5 - Asus Eee PC

Asus' money spinner

The Asus Eee PC arguably started the movement towards low cost netbooks. When we reviewed the 4G version we felt that it missed out on an award only because of the Linux OS it came bundled with. You get close to a computing experience, but one not as good as with a full PC with Windows. Nevertheless, at the time, it was the world’s cheapest laptop, and that in itself was enough to ensure its popularity.

This year, Asus has updated the Eee PC with new models. Earlier this year it launched the Eee 900 which features a larger screen (from 7 inches to 8.9 inches), more RAM(now 1GB), more storage (up to 12GB or 20GB), and the option of Windows XP in addition to the custom Linux the original shipped with. This means the price of the new models has been bumped up quite considerably, over the magic £300 mark, which makes the Eee 900 slightly more expensive than the cheapest traditional laptops offered by Dell.

Also recently announced is the Eee 901. Unlike its Celeron powered predecessors, the new Eee will use a 1.6GHz Diamondville Atom processor. The Eee 901 will use the same 8.9 inch screen as the Eee 900, and it benefits from a slightly beefier battery too. Looking to push the brand as far as they can, Asus plans even more models in the future, including an Eee desktop, one with a much larger 40GB SSD and another with a hard drive.

Related: Hacking and modding the Eee PC.
For more details, see the Asus site.

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