Asus Eee PC 900 review

Those who opt for the Linux version of the Eee PC 900 won't be disappointed. It uses the same Linux-based OS as the Eee PC 701, and comes with some 40 applications pre-installed. You can add your own applications as you might expect, but we found pretty much everything we needed was already on the system, including the OpenOffice productivity suite, Firefox browser, a media player and more. Applications are logically arranged in tab groups labeled "Internet", "work", "learn", "play", "settings" and "favourites", so everything is easy to find.

The Linux-based user interface is easy to use, as applications are arranged under tabs

The Eee PC 900 isn't designed to replace your primary PC -- despite what fanboys say otherwise. It's at its best when used as second PC or a Web access tool, and is well-equipped for doing just that. It has an Ethernet port, plus an 802.11b/g Wi-Fi adaptor so you can jump online regardless of whether you're in your lounge, your garden or a local Starbucks. Unfortunately, there's still no support for 802.11n high-speed wireless, but we can't say we really miss this feature.

Performance
The Eee PC 900 feels swifter in everyday use than the previous model -- something we put down to it having twice the memory. The 1GB of DDR 400 RAM also helped the system cope better with running multiple applications simultaneously. We were able to, for example, browse the Internet while watching a movie in a window without it dropping frames. It must be noted that this capability is only possible now that the Eee PC has a larger screen size and higher resolution resolution.

The Eee PC 900 still isn't the ideal candidate for playing games. Yes, there are some titles with modest enough system requirements to be compatible, but these are few and far between. It's also important to note that you'll need to install Windows XP in order to run the vast majority of these, and even then you'll only have a limited amount of space to install your favourite games.

Asus claims the Eee PC 900 will last approximately three hours on its standard battery -- half an hour less than its predictions for the Eee PC 701. In our own DivX movie playback test, it ran for 1 hour 29 minutes, which was just about long enough for us to enjoy a feature-length movie or a couple episodes of our favourite TV show. Your own mileage will vary, but expect it to last slightly longer if you run applications that are not CPU-intensive and with the wireless adaptor switched off.

Conclusion
The Eee PC 900 is a likeable update to the Eee PC 701. We're disappointed its keyboard is still so difficult to use, but the addition of a larger, high-resolution screen, multi-touch mouse trackpad and better storage gives it the edge over just about all of its rivals. It falls slightly short of a wholehearted recommendation due to the mooted touchscreen version and the huge likelihood that Asus will begin using newer Intel Atom CPUs, but for those who can't wait, it's a fantastic purchase.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday