Eee PC Flare 1025C review, Asus's attempt to revive netbooks

The Asus Eee PC Flare 1025C features a powerful processor, long battery life, and a low price. But it's still a netbook, and it suffers from the shortcomings of the format.

Netbooks could be going the way of the rotary phone: We've seen very few new models in the past several months, and that's not surprising. After all, the Apple iPad and some Android tablets are much more elegant solutions for most of the tasks you'd do on a netbook.

But not every manufacturer has given up on netbooks. (That includes processor maker Intel.) After all, they might still fit some niche, particularly when done right, meaning the emphasis should be squarely on portability and price.

That's exactly where Asus placed its priorities when it developed the 10.1-inch Eee PC Flare 1025C. It weighs just 2.5 pounds, and battery life is very long at 10.75 hours. And the Flare's price is an easy-on-your-wallet $300.

The netbook includes the latest Intel Atom dual-core processor with new integrated graphics. In addition are three USB ports (although none are for the fastest USB 3.0), an Ethernet connection, an SD memory-card slot, and an HDMI port. That should be enough ports and connections to keep the most gadget-happy person fully hooked up.

But although the Atom is the state-of-the-art netbook processor, the Flare has nowhere near the power of a laptop. The keys on the chiclet keyboard are comfortably large, but the keyboard itself felt cramped to me at times. As has happened with many other netbooks, I often accidentally hit the Page Up or Page Down key and found myself typing on the wrong line.

Thanks to its anti-glare properties, the matte display is easier to view in bright places than the screens on tablets and laptops with glossy displays. But its 1024x600 resolution is lower than that the leading tablets, and colors don't pop for videos and photos.

Bottom line: Tablets are a lot more convenient than netbooks, for the most part. You also get access to tons of free apps and a better browsing experience with a tablet. But netbooks have a keyboard and more ports for connectivity. So if you want to save a little money, and don't care about the power you'd get with a laptop or the apps a tablet offers, a netbook like the Flare might be a viable choice for you.

We'll have a full review of the Asus Eee PC Flare 1025C with our next batch of Ratings.

—Donna L. Tapellini