swinging from a little over ten hours to less than three hours in a manner of a few minutes so Ive measured battery life by monitoring the cumulative amount of time Ive run it. Here are the weaknesses. Its got limited storage, Id probably prefer at least 8 gb of memory, the display is hardly cutting edge, it feels potentially fragile, and it comes loaded with a version of Windows called 10S (nice marketing by MS--its designed as a student laptop and 10S limits app downloads to the Microsoft Store only--you can accomplish essentially the same thing by making a parent the laptops administrator with the child a regular user, thus restricting program download and installation). 10S is easily convertible to Windows 10 Pro for free. You can find instructions by doing a Google search, but essentially you go to Activation in Settings and change your Microsoft Store to allow the upgrade--which has remained totally free for this machine. If your work requires you to live in a Windows environment as does mine, then at least youve got a decent version of the current Windows to work with. The feeling of fragility--totally a byproduct of how light the VivoBook is. My previous travel machine was an ASUS Transformer T100 from about four or five years ago. Compared with that 10" netbook, the E203MA, with an 11.6" screen, is about a half pound lighter. And the E203MA is even a little thinner than the T100. I dont know that the E203MA is fragile; it just feels that way because of its mostly plastic construction. BTW, I used that T100 heavily for four years without putting a scratch on it. Get a decent case and dont use the laptop as a frisbee, and it should last. Mediocre display? Yes. Its an 11.6" screen on a laptop that cost hundreds less than a premium laptop--Im satisfied. Storage is limited, but its better than a 32 gb eMMC. Ive seen some articles over the past several months that have indicated that MS no longer guarantees that limited storage machines with 32 gb will be able to continue receiving updates to Windows 10 so an upgrade to 64 gb alleviates that concern. I see that the current installation still leaves me 37 gb of storage which should be sufficient. And if not, you can insert a microSD (I have a 128 gb) which should give you plenty of storage room. Format to NTFS, and you can even run programs from there. Another Google search will help you find directions for using a microSD for running programs, but here are the essentials: use Disk Format and choose NTFS rather than FAT32, create a folder in your C: drive labeled SD Card, go into the Disk Management Console, find the drive letter for the microSD, and change the drive letter and path so that it is mounted in the C:SD Card path. After doing this, I was able to install VLC Media Player as well as several other programs, all of which have run smoothly from there. The 4 gb memory is not as snappy as the 8 I had with a brief and unsatisfactory experience with another machine, and I notice, but not much, a lag that more memory might cure. On the other hand, I have had over 20 tabs open in Microsoft Edge and then downloaded each page. Thats well beyond my normal Internet usage. The VivoBook didnt freeze. Videos play fine with no stuttering. Other reviews confirm my overall impression of this laptop as a great tool for writers. My work involves a lot of writing. The keyboard is about the right size (my hand size is about average--for reference, I wear a medium golf glove), the key responsiveness is good, and Ive had no problems with the screen. Ive read criticisms about viewing angles, but I think Im like most people--I use my laptop viewing the screen head on, in which case, youll never notice a screen issue. Theres one niggling complaint Ill make--the power on button provides no feedback at all--when I push it to power on the laptop, I always feel uncertain that Ive pressed it the right way to turn it on--but then it always turns on. The power button just has a soft mushy feel that literally tells you nothing. I havent flown with this machine yet, but its footprint should fit almost any tray table in coach. I took it with me on a road trip at the end of March, and it packed nicely in the bag I generally use as a carryon. With the combination of its extremely small charger with no mid-point brick but rather a slightly larger wall plug and a very thin cord (see picture--the plug measurements are 2" x 2" x 1.25"), the ASUS meets my requirements for a small travel machine. This laptop is a good value. Its the 2019 version of a netbook, and since ASUS was one of the pioneers in this field with its old eeePCs over a decade ago, thats no surprise.

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at $169 this was an excellent value ultra portable. intel N4100 isnt the fastest processor but it will handle anything you throw at it with exception to intensive games and maybe some advanced processor-intensive software. upgrade to windows 10 pro for free, and re-install a fresh copy of windows without the asus bloat and this thing is snappy. expect to get about 6 hrs of medium use, and over 10 for light use like just web browsing, email, etc.

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This is, what I consider to be, an ideal Travel Laptop. It is certainly light weight and has everything you need for online activities. Yes, it has only 64gb of storage, but that is enough to handle the Windows 10 pro operating system (easily installed from your free Microsoft Account) as well as office applications. If you want more storage, you can use a micro SD card and/or a flash USB drive. The ports are adequate (HDMI, USB, MICRO-C, etc.). The display is easy enough to read (which is what I want most), and I have found no issues with WI-FI or Bluetooth connections to any device. If you want lots of built-in storage and power to do multi-tasking and play intense games, then this laptop is not for you. But if you just want to connect to online services, surf the web, run basic office applications, and travel light, then you cannot beat the features for the price!

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