November 2007
Asus Eee laptop: First Look
A tiny, ultraportable PC for just $400
Consumer Reports Video  |
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Eee PC |
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What it is. The Asus Eee PC is a 7” laptop with a relatively low price tag of $400. To achieve that value level, the Eee comes with a
customized version of Xandros Linux, a low-cost alternative to Microsoft's Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating systems.
Still, it comes with some nice touches for a portable PC of its size. For storing files, the Eee features a flash-memory-based storage system, which is less power-hungry than traditional hard drives with moving parts. It also attempts to compensate for a cramped keyboard with a "voice command" function--a feature that allows you to control the PC by just speaking to it.
The PC also features 512MB of RAM, an Intel Celeron M processor, three USB ports, an external monitor connection, an Ethernet jack (but no modem), and built-in 0.3-megapixel camera, microphone, SD memory card reader, and Wi-Fi (802.11g). Asus offers a 24-month warranty that covers hardware and software tech support.
Compared with even the slimmest models in our laptop Ratings (available to subscribers), the Eee PC is certainly one of the smallest portables we've ever tested. But its diminutive size isn't the only thing to note. Here's what our engineers have discovered about the Asus Eee PC:
HIGHS
Ideal for newbies and experienced users. The Eee PC includes two user modes, each with a different look and feel. The Easy mode focuses on easy access to common programs, such as office productivity and games. Full Desktop mode gives more control over laptop configurations and includes applications normally hidden in Easy mode, such as a program to convert, or "rip", audio CDs into digital music files.
Power in an almost-pocketable size. It's about the size of a portable DVD player and weighs about 2 lbs. Yet, its battery life--about 3 hours and 45 minutes with typical PC tasks such as word processing--rivals that of larger and heavier laptops.
Applications included. Lots of software programs come preinstalled on the Eee PC. There are educational games for kids, an anti-virus program and OpenOffice for word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, presentations, and other productivity tasks. But some icons found in Easy mode are merely shortcuts to online Web pages, such as Wikipedia and Google Docs. And keep in mind that while many Linux applications are available free, it could be difficult to find compatible, easy-to-install programs for this less common OS.
Plays nice--most of the time.Common “plug and play” USB devices (such as flash disks and Apple iPods) connected right away to the laptop. But some (two Canon digital cameras) needed to be manually configured while others (printers, mostly) required a hunt for the proper drivers. Still, we were able to connect and browse shared folders on wired and wireless Windows networks with no issues.
Support for popular formats. Its OpenOffice suite handled common Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) with only a few glitches, such as changes in font styles and choices. But MP3 and WAV music files and video files (MP4, AVI, WMV, and MPEG) played without any additional (codec) downloads. Still, some other file formats--such as QuickTime.mov videos--were not supported by default.
LOWS
Limited storage space. Our test model had a 4GB flash drive. But all the preinstalled software left us with only 1.3GB of free space, which isn't a lot of room for even a moderate collection of digital music or photo files. You'll have to use an SD memory card and built-in reader or connect an external USB hard drive for more space.
No optical drive. Like many ultraportables of its size, there is no built-in CD- or DVD-ROM drive. And carrying an external USB optical drive reduces the portability of the laptop.
Poor ergonomics. The smaller keyboard and touchpad are uncomfortable to use over long periods of time. And the voice-command program isn't a true "voice recognition" system. It can only "launch" or start certain programs for you. (You still need to use the touchpad and keyboard to interact with and end programs.) Sometimes we've had to repeat spoken commands before the PC would react--and open the wrong program at times.
Merely adequate audio-visuals. As expected from such a tiny laptop, the speakers produce a tinny sound, aren't very loud and take away valuable real estate that could have been used for a bigger display. Color and contrast of the 7-inch LCD itself are good, but smaller text can be difficult to read. The brightest setting for the LCD is still relatively low, which potentially washes out the display if used outdoors on bright days. The fixed 800x480 resolution forces you to scroll around on large web pages and even cuts off parts of larger, fixed-size windows.
BOTTOM LINE
The Eee PC is an ideal laptop for newcomers or computer users looking for basic functionality--Web access, e-mail, moderate office productivity work--from a highly portable machine. For more advanced tasks, consider getting a full-fledged laptop with a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and Windows Vista. You can find such models in our laptop Ratings for only $600--only 50 percent more expensive than the Eee PC we tested.
