I have been using an Asus Eee PC for a month or so and decided to report on my Findings.

The Model I have is the Eee PC 4G in pearl white colour. This is not intended to be a review in the traditional sense, but more of a evaluation of it’s usability. But first a quick review.

The Eee’s name refers to its slogan “Easy to learn, easy to work and easy to play”, or Eee. It is also quite cheap for a fully functional PC. I paid $479, making it one of the cheapest notebooks you’ll get your hands on. It is one of the first notebooks that uses a solid state drive, even if it only has a 4GB capacity. Solid state memory is fast, safe and rugged. With no moving parts there little risk of causing damage to your drive with a knock or drop. It is the
first laptop I have owned that I an happy to carry around with me while it is running.

The Eee PC uses a 900Mhz  Intel CPU, 512MB of RAM as standard, although it can be upgraded to 2Gb. It uses a Xandros Linux as the operating system. This, of course, allows the Eee to perform well with just 4GB
of storage. It boots fast just just 25 seconds with my modified installation. There is no CD/DVD player, but there is a built in web

cam, a microphone and speakers, plus a VGA output and three USB ports and an MMC/SD card reader. It has a network port and WiFi, in in many countries, a modem. There are sockets for headphones and speakers. I have added a 4Gb MMC card for storing personal data. I bought a Sandisk 4Gb MMC card and it came with a free Micromate adapter that allows me to plug the card into any USB slot. This means I can move my data to just about any PC The screen is only 7in but is bright and clear. The keyboard,
touch pad and mouse are all small, but quite comfortable and easy to use. If you where writing a novel on the Eee you could attach a USB keyboard and mouse combo. I use one I bought at a market almost new for $15.

The interface is quite intuitive and easy to navigate. Due to its weight (just 0.92kg) and simplicity, ASUS aimed the Eee PC at children.
One of my customers actually rang the factory for information and was told he would not want to buy it. He did, anyway and is now overseas on business with an Eee as his only computer.

The interface has large icons under a set of tabs; Internet, work, learn, play, settings and favourites. The Internet tab contains your Web-based e-mail shortcuts, Firefox for Web-surfing, Skype and a number of other icons, including Wikipedia and Google Docs. There is also a messenger application that allows you to connect to ICQ, MSN or Google Talk.

The work tab contains all the Open Office 2.0 applications, including spreadsheets and a word processor, plus a PDF reader and a dictionary among others. Open Office is configured to save documents in the Microsoft standard formats rather that to ODF file formats.

The Play tab contains a few games and a media player, as well as shortcuts to the music, photo and video folders. It also contains access to the camera and microphone.

The Eee PC is built on a modified Xandros linux. The PC can be easily modified to work as a full Linux desktop, and a huge community has spring up at Eeeuser.com. A quick look around this site will provide information that allows the installation of the advanced “Full desktop” with the installation of only two packages.

I have found myself carrying the Eee with me in place of a diary and notebooks. It is light, and being relatively inexpensive and quite robust because of the solid-state drive, I am willing to carry it on occasions I would not dream of carrying a full-sized laptop. I use it while travelling in the car or on a plane and it is useable even when the person in front decides to recline their seat. This has always shut down the use of my 17”
screen Toshiba A4. I no longer even try to use it, It is just too big to use in economy class seats. The Eee has changed my habits. I no longer travel with checked luggage. I use a carry-on bag and a small backpack to hold the Eee and a book. The minimal footprint of everything including the power supply which is about the size of a phone charger makes this possible.

I can use the built in Skype client with the web cam (be sure to upgrade it immediately) and the quality of sound, even without an external microphone is extraordinary.

With Google Docs and Google Gears I can edit documents anywhere, any time and update them when I can find an Internet connection.

This has also lead me to another discovery. On any street in any town that has broadband, about every fifth house or shop has WiFi, and every third one has no security.

More on this later.

What I don’t like about the Eee

Simple, the screen resolution is too low at 800 x 480, the Asus Eee 900 fixes the with a bigger screen and higher resolution (I believe it is 1024 x 800) and is almost the same size.

What I do like about the Eee

Everything else. The keyboard is small, but quite usable, the built in WiFi is fast and easy to use. The web cam works perfectly, I use it with Skype, but it can also record video. The applications work
well. It can be bumped around with no hard drive to damage. It has the feel of a solid well constructed “Not a toy” palmtop computer. I once spent $1600 on a sharp palmtop running Windows CE and was absolutely furious at the buggy, limited and proprietary system that could not be fixed or updated. I will NEVER buy another Microsoft palmtop computer. In contrast the Eee despite its limitations works flawlessly and could easily be the only computer needed by someone who needs basic functions including word processing, e-mail, spreadsheets and playing musc or video.

Comments: I use the advanced desktop, and have added some additional programs from the online repositories, but I am comfortable with the Eee in either Advanced or Basic layout.
I have installed the Java Development Kit and Bluebird, a simple learning and programming environment. I use Open Office, the Mozilla web browser (with Google
Gears) and Skype. The networking components work flawlessly. One complaint is the need to re-connect manually to the WiFi connection each time I reboot. Another small complaint is the relatively high battery consumption in standby mode. If you want to use the built in microphone be sure to place the Eee on a hard, flat surface such as a desk. The microphone is under the front edge and relies on a hard surface as a sound reflector. I carry a small infra red mouse with a retractable cable. It is small and weighs nothing but is much easier to use than the touch pad.

The final conclusion
should be a no-brainer. I cannot develop software on the Eee, and web page design is a trial, but everything else can be accomplished on this tiny titan. I LOVE my Eee!

See this article by Choice magazine for an unbiased review by Australia’s premier consumer advocate.

24th May 2008