Since the announcement in June, 2007 have been anxiously awaiting arrival of the ultra portable notebook computer from Asus. I have been fortunate enough to purchase and review an Asus eee 4 Gigabyte model for someone who will be using the computer on an upcoming foreign trip.
The first word from nearby observers is “cute”. Once they have a chance to try it or watch it work they are impressed with the fact that it is actually a powerful platform. It can do the same things that much larger notebook computers can do such as surf the web, edit documents or spreadsheets, and even make VOIP calls over Skype.
I actually tried to do some casual computing for a few days to see how it would fit my lifestyle. Though it is impossible to use it as my primary desktop computer, it does fit my portable needs that are currently filled by a 15.4 inch notebook computer from HP.
I do believe that with a couple of attachments that it could operate as a desktop computer for many users. I would recommend adding a USB keyboard, USB mouse, and an analog monitor for fixed use. With an external monitor the computer is quite capable of resolutions up to 1280 by 1024 pixels and many more choices in between. That would work well in just about any size monitor with the exception of some of the super-large, wide-screen format models.
The price that was paid for this model was a bit more than I had hoped. The price from Newegg.com was $399.99 with a little more for shipping. Asus has blamed the price increase on the cost they had to pay for the LCD screen. I suspect that the price will slip soon as the early adopters grab up the first production run, and possibly a competitor jumps in the ring.
Channel Flip has a great video review below.