Eee PC proves worldwide hit

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 31 Oct 2007 at 15:11

Asus has finally unveiled its eagerly awaited Eee PC, an ultra low-cost laptop aimed not just at developing nations but consumers as well.

Sporting a price of just £183 (exc VAT) it was difficult to believe the laptop would deliver everything Asus promised, but it's here and earning glowing reviews, not least from us at PC Pro. Click here to read our full review.. According to comments PC Pro readers have posted to that review, schools are already beginning to order the Eee PC.

Reviews have been similarly positive across the board with Cnet singling out its looks for particular praise. "Ultimately, the Eee PC looks equally at home on the catwalk or in a child's playpen - it is what you make of it," the site claims.

A theme which was picked up by Trusted Reviews, which says, "It feels sturdy and well put together thanks to some chunky screen hinges and a general feeling of density and compactness."

The site also lauded the Eee PC's connectivity which includes three USB ports. However, it notes: "Given that there's only 1.3GB of space after the OS and applications, external storage through USB keys and hard drives will be essential."

Criticisms

American titleLaptop Magazine also has concerns, noting compatibility problems with the preloaded software. "We couldn't get [the webcam] to work with either the preloaded Skype program or Pidgin instant messaging program, and with good reason: Asus is still working on drivers for the webcam, which it says will be released early next year."

ZDNet was similarly unimpressed with the small keyboard: "Keys, including the backspace, tab, and control keys, are smaller - mere slivers of their usual selves, and especially hard to hit."

And while generally praising the Eee PC's software offering, which includes Firefox and OpenOffice, it did note "You may, however, miss some popular software that won't run on Linux, such as iTunes or Photoshop."

For those still unsure about Linux, Spanish site HispaZone has posted an online video of the notebook in action, which can be viewed here.