 | | |
| ASUS Eee PC 900 8.9-Inch Netbook (Intel Mobile Processor, 1 GB RAM, 20 GB Solid State Drive, Linux, 4 Cell Battery) Pearl White | 
| Brand: Asus
Category: Personal Computer
List Price: $549.99
Buy New: $417.99
You Save: $132.00 (24%)
Buy New from $417.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (63 reviews)
Sales Rank: 130
Color: Pearl White
Media: Personal Computers
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
CPU Manufacturer: Intel
Processors: 1
System Bus Speed: 400
System Memory: 1
Memory Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Drive Size: 20
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Native Resolution: 8.9
Modem: None
Special Features: nv:Condition^New|Operating Systems^LINUX|Platform^Netbook|PS/2 Mouse Connectors^N/A|PS/2 Keyboard Connectors^N/A|Serial Communication Ports^N/A|Parallel Ports^N/A|USB Ports^3|FireWire Ports^N/A|Fast Infrared Ports (FIR)^N/A|LAN Ports^1|Modem Ports^N/A|Audio Out Jacks^1|Line In Jacks^N/A|Microphone Jacks^1|VGA Ports^1|S-Video Connectors^N/A|DVI Video^N/A|Port Replicator/Connector^N/A|Processor Brand^Intel|Processor Class^Mobile CPU|Memory Type^DDR2|Memory Size^1GB
Display Size: 8.9
Clothing Size: 8.9" screen
Size: 8.9" screen
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 8.9 x 0.8
MPN: 90OA09AA2112111U305Q
Model: Eee PC 900 20G-Pearl
UPC: 884840249429
EAN: 0884840249429
ASIN: B00191PKJK
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Almost perfect as a secondary computer (and comparison with MBA) June 28, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I wish that I could give 4.5 stars rating, with the condition that EEE PC 900 is used as a secondary computer. And I have used my wife's MBA for quite a while so I will compare the two. (Yes it's unfair but interesting, right?)
Good things first. I ordered 900 with a clear mind that it's going to be my secondary notebook computer and my usage is email, web browsing, remote connect and a few other things. I had a two-year old Dell D620 which still works fine. The 900 is light, with slightly better battery life (3+ hours), fast booting, extremely fast shutdown, inexpensive, and with camera builtin (good for video conferences on a trip). After the 900 arrives, it's just what I expected.
Now bad things first, most of which I already knew when I ordered the 900. First the keyboard is small. I am typing this review with 900. I guess I would type 20-30% faster with my D620 (or a desktop). Moreover, I pay more attention to my typing and that affects my writing/thinking a little bit. Not a big deal though. Most time I will write on my D620. On a trip or a working day full of meetings, fast booting and fast shutdown are more important than typing speed. And hopefully I can improve my typing on the 900 over time.
The battery life could be better. I wished that a single charge would be good for a whole day (5-6 working hours). This one is about 3-4 hours, so I will still need to take the power adapter with me and search (and sometimes compete) for a power outlet. The EEE PC 901 will do it, but I ordered 900 before I knew 901 would be coming (and don't want the trouble to return this fine looking 900).
It is warm and sometimes can be called hot. When the fan is turned on, there is a whipping sound. Not terrible at all but definitely noticeable. But in that measure it's better than the D620 and the MBA. The D620's fan is loud and non-stopping. The MBA can be very hot and the fan can spin crazily, much louder than the 900. (But both the 900 and the MBA are fine in a cool room.)
Now more comparison between the 900 and the MBA (Macbook Air, 13" display). First the comparison is unfair because the MBA is priced at $1800 and the 900 $550; please keep that in mind. The MBA works fine as either the primary or secondary computer. The keyboard is full size and first class quality. Typing on it is no different from a large notebook or a desktop. Actually, the MBA is thin and light but NOT small in area -- it is a full "area" notebook computer. If the price is not an issue and one wants just one notebook, MBA is the choice (and it's much better than 12" sub-notebooks from other vendors).
The 900 is thick, twice the thickness of the MBA and slight more than that of the D620 (the D620 has 14" display). A strange thing is that when holding the MBA and the 900, the MBA feels the same weight as the 900 but the actual weights are 3lbs vs 2lbs. I am not sure why, but possibly because of how they can be held. Holding the 900 at the battery compartment is the most comfortable. I also feel 900 has at least the same volume than MBA. Is the thickness a bad thing or not? Hard to say. When I put them in bags both are just fine.
