Pros: Nice form factor and ergonomics. Light-weight. Runs very cool and quiet. Nice Graphics. ASUS support site is not easy to find or use, especially for pre-purchase research. Their serch engine couldn't resolve the model number. I wound up finding the laptop on a New Zealand support site!

Cons: It's not very fast. No system restore DVDs, you have to create your own. No explaination of the pre-installed utilities and apps. The system indicator lights (HDD, Wifi, etc.) are VERY tiny and poorly placed where your hands cover them up when typing.

Overall Review: I have been building PCs for decades, and have used ASUS motherboards with satisfaction. When faced with building a new PC and spending $350 on the components or, $330 for a nice little laptop, I chose the latter for portability. Now I use the old tower as a file server and to run apps that are used infrequently. I haven't had the ASUS A53U for long, but so far, I like it. It's an excellent value and I'd reccommend it to my friends. NewEgg fulfilled the order timely and efficiently.