Asus Eee PC

It wasn’t too long ago that we brought you our first impressions and then our full review of the Eee PC 901. And though we knew the Eee PC 1000(H) wouldn’t be far behind, we never could have guessed how quickly it would arrive. As soon as we saw the first Eee PC 1000H go up on eBay (from a Taiwanese seller), we jumped at the chance to have the newest member of the Eee PC family join us and its American Eee PC brothers.

I have only spent a few hours with the system but I have to say my comrade Jeff Wilson was 100 percent correct in his review of the 901 when he said, “with the promise of the 10-inch Eee PC 1000 and Eee PC 1000H just around the corner, some may want to play the waiting game.”

Update: Wait no more. Our full review of the Eee PC 1000H is right here.

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We just put the finishing touches on our full review of the Eee PC 901 12G XP, so we called ASUS to ask for final U.S. pricing. Our rep at ASUS was kind enough not only to give us an MSRP for the 901, but also pricing for the 1000 and 1000H series. However, he was careful to note that the prices for the 1000 series are “estimated and subject to change,” meaning that ASUS may adjust the amounts before release, but that this is their current plan.

• Eee PC 901 (both Linux and Windows versions): $599
• Eee PC 1000 (both Linux and Windows versions): $699
• Eee PC 1000H (Windows version only): $649

While our rep told us U.S. specs are not 100% final for the 1000 series, we know from ASUS’ release at Computex that the 1000 series will sport a 10″ screen, the same CPU, and probably 40GB of SSD storage (as opposed to 20GB on the 901 and 900). The 1000H will be similar to the Eee PC 1000, except it will carry an 80GB hard drive instead of an SSD.

To be fair, ASUS is not alone in its pricing as one of its main competitors, the HP Mini-Note starts at $499, but goes above $700 if you add the good stuff like a 6 cell battery and a 7,200 rpm drive. But as more mini-notebooks creep above the $599 mark, we have to ask: at what point do they become too expensive?

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After unboxing the Eee PC 901, I finally sat down with it and put it through the paces. Granted the Windows XP OS is in Chinese, but I was still able to get a good feel for the performance of the Intel Atom powered netbook. Check out the video hands-on and read through my mini-review to find out what I think of the system and if I think it can rival the MSI Wind.

Updated: Read our full review of the Eee PC 901.

Impressive Hardware Redesign

I never had any complaints about the original design of the ASUS Eee PC, but I gladly welcome the redesign. The matte coating on the lid has been replaced with one that has a glossy shine to it. It actually doesn’t seem to be getting too smeared in finger prints, but it has already gotten a small scratch. I am pretty pissed about that since I have been keeping it in the included felt case at most times. (The case isn’t that swim suit lycra anymore).

I am impressed with the new circular, silver hinge. The system has also been rebranded; you won’t find any ASUS logos just the Eee script logo on the right hand corner of the lid and under the screen.

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It takes a savvy tech journalist to secure a product that hasn’t completely made it off the manufacturing lines, or just one willing to venture into the computer markets of Taipei. This morning I set out to buy an Eee PC 901 – the ASUS mini-notebook wonder sporting the latest Intel Atom chip. Off to the Kauanghua Plaza district I went with a few fellow tech journo commrades (Kevin of NotebookReview.com and Sascha of EeePCNews.de).

Update: Read our Full Review of the Eee PC 901 >>

The district’s streets should be paved in silicon with the amount of laptops and desktops on sale. Shop after shop has the latest laptops on display along with a ton of software and other computer parts. Struggling with the fact that we didn’t speak Chinese, we wrote down “ASUS Eee PC 901″ on a piece of paper and went around showing it to as many vendors as we could find.

After close to 10 failed attempts, one nice man took us into a back room and pulled out a lime green Eee PC box. A simple check of the specs printed on the side showed that we had struck gold. 17,300 NTS (around $573 USD) later I was walking down the street with the newest mini-notebook on the market.

So what do I think of my new baby Eee PC 901 running Windows XP? I like it. The white lid is glossy and smooth and its got a bit larger footprint than the Eee PC 900. It seems to get its chunk from the thicker screen and bezel.

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After Jerry Shen whipped out his Eee Sticks, we just had to get some hands on time with the pair of motion-sensing game controllers that look strikingly similar to a pair of Wii nunchuks (or that ZeeMote we did a hands on with a few months ago). Very few details were given about the Eee Stick, but we did get some time with the two controllers.

Both controllers fit right in the groove of your hand and are responsive to your movements. One control sports a four way D-pad and three additional buttons underneath. The other has an 8-way D-stick and 2 buttons on the front. A USB dongle wirelessly connects the remotes to the Eee PC.

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I am here in Taipei at the ASUS Eee PC press event. Like we have all been waiting for, ASUS has pulled the sheet off the new Eee PC 901 and 1000. Here is the low down on the newest additions to the Eee PC family.

The Eee PC 901 will sport Intel’s Atom processor. Similar to both offerings of the Eee PC 900, the Windows XP version will be available with a 12GB SSD and the Linux version with a 20 GB SSD. ASUS claims the system will get 7.5 hours of battery life.

The Eee PC 1000, sporting a 10-inch screen, will be available with Xandros Linux, a 40GB SSD, Intel Atom, 802.11n, Bluetooth and with up to 2GB of RAM. The system on a whole, though I can’t see much of it from my seat, looks more swanky than the original system. We couldn’t be any more excited about the almost 92 percent keyboard.

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I am a big fan of Xandros on the Eee PC, but I’ve always said it has its limitations, especially when it doesn’t give me access to my favorite Windows programs. But when my editor told me earlier this week about Wine HQ, I nearly freaked. Wine HQ enables a compatibility layer that allows Windows programs to run on a Linux OS.

Wine isn’t the easiest to configure, but I figured it out with the help of the ever-informed Eee PC forum members. Check out my step-by-step instructions here.

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Mini-notebooks, such as the Eee PC 900 and the HP Mini-Note, could be the hottest things around since those nude pictures of Lindsay Lohan. But how about the real temperature of these little guys? Do they toast your legs while sitting in bed? Do your fingertips get warm while typing on the keyboard?

After some heated time with the HP Mini-Note, I took it upon myself to do some scientific testing of the small systems. Using a Raytek Mini Temp Non-Contact Thermometer Gun—our new favorite toy in the office—I’ve been testing the heat on four of the most popular mini-notebook models: the Eee PC 900, the Eee PC 701, the Everex CloudBook, and the HP Mini-Note. I also threw in a normal Dell Latitude D630 notebook as a standard laptop variable.

Since laptops have a few different heat-sensitive regions, I took readings on the the underside of the notebook, on the keyboard between the G and H key, and on the touchpad. Each of the readings on the system were taken after the same usage pattern. Our extended usage patterns consisted of three different tasks with the system running on battery power: transferring of 2GB of files from an external USB drive, surfing the Web and playing the same House episode on Hulu.com, and making a Skype video call.

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As it happens, we have access to a few different Eee PC models here at LAPTOP. So, when we started examining the Pearl White Eee PC 900 we received last week, we plunked it right down next to our original Eee PC 701 (in white) and our Galaxy Black Eee PC 4G Surf. After we peered at its 8.9-inch screen, we compared the Eee PC 900′s keyboard with prior Eee PCs.

Touching the different keyboards, we found that the two white keyboards (on the 701 and the 900) were identical in size and feel. It seems like nothing has changed keyboard-wise between the 700 series and the 900 series. However, when we touched the keyboard on our black 4G surf, we had a startling revelation: the black keyboard feels different than the white keyboard!

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This past week, my favorite five-year-old, Paige, was in town, so I decided to give her the ol’ Pepsi/Coke Challenge with the ASUS Eee PC running Xandros and the CTL 2go PC running Windows XP. Both are touted as computers for children and both feature educational software. Based on our typing tests last week, both mini-notebooks also have keyboards that are best suited for children’s hands.

Paige is already familiar with video iChat on Macs and enjoys the games and videos on iCarly.com, Zoey101.com and Starfall.com. But which laptop better held the kindergartener’s attention?

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