Asus Eee PC 900 Review
Monday, July 14, 2008
Filed Under:
Asus
The Asus Eee PC 900 is the new update to the original Eee PC ... the affordable mini notebook that shook up the notebook market in 2007. Is this $550 mobile companion the best choice for your next travel laptop? We took an in-depth look at the Eee PC 900 to find out if this latest addition to the Eee PC family offers enough performance and features to get you excited.
First, let's review the system specs for the all new Eee PC 900:
* Intel Celeron M ULV 900MHz processor
* Integrated Intel GMA 900 GPU
* 12GB of Flash-based storage (4GB onboard SSD and 8GB PCI-E mini card SSD)
* 1GB of DDR2 RAM (667MHz)
* Windows XP operating system
* 8.9-inch screen with 1024 x 600 resolution
* Ports: 3 USB 2.0, 1 VGA monitor out, headphone jack, microphone input, SD card reader (SDHC compatible), Kensington lock slot, Ethernet 10/100
* Webcam (1.3 MP)
* Battery: 4-cell 5800 mAh 7.2V Li-Ion (rated at 3.5 hours)
* Wireless: 802.11b/g Atheros
* Input: Keyboard and Multi-touch touchpad
* Dimensions: 22.5cm(W) x 17cm(D) x 2cm~3.4cm(H)
* Weight: approximately 2.2 lbs with battery, 2.8 lbs travel weight with AC adapter.
* One-year warranty
Build and Design
Like the original Eee PC, the designers at Asus had no easy task creating an attractive ultraportable notebook while also making it cheap to produce. Customers also indicated that they wanted a larger screen and a larger touchpad, so both of these features had to be incorporated into a very small footprint.
The chassis seams match up with reasonably tight tolerances, plastics feel thick (though the pearl-like white plastics look cheap) and the display hinges are molded into body with the battery. Overall, the Eee PC 900 is almost identical to the original Eee PC. The only obvious differences are the larger screen and the slightly deeper dimension (front to back) in order to accommodate the larger touchpad.
Lifting the display cover you find the same amazingly small keyboard surface found on the original Eee PC. In short, the build quality is quite high despite the low cost.
The design of the original Eee PC was something truly unique in the market. Weighing in at just two pounds and delivering a performance level similar to a full-featured budget notebook, the only notebook that came close to "directly" competing with the Eee PC in 2007 was the Fujitsu LifeBook U810 tablet PC ... which retailed for more than $1,000 last year. After the success of the original Eee PC, other manufacturers have started to flood the market with low cost mini notebooks. The Eee PC isn't the only kid on the block anymore, which is why Asus is trying to raise the bar with the Eee PC 900.
Screen
The Eee PC 900 features a nice 8.9-inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution. While this might not be the most impressive resolution we've seen, it's much nicer than the native 800 x 480 resolution on the original Eee PC 4G. Still, most owners of the original Eee PC 4G use modified display drivers to scale 1000 x 600 or higher resolutions on the original Eee PC ... so this higher resolution screen isn't as impressive as it could be.
Operating System and Software
Unlike the original Eee PC, the Eee PC 900 doesn't come with Linux. This notebook comes pre-installed with Windows XP. While XP might not be the most modern operating system on the market, XP is still one of the most robust and stable versions of the Windows OS. Most importantly, Windows XP doesn't have massive system requirements ... so it still runs fast on a relatively under-powered notebook like the Eee PC 900.
Speakers
Asus received some criticism over the speakers on the original Eee PC because of there massive size located on both sides of the screen. The bezel around the screen on the Eee PC 900 is much thinner than the thick bezel on the original Eee PC and the speakers have been relocated to the bottom of the notebook. Speaker output quality is good, but because of the location of the speakers the sound is quite muffled when you're using the Eee PC 900 as a "laptop."
Keyboard and Touchpad
Most low-priced notebooks currently on the market feature poorly built keyboards that show significant flex/bounce when typing pressure is applied. Much to our surprise, the keyboard on the Eee PC 900 (like the original Eee PC) is remarkably firm, though the keys are small and have a large degree of "wiggle" when pressed.
The keyboard on the Eee PC 900 is very, very compact. The first few days spent typing on this keyboard probably will be quite frustrating as the small footprint and tiny keys require you to use a "hunt and peck" style of typing rather than traditional touch typing methods. This means that passwords get mangled, emails look like gibberish, and playing games that require keyboard commands becomes quite aggravating.
Of course, once I got used to typing on the tiny keyboard the keys felt just fine ... but this keyboard isn't designed to be used as a primary/main computer. For users who would buy this notebook as their "main computer" in their home or office, a full-size keyboard and external mouse are recommended.
The touchpad and single button (with left and right "rocker" buttons underneath) are easy to use and responsive. The Eee PC 900 actually has a slightly larger touchpad button which makes it more comfortable to use than the original Eee PC. The touchpad is likewise larger than the touchpad on the original Eee PC and this touchpad also features multi-touch functionality so that you can zoom in or zoom out on things like PDFs in order to view the text more easily.
Performance
Overall, the Eee PC 900 is a snappy little budget notebook. Granted, the 900MHz ultra-low voltage processor doesn't have the performance of a modern Core 2 Duo processor. The flash-based storage drives on the Eee PC 900 help with the benchmarks since they provide virtually instant data access times.
