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Asus EEE PC 900

April 22, 2008 – 3:10 pm

The Asus EEE PC 900 was officialy launched, and has been reviewed by many privileged writers, so we created a description and wrote some considerations about this marvelous product.

Asus’ new and appealing low cost UMPC, the EEE PC 900, was officially released in Hong Kong 4 days ago, and is expected to hit the shelves in the United States on the 12th of may.

EEE PC 900 specification

Following the success of its predecessor, the eee pc 900 has preserved the same design as the 701.

• CPU: Intel Centrino M ULV, at 900MHz
• RAM: 1GB, DDR2
• SSD Memory: 20GB (Linux) or 12GB (Windows XP)
• Connectivity: Wifi, Ethernet
• Multitouch trackpad
• 8.9″ screen, at 1024×600
• 3xUSB, SDHC card reader
• VGA output, to connect a monitor, or a projector.
• Weight: 2.18 pounds
• Price tag: $549

Official Page

EEE PC 701 or EEE PC 900

If you are about to buy a UMPC, the main question know would be what model to choose between the EEE PC 701 and the new EEE PC 900.

The improvements of the 900 over the 701:

• Bigger screen, with a better resolution
• More RAM memory (1024MB Vs 512MB)
• Way more SSD memory storage size (3 to 5 times)
• A wider trackpad, with a practical multitouch technology
• The new webcam has a 1.3MP resolution.

On the other side, the EEE PC 701 costs about $150 less, which is about 38%. It is lighter, a bit smaller, and has a smaller power consumption.

The two computers share the same Intel Celeron M processor at the present time. The 900 is expected to get the new Intel Atom CPU line over time.

If you have to choose between the two eee pc’s, and you can afford to pay $150 more, I would advise to choose the EEE PC 900. The improvements are real, and the competiton (primarily the HP 2133) isn’t so attactive. A comparision with a cheap 15.4″ laptop would not stand, since the eee pc has a specific use. It is more of the perfect complementary computer, you can always have with you. The UMPC products have always been very expensive, until the eee arrived on the market.

However, if you already own an EEE PC 701, the choice is more difficult. The 701 does a great job for a ultramobile use. You can upgrade the RAM memory, add bluetooth or more memory through an SDHC card. 7″ is more than enough to watch a divx in the train for example.

Windows or Linux

The EEE PC 900 comes in two flavours: Microsoft Windows XP Home, or an Asus customized Linux, for the same price tag (while the linux model has a 8GB bigger storage size).

I would advise the Linux version, for the following reasons:

• It has an easy to use interface. You won’t be lost if you had never worked under linux. I made the experience of presenting the eee to non computer savvy persons, and they all found it simple enough to use.
• The Linux OS comes with more than 40 programs, which makes the eee able to perform almost anything you could imagine, out of the box.
• The Open Office suite does a great job working with documents (text, spreadsheet, presentations, databases), and is compatible with the Microsoft Office file formats. Microsoft Works isn’t quite up to the task.
• If you have a program you need for work that only works with Windows, you don’t have to be afraid: it is possible to install many windows programs on linux, through Wine.
• Saving on the license, you will get 20GB of SSD storage, instead of 12GB for the windows version.
• Using Linux, you won’t have to bother about computer viruses, you will be able to enjoy a safe and less stressful computer use.
• The installed Linux boots in only 30 seconds. This is very important for a mobile use, you do not want to wait too much for a system to load if you want to write a quick note, or check you email.