Asus EEE PC 901 20GB Linux (White) | 
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| Brand: Asus
Category: Personal Computer
List Price: $499.99
Buy New: $483.95
You Save: $16.04 (3%)
New (14) from $483.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 40
Color: Pearl White
Media: Personal Computers
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Operating System: Linux
CPU Manufacturer: Intel
CPU Speed: 1.6
CPU Type: Intel Atom
Processors: 1
System Memory: 1000
Memory Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Drive Size: 20
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Native Resolution: 8.9
Modem: None
Display Size: 8.9
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 8.9 x 0.9
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: EEEPC901-W001
Model: EEEPC901-W001
UPC: 884840266709
EAN: 0884840266709
ASIN: B001BYB620
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Easy to learn, work and play | | • | Excellent mobile Internet device | | • | Exciting multimedia enjoyment | | • | shock proof | | • | Excellent on the go |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Product Description
The Asus Eee PC 901 provides the power of a full-sized laptop in a compact body with a larger 8.9-inch screen, and is now powered by the latest Intel mobile processor. Designed specifically for mobile devices, the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor uses a brand new design structure new hafnium-infused circuitry--which reduces electrical current leakage in transistors--to conserve energy, giving you more time away from the wall outlet. Coupled with the ASUS exclusive Super Hybrid Engine, you'll also enjoy up to 6 hours of battery life with this Linux-powered laptop. 
The Asus Eee PC 901's 8.9-inch screen is easier on the eyes. | At half the size of regular notebook and weighing less than 2.5 pounds, the Eee PC 901 is perfect for students toting to school or road warriors packing away to Wi-Fi hotspots. And because it uses flash memory instead of a hard drive (with 20 GB of storage), the Eee PC 901 consumes less power, allows the device to boot quickly, produces less heat, and is less susceptible to shock damage. The Eee PC 901 also features 1 GB of RAM, 1.3-megapixel webcam integrated into the bezel above the LCD, tri-mode Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g/n), integrated Bluetooth connectivity, Secure Digital memory card slot, multiple USB ports, a VGA output for connecting to a monitor. 
The integrated webcam makes video chats a snap, and the keyboard is 95 percent the size of standard notebooks for easy typing. |  | It comes preinstalled with the Linux operating system, which is useful for users who desire task-based icons and an easy point-and-click interface. Well suited for children or users without any computer experience, it provides a fast boot-up time--ideal for fast Internet access while waiting for public transport, or taking notes on-the-go. The new Eee PC 901 has a customized, cutting-edge Infusion casing technology in Pearl White. Inlaid within the chassis itself, the motifs are an integral part of the entire cover and will not fade with time. The Infusion surface also provides a new level of resilience, providing scratch resistance and a beautiful style while out and about. It's also equipped with the ASUS Super Hybrid Engine for automatic detection and adjustments of CPU frequency, voltage, and LCD brightness to minimize system noise and power consumption to save up to 15 percent power consumption, or to maximize system performance according to individual needs. For the students and professionals, the Eee PC comes with a powerful selection of software to maximize personal productivity--over 40 built-in applications. The StarOffice 8 suite of software enables the user to open, edit and create documents, presentations, spreadsheets and databases that are compatible with Microsoft Office. For journalists, photographers and other professionals who need to use a computer in the field to create, to communicate and to collaborate with other colleagues, the Eee PC's combination of power, extreme portability and rugged build makes it the ideal computing solution. The keyboard is 95 percent the size of standard notebooks, making it more comfortable to type for larger hands. 
