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Asus EeePC 901

By Rory Reid on 20 June 2008

The Eee PC 901 is better than its predecessor, the 900. It looks nicer, has a faster, more efficient CPU and better battery life. It's larger and 100g heavier and its keyboard is still too small for our liking, but in many ways it's the pick of the netbook litter

Editor's rating:8.8 User rating:8.8

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  DangerPrune gave 9/10 on 08/08/2008 20:16 Report abuse

  This is perfect for what it is. Amazingly convenient (have had one for a week now, and I can't believe that I ever lived without one) it definitely garners attention. The Eee is remarkably capable, especially for my needs which include word processing, a little desktop publishing (very minimal) and some light flash programming (it runs flash 8 quite well. I wouldn't try CS3 on it though) along with the odd game of battle realms. Overall a very nice machine. Considering the competition here in Australia, I think that it is very competitively priced, as the RRP for the Acer aspire one is only 50 dollars less, and the wind is fifty dollars more. Considering that this is the only option currently packing a six cell battery, you'll find that you really get your money's worth. The C drive partition is only 4gb, which is fairly restrictive, but manageable, and the gripes with the keyboard seem to dissipate after a couple of sessions with the tightly spaced keys (I have fairly standard man hands, perhaps a bit bigger than normal, and I am a semi-touch typist). The multi-touch track pad is a dream, as the various gestures make laptop computing so much easier. Perhaps the most annoying thing about the Eee is it's appeal. At first it is flattering for people to be drooling over it, and humorous when some turn up their noses in envy disguised as doubt about the small size, but after the 30th time that you have to recite the location and price of purchase, you get rather frustrated with pulling it out in public. Overall, it is a superb little machine that can meet the needs of the average computer user desiring true portability

  • Good: Small form factor
    Multi touch trackpad
    Battery life (I get roughly 6 hours)
    
  • Bad: C drive partition is restrictive
    Attention is flattering at first but soon gets tedious
    Glossy finish attracts fingerprints (that's just me being finicky)
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  New EEEPC 901 Owner gave 8/10 on 21/07/2008 11:19 Report abuse

  What virus and firewall software has anyone installed? I assume like any PC this is still needed.

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  fubar22 gave 9/10 on 18/07/2008 02:24 Report abuse

  Its more of a question than just a comment. I would like to know if I buy the linux version of this, then I'll just install winxp myself, will i be able to have a lil more disk space rather than buying the model with pre-installed XP? And is it possible to use an external optical drive in the process? Thanks

  • Good: All is fair enough, considering its design and purpose if one's looking for an everyday-pc with great portability.. Nice processor to start with plus great battery life. Very helpful when flight skeds are always delayed. *Lolz*
  • Bad: hope they included a firewire port.. makes it easy to transfer videos from my mini dv without installing additional software. :)
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  Jake gave 9/10 on 28/06/2008 19:35 Report abuse

  Just wondering if the 901 has windows XP built in? Or is there an XP version?
  Im not big on Linux, not much compaibitly. gardy94(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  watto star gave 8/10 on 26/06/2008 18:04 Report abuse

  The perfect laptop. great for every thing that varies from internet, learning and educational games, music and movie player, viewing photos, slideshow presentations, word documents, excel sheets and lots more, at a cheap price and with wireless internet, and decent batterylife.

  • Good: nearly everything, small is size, good!
  • Bad: Due to it being so small, hdd space is a pain but hey, its a worthy sacrifice!
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  svnagappa gave 9/10 on 23/06/2008 18:21 Report abuse

  Thanks for the reviews. Even on 700 I did not find the keyboard bad and I can type fast. One gets used to it. This needs to be a travel laptop not a full version laptop for movie editing. I am happy with the reviews Thaks.

  • Good: dont know yet
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  Dave gave 8/10 on 23/06/2008 17:58 Report abuse

  If you don't appreciate the EeePC's design concept, and asking for bigger keyboard, more storage space, bigger screen, faster processor.......... YOU DON'T NEED A EEEPC. enough said.

  • Good: Everything I need in a notebook.
  • Bad: Short of internal Hdsp for my data card. For a mobile device, EEEPC should come with internal hdsp. With that this design will be perfect for mobility
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  Joey Jojo gave 9/10 on 23/06/2008 13:42 Report abuse

  CNET: Stop complaining about the keyboard. You never mention how small QWERTY keyboards are on smartphones. It's designed to be SMALL!
  
  Your rating system is flawed. You gave the 701 8.6, the 900 8.7 and the 901 8.8. Yet the step from 900 and 901 is HUGE! You complained in the 900 review that there wasn't an optical drive, yet two months later with the 901 your ok with it. Let me guess...the 1000 will get 8.9? :)
  
  For those wanting a portable PC with bigger keyboard and an optical drive...GET A LAPTOP! It's that simple. Keep the Eee PC small, light weight, quiet & cheap.

  • Good: Adds everything missing from my 701.
    
    If you don't own an Eee PC...get it!
  • Bad: You can now get a 701 for $299 from MSY.
    Is this more than twice as good as a 701 to pay $650...not for me.
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  Gino gave 10/10 on 23/06/2008 09:50 Report abuse

  Hear hear.

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  engeejay gave 8/10 on 22/06/2008 18:36 Report abuse

  i've read that the ssd is partioned - the "c" partition is still 4gb - i'm still struggling with adjusting my xp updates and other software on my pre linux 701. my 16 gb usb drive helps. the "c's" too small. i've also heard that the atom while super efficient is'nt much more powerful than the celeron - so backing up cd's and dvd's is still an uphill task.

  • Good: the larger size - would be ideal for use as an electronic book.
  • Bad: asus has lost the plot price wise.