Asus Eee PC
Well, I finally decided to get one more ‘little toy’ – but I use the term toy very lightly. This PC is so great, it is a wonder why someone never made one like this previously.
I’m referring to the Asus Eee PC 701 4G. It is an ultra-light small form-factor notebook (subnotebook) computer, that weighs less than 1KG. There have been literally thousands of blog and website reviews for this machine stating various opinions – and of course I will add to this list – but many people seem to miss the point of why someone would enjoy using the Eee PC more than using a larger notebook, such as my own 15.4″ Sony VAIO.
I will list the hardware specs here to start:
- Intel 910GML Chipset Architecture
- 900 MHz Intel Celeron-M (512 kB L2 cache) running at 630 MHz as factory standard
- 512 MB DDR2-667 RAM (Upgradable to 2GB RAM via only one socket)
- Internal 4GB Solid-state drive (SSD)
- 7″ LCD Display with backlight – 800×480 Native Resolution
- Intel GMA 900 graphics processor – with VGA out
- 4-cell, Li-Ion Battery rated at 5200 mAh, 7.4 volts
- Built-in Web Cam – 0.3 megapixel (640×480 – max 30 fps)
- Small form-factor keyboard with FN key combinations
- Touchpad pointing device with a dual-mode click bar
- 10/100 Mbit Ethernet (Attansic L2)
- 802.11b/g wireless mini PCI-E card (Atheros-based)
- Realtek ALC6628 Hi-Definition Audio
- Built-in stereo speakers
- Built-in microphone
- 3 USB 2.0 ports
- MMC/SD (HC) card reader
- External Microphone and Headphone jacks
- Kensington lock slot
When I first turned the machine on, the machine booted up into the user interface in approximately 20 seconds, which is not too shabby at all. After filling out a few details in a ‘first run’ type form, I proceeded to explore what the PC had out of the box.
The Eee PC comes pre-installed with Xandros Linux and many other applications that make the machine instantly usable such as Firefox, OpenOffice and Skype. I am personally comfortable with Linux and while “Tux” may scare the pants of many people, Asus have done a great job packaging this distribution so it is instantly usable to anyone who has experienced any GUI before.
It literally took me 20 seconds to configure the wireless access to my router (the longest time was taken typing in the WEP Key) and I was surfing in no time. My initial findings about the system were:
- The system was very responsive, and in fact, faster than my VAIO. I did wonder how the processor and 512MB RAM would perform and I was very pleased with the results.
- The screen was very clear and easy to read, and, especially if you are used to Blackberry type devices, much easier on the eyes.
- The Eee PC does not get very hot at all – after using it for 20 minutes, it was much cooler than my VAIO after the same period of time
- The layout of the keyboard is good, but some keys are in an annoying-to-me position, especially the right shift key. The number of times I pressed the “up arrow” by mistake was more than I would have liked.. perhaps it just takes some getting used to.
- The click bar is better than I thought. I have not had any issues triggering left or right clicks after I was initially worried that it may falsely-trigger any of these instances.
But why would anyone want to use a PC this small when they have access to a full-size VAIO? Let me list my reasons:
- Portability – Finally a useful device that doesn’t break my back or knees on long train trips
- Battery life – I’m getting around 3.5 hours with the Eee PC with WIFI on
- Closer to a ‘real computer’ than a Blackberry or Palm – While the Eee PC is a real computer in it’s own right, it is so much nicer to have something truly portable where you can type emails rather than single finger button pushing or graffiti commands and view websites on a screen bigger than 480 pixels wide.
I’m going to have a lot of fun with this Eee PC and I plan to commit the ‘cardinal sin’ with it – I’m going to upgrade the RAM to 2GB and install Windows XP!