Hands on with Asus's Eee PC 901 and 1000

The Eee PC with Linux is even a better deal on the 901 series, with the 8.9-inch screens. The version with Windows XP has a 12G byte SSD, while the Linux version has a 20G byte SSD for the same price of NT$16,988 (US$562).

Price on the new Eee PCs is also a concern. Most of the other mini-notebook makers have worked to keep the 8.9-inch screen models cheaper at US$399-$499 and the 10-inch screen models at $499-$599