ASUS' EeePC 700 took the world by storm and set the path for all other sub-notebooks to follow with its cheap price and respectable specs. The new and improved EeePC 900 tries to continue this trend but falls slightly short.
The exterior of the EeePC 900 has a low gloss pearl finish and is encased in a solid plastic shell which is strong enough to withstand drops while still weighing in at a light 990g, allowing you to carry it around with you for long periods of time. The solid state storage also ensures that your data is kept nice and safe if a fall occurs.
When you open up the Eee PC you¹ll be greeted by an 8.9-inch display with a resolution of 1024x600. With the Intel integrated graphics, text and graphics are displayed crisply and cleanly despite the small screen.
Positioned above the centre of the screen is a handy 1.3 megapixel webcam, much improved from the Eee PC 700 variety.
Booting of the Linux operating system was fast due to the EeePC's Intel Celeron processor, 1GB DDR2 and 20GB solid-state storage. It allowed us to be up and running in about half a minute. If the 20GB of storage is not enough for you, expandability is provided by the SD/MMC card slot. Those with a wireless home network can also transfer files off using the EeePC¹s onboard 802.11b/g wireless connectivity.
Once the EeePC is up and running you¹re presented with five tabs to navigate through Internet, Work, Learn, Play, Settings and Favorites with each tab featuring its own applications or shortcuts. The Work, Learn and Play tabs come from ASUS' EeePC mantra of, "Easy to work, learn, and play". If you do happen to hate any of the pre-installed applications with a passion, there's not much you can do as the Linux operating system didn't allow us to uninstall the applications.
Touch-typists with large hands may find that the keys on the shrunken keyboard are too small to allow for fast and accurate typing. Unlike the keyboard, the touchpad is generously sized and is more than suitable for all your cursor needs. ASUS have added its new FingerGlide technology to the EeePC's touchpad that allows for two-finger zooming and scrolling. By moving your fingers together you are able zoom in, while separating them will zoom out when viewing OpenOffice Writer and Adobe Reader documents. Scrolling is achieved with a simple up and down motion with two fingers on the trackpad.
Battery life is rated at a disappointing 2.5 hours, which is not nearly enough for long trips away from a wall socket. The pre-installed Linux operating system lacks a power management utility to manage battery life, so you¹ll have to go hunting on the internet for tips or Linux-compatible software to help you conserve battery life. There is a setting within the EeePC's BIOS (accessed via pressing F2 on boot up) that allows you to switch between High Performance and Battery Saving modes.
While ASUS should be commended for supporting the Linux cause, the real potential of the Linux EeePC 900 has been hampered due to its short battery life, which limits to being a sub-notebook to that can only be used in short bursts, despite its size and weight. Since the Linux EeePC 900 is also more expensive than the Windows XP version, it¹s also unlikely to outsell its counterpart.