Going mobile with ease
Being able to access email and the Internet while on the move is a prerequisite for most users today. However, mobile computing can be an expensive proposition, even at today's rapidly-dropping prices. A standard, entry-level, laptop will set users back around R5 000, but there is a good chance the laptop will be reasonably heavy and not particularly portable. Not the kind of machine you want to lug around town or onto planes.
A high end ultra-portable machine, on the other hand, will cost anywhere from R12 000 upwards, which is a lot of money to pay if the company is not picking up the tab.
Now there is an alternative with the Asus EEE PC. Launched a couple of months ago in South Africa, the EEE PC carries a price tag of just R3 000.
Asus is one of those companies that doesn't get a great deal of public attention and isn't the loudest marketer on the block. But in its relatively short lifetime – the Taiwanese company was started in 1989 – the company has gained respect for its PC motherboards and, more recently, its laptop computers.
It wasn't until it launched the ultra-portable EEE PC that Asus truly grabbed headlines. The EEE weighs in at a very slim 890g, making it one of the most portable machines on the market. Of course, that sort of size doesn't come without some sacrifices, most notably in the screen size and storage options. The EEE ships with a 7-inch screen running at 800×480 resolution. At that size users aren't going to be doing graphics or intense programming, but for email and web browsing the size is more than adequate.
The EEE boasts an average 4 hour battery life which is achieved in part through the smaller screen but also by using flash memory instead of a standard hard disk. The 700-W and 701-W models ship with 2GB and 4GB SSD hard drives respectively. Both models also include an additional SD card slot for expanding storage capabilities.
The EEE also ships with a entire collection of free software thanks to its Linux operating system. The collection of software ranges from office applications through to media players and PDF viewers, all of which are included in the R3 000 price tag.
WiFi B/G for wireless networking is standard on both machines as well as 10/100 ethernet ports. Three USB 2.0 slots and a 900MHz mobile Celeron processor round out the package.
The Asus EEE PC is not a desktop replacement for heavy computer users; the keyboard and screen sizes are simply too small, as is the stripped-down hard drive. However, as a second machine for email on the move, or for busy executives who need to regularly check in from conferences or the golf course, the EEE PC is ideal.
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