I got it from Toys R Us of all places. These things are like gold dust everywhere, so I was fortunate that a local store had a few in stock.
It cost £219.
Start up times is about 15-20 seconds...frankly quite amazing.
It comes with the Xandros distribution of Linux pre-installed with what they refer to as the Easy Mode interface. Although it did what it says on the tin, I found the interface to be very "child friendly". So a quick hunt around the net, gave me steps to enable the Advanced Desktop Mode.....now it is much more XP like.
Speed of the machine is good......currently runs at 633Mhz, but can be tweaked up to 900. It comes with 512Mb of RAM, and my particular model, has a door on the bottom that allows you access to the ram, so you can up it to 2GB (approx cost is something like £25)
It comes with a solid state4Gb memory, of which about 2.5Gb is taken up with Linux. The user manual does give instructions on how to install XP on it, and it does come with a CD recovery disc that also contains XP drivers.
People on the forum, eeeuser, have said that by using NLite you can get a working XP OS cut down to 1 Gb. They have reported that XP runs perfectly fine on it.
I am in two minds about putting XP on it: 1) I've never used Linux before and would like to get used to it 2) Given the amount of vulnerabilities regarding Microsoft, I would have a fear of the disk getting fuller and fuller with updates.
There is more than enough good software that comes with it, OpenOffice, graphic viewers, multimedia etc. Skype is also pre-installed, and my model comes with a 0.3Mp built in webcam.
Over all, it does exactly what I want it to do....surf/email on the sofa. I'm not looking to have a high end games machine, nor do I need a massive HDD. The fact that it boots up in half a minute means that by the time you sit down it switched and picked up the wireless network (yep, its got wi-fi aswell).
99.9% of websites I've checked (amazon, ebay etc) all look fine on the screen. Yes it is a small screen, and at times there is some horizontal scrolling, but on the whole it is okay.
Screen resolution is fine, I have no problems reading the screen - looks fine to me
Keyboard is very small, possibly one downside. I find it difficult to type quickly, but I think you would probably get used to it after time.
There is a trackpad and single button, that can be pressed on the left/right side, but I normally just plug in my wireless mouse and use it.
Battery life .... from a full charge, I have been getting on average 2.5 - 3 hours.
To the left and right of the screen are speakers...nothing amazing, but enough to let you enjoy youtube etc.
It has 3 USB 2.0 ports, a MMC SD slot, that can be enabled to be used as memory, an external monitor socket, microphone socket, and headphone socket.
Thinking about buying one of these so thanks for info
Gadgerz 10.04.2008 15:13
Great review, interested in your comments re Linux, anything more you can add will be of interest as I've got an Elonex ‘ONE' on order and they've taken the same approach.
lizzielocky 30.03.2008 00:04
Confirms what I have read elsewhere and convinces me that this is the machine to get my computer-illiterate mother. She has no PC habits to unlearn and wants it kept quick, clean and simple. Doing what it says on the tin is all one can ask!
The ASUS Eee PC now comes pre-installed with Microsoft Windows® and Windows Live, for a ... more
more familiar interface. Enjoy software and services that provide new ways to connect and share... Easy to work With Microsoft® Works on your Eee PC, you can coor...
Postage & Packaging: £4.99 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The ASUS Eee PC now comes pre-installed with Microsoft Windows® and Windows Live, for a ... more
more familiar interface. Enjoy software and services that provide new ways to connect and share... Easy to work With Microsoft® Works on your Eee PC, you can coor...
Postage & Packaging: £4.99 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Small, good battery life, easy to use, great for wifi, built in webcam. Disadvantages: Linux makes it awkward for non techies to install new software, no bluetooth
excaliburuk 15.07.2008 (16.07.2008)
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Review of Asus Eee PC 701
Advantages: Small, good battery life, easy to use, great for wifi, built in webcam. Disadvantages: Linux makes it awkward for non techies to install new software, no bluetooth
excaliburuk 15.07.2008 (16.07.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Asus Eee PC 701
Advantages: Small compact but infinitely useable, beating smart phones such as Blackberry or iphone. Disadvantages: Not many, I just wish it would work with my router.
awcarr 12.03.2009 (17.04.2009)
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Review of Asus Eee PC 701
Dec 24th, 2007
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