No technical manual required with the specially designed, user-friendly Linux operating system interface. |  | It's also a great choice for young students, with a built-in Dictionary that's great for homework, and it includes two modes of intuitive graphic user interface design to accommodate both experienced and inexperienced PC users. The Eee PC also handles your digital images, movies, and music as well as Internet radio. Be ready for the next platform in wireless connectivity with the integrated Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965 AGN LAN chip. Based on the draft 802.11n Wi-Fi specification, it offers up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range as existing 802.11g wireless. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found in home routers and Wi-Fi hotspots). With the Bluetooth connectivity, you can communicate and synchronize with Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as PDAs and cell phones Nicely light at just 38 ounces, the Eee PC 901 has an 8.9-inch wide TFT LCD with a 1024 x 600-pixel resolution (WXGA)--making it more comfortable on eyes than its predecessor. In addition to its wireless LAN, it also offers wired Fast Ethernet connectivity and a 56K modem. You get three USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output for connecting to external monitors, headphone and microphone jacks, and a Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot (compatible with MMC memory cards). It's equipped with a 1.3-megapixel webcam (placed in the bezel above the LCD) and integrated microphone, allowing you to snap still photos of yourself while on the go for sending via email or join video chats with friends and family. The Eee PC includes software for Web browsing (Firefox), e-mail, StarOffice 8 for creating and editing word processing documents and spreadsheets, and a suite of other productivity software to help keep you on track. Battery-Sipping Processor
The Intel Atom processor uses a brand new design structure that packs in 47 million transistors into a single chip sized at just 22mm (0.87 inches), and it uses just 2.5 watts of power--less than 1/10 of the 35 watts used by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor--for excellent battery management. This 1.6 GHz Atom processor also includes a power-optimized front side bus of 533 MHz for faster data transfer on demanding mobile applications and a 512 KB L2 cache (which temporarily stores data). Together with the exclusive ASUS Super Hybrid Engine, you'll enjoy a longer battery lifespan of up to 6 hours, allowing you to stay in touch and be connected for a longer period of time while on-the-go. It offers a choice of performance and power consumption modes for easy adjustments according to your computing needs. Online Storage from ASUS
With this Eee PC, ASUS also provides 20 GB of online storage (easily accessible via a desktop icon), which enables you to download up to 5 GB of data per day. It also provides secure file encryption and accessibility from both Windows and Linux platforms. Whether you want to share images with friends and family or store big business presentations, you can now access your data with ease and not worry about space constraints. Specifications
- Internal memory: 20 GB solid state disk
- RAM: 1 GB DDR2
- Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel Atom
- Memory expansion: Slot for MMC/SD(SDHC) cards
- Operating system: Linux
- LCD: 8.9 inches, 1024 x 600 pixels
- Networking: Tri-mode Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), 10/100 Fast Ethernet
- Peripheral connectivity: Three USB 2.0
- External video: One VGA
- External audio: One headphone and one microphone port
- Webcamera: Yes, 1.3 megapixels
- Battery: 6 cells, up to 6 hours
- Weight: 2.42 pounds (38 ounces)
- Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 1.5 inches
What's in the Box
ASUS Eee PC 901, AC adapter, printed operating instructions. It's backed by a 1-year warranty on parts and labor.
Product Description
This Eee PC by Asus comes in Pearl White style that is created with cutting-edge Infusion casing technology. The Infusion surface provides a new level of resilience; scratch resistance and beautiful style while you're out and about. The Eee PC has a sturdy display with a high-resolution screen. At 1024 x 600 pixels, images are clear and sharp, making it more comfortable on the eyes reading and editing documents. On the top of this screen is the 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera that works synchronously with the 802.11n wireless to provide web conferencing anywhere, anytime for easier web communications and increased work efficiency. 20GB of storage allows you to easily manage photos, music and data files more efficiently. The quiet 20GB solid-state drive consumes less power, allows the device to boot quickly, produces less heat and is less susceptible to shock damage. The exclusive Super Hyper Engine, technology found only in the Eee PC, is incredibly efficient and saves up to 15% of power. Combined with SSD, which consumes less power, allows between 4 to 8 hours of battery life. The GNU Linux version is perfect for users who desire an icon-driven and an easy point-and-click interface. Well suited for users without any computer experience. With over 50 built-in applications, it offers dynamic computing that allows anyone to learn, work and play. With all of these features the Asus Eee PC makes for a fantastic purchase as a well-equipped second notebook or a Web access tool, so beat the crowds, and get yours today before they sell out! Intel UMA Graphics Card 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera WiFi 802.11b/g/n Wireless Bluetooth 10/100Mbps LAN Hi-Definition Audio Speakers and Microphone Memory Card Slot - MultiMedia Card (MMC), Secure Digital (SD) Card, SDHC Connections - 3 x USB, VGA, Headphone, Microphone, RJ-45 (LAN) Approximate Unit Dimensions - 8.86? (W) x 6.90? (D) x 0.89? ~ 1.54? (H) Approximate Unit Weigh
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| Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
 Defective Screen, Bad Service October 4, 2008
I bought the PC through Amazon, but they delegated shipment through Beach Camera. The unit arrived with a pretty nasty screen problem - The glass looks like it's covered with dust, but on the *inside*. It's as if they dipped the screen too many times in the anti-glare solution at the factory.