In short, the Eee PC 900 provides plenty of performance for travel and short-term use, but this mini notebook isn't designed to be a primary computing workhorse.
Source: www.notebookreview.com (by Jerry Jackson)
* Integrated Intel GMA 900 GPU
* 12GB of Flash-based storage (4GB onboard SSD and 8GB PCI-E mini card SSD)
* 1GB of DDR2 RAM (667MHz)
* Windows XP operating system
* 8.9-inch screen with 1024 x 600 resolution
* Ports: 3 USB 2.0, 1 VGA monitor out, headphone jack, microphone input, SD card reader (SDHC compatible), Kensington lock slot, Ethernet 10/100
* Webcam (1.3 MP)
* Battery: 4-cell 5800 mAh 7.2V Li-Ion (rated at 3.5 hours)
* Wireless: 802.11b/g Atheros
* Input: Keyboard and Multi-touch touchpad
* Dimensions: 22.5cm(W) x 17cm(D) x 2cm~3.4cm(H)
* Weight: approximately 2.2 lbs with battery, 2.8 lbs travel weight with AC adapter.
* One-year warranty
Build and Design
Like the original Eee PC, the designers at Asus had no easy task creating an attractive ultraportable notebook while also making it cheap to produce. Customers also indicated that they wanted a larger screen and a larger touchpad, so both of these features had to be incorporated into a very small footprint.
The chassis seams match up with reasonably tight tolerances, plastics feel thick (though the pearl-like white plastics look cheap) and the display hinges are molded into body with the battery. Overall, the Eee PC 900 is almost identical to the original Eee PC. The only obvious differences are the larger screen and the slightly deeper dimension (front to back) in order to accommodate the larger touchpad.
Lifting the display cover you find the same amazingly small keyboard surface found on the original Eee PC. In short, the build quality is quite high despite the low cost.
The design of the original Eee PC was something truly unique in the market. Weighing in at just two pounds and delivering a performance level similar to a full-featured budget notebook, the only notebook that came close to "directly" competing with the Eee PC in 2007 was the Fujitsu LifeBook U810 tablet PC ... which retailed for more than $1,000 last year. After the success of the original Eee PC, other manufacturers have started to flood the market with low cost mini notebooks. The Eee PC isn't the only kid on the block anymore, which is why Asus is trying to raise the bar with the Eee PC 900.
Screen
The Eee PC 900 features a nice 8.9-inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution. While this might not be the most impressive resolution we've seen, it's much nicer than the native 800 x 480 resolution on the original Eee PC 4G. Still, most owners of the original Eee PC 4G use modified display drivers to scale 1000 x 600 or higher resolutions on the original Eee PC ... so this higher resolution screen isn't as impressive as it could be.
Operating System and Software
Unlike the original Eee PC, the Eee PC 900 doesn't come with Linux. This notebook comes pre-installed with Windows XP. While XP might not be the most modern operating system on the market, XP is still one of the most robust and stable versions of the Windows OS. Most importantly, Windows XP doesn't have massive system requirements ... so it still runs fast on a relatively under-powered notebook like the Eee PC 900.
Speakers
Asus received some criticism over the speakers on the original Eee PC because of there massive size located on both sides of the screen. The bezel around the screen on the Eee PC 900 is much thinner than the thick bezel on the original Eee PC and the speakers have been relocated to the bottom of the notebook. Speaker output quality is good, but because of the location of the speakers the sound is quite muffled when you're using the Eee PC 900 as a "laptop."
Keyboard and Touchpad
Most low-priced notebooks currently on the market feature poorly built keyboards that show significant flex/bounce when typing pressure is applied. Much to our surprise, the keyboard on the Eee PC 900 (like the original Eee PC) is remarkably firm, though the keys are small and have a large degree of "wiggle" when pressed.
The keyboard on the Eee PC 900 is very, very compact. The first few days spent typing on this keyboard probably will be quite frustrating as the small footprint and tiny keys require you to use a "hunt and peck" style of typing rather than traditional touch typing methods. This means that passwords get mangled, emails look like gibberish, and playing games that require keyboard commands becomes quite aggravating.
Of course, once I got used to typing on the tiny keyboard the keys felt just fine ... but this keyboard isn't designed to be used as a primary/main computer. For users who would buy this notebook as their "main computer" in their home or office, a full-size keyboard and external mouse are recommended.
The touchpad and single button (with left and right "rocker" buttons underneath) are easy to use and responsive. The Eee PC 900 actually has a slightly larger touchpad button which makes it more comfortable to use than the original Eee PC. The touchpad is likewise larger than the touchpad on the original Eee PC and this touchpad also features multi-touch functionality so that you can zoom in or zoom out on things like PDFs in order to view the text more easily.
Performance
Overall, the Eee PC 900 is a snappy little budget notebook. Granted, the 900MHz ultra-low voltage processor doesn't have the performance of a modern Core 2 Duo processor. The flash-based storage drives on the Eee PC 900 help with the benchmarks since they provide virtually instant data access times.
In short, the Eee PC 900 provides plenty of performance for travel and short-term use, but this mini notebook isn't designed to be a primary computing workhorse.
Source: www.notebookreview.com (by Jerry Jackson)
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