Overall, I think 900 is almost perfect as a secondary computer (and perfect with 5-6 batter time). However, I won't use it as a primary computer. Keyboard and display are two reasons. Another reason is software. I have installed many software on the D620; I can do that because of its large hard drive and memory. And the D620 runs windows XP. I won't install Windows XP on the 900 -- that will slow it down and defeat the purpose of having fast booting and shutdown times.
A great little PC, but a lousy form of Linux... June 28, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful little laptop. (Kneetop?) Everyone who sees it wants one but I think Asus has done everyone a a major disservice with their over-simplified toy Linux installation. All you get are the screens you see in the product description and there's no real desktop. And there's only a handful of programs available for this particular unit from the Asus repository. Yes, there's a real desktop available but you'll have to open a Terminal window and dig around in the files to make this happen. (Remember DOS? It's a lot like that.) There's lots of instructions out there on how to do this. Some instructions work. Some just return arcane error messages. My advice--if you want this box to run any really useful form of Linux, be prepared to install your own favorite flavor. And be prepared to spend some time getting everything to work, like the microphone and the camera. Ubuntu might be the easiest but like everything in the Linux world, there's a lot of different choices, some better than others.
 Great little road warrior PC! June 27, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I've been watching the ASUS eee PC products for awhile now, but after reading many positive reviews of the eee PC 900 (Linux version, 20GB memory) and lugging my 5 lb. laptop to NYC on my latest trip, I decided I had to try this one.
I got it in the morning, charged it while I was running some errands, and began putting it through its paces when I got back. Keyboard is small, but I have small hands and it's working fine for me. I will likely activate advanced desktop mode at some point, but for right now, the tabbed desktop is just fine. For email, web connectivity, a little music, a few games, and the ability to write/edit documents and presentations on the road, this is terrific! It's exactly what I need without what I don't need. And it really does weigh just under 2.2 lbs, even with the power adapter! Also--no one has mentioned that it has some voice activation built it; what a great idea.
 Good but HOT June 27, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I bought this notebook for my mobile usage.It has the good looks and is fast while running win-xp too. I am impressed but unable to keep doing so as, i realized it gets really heated up ...gave me HOT knees. I am sending it back. U would love it but only if heating is not an issue.
Little laptop, big features June 25, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I bought the Linux version and after playing with it for a little while I booted from an external floppy drive with a Windows 98 boot disk, deltreed the Linux partitions, rebooted and fdisked and formatted the 4 GB C: drive and then used an external DVD drive to install XP Pro using an nLite custom slimmed down version. I also installed Office 2003. For $43 I bought a 2 GB RAM stick and replaced the 1 GB that came with it. I also bought a 16 GB SD card for $45 online to give additional storage.
Comments from observers: "Is that a toy computer?" No...it is full-featured and lots of power. I like the Asus 900 EEE weight factor as my primary laptop is a Dell Precision M6300 that is huge. My wishes for improvement: WiMax and Bluetooth so I'll probably get the new versions and this one may get passed on to a relative.
The lack of a CD drive is not critical here to me, but some may find it limiting. External DVD drives are cheap though. The onboard Atheros wireless chip is good in the room the router is in, but range is less or even impossible through walls that many larger laptop wifi chips would connect. I have a cheap external USB wifi thumb device that I use when the router range is beyond the internal chip. Three USB ports are nice...I have a USB mouse, but would prefer Bluetooth capability to save even that port use.
All in all I think most people will find it a great ultra portable as long as they realize battery life is less than three hours (which is about like most regular laptops). There are heavier third-party batteries that can deliver much longer usage and I would never buy the standard 4-cell battery at the prices I have seen. The newer models promise much greater battery life and bigger SSD capacity so Asus has a winner indeed. Get ultra portables down to VCR prices in five or less years and we'll have one in every classroom student's hands in America. That's a multi-billion dollar market even at $100 a unit.
|
|
|
Powered by: Dknc, inc. and Amazon.com | | 
For your safety and security, orders are processed through amazon.com
|
|
|
|