Needless to say, a cloudy screen is a fairly major problem when that screen is only 8.9" in size.
Bad units happen, and I was just one of the unlucky .1% this time around. It's not like I couldn't return the merchandise for a full refund, right?
I emailed Beach Camera, and was directed to their voice support line. I called them and was told, in no uncertain terms, that they did not accept PC returns under any circumstances. I hadn't realized this at the time of purchase since I'd ordered through Amazon, not the Beach Camera site.
I filed a complaint with Amazon, but was ultimately told that the case had been "closed" because notification of the Beach Camera non-return policy was made clear during the checkout process. I couldn't recall seeing this policy while checking out, and Amazon support was unable to tell me where it appeared in the process.
So now I'm stuck dealing with the manufacturer, ASUS. I've filed an RMA with them, so I'll see where that goes, but I'm not optimistic.
I'm certainly not going to buy anything from Beach Camera again (who wants to buy something online that they can't return if there is a problem?) and Amazon won't be the first Web site I shop at anymore.
The sad thing is that I've had really good dealings with Amazon over the years, including a similar dispute with one of their Z-shop dealers (another "we won't take back a defective product" issue). In the last case, Amazon settled the complaint - correctly - in my favor.
As far as the ASUS 901 device itself goes, discounting the bad screen, it's a really great gadget. It's a little heavier and bulkier than the 900s I looked at in the local retail stores (I couldn't find 901s for sale in my neck of the woods), but also more professional looking.
The installed Linux distro isn't that bad. The desktop is very functional and pretty intuitive for beginners.
The keyboard is cramped, so touch typing won't be easy, but it's pretty usable. Given the space alloted to the keys, it's the best you could expect.
The external speakers are okay, as is the built-in camera.
It's a little more sluggish than I would have expected from an Atom-based machine with a solid state drive, but not too bad. It runs YouTube videos fairly well, with only a hitch here and there. It does all other, less-demanding functions (such as Web browsing, mp3 and podcast playing, email, etc.) fine.
All in all, if the screen wasn't obscured, I'd be a very happy customer.
 Great portable machine October 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When looking for a portable computer to join me on the road, I was most concerned about:
* (Exceptional) battery life
* (Small) size and weight
* (High) exterior durability/build quality
* (Solid) keyboard
* (Good) wireless hardware/software
* (Low) noise and heat
* (At least) a 1024-pixel-wide display
* (Reasonable) disk space
At the time of research/purchase, the EEE line seemed to meet these requirements better than the alternatives I read about, especially battery life. The units are small, the 6-cell batteries really are great in the Atom-based models, the power brick is tiny, a carrying case is included in the package, etc.
The tough call for me ended up being whether to get the EEE 901 or the EEE 1000H. At the time, the 1000H was significantly cheaper, came with a larger (and more traditional) storage unit, had a larger keyboard and screen, with nearly the same battery life, and had Windows. (The the Windows version of the EEE 901 really did not sound appealing given the low storage space on it.) I got to try out the Acer Aspire One at a local Best Buy, and felt that the keyboard size was just right. The knowledge that the 901's keyboard was smaller than the Aspire One's worried me, though when I saw pictures online comparing the overall size of the 901 to the 1000 to a normal-sized laptop, it seemed almost pointless to buy something just a tad smaller than a normal laptop, vs something significantly smaller and still usable. Also, the 901's keyboard has been around for a while (used in all EEE models except the 1000 up until that point), and reportedly felt a lot sturdier, even if it were smaller.
The Windows question: while I am a die-hard Linux fan, I felt that it might be more practical having Windows on a portable machine that has to go everywhere---on rare occasions, you might run into things where you really wished you had Windows for. Plus with the hard disk in the 1000H, it would be easy enough to partition and dual-boot. If you bought a model loaded with Linux and wanted Windows on it, (I guess) you could try VMWare or something similar or try dual-booting off of the internal SSD's, but you'd still either have to buy it or steal it, neither of which are good options. You really can't beat the value of having it come with the machine.
