| Indeed, when we first heard about the Eee PC it | | | | Eee PC 701 getting toasty during use – even the |
| immediately drew comparisons to the burgeoning and | | | | palm rest and touchpad felt warm to the touch after |
| frankly imperfect UMPC sector. However, as we | | | | just 30 minutes of use. We also found the low-pitched |
| learned more about the device, it generated more | | | | whirring and grinding noise rather disquieting, and |
| interesting comparisons to such yesteryear classics as | | | | although it was no worse than a hard drive spinning up, |
| the Psion Series 5 and the legendary netbook. Is the | | | | it was obvious when sitting in a quiet room. |
| Eee PC the natural successor to such devices? | | | | On the Eee PC’s left side panel, the notebook has |
| There are several models available, but the one we're | | | | two USB 2.0 ports, an audio and microphone port, a 10 |
| reviewing and which Asus considers the most | | | | 100 Ethernet port, and a 56K phone modem port. The |
| desirable model is the Eee PC 4G 701. Aside from the | | | | Eee PC is very thin as a United States half dollar coin. |
| processor, which is the same across the range, the | | | | The right side panel of the Eee PC 701 has two more |
| 4G 701 features 512MB DDR2 RAM and a 4GB SSD | | | | USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output, and even a flash card |
| (Solid State Drive). There's also a 0.3-megapixel | | | | reader. The notebook uses a 4 cell battery that gives |
| webcam and integrated microphone, with network | | | | it just around 3 hours of battery life when it is on the |
| connectivity provided by 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and 10/100 | | | | move. As you may have noticed, there are no optical |
| Ethernet. All models ship with a 7in 800 x 600 display, | | | | drives included with the Eee PC, and there is no room |
| while this and the more expensive 8G 701, which ships | | | | to add any to the notebook itself, so any DVD burners |
| with an 8GB SSD and 1GB DRR2 RAM, utilise a | | | | will have to be installed externally through one of the |
| four-cell 5200mAh battery. | | | | Eee PC 701’s four USB 2.0 ports. |
| One of the first things that you notice when picking up | | | | The Eee PC uses an Atheros AR5BXB63 wireless |
| the ASUS Eee PC 701 is the fact that it is so light. The | | | | module for 802.11b/g wireless Internet access. |
| Eee PC weighs in at only .89 kilograms, which | | | | Reception is quite good for a budget notebook. The |
| translates to just around 2 pounds. The keyboard on | | | | Eee PC maintained a connection to my home router |
| the Eee PC is slightly crammed and smaller than most | | | | from anywhere inside my three-level home and from |
| notebook keyboards due to the Eee PC’s smaller | | | | anywhere in my front or back yard. At the editorial |
| form factor. It very closely resembles the size of the | | | | offices for the Eee PC managed to stay connected |
| keyboard used in the Dell Inspiron 710, which makes it | | | | to the office router even after I left the building and |
| ideal for emails, web surfing, or short papers, but could | | | | walked across the parking lot. The wireless connection |
| become a nuisance when writing for extended periods | | | | only dropped to 75 percent signal strength after I |
| of time and for those that are used to full-sized | | | | walked more than 50 yards away from the building. |
| notebook and desktop keyboards. | | | | Being able to travel a distance equivalent to half the |
| The screen is 7-inches diagonally with LED back | | | | length of a football field means you won't have trouble |
| lighting and has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. | | | | browsing the web with the Eee PC. |
| The Eee PC might not have a glossy, high contrast | | | | It's hard to fault the Eee PC, mainly because of its |
| display like most notebooks made in the last year, but | | | | price. It can be difficult to use because of the cramped |
| the bright and even backlight helps make for an | | | | keyboard, but it's better than similar-sized laptops like |
| enjoyable reading experience. We even found the | | | | the Toshiba Libretto. If you're in the market for a |
| quality of the colors more than sufficient for viewing | | | | second PC, or looking for something you can take with |
| movies or You Tube videos. | | | | you almost anywhere, the Eee PC is definitely worth |
| We did experience a few problems with the Asus | | | | buying. |