This review looks at one of many netbooks to be released in the UK over the past few months, ASUS's EEE PC 701 SD. The model I have is fitted with Windows XP and has an 8Gb hard drive. I bought it on special offer for £155.
Appearance The 701SD is absolutely tiny. It weighs around a kilogram and is roughly the same size as a hardback reading book when in the closed position. It comes in a neat box along with instructions,a mains charger, a protective case and a system CD. It has a 7 inch screen which is absolutely tiny but is still perfectly functional. The unit has three USB sockets, headphone and microphone jacks, and SD memory card slot, a small webcam above the screen and a microphone positioned just underneath the keyboard. It has a small touchpad which is small but works in exactly yhte same way as a normal sized laptop. In summary, think of a normal laptop, remove the DVD drive and hard-disc and the shrink it to half size.
Speed This netbook uses Windoews XP as an operating system and everything runs from the unit's 8GB memory which is solid state (a solid memory chip raher than a moving hard disc. Despite having far less memory, the upside is that everything runs very quickly and after turning the computer on, you are up and running in no time at all. It is important not to regard this machie as anything other than a portable web browser with limited functionality
What's good about it? The Eee PC connects to the rest of the world by either wifi or USB socket. It doesn't have Bluetooth or Infra-red, nor does it have a built in CD/DVD drive, slthough you can buy ones that connect via the USB socket. On a day to day basis, I personally transfer files using wifi on my home broadband or burn files onto a memory stick. Both are simple and the familiar layout of Windows XP helps enormously. This computer, unlike any other, actually gets smiles from fellow travellers on the train such is its coolness!! People assume it is a PDA but when the familiar XP theme comes out of the speakers, they look amazed.
What's bad about it? If you have sausage-like fingers then don't even think about buying one of these. The keyboard is a shrunken laptop keyboard and it is exceptionally easy to press two buttons at once without realising. If you have anything other than perfect vision, or have perfect vision and want to keep it, then choose something else. You are left with a stark choice. Either zoom so far into a page that you have to move left/right/up/down all the time just to read or have the whole page in view at once and barely be able to make out the letters. I am being pedantic but it is worth using one before buying.
Conclusion Asus have now stopped producing the 701 series and I think this is a great shame. It will never compete with a full size laptpop in terms of performance or features but for around £150 you can have a means of accessing all of your documents and the internet and using add-ons on Mozilla Firefox, you can go some way towards negating these issues. As a back-up to your regular desk-top/lap-top, I can not recommened this machine highly enough.
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...
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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: Check Site. Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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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
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, 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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Read review
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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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Asus Eee PC 701
Jul 27th, 2009
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