"Still, the real kicker for me is the ability to run Windows XP. The native Linux OS is perfectly functional and loaded with apps, but it isn't a familiar environment, which feels like another compromise. In familiar Windows territory, the Eee PC is unencumbered by learning curves, leaving me far more productive with it." [roll eyes]

Yes, well it does take a day or so to get used to something. I am sure you spent more time getting used to playing a Wii with "unfamiliar" controllers then you spent getting used to the original interface with the Asus. BTW, how long does it take people to get used to Vista from XP? Every one I know can't stand the changes.

Can you use an external usb keyboard with it?

Nice. This will do. A USB GPS reciever. Googleearth Plus and we have a kick ass mapping machine to find my way through the BC wilderness. A 12 volt charger for the dirt bike and we good to goooooo. Cheaper than a top of the line GPS and more capable.

Why is the battery only 3 hours with 4400MAh?

My old iBook runs at 1.33GHz, 1.5GB RAM, wireless on, 12" screen, mechanical hard drive, etc, and gets over 4 hours from the same capacity battery.

This thing should be getting 6+ hours. Something is certainly not right at all. The Celeron should use a quarter of the power of the 130nm G4 in the iBook alone.

I think the next generation EeePC with the 8.9" screen (1024x600?) and updated chipset (Silverthorne?) will be the one to go for. However the EeePC is certainly great for what it is, as shipped, and the Linux installed is surely more than enough rather than adding £100 for OEM Windows XP on top (that's 50% of the cost of the device itself - Full Windows XP is £240 - more than the EeePC!).

Maybe they could make the laptop wider, but shorter and thinner. That way they could make the keyboard bigger, without compromising the overall size/volume of the device.

The white layout looks sweet!

I find it amusing that you review the hardware at its $400 level but that you put XP on it, adding another ~$100-$200 to that pricepoint depending on home/oem/pro levels. Did price have nothing to do with your review? Did Linux have nothing to do with your Editor's choice award? Can one have an Editor's choice when a price was used well above what most would pay, or configuration was used other than specified?

I mean, if we can all mod our parts to be different than intended, then they all sit on the same playing field, but realistically that isn't an option, and I think it's somewhat unfair to other products you review...

Hey, how about some actual benchmarks? Obviously you're not going to be gaming on this thing, but some of TR's standard CPU and memory benches would be interesting.

I'd also love to see HDTach and IOMeter results for the SSD.

So... wait. Why, again, are Macs so expensive? It's all that world-class built-in software, right?

This is getting down to the size to be a nifty car PC. Throw in a 16gb SDHC card to hold more music.

Is there GPS nav software for Linux?

The price and tiny screen effectively sinks the Eee PC for me.

the price grabber link points to the black version of the laptop; that's not the type that was reviewed, though.

"Measuring just 225mm wide, 165mm deep, and up to 35mm thick (8.9" x 6.5" x 1.4" if you prefer multiples of the king's forearm)"

Nice :p I never realised quite how small the Eee PC was before seeing it next to a CD case, actually.

Awesome review. I have had my EeePC for about 2 months now and the only thing that bothers me (and I am surprised that you have not commented on this) is how top heavy the screen/lid is. Whenever I try to use it on a non flat surface the laptop always falls over. It seems the screen is heaver than the body. So far that is my only gripe. I love this machine, good job Asus.

The one thing that turns me off about this thing is the pathetic battery life. Somehow I think it should be getting near twice that amount of time before I'd consider it. The Small 3.6 pound HP's we have get about 5 hours, have built in optical, cost under a grand, have a better sized KB/screen (also important) and performance is decent...

My Eee is on the way from newegg as I type this. Thanks to brown and their speedy shipping 3 day from the egg is going to take a week.

Nelliesboo asus is going to announce the next model of the Eee at CES. Rumor has it that its going to be a 8.9 inch screen

Asus has an upgrade battery coming out. It is bigger and sticks out the back of the notebook a bit but should almost double battery life.

Hurry up brown dam it I want to play with my new toy.

The Eee PC is quite good for what it is -- an inexpensive Internet appliance -- but $400 is still a significant amount of money, and in terms of specifications you don't really get much. Also, the case is Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), which, while quite rigid, will not suffer wear and tear well over the course of, say, three years. It's a relatively brittle material and I would expect cracks to develop over time.

If you're thinking of purchasing an Eee and are attracted more by the price than the form factor, consider the fact that you can get warrantied refurbished or used mainstream business notebooks from the manufacturers themselves. These use metal alloys or composites in the shells of the laptops, which also happens to make them quite tough. Some of these are available for around the same as or a bit over the cost of the Eee PC, with significantly better specs, and should be considered before a decision to purchase is made.

You aren't likely to find a mainstream ultraportable notebook in the same range, though, so if that's what you're looking for, the Eee PC offers unparalleled value for money.

1. Dell Outlet (for Vostro 1400 and Latitude D series): http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/notebooks?c=us&c...
2. IBM Certified Used Equipment (for ThinkPad T, R and X series): http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?ca...
3. HP Refurbished Business Products: http://h71016.www7.hp.com/html/hpremarketing/daily.asp?jumpid=re_R2...store/buspurchase-refurbished/computing/price-li...[]

A bigger screen + bigger keyboard = winner for me. OS doesn't matter much these days (we're all networked anyhow), I simply cannot type on a tiny keyboard.

Two things that I'd like to see before I buy:

1) Longer battery life, especially considering there's no 3rd party brand that makes one for the eee.

2) A bit more screen realestate. Obviously higher resolution, but in physical inches too.

Lucky me, these two points seem to be on the upgrade checklist for Asus this year.

Thanks for the review, but I think I'll wait for the 2nd generation model.

ASUS Prepares Next Generation Eee PC with WiMAX, Larger Display
http://www.dailytech.com/ASUS+Prepares+Next+Generation+Eee+PC+with+...

The memory limit in the stock Linux install is a few minute fix for any half-decent linux power user, but it's understandable, since none of the shipping configs will hit the ~936MB memory limit.

I'd want a realtively obscure and hard to reach switch that puts it back up to rated FSB and CPU clocks. Battery life is fine and all, but if I'm spending more than ~2 hours on it, a wall socket is most likely available.

At those seriously sub-1GHz clocks, every MHz counts.

Still, looks very entertaining overall. Doesn't do any one thing superbly, but it does do most everything passably well.

Great article ... But if only Eee PC could make calls, i would have jumped on it right away.

I am keen on buying this http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_shift-1934.php

I wish Asus would put out the 1001 (the 10 inch model) but they have the U1 & U2.

Here's a cheer for non-American currency! ;)

"One area where were a little surprised was battery life."

One area where we were...

Great article, nice to see some of the native applications the students will have access to.

I have to wonder though; you can get laptops awfully cheap, so cheap that they encroach on the Eee pc's territory. I would be more willing to purchase one of those, simply from a screen, keyboard and speed point of view. Though having something so small is nice, I personally don't see it outweighing longevity when you get down to it.