Derrick
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- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
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The Eee PC is tiny – even smaller than the adorable, yet overpriced, go anywhere, do everything Flybook from Dialogue Technology.
Small form-factor devices present the user with a rather large initial hurdle to overcome: the new shape, size and layout of the input device. With small form factor PCs, the keyboard is usually the main villain, but is also often unfairly victimized.
The Eee PC is tiny – even smaller than the adorable, yet overpriced, go anywhere, do everything Flybook from Dialogue Technology. As a result, the ‘ultra-portable keyboard layout is beyond vexing if you’re used to regular keyboards, but you get used to it. This review is proof that, having been typed on the subnotebook-sized Eee PC (which is about the size of a hardback book when closed).
It doesn’t have a hibernate mode (a feature which portable laptops should really have), but it is not a hardware problem. Rather, its an unimplemented feature on the OS level. The base system is Linux (Xandros), running a custom tab-based interface (KDE) that mimics the operation of small electronic devices such as mobile phones and PDAs. There’s information online that explains the rather technical task of enabling hibernate, but it is a very complex endeavor.
To its credit the Eee PC’s battery lasts an entire day (and then some) in ‘Standby’, waking up in six seconds.
The Eee PC boots up in around 25 seconds and shuts down almost instantly: exactly what the student/classroom target market needs. The Eee PC is quite responsive in general and while bundled OS isn’t anything fancy, it does the job. The fast boot-up time is attributed to its flash based hard drive, also known as a solid state hard drive, which features no moving parts and is, in theory, much quicker than magnetic based disc drives.
The bundled software at OS level applications range from workable to fantastic, with a few problems here and there: the battery power level indicator, for example, shows the percentage power remaining and nothing else. This specific model has a webcam built into the trim at the top. Stereo speakers line the sides of the 178 mm wide screen and on the side are microphone and headphone ports. There is also a VGA-out port for using an external monitor.
Naturally, the Eee PC is not a product that will appeal to everyone; a facet that may be overlooked by more demanding computer users. Regardless, it fills a specific ultra-portable gap between laptops and PDAs.
Note: If pre-installed Linux OS is not your style, the ASUS website has information on how to install Windows XP on the non-Windows Eee PC, but this is not a simple feat.
Small form-factor devices present the user with a rather large initial hurdle to overcome: the new shape, size and layout of the input device. With small form factor PCs, the keyboard is usually the main villain, but is also often unfairly victimized.
The Eee PC is tiny – even smaller than the adorable, yet overpriced, go anywhere, do everything Flybook from Dialogue Technology. As a result, the ‘ultra-portable keyboard layout is beyond vexing if you’re used to regular keyboards, but you get used to it. This review is proof that, having been typed on the subnotebook-sized Eee PC (which is about the size of a hardback book when closed).
It doesn’t have a hibernate mode (a feature which portable laptops should really have), but it is not a hardware problem. Rather, its an unimplemented feature on the OS level. The base system is Linux (Xandros), running a custom tab-based interface (KDE) that mimics the operation of small electronic devices such as mobile phones and PDAs. There’s information online that explains the rather technical task of enabling hibernate, but it is a very complex endeavor.
To its credit the Eee PC’s battery lasts an entire day (and then some) in ‘Standby’, waking up in six seconds.
The Eee PC boots up in around 25 seconds and shuts down almost instantly: exactly what the student/classroom target market needs. The Eee PC is quite responsive in general and while bundled OS isn’t anything fancy, it does the job. The fast boot-up time is attributed to its flash based hard drive, also known as a solid state hard drive, which features no moving parts and is, in theory, much quicker than magnetic based disc drives.
The bundled software at OS level applications range from workable to fantastic, with a few problems here and there: the battery power level indicator, for example, shows the percentage power remaining and nothing else. This specific model has a webcam built into the trim at the top. Stereo speakers line the sides of the 178 mm wide screen and on the side are microphone and headphone ports. There is also a VGA-out port for using an external monitor.
Naturally, the Eee PC is not a product that will appeal to everyone; a facet that may be overlooked by more demanding computer users. Regardless, it fills a specific ultra-portable gap between laptops and PDAs.
Note: If pre-installed Linux OS is not your style, the ASUS website has information on how to install Windows XP on the non-Windows Eee PC, but this is not a simple feat.