Asus EEE PC 901 – Good Things Come in Small Packages
ASUS unveiled three new EEE PC models at Comdex in early June. For the purpose of this post, I will be taking a look at the new 901 model. Is this the gadget of the year? In my book, yes it certainly looks like it could be.
I have owned an EEE PC 701 since just after they were launched, and at first, I thought it would be an incredibly useful tool to me, it was the first truly portable device that did everything I needed in a single, small and robust package. It was light, shock proof and very portable.
In reality things didn’t work out as I expected, there were three problems with the machine, that although they could be overcome, were enough when combined to stop me using the device as I had intended with ease. Firstly, the screen is just a little too small, the 7” 800×480 display is fine for checking email and a little occasional browsing, but working on it for any more than a few minutes was just awkward. Secondly, the battery life is a joke; ASUS implied that users would get around 3.5 hours from a single battery charge, in reality I am lucky to get 2.5 hours. Lastly, the storage space is just too restrictive, the 4GB SSD drive fills up quickly, which stops me installing an entire application suite.
So when ASUS revealed the 901, I was fairly pleased to read the specs, it seemed to me that they had addressed every issue I have with my old 901 model. The new 8.9” screen has a native resolution of 1024 x 600, definitely large enough for me to use for an hour or two at a time. Battery life has been greatly extended by incorporating the new Intel Atom CPU into the design. This tiny processor draws a very small amount of power and extends the battery live to around 8 hours on the 901. The storage problem has been banished by increasing the size of the SSD to 20GB, this means I can install every application that I currently run on my desktop PC and still leave enough space to carry a cut down version of my MP3 collection. Asus have also included an internal Bluetooth adapter, which is something else that was missing from the older models.
I will definitely be picking one of these sub-notebooks up as soon as they go on sale. My old 701 model has shown me how useful it can be to have a fully functioning PC tucked away in my bag, but it has also shown me how frustrating it can be to have to use something that has some basic design flaws.
The new ASUS EEE PC 901 is definitely top of my lists of best gadgets released in 2008. I hope that it will become a useful and productive tool in my social and working life.