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9 Takes on Asus Eee PC
Posted by Mark Wilson at 10:30 AM on November 6, 2007
The Asus Eee PC is one of the most innovative and promising laptops to hit the consumer market in years. With an introductory model priced at a mere $399, Asus is offering an extremely compact, 2lb laptop with a 4GB solid state drive. But most importantly, the Eee isn't gimped for office tasks or internet browsing like the closest-sized and priced mobile devices. Indeed, Asus has brought ultraportables to a mass market price.
But while all these ideas sound fantastic on paper, how does the Asus Eee actually perform in testing? Hit the jump for our Frankenreview—nine different perspectives on the ultraportable we're all hoping to be great.
The physical feel of the notebook is pretty solid for such a small piece - I have definitely had 11" screen notebooks that felt more fragile than this system does. As long as you don't expect the build quality of an IBM ThinkPad, you will not be let down.
The obvious limitations of the tiny hard drive, low-power CPU, and lack of the Windows operating system may be enough to scare away many potential users...
The Intel Celeron M CPU runs at 900MHz with 9x clock multiplier. The L1 cache is 64KB, the L2 cache size is 512KB and the Bus speed is rated at 400MHz...The TDP of the chip is a very low 5.5W. This low heat signature makes it ideal for a platform of this type.
Given that there's only 1.3GB of space after the OS and applications, external storage through USB keys and hard drives will be essential. As such, it's pleasing that Asus has managed to squeeze as many as three USB ports into the diminutive chassis.
Most low-priced notebooks currently on the market feature poorly built keyboards...Much to our surprise, the keyboard on the Eee PC is remarkably firm, though the keys are small and have a large degree of "wiggle" when pressed.
For the Eee PC, ASUS developed its own full-blown operating system based on Xandros Linux. The user interface is easy to understand and navigate. It's similar to a Web page with multiple tabs.
The Asus Eee PC comes preloaded with more than 40 applications...almost none of the applications on the Eee PC can be considered "bloatware." In fact, almost every application on this notebook is both useful and easy to use.
...we didn't see any new applications we could add, although Asus promises to certify applications as they become available and make them available to users via software updates. The intrepid can install applications themselves, but you'll have to dig into the File Manager and launch them manually each time.
Forbes
Shih [Asustek President] says Asustek will tap into a new market--consumers unable to buy computers because they're too expensive or just too intimidating. Indeed, the Eee name comes from easy to learn, easy to play and easy to work.
The Asus Eee PC looks like a good buy if you mind the caveats. Little known fact? That girl in the picture above is only 4 inches tall.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
QquegChristian
Posted 12:55 AM 6/11/07
I've been waiting for something like this for years to write on the go. First, I bought an AlphaSmart Dana, which sounded like a nice little writing machine but is actually like some kind of sad mash-up of a Palm pilot and a Leap Frog toddler PC. A few months ago I put my Desktop to rest and bought a nice HP laptop. Now I'm sitting, green with envy; six pounds of hot laptop on my lap just to write this comment. Deciding if I should take my laptop to a cafe is like deciding if I should take my dog. Most of the time, it's just more trouble than it's worth.
QquegChristian
Mr.Purple
Posted 12:18 AM 6/11/07
@discounteggroll: Yay algebra!
It also turns out that her textbook is the very science textbook that I use.
Mr.Purple
The Comedian
Posted 11:31 PM 5/11/07
I'm sure this has been said before, but this looks like the HP200LX of today.
[en.wikipedia.org]
The Comedian
tnkgrl
Posted 10:59 PM 5/11/07
Here's my take so far: [tnkgrl.wordpress.com]
tnkgrl
wolfsingleton
Posted 10:47 PM 5/11/07
I'd think that this would be perfect to keep in the glove compartment of my vehicle and USB a 200GB external drive to it. Perfect travel comp that doesn't take up a bunch of room and the SSD makes it tumble-friendly! I'm picking one up ASAP if the price is low.
wolfsingleton
weatherman
Posted 10:31 PM 5/11/07
Hilarious. I bet Jeff Hawkins is kicking himself right now while looking around for someone to fire for 1) blowing the marketing of the Foleo and 2) telling him to ditch the product after putting $10 million into it without seeing any results.
