Weight: 2lb (This is less than a one-gallon bottle of water)
Dimensions: 8.9" X 6.5" X 0.82" X 1.37" (width X depth X thickness)
Ports: 3 USB ports, 1 VGA out, SD card reader, modem, Ethernet, headphone out, microphone in.
The Asus Eee PC 2G Surf
Little laptop packs big punch
Payton H. Wilmott
Gleaner Writer
The Asus Eee PC 2G Surf is the smallest laptop our tech section has ever reviewed. When you grab an Asus Eee PC 2G Surf off the shelf, you'll probably do a double take at the box. It looks like a video card or an average-size picture frame. When you open the box, the tiny computer is nestled inside with a restore disk, driver disk (for Windows installs) and documentation.
Performance
The start-up time for the Asus Eee PC 2G Surf is about 10 seconds, and that's when it's being slow. Shutdown is performed with the simple click of an 'off' icon at the lower right hand of the screen, and the total shutdown time is about five seconds. Compared to the start-up and shutdown time for my desktop PC, the Asus Eee PC 2G Surf is definitely the winner. I'm also happy to report that not once did I ever see an hourglass when opening an application.
Apparently, the included Intel900MHz processor is powerful enough. Another noteworthy fact was that it was very quiet, thanks to the flash drive, but it does have a fan and it did make a bit of noise.
Operating System
The Asus Eee PC 2G Surf uses a Linux-based OS that Asus has customised. There is also a ton of software features loaded on board that will most definitely serve for all of your basic needs. You can browse the Web using Firefox, use Skype with the built-in webcam and microphone, open Word and Excel docs and edit them, view photos, listen to music files, use AOL IM, MSN messenger or just about any other major chat client via Kopete. In other words, all the basic functions you perform on a PC can be done on the Asus Eee PC 2G Surf.
Usability
The keyboard is petite and takes some getting used to. It has a bit of a jangle and shiver to it, but certainly gets the job done. The touch pad worked fine and the single button mouse was easy enough to use; there's no need for a right mouse clicker in this software environment. I was also most impressed to see three USB ports on this device, which is a lot compared to other laptops out there that cost a pretty penny.
Conclusion
I hope Asus can do a good job in making this device widely available. It's really quite compelling for the price.
The product mentioned in this article was provided courtesy of Royale Computer and Accessories. Telephone: 906-1067, 906-1068, 754-5048.
