Nice while it worked, but hardware problems abound
591360
My first unit had a bad uSD slot.  While waiting on the replacement I used it quite a bit and very much liked the interface.  I mostly watched Netflix and the TED channel but there was much more I would have eventually explored.

The replacement unit only worked for a short while - it locked up.  A "factory reset" did not help, nor did resetting the remote.  The issue could have been with the base or with the remote, no way to tell.

So I returned it and stopped recommending it to friends.  However, I might be tempted to try it again in a year - maybe these issues will be worked out and less likely to happen by then.
3630802
Great while it lasted, but started acting up after 3 months. Video output periodically cuts out to one monitor, or entire system freezes with a white patterned display. Out of warranty, though, so I'll be forced to replace it with a different manufacturer.
3470062
Initially, I liked this player very much, as the pointer was comfortable and intuitive to use and setup seemed simple.  However, as I tried to do more with it, especially the PC software, it became unstable, crashing repeatedly and requiring re-install.  In the end, I ended up returning it, as I could not get the software working after yet another re-install and I found out that the player (and probably software) was discontinued.
1813655
It was amazing, while it lasted.  I got my Asus T100 last week, and the machine was awesome.  It was fast, responsive, light weight, the battery was amazing, etc.  I did have an issue where the computer wouldn't respond when being 'awoken' from sleep mode when plugged in, and at the advice of Asus, I updated the BIOS.  After the BIOS update (which gave no error) the computer shut down, and wouldn't turn back on at all.  I attempted every key press, every combination of buttons on the device and on the keyboard, but it was bricked.  The back light for the screen wouldn't even come on, and the only semblance of it working was the white LED that came on when I plugged it into power.  The retailer that I purchased it from is now sold out, so I sent it back for a refund.
3555071
The camera and wifi stopped working due to hardware issues in less than a year.
3155005
Worked for about 7 months, then started giving me error messages stating that I needed to delete data for it to be able to work despite not adding anything since I bought it and only being 50% full.  Now it only books if I spam clicking the wheel while powering up and constantly skips and shuts down by itself.  Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.
1836849
broke after a year, but i loved it when it worked
354645
Great hardware...

The technical support is terrible, I mean the worst...
3930345
Worked great for about 2 months, then stopped working completely.
2503650
Died after less than two years, won't turn on. Google search shows this is a pretty common problem.
3591759
When I first got this unit on July 23rd, I thought it was going to be a great little full speed Windows 8 unit, and in fact my original review was marvelous. Had some minor issue getting Windows Update to actually work, but after downloading and installing the ASUS updates and a few misplaced reboots, it loaded all of the updates (a considerable amount) without incident. I loaded many programs including all those from my Windows 8 account with my old device, and it seemed it was going to work. I wrote an update on July 26th stating as such, but the last few days before finally throwing in the towel and requesting a refund, it just seemed to go downhill in a hand-basket! Many of the problems I had read about in other reviews that I thought I had escaped reared their ugly little heads.

Freezing and unresponsive. Failure to respond to touch for minutes at a time. Unexplained lapses of not connectivity to WiFi. Numerous reboots. Sound dropping out. Screen flickering on Auto and Manual settings. And the list goes on. ASUS Tech Support was decidedly useless except for recommending resets.

I really had high hopes for this thing. Perhaps I will wait a little while before making a review. I was going to leave the original review as it was but it would not have been fair to others. I do believe that most of the problems are software or BIOS related, but ASUS needs to get off the fence with this thing and get it fixed.
3309791
It was specular while it worked. . . but after a problem, ASUS customer service has been a continuing, on-going nightmare.

I had it for about five months when it suddenly died.  No power at all.  Took three days of working through on-line customer support answering the same questions over and over to get an RMA.  Shipped it back to them, and some days later, they then shipped it back to me. . . in the same *DEAD* condition.  Really?  This is not some kind of intermittent problem like it drops connections.  This is just dead.  It doesn't power on.

I called in and was told I would get a new RMA emailed to me.  Nope.

The next day I called in yet again, and this time I got the second RMA on the phone.  I sent it back in to them, and some days later, it was supposedly shipped back to me by FedEx but no tracking number.  That was on Tuesday (this is Saturday and the repair facility is in the same state as I am).  Still no returned unit, and still no tracking number.  I've tried calling in again and again this morning, and only get voice mail promising to cal me back.

