4 out of 5 stars! Very nice deal for a student 2010-10-11I would have given this laptop 5 stars if not for the fact that it makes computational noise (louder than the ASUS UL80v model that I also owned). As usual, the touchpad is awful, just like all other ASUS laptops, it is over-sensitive and the pointer would drift away sometimes for no apparent reason. But overall speaking, it is an awesome computer, especially when you consider its lightening fast processing speed, affordable price, light weight (3.7 pounds), long hours of battery use (as good as it advertised- 6.5 hours), huge storage (500GB), loud speaker, always-lukewarm temperature, beautiful screen contrast and vivid color, and much more!! However, keep in mind that this model (UL30A) does not have an optical drive nor bluetooth. So if you are looking for a computer that has an optical drive, then you should pick ASUS UL80v model. I also tried the ASUS webstorage space (they offer 10G for free); thinking that I can transfer documents easily between computers; however, I have to honestly say, it is a joke. First, the registration page did not show up when i clicked on the icon (as they described on ASUS website). For no reason, after probably 10 trials, the registration page miraculously showed up for me to pick a user name and passcode. After uploading some of my word documents to the web storage page, I gave up... because the speed is awfully slow (for both download and upload). I also tried their face recognition log-in. It was fun, and 5 out of 10 times it would recognize you, but it is merely for fun, I guess. Overall, I would recommend this computer to everyone who often on the go and students.
-- YS Sheu Baltimore, MD