Asus Eee PC 901 – Easy to learn, Easy to Work, Easy to Play

For Asus, clearly the market leader in this niche, the Asus Eee PC 901 is a renewed attempt to lead the industry in the face of other models such as the Acer Aspire One whilst ironing out the problems from the previous Eee PC 900 model. The Asus Eee PC 901 is essentially a beefed-up variant on the original Eee PC 900 with better looks than the previous model. The build itself has been reinforced, a much ‘meatier’ hinge fitted as well as the edges smoothed over to create a less box-like, toy-like appearance than that of the 900. Previous netbooks have been definitely on the delicate side; Asus have seemingly gone all out with the durability of the 901, and done a very good job. The screen remains at 8.9″ with 1024×600 resolution.Inside, the battery problems are also long past with 5 hours or more battery life thanks to the 6-cell Li-Ion, 6600 mAh 7.4V common with the large 1000 models. The processor is different; the former 900 MHz Intel Celeron gives way to the more powerful and energy efficient 1.6GHz ‘Atom’, noticeably boosting performance with several applications open. The enhanced processor coupled with the absence of moving parts also results in a cooler machine whilst simultaneously letting you perform more tasks. The smaller air vent cuts down noise, leaving the Eee PC 901 almost silent. Other extras on the Eee PC 901 include bluetooth and wireless networking as standard. The extras however, particularly the batteries pack, make the 901 fractionally larger and heavier than its half-sister at 1.1kg, although the extra weight shouldn’t really be that noticeable. The keyboard hasn’t changed a bit. One the whole it’s, although the height of the keys are somewhat limiting. None the less they’re just wide enough to touch type on but would advise against using an Eee PC for prolonged periods of writing. The Linux based operating system has an excellent boot-up time (compared with the Windows XP Eee PC version) of around 20 seconds, or 5 seconds from standby. The display comes with pre-installed programs on tabs marked: > Internet > Work > Learn > Play > Settings > Favourites Links are provided to top websites such as Google. Skype is also included and works with the 1.3 megapixel webcam and microphone allowing for video conversation. ‘Work’ includes a selection of OpenOffice programs; ‘Learn’ features a resource of educational applications (good for children). Perhaps a more exciting feature is ‘Play’ which has all your music, videos, games (including some pre-installed, although they lack imagination), photos, webcam and sound recorder. In general the Asus Eee PC 901 has a very simple and easy-to-use display. In fact, Asus are so confident in its user-friendly interface that they’ve scrapped the technical manual. After all, the ‘E’s in Eee PC stand for “Easy to learn, Easy to Work, Easy to Play.” However, if you would prefer the Windows XP version, you can simply install it yourself. Overall, the Asus Eee PC 901 is excellent value for money at 319, but what about the larger Eee PC 1000? It is a further hardened and larger mini laptop designed to compete with 10″ netbook computers, sharing many advances with the 901. A big bonus is the larger keyboard, which is now big enough to use for almost any typing. It retains the 6-cell 6600mAh battery common with the 901 with similar battery life. Furthermore, the ‘H’ model has almost 4 times the storage over the Linux operated Asus Eee PC 901. However, it’s slightly heavier on the wallet at 369 for the 40GB model, putting it in range of standard size laptops which seem more appropriate if you’re looking for a larger keyboard and higher specifications, even if the 1000 is weighs only 1.3kg. Taken as a whole, the Asus Eee PC 901 is better value for money– Our #1 mini laptops Original article at mini-laptops-and-notebooks.com/asus-eee-pc-901