After the parade of incompetence, I have no confidence in ASUS support.  Hopefully it will show up in the next few days and hopefully it will actually be fixed this time, but I expect better for a $220 router.  I bought this router because I wanted a reliable solution for my home networking.  Instead, I've got a headache.

*******
Update: After repeatedly calling (because needless to say, I didn't get the call back I was promised), I finally got a live person who could locate a tracking number.  Turns out that while they said the RMA was being shipped out Tuesday, it didn't actually leave ASUS until Thursday.  The rep also reported that the repair notes say that they couldn't fix my router, so apparently I'll be getting a refurb.  Hopefully that will solve my problem, but given the history, I'm somewhat skeptical.  I'll update after Monday (when FedEx will deliver the router) if there's anything worth reporting.
2750827
I like the size, sound (except the reverb, which Is pretty awful but fortunately I don't need) and feature set of this setup, but after owning it about two years now, I've concluded the reliability is just not there.  First failure was a noisy fan, starting after a couple of months and which ultimately ended up cutting out entirely.  I was able to replace this myself after finding the part, but it's clear they're using the most low budget fans they can find (and there are two mini muffin fans inside that aren't identical).  And now the left channel speaker output has started cutting out, mostly only working when the unit is warmed up and even then somewhat intermittently.  I'm not sure I'll bother to fix it at this point, and instead invest in something better.  It seems to me both the mechanical parts as well as the electrical are ultra-low-budget consumer grade parts that just won't last.
3490466
After a year and a half, my unit no longer turns on or charges. I loved how versatile this little DAC was (Bluetooth allowed me to use it with my phone while hooked up to a PC) and really enjoyed the sound quality. However, I had several issues with it.

-The battery would drain while connected to my PC and I'd need to charge it separately sometimes.
- My PC would not detect it half the time requiring me to unplug it and plug it back in. This would happen on boot usually.
-The E5 did not shut down on it's own when shut off my PC. Annoying and introduced unnecessary friction to the experience.

In the end, it died out of warranty and I'm left with an expensive, non-functional brick. 5 stars if it was more reliable, but it only gets 2 stars for reliability reasons.
4109690
I've had mixed results with the machine.  Was well cared for, never dropped, but the hardware failed in significant ways after 4 1/2 years.  My XO laptop will last longer.

Acer's bundled software, which includes Vista and Acer's proprietary 'empowerment' software, is questionable.  I replaced it with Linux and was happy for 4 years, until the USB ports failed.  Not planning to buy any more Acer products. Having the tech support folks tell me I need to "update my windows USB drivers" isn't something I plan to put myself through.  Removing the battery got it booting again, after it failed to talk to the keyboard, but now USB isn't working.

I broke my own rule by purchasing hardware that came bundled with a new operating system release.
What kind of machine should I replace this with?

The machine would've been better with XP, since Vista fails on two counts:
1) imposes mandatory DRM restrictions on hardware
2) requires newer, 'beta'-quality drivers
  Many of these weren't even available by May 2007
  Vista shipped in January 2007

No other hardware else I purchased with the machine worked day 1.  Acer should have provided an XP 'downgrade' option.

I purchased the machine to get an AMD chipset that could be upgraded to 4G of RAM.  The hardware itself has held up reasonably well in 48 months of light-duty usage. The iBook that preceded this started losing key caps after 18 months.

I run Ubuntu Linux on this machine, which is OK in 2008, in 2007, there were Wifi headaches caused by the Broadcom chipset (familiar to Apple "airport extreme" users as the non-open source friendly chipset.  You use to have to extract the Broadcom firmware file while running another OS, then make that file available to Ubuntu Linux.
297581
Died some time during second week. Now a crappy paperweight.
2961598
For the price, the feature set is pretty unrivaled... It's all good... Up until it dies.

Output quality is really good, especially considering the tiny price... Build quality is another thing, though. After about a month, it started having reading errors, quiting playing and going back to the idle screen. A couple days later, it wouldn't even spin anymore, unable to read any disk. In the end, pretty much disposable...

Maybe our unit was defective, or got manhandled during shipping, but in the end, I'd have a tough time recommending this unit to anyone who needs to get more than a month's use out of it.