My guess is that we'll see the Foleo re-emerge soon enough. I'd rather have one of those than this EeePC.
weatherman
Mandatory_Field
Posted 10:30 PM 5/11/07
Got mine, lovin' it. It may be small, but it's a pretty significant piece of kit. Enough so that Microsoft had to bow down to the inevitable and agree to release a tailored version of Windows. C'mon folks, how significant is that?!?
Mandatory_Field
gyffes
Posted 9:45 PM 5/11/07
Mine arrives tomorrow from Newegg.
Hey, Chipmunk, what version of ubuntu did you put on? Have any trouble with the wifi drivers? I'd like to leave my eee with the Xandros OS, but I'll drop something else if it's faster/more stable.
And, for the record, I've been playing with the gOS (VMware is wonderful) and think that's a system with a lot of promise, as well. It's built on Ubu7.10 and is real snappy.
What a wonderful time this is for fans of Alternate OSum.
gyffes
discounteggroll
Posted 9:07 PM 5/11/07
@JomeyQ:
she's obviously plugged into her algebra textbook
discounteggroll
discounteggroll
Posted 9:01 PM 5/11/07
CeeeNET seems to be^e quite the downer of the bunch...
I get mine on Wednesday. drop tests soon to come
discounteggroll
beakerbreak
Posted 8:45 PM 5/11/07
It's out? Where did you guys buy it from?
I don't see it in my local BB or CC.
beakerbreak
whootowl
Posted 8:27 PM 5/11/07
Face it, some of your beloved Windows apps are not Vista-compatible anyway. If you must purchase new apps to go along with your new hardware, perhaps it is time to look beyond what you see. Perhaps it is time to look at the eeePC.
Sure, a future model of the eeePC will offer Windows, but the OS-tax and beefed up hardware requirements will put that version of the eeePC into a new bracket, one not so compelling.
whootowl
daftrok
Posted 8:15 PM 5/11/07
Oh its Windows XP compatible, but you need more than 4 GB to have that on there.
daftrok
daftrok
Posted 8:15 PM 5/11/07
Make that screen LED backlit and you got yourself a notebook for children across the globe.
daftrok
kibets
Posted 8:14 PM 5/11/07
I'm waiting for the rumored XP version due before the holidays...
kibets
CoolZWhip
Posted 8:14 PM 5/11/07
@JomeyQ: What id it was plugged into something else like an ipod everyone has an ipod
CoolZWhip
Improbable
Posted 8:00 PM 5/11/07
@JomeyQ: She could have an iPod hidden behind the laptop. They're just not plugged into it.
I agree, though, that this is a great little device for what it's for. Anybody wanting to use it at one place is going to be underwhelmed, but for a device to carry around with you all day and still get productive use out of, it looks perfect.
I'd call it ideal as a laptop for carrying to school. College, that is. I still think anyone younger can use a laptop in class without it just being a distraction. ;)
Improbable
stampedingchipmunk
Posted 7:58 PM 5/11/07
I got one of these first day it came out. The stock Xandros Operating system is okay, but I put Ubuntu on mine. It runs basic stuff very smoothly. I am able to play Xvid/Divx files off a USB thumbdrive, the wifi is fast and has good range. It even runs Compiz with great framerates...
stampedingchipmunk
JomeyQ
Posted 7:51 PM 5/11/07
Little known fact? That girl's headphones are plugged into nothing (see the vacant audio ports along the side of the Eee. But seriously, it's an exciting platform. I wish more companies would put these things out, 'cause for the time being it looks like Asus can charge whatever they want for them.
Oh, and in looking at pics of the motherboard, I was drawn to a vacant mini PCIe port. What could that be there for? 3g someday? Storage expansion? Bluetooth? As a hardware platform, the whole system just looks more adaptable than the competition (the Nokia n810 comes to mind).
JomeyQ
Call me Kenneth
Posted 3:07 AM 6/11/07
And 'ere be another, arr: [www.mobilecomputermag.co.uk]
Call me Kenneth
fusiongt
Posted 4:12 AM 6/11/07
This is pretty interesting. The hard drive size won't be a factor once you add in a 120-160gb 2.5 inch hard drive (which won't need a power brick, just run off USB). Looks like a great laptop for school... I wish I had this instead of my Pentium 3 700mhz 6-7 pound Dell laptop when I went to college. (And no, I'm not old, just too cheap to spring for a nice laptop!)
fusiongt
felix
Posted 6:48 AM 6/11/07
Now... to install leopard on it... ;)
felix
prodigal_son
Posted 6:39 AM 6/11/07
This would be ideal for anything i can think of. I can set up a big pc with lots of storage somewhere in my house, and use this thing to remote access it and run and store a whole heap more than this thing is capable of by itself.
