The Eee PC comes with an integrated Wi-Fi adaptor that supports 802.11b/g wireless networks. It's great for jumping online at a wireless hotspot, or for casually browsing the Web at home, checking film reviews before you buy from Sky Box Office or just for staying in contact via a messenger program. Asus says some versions of the Eee PC ship with an integrated 3G datacard -- an extra £40 -- so you can go online over cellular networks. We did not see this implemented on our review sample.
The Eee PC doesn't use a Microsoft operating system, which is part of the reason it's so inexpensive. Instead, Asus supplies its own Linux-based graphical user interface. The laptop also ships with some 40 applications, which is arguably more than you'd get with a standard Windows laptop. It includes Firefox for browsing the Web, Skype, OpenOffice and SMPlayer for video playback.
Obviously, it being a Linux machine, users can download any amount of open source software -- so long as it'll fit on the hard drive. The Eee PC is theoretically fast enough to run Windows XP, which is great news for those of us without beards.**
Performance
The Eee PC isn't as quick as most laptops but its 900MHz CPU and 512MB of RAM are just fast enough. Applications generally open a couple of seconds after clicking and it's powerful enough to edit photos without becoming a cause of frustration. It generally boots up in about 30 seconds, which is quicker than most Windows-based laptops. The Eee PC is in no way designed as a gaming machine, but it ships with a couple of Flash-type games, and runs these well. Just don't expect to play F.E.A.R. on it.
Battery life was quite impressive. Asus claims it will last approximately 3.5 hours depending on what tasks you're performing, and this was in line with our own experience. With very light use, the machine lasted as long as four hours, though your own mileage may vary.
Conclusion
It's hard to fault the Eee PC, mainly because of its price. It can be difficult to use because of the cramped keyboard, but it's better than similar-sized laptops like the Toshiba Libretto. If you're in the market for a second PC, or looking for something you can take with you almost anywhere, the Eee PC is definitely worth buying.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday
*Asus will supply an 8GB solid state hard drive option.
**Asus plans to release a version of the Eee PC with Windows XP.
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Tineke 26 August 2009
Good: Weight, portability, ease of use
Bad: Installing other programs not easy if at all possible
Comment: Apart from not being able to install programs easily if at all, this little machine has it all. And the pricetag is unbelievably small for such a giant worker. Internet access, Skype, no problem installing printer drivers. Everything was so easy to do and all programs one normally uses are on it. It will not replace your desktop but for travel it is marvelous. Best money I have spent in a long time!!!!.
Hoggleton 3 April 2008
Good: How light weight it is.
Bad: Lack of Bags for it...
Comment: I bought an eee pc 2GB white one back in February this year, and have loved playing with it some much that i've needed to format the drive at least 3 times. I love that i can use it as a portable media player with a decent sized screen, i know all you other nerds will disagree because of the 7" screen, but find me a DVD or MP4 Player that is wireless, and lightweight for £200..... I thank you...
I really do think it is a great piece of equipment, for kids i suppose you may want to consider the XP version which i think has been released or is about to be released, but for all you Tux fans keep the OS that is on there and download codecs for the mplayer so you can play DivX films and other content.
The version i have come with a soldered 512MB Ram chip and 2 GB solid state drive, however i bought a really cheap transcend 8GB HC SD card which is great for storing my DivX content on it. If you're going to keep Linux on there you wont need to worry about spending more on the versions with the inbuilt webcam or the removable and upgradeable ram, but if you want to upgrade to XP then you'll want to look at the 4GB, not the 4GB surf as the surf comes with the same type of ram as the 2GB version but just has that 2GB extra SSD HDD Space.
To sum it up, its Awesome!
Julian Karnik 20 March 2008
Good: Great feel & design
Bad: Battery life 2-3 hours
Comment: This is the best piece of computer technology since the BBC micro in the early 80s. Everything just works, email, web, office, internet radio. It has some really fun games, but thankfully no MS Windows (with associated spyware, viruses etc), and it just looks damn sexy. All for around £200!
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