Ultra thin notebooks which have worthy characteristics, at this time is very expensive, and budgetary versions are usually very large and heavy. The new invention of Asus company is the “Eee” laptop, let’s say, is a counter alternative in this case. The developer keeps the price low for this product using a 7 inch screen, a minimum of memory and storage, and instead of the usual Windows XP, by installing Linux. This means that the model PC701 equipped with 512 memory, and 4 in the repository will cost about $ 400, when the youngest lineup which will cost 300 dollars, will be released in January. This ultra-thin PC that is cheap and has the ability of video-media player.
Low Price, Low Spec
The Asus Eee (701P PC is a shrunken laptop in a sturdy case – but the screen is surprisingly small.
Ultra-portable notebooks are almost always expensive, while budget notebooks are too often large and heavy. Asus’ tiny Eee notebook, however, serves as a counter example. The OEM has kept the price down by using a 7″ screen, minimal memory and storage – and installing Linux rather than Windows. That means that the PC 701 model with 512 MB of RAM and a 4 GB solid-state drive is only $400 and the 256 MB/2 GB PC 700 will retail for $300 when it comes out in January. That’s an ultra-portable PC for not much more than the cost of a video-capable media player.
You may see lower prices from educational suppliers, and different brands, too. We looked at the RM miniBook, which is the PC 701 for the school market. Asus expects the majority of demand for the to come from the educational sector and developing markets. And rather than presenting a bare-bone Linux system, Asus offers a set of applications and a friendly interface based on Xandros that hides the Linux underpinnings almost completely. But you can switch to a “full desktop” mode where you can install your own applications; and with OpenOffice, Google Documents, Firefox and Skype to start, the has the potential to be a very portable option for any PC user. If you don’t want Linux, Asus provides instructions for installing Windows XP and will sell a version of the with XP pre-installed next year.
The beauty of using a PC rather than a smartphone is real Internet access (and a big enough screen to see what you’re doing).
Solid And Solid State
Only the white model is available so far but black-and-pastel models are promised.
The (it stands for easy to learn, easy to work, easy to play) will come in white, black and three pastel shades; so far only the white version is available. It looks a little chunky at first, but that’s partly because it’s sturdy and partly because it is so small (9″ by 6″). The laptop is as thin as the sleek-looking Toshiba R400 and only just thick enough for the Ethernet port on one side and the VGA out on the other; along with three USB ports, microphone and headphone sockets, a memory card slot (SD/MMC), a Kensington lock point and a hot air exhaust grill.
Standard connections: Ethernet, modem, USB, headphone and microphone.
Use the memory card slot for much-needed extra storage. The VGA out port lets you connect to a standard monitor.
The replaceable battery almost runs across the full width of the base, which lifts the back of the notebook at a slight angle to make typing easier. The power supply is smaller than usual, as well.
Not only is the case robust and designed to stand up to a few hard knocks in the schoolyard (we dropped it from a coffee table and let it tip over as if it had fallen out of a backpack several times without any damage). The solid state hard drive is also very reliable. It won’t crash like a hard drive; the heads don’t need to be parked (no accelerometer adding to the cost); and it’s quieter than a hard drive and it uses a lot less battery.
We saw very little difference in battery life between Linux and Windows on this system. Asus claims a three-hour battery life, which reflected what our test results indicated when using both operating systems. With Wi-Fi on and the screen set to turn off after five minutes, we measured two hours 47 minutes using the BatteryEater utility. With the screen set to turn off after a minute, the hard drive set to spin down after five minutes and wireless off, we measured a maximum of three hours 23 minutes.
The battery is removable so you can carry a spare.
With a screen this size, running many applications at once is not recommended because you want the window you’re using to get the whole screen (this applies to Linux and well as Windows and several of the Java-based applications supplied with the run full screen anyway). That makes performance a little less of a problem. The 900MHz Intel Celeron M ULV is the same CPU used for the Samsung Q1, Asus R2H and Founder MiniNote UMPCs so this isn’t a high-performance system but it’s extremely usable – and installing Windows doesn’t slow the down.
In Windows XP, we streamed DiVX video over an 802.11g Wi-Fi connection from a NAS box. We used Miro player to watch the video, which did not stutter, freeze or break up (and depending on the source file, the video quality is good enough for watching movies). With multiple 4Mb images from a seven-megapixel camera loaded in Paint Shop Pro Photo X2, the application remained responsive, with even complex filters taking no more than 15 seconds to complete, although we did see some artifacts when scrolling at extreme zoom.
Conclusion: Small And Sturdy For Small Fingers
The Asus Eee is half the size of a 12.1″; widescreen notebook like the Toshiba Portégé R400.
This is one of the first budget ultra-portable PCs to go on sale, but expect to see more devices like this even without the extremes of the crank-powered OLPC. Via has a reference design for a $600 ultra-portable that will be the same size and weight as the Eee PC, but it will have a 1.2 GHz VIA C7 CPU, a VX-700 chipset, up to 1 GB of RAM, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, a DVI port and a 4-in-1 card reader.
The question is how useful these systems will be. They’re far better equipped for Web browsing and email than a smartphone but a better comparison is an intermediate device like the HTC Advantage, which comes with Opera and the Office Mobile apps in Windows Mobile 6 that rival OpenOffice, includes GPS and has a better battery life.
The Eee only looks thick because it’s so small; it’s a thin as an ultra-portable tablet like the Toshiba R400.
One big advantage of the is being able to connect standard peripherals. Either Linux or Windows XP is a far more capable operating system than any of the alternatives, but the limited storage means you can’t install as many applications as you might want. Performance isn’t the limitation you might expect, but the cramped keyboard may prove the real stumbling block. Nevertheless, the combination of size, price and sturdiness make this a real step forward for anyone who wants to carry a PC around without being weighed down.
