I wanted my netbook to come with an English keyboard layout. The netbook of course had to run Linux It turns out the models with the English keyboard layout are a bit difficult to find in Germany. One can order a “custom” version but that delays the order by a few weeks.

Not satisfied with these extra delays I decided to expand my search and to look for distributors in UK and Ireland which would ship to Germany. After a bit of googling I found Laptops Direct website which had exactly what I was looking for (Here’s the link for those who prefer prices in pounds.) They ship anywhere within the Europe without charging you ridiculous postage charges. I ordered Eee PC 901 on their website and after a few days got it delivered.

As usual with other Eee models my netbook was ready to run straight out of the box with lots of programs already installed. Eee PC 901 comes with a bit newer version of the operating system and a different set of applications. Not much different from the 4G model so you can find the usual set of:

• web browser – Firefox
• VoIP software – Skype
• instant messaging client – Pidgin
• PDF reader – Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0
• email client – Thunderbird
• office suite – Star Office 8 (based on OpenOffice.org)
• multimedia programs
• games
• other utilities

If you want to add more programs the easiest way to do it is use the “Eee Download” link which takes you to Asus website where you can find additional applications which have been prepackaged so they can be very easily installed on your Eee 901. At the moment there is over 3000 programs to choose from!

The hardware features of Eee PC 901 are:

• Intel Atom 1.6 GHz CPU
  
• 1 GB RAM
• 20 GB Solid State Drive
• 8.9′ TFT with resolution 1024 x 600
• Bluetooth
• 1.3 Megapixel webcam
• 1.1 kg weight
  

As you can see the improvements from Eee PC 4G are mainly faster CPU, more RAM, more storage and bigger screen. In the normal operation you’re going to notice primarily the bigger screen – about 60% increase of the screen area than Eee PC 4G. The dimensions of the netbook are exactly the same as for Eee PC 4G, increased screen size is possible because 4G had quite a wide frame around the screen which has been significantly reduced in the 901 model.

The slightly bigger weight is a bit of disadvantage although at 1.1 kg Eee PC 901 is still very light and easy to carry.

After using Eee PC 901for a few months I must say that I get less use of it than originally expected. At home and in the office I already have other computers with full size keyboards I can use and when I travel I usually take a laptop with me anyway. That means I don’t really make use of the high portability which is the main advantage of netbooks. Big Eee gets used mostly when I want to check something quickly online (my other PCs can’t beat the 15 seconds boot time) or when I need to take a computer to sofa but that’s about it. I guess I need to travel more to get more use out of a netbook…

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Right, what a girlie comment to say. I mean, it is a laptop, woman, not a puppy!

Yeah, so it has another positive thing besides being cute, it does not lick you!

This is a post about the tiny Asus laptops for all audiences. Check what is the first question that pops in your head when you hear someone say “I just bought myself an EEE” and you will know the group you belong to:

1. eee… eeeh… what?
2. wow! so, is it as cool as they say it is?
3. I see, so which one did you get? what are the full specs? Anything else I should know about that model?

The answers for the eee… eeeh… what? people:

This is an Asus Eee laptop.

Well, not any Eee laptop, but our own Eee PC Yup, the pen is also mine and it shows you how tiny the Eee is And it weighs less than a kilo and a minute after taking it out of the box, you can already start working (with OpenOffice.org or GoogleDocs or Paint…), surfing the net (Firefox is there, Skype, Pidgin -the Linux MSN equivalent-, and Thunderbird as well) or even playing solitaire or with a Mr. Potato. And why did we buy it you ask? Well, it will be a better traveling companion than my 3 kg laptop which makes me walk around airports worse than the Hunchback of Notre-Dame did. Oh and the first answer I gave my mother when she asked the same question is also true: because… they had it in the shop…

The answers for the wow! so, is it as cool as they say it is? people:

Yup! So far… Do you want the pros and the cons? Ok:

Pros:

1. Yes, it weighs less than 1 kg.
2. The 7′ screen although small, actually displays a lot more/better than I expected.

   

3. Setting it up is like no time. Seriously, I think it took us about 2 minutes to be at the screen where you can open Firefox already.
4. The kiddo-laptop connected to wireless without a glitch and we were able to download and install the newer version of skype (to be able to use the built-in camera) within a minute.
5. If yous mess up the system, you can restore the whole laptop back to factory settings in under two minutes. In jkOnTheRun they even have a video showing you how quick it is!
6. It boots in 30 seconds and powers off in 12! Yes, I timed both processes.

Cons:

1. The keyboard IS small. I have problems most of all with pressing the Shift button. Look at the following image:

   

   You can see how small the keyboard is, compared to a “normal-size” one. I have placed a 1 cent coin on the letter D on both keyboards so you can see the relative sizes better. Oh, the mouse is a small-mouse as well (which did not come with the Eee).

2. ZoltarStark thinks the display organization with the buttons in the main screen to open Firefox, Spreadsheets, etc is not very efficient if you’re a power user since you need to point and click instead of selecting items from a menu.

   

3. The laptop seems to be designed with Windows users in mind and it has the same folder architecture as Windows Explorer with My documents folder and so on set up by default. Even worse, though, is that it asks you to reboot the laptop after every software update, like Microsoft does. Then again, with a total of 40 seconds required per reboot, it’s not as bad as it could be.

The answers for the I see, so which one did you get? what are the full specs? Anything else I should know about that model? people:

We bought the Asus Eee PC 4G. For those of you that don’t know the difference between the Eee versions, check out this table. As a summary, all four models have a 7′ display and Linux pre-installed (with the number of software applications varying depending on the disk size), Ethernet, WLAN, built-in speaker and microphone, and weigh 0.92 kg. They all have three USB 2.0 ports and a MMC/SD (HC) card reader slot. Furthermore:

Update (17th April 2008): A review just came out on the “big” brother of the Asus Eee 7″ laptop, the Asus Eee PC 900 (as in 8.9″ ~ 9 inch screen). It seems it has the same CPU, but 1GB of RAM to start with, and 20GB of storage if you buy the version running Linux (there is Eee 900 version running Windows XP, for the same price, that has 12 GB of space instead). I am starting to save to get my ASUS 700 Eee a big brother

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