Still, it comes with some nice touches for a portable PC of its size. For storing files, the Eee features a flash-memory-based storage system, which is less power-hungry than traditional hard drives with moving parts. It also attempts to compensate for a cramped keyboard with a "voice command" function--a feature that allows you to control the PC by just speaking to it.
The PC also features 512MB of RAM, an Intel Celeron M processor, three USB ports, an external monitor connection, an Ethernet jack (but no modem), and built-in 0.3-megapixel camera, microphone, SD memory card reader, and Wi-Fi (802.11g). Asus offers a 24-month warranty that covers hardware and software tech support.
Compared with even the slimmest models in our laptop Ratings (available to subscribers), the Eee PC is certainly one of the smallest portables we've ever tested. But its diminutive size isn't the only thing to note. Here's what our engineers have discovered about the Asus Eee PC:
HIGHS
Ideal for newbies and experienced users. The Eee PC includes two user modes, each with a different look and feel. The Easy mode focuses on easy access to common programs, such as office productivity and games. Full Desktop mode gives more control over laptop configurations and includes applications normally hidden in Easy mode, such as a program to convert, or "rip", audio CDs into digital music files.
Power in an almost-pocketable size. It's about the size of a portable DVD player and weighs about 2 lbs. Yet, its battery life--about 3 hours and 45 minutes with typical PC tasks such as word processing--rivals that of larger and heavier laptops.
Applications included. Lots of software programs come preinstalled on the Eee PC. There are educational games for kids, an anti-virus program and OpenOffice for word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, presentations, and other productivity tasks. But some icons found in Easy mode are merely shortcuts to online Web pages, such as Wikipedia and Google Docs. And keep in mind that while many Linux applications are available free, it could be difficult to find compatible, easy-to-install programs for this less common OS.
Plays nice--most of the time.Common “plug and play” USB devices (such as flash disks and Apple iPods) connected right away to the laptop. But some (two Canon digital cameras) needed to be manually configured while others (printers, mostly) required a hunt for the proper drivers. Still, we were able to connect and browse shared folders on wired and wireless Windows networks with no issues.
Support for popular formats. Its OpenOffice suite handled common Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) with only a few glitches, such as changes in font styles and choices. But MP3 and WAV music files and video files (MP4, AVI, WMV, and MPEG) played without any additional (codec) downloads. Still, some other file formats--such as QuickTime.mov videos--were not supported by default.
LOWS
Limited storage space. Our test model had a 4GB flash drive. But all the preinstalled software left us with only 1.3GB of free space, which isn't a lot of room for even a moderate collection of digital music or photo files. You'll have to use an SD memory card and built-in reader or connect an external USB hard drive for more space.
No optical drive. Like many ultraportables of its size, there is no built-in CD- or DVD-ROM drive. And carrying an external USB optical drive reduces the portability of the laptop.
Poor ergonomics. The smaller keyboard and touchpad are uncomfortable to use over long periods of time. And the voice-command program isn't a true "voice recognition" system. It can only "launch" or start certain programs for you. (You still need to use the touchpad and keyboard to interact with and end programs.) Sometimes we've had to repeat spoken commands before the PC would react--and open the wrong program at times.
Merely adequate audio-visuals. As expected from such a tiny laptop, the speakers produce a tinny sound, aren't very loud and take away valuable real estate that could have been used for a bigger display. Color and contrast of the 7-inch LCD itself are good, but smaller text can be difficult to read. The brightest setting for the LCD is still relatively low, which potentially washes out the display if used outdoors on bright days. The fixed 800x480 resolution forces you to scroll around on large web pages and even cuts off parts of larger, fixed-size windows.
BOTTOM LINE
The Eee PC is an ideal laptop for newcomers or computer users looking for basic functionality--Web access, e-mail, moderate office productivity work--from a highly portable machine. For more advanced tasks, consider getting a full-fledged laptop with a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and Windows Vista. You can find such models in our laptop Ratings for only $600--only 50 percent more expensive than the Eee PC we tested.