I would think 1gb of storage would be enough for me, i would just dump stuff on and off the network.
Its hard to see any downsides with it (for what it is)..
prodigal_son
ConstyXIV
Posted 8:20 AM 6/11/07
@kibets:
Newegg's selling the Eee in a combo with a XP Home OEM disc for $475. And if you already have a (retail or VLK version) XP disc sitting around, you can install that yourself. Asus does provide drivers on the disc that comes with the Eee.
ConstyXIV
StackyBotrus
Posted 10:41 AM 6/11/07
for 399 you can get a toshi dual core laptop. Size aside, this is a ripoff. it should be $99.
StackyBotrus
nutbastard
Posted 11:14 AM 6/11/07
@StackyBotrus:
for the 9,000th time: we KNOW the specs are minimal. we dont WANT 6lbs of shit to lug around. We don't WANT 15" diagonal dims. We dont WANT fragile internal HDDs. We want small, light, and portable. Show me a better option than this.
nutbastard
darex
Posted 12:45 PM 6/11/07
Daftrok, I'm pretty sure I read that it is LED backlit.
Why is that such a huge deal for you though? On such a small screen, I mean.
darex
Pixlmonkey
Posted 12:07 PM 6/11/07
where the heck is the 8gb version? that's all i want to know.
Pixlmonkey
WolfDV
Posted 1:32 PM 6/11/07
i would get one in a heart beat if the screen was a bit bigger, less bezel . . and offered a higher resolution . .at least 1024x768 or the ws equivalent.
WolfDV
electrikecho
Posted 2:47 PM 6/11/07
"I'm waiting for the rumored XP version due before the holidays..."
"Oh its Windows XP compatible, but you need more than 4 GB to have that on there."
Err... they already have XP drivers. Why not just load Tiny XP... for free? I'm on this as soon as it's back in local stock.
electrikecho
eHusar
Posted 4:41 PM 6/11/07
What software can you use with the camera? Is Skype the only one to run on it?
eHusar
nutbastard
Posted 3:52 PM 6/11/07
@OldSchoolGadgetLover:
And you know, if any of those laptops offered bootable internal SSD space to the tune of 8GB, AND if they were under 11" I would see the arguement.
But yeah, every friggin post about the eee, someone comes in saying this is crap because for the same price, you could buy something you don't want.
nutbastard
nutbastard
Posted 3:49 PM 6/11/07
@electrikecho:
I think Kibets just says that shit to incite flame. Every post he can it's XP this, Vista that. Kibets would run Vista on his cell phone if he could, and despite evidence to the contrary, would claim "it runs super fast with no problems and what is everyone complaining about Vista for?"
nutbastard
OldSchoolGadgetLover
Posted 3:40 PM 6/11/07
@nutbastard: Thanks for fighting the good fight nutbastard... every friggin post a new group of idiots attempts to compare this to the ultra cheap laptop of the week.
I got mine today... it's sitting there in the living room in a box. I can't wait to crack it open and start exploring. I got it to replace my old NEC MobilePro 790 I carry around to meetings to take notes and use on the weekends for writing sessions. It will be nice to have a little more (or a lot more) functionality in a small form factor with a decent battery and keyboard.
OldSchoolGadgetLover
nutbastard
Posted 5:22 PM 6/11/07
@eHusar:
give the linux community a few months and there will be more choices/capabilities.
nutbastard
gundamsdontkillpeople
Posted 9:10 PM 6/11/07
I won't buy it. They didn't have a spokesperson who is a black-turtleneck-wearing meglomaniac. I just need the drama. Thanks k, bye!
gundamsdontkillpeople
electrikecho
Posted 2:53 AM 7/11/07
@OldSchoolGadgetLover: OMG! Someone else has an NEC Mobilepro 790? Woot! (Secretly, this would have been my natural progression from the NEC - but 3 Dell Axims got in the way.)
electrikecho
oilers84
Posted 10:15 PM 7/11/07
How about a comparison ... what's better for the money the EEE or N810?
oilers84
Spaceboy
Posted 9:40 PM 12/11/07
I'll buy one when they get to $199. Or go for a Jornada 728.
Spaceboy