Hands-On with Xandro’s Presto Beta

This morning Xandros released the beta of its instant-on Presto operating system to the general public. We hit the download link and loaded it up on the ASUS Eee PC 1000H (we first tried the Acer 10.1-inch Aspire One AOD150, but it struggled with the install for some reason and caused quite a bit of problems) to check out the new instant-on OS. Though still in beta and a bit rough around the edges, we do like the interface of Presto and found it to run smoothly on the 10-inch netbook. Check out our initial impressions below.

Simple Installation

After downloading the 14.08 MB .exe file and running the install program (which took no more than 5 minutes) we were prompted to restart the netbook and select “Xandros Presto” from the Windows Boot Manager. When we rebooted we simply selected Xandros Presto instead of Windows XP and we were brought to the main screen in about 30 seconds.

Basic Interface

Even the most novice computer user can figure out how to navigate the Presto interface. Similar to Splashtop’s offering there is a single dock which in this case  is mounted on the right side of the screen and contains shortcuts to Firefox 3.0, Pidgin 2.4.3, Skype 2.0, the File Manager, and Xandos’ application store. Below these main application shortcuts are the power button (which lacks an option to enter Windows, you have to either restart or shut down to re-enter Windows at this point), volume, network manager and a battery manager.

Simple Connection

The time from cold boot to full connectivity with our router was just under 50 seconds. The rest was also a breeze. We launched Firefox 3.0 and we were able to start streaming videos from Hulu.com right away (no need to downloaded the latest version of Flash, etc.). In addition, we connected to Google Talk and AIM through Pidgin to chat with friends. Our connection was swift in all the situations.

Beyond the online applications, Presto contains OpenOffice 3, Adobe Reader and RealPlayer in its application folder. There is also a link to an Application Store that brings you to presto.cnr.com for lots of easy downloads, including of AVG for Linux, Picasa and Last. FM.

Outlook

Xandros’ Presto beta provides a user friendly instant-on operating system that allows you to get on the Net in less than a minute or two. There are still a few missing pieces, including an option that lets you enter the Windows OS right from the Presto interface (we assume this is coming soon). However, as we have stated before we aren’t really sure we see the point of the limited operating system when you can wait just a few more seconds and be in a full Windows or Linux environment. You better grab the free download while you can since on April 13 it will cost you $20.