Ultimately, I decided on the Linux version of the EEE 901. It has just the right amount of built-in storage space, is completely silent when using the battery, has a solid-feeling keyboard, easy-to-read screen/resolution, excellent battery life (5 hours when demanding a lot from the wireless non-stop) and overall is just right for my needs. The build quality is great---does not feel or look cheaply made. And it's so lightweight, and it fits everywhere---in the car, on a coffee table; produces very little heat; it's small enough to have two on your lap at once, if you're into that kind of thing. I only wish it were capable of playing MSNBC's and CNN's live video streams. YouTube, Hulu, etc work fine. This is currently my *only* computer, and I've been using it all day for a month. I browse the web, do email and write software (on a remote system). Though the keyboard is small, it doesn't suffer flex in the way that the 1000H's apparently does, and I can touch-type on it at a satisfactory speed---maybe just a bit slower than I would on a full-size keyboard. As a fair warning, I do have smaller-than-average hands. And even with that "advantage", I did buy an external full-size USB keyboard to use when I really have to do some serious typing. But the portability factor of this model is just superb, and the built-in keyboard is really satisfactory 90% of the time. It definitely beats having a larger machine to lug around, even if the built-in keyboard were a tad larger.
Finally, a note about wireless: The included wireless software works fine and is easy to use. Reception could be better, but I have nothing to compare it to. So let me put it this way: whenever and wherever I have needed to get online, I've been able to.
Way to go Asus, you really got things right with the EEE 901!
A little disappointed September 30, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I purchased the ASUS 901 to enable me to leave my full sized (read too heavy to carry and battery life too short to make useful on a plane) laptop at home on business trips. From the perspective of MS-Office file compatibility (using Linux and Open Office on the ASUS)I am very satisfied. However unless I can get over two hurdles it will NOT fill my needs. 1) I have been unable to link my Apple wireless blutooth keyboard and mouse to the ASUS and use them. I find the keyboard too cramped to use for more than navigating websites. 2) I cannot watch movies loaded onto SD cards on the machine and the tech support on this issue has been less than helpful.
Speed of the machine is good. Internet connectivity is great. Screen (recognizing it is small - but that is the choice I made) clarity is excellent. And battery life is great.
If they address my two issues and add more robust tech support I would highly recommend the product. If not ... I wouldn't waste the money. I'd just bite the bullet and purchase a Lenovo X301.
Great mini-linux PC, not so great for Windows September 28, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've been looking for a small, affordable and highly portable machine for quite some time. For my needs, I really needed it to be Windows based. I bought the EEE with the intention of installing windows on it. I decided on the linux version because of the extra ram and ssd.
As a linux machine, it runs great. It boots up quickly and launches apps without any delay. The battery life is nice too, I got almost 6hrs. I have large hands so it took a little while to adjust to the keyboard, but I was able to touch type on it with a little effort and some creative wrist maneuvers. IMO, it's fine for short docs, but if I was writing an paper, I'd probably get an external keyboard.
Before going through the trouble of wiping the ssd, I wanted to make sure windows would run smoothly so I installed VMWare with a Winxp guest. This config ran really well. I was impressed!
I considered leaving it in this way, but having to boot 2 OS to get to the apps I wanted just wasn't worth it. Also, I wanted to run things like Reason and running in VMware caused noticeable audible blips in those cycles where the host OS had control of the CPU. Aside from this inherent side-effect of running under VM, the actual processor performed well. It was able to play every project I had previously created - and some of those had maxed out my CPU on the desktop PC originally used to create it. Nice!
So why am I giving it only 4 stars? Well, after installing windows, the PC became unbearably slow, so much so that I restored it back to linux and returned it.
This thing doesn't have that fast of an IO sub-system (another reviewer commented on this). For linux this is fine because disk access is pretty efficient. Not so under windows, where the OS seems to want to read little bits of info from hundreds of files. Yeah, it only takes about 30-40 seconds to boot windows, but it takes another 5+ minutes for post-boot disk processing to end. During this waiting period, the machine is basically a paper weight.
I would have given it only 2 stars, but since I am not using it for it's intended purpose, I felt that was unfair. I highly recommend this product as a linux PC.
Nice "Netbook" for First Time Linux User September 26, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
What I liked: Compact size; quick boot time; long battery life; bright screen; simple and easy software interface; quick internet connection to wireless network.
What I didn't like: Gets hot over time; small keyboard does take time to get used to; touch pad for mouse can be overly sensitive; Linux version may be too simple and limited for advanced users.
Overall, I am pleased with my purchase and would recommend this netbook. I am getting used to the keyboard. I really like the small size and use it primarily for internet and email.
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