The Asus U2E: A Rich Man’s Eee PC

The $2,000-plus, ultra stylish Asus U2E landed in our offices this week. You cannot look at the machine and not think of Asus’ $399 Eee PC. Maybe its the size of the small machine or the Asus branding, but the immediate reaction of onlookers has been “Oh, the Eee PC got a makeover.” Of course, the two systems cannot be rightfully compared—it’s like comparing Prada to Payless—but that didn’t stop us. And since tax season is upon us, it couldn’t hurt to compare the rich and the poor, right? The U2E is slightly bigger with an 11.1-inch screen, but its body is similar in shape and size to the Eee PC—not, however, in clothing. The U2E is clad in black pan leather with a brushed metal trim. It makes you wonder if the Eee PC went shopping at the Salvation Army. The U2E drowns in a richness and an upper-class aura. It comes in a beautiful, black, cardboard box and with it arrives a brown sleeve for keeping your leather system safe . . . from peasants.

The standout style carries itself into the guts of the computer. The U2E packs a 1.06-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 32GB solid state hard drive, and Vista Home Premium. No measly 4GB SSD or a tabbed version of Ubuntu here. (Stay tuned for our full review of the U2E to see how much performance the system packs.)

The U2E sports a spacious keyboard for its size and is one of the most comfortable I have ever typed on. Forget about the cramped space on the Eee PC. The prettier sister also has a nice touchpad with two buttons. Oh, and did we mention it comes with a Bluetooth Logitech mouse? The Eee PC can enjoy dinner at McDonald’s tonight, but we will be sharing a nice filet mignon with the U2E.

So tell us, in response to our unfair comparison, would you throw away your Asus Eee PC for an Asus U2E if you could afford it? Would you give up your Eee PC for the more luxurious and flashy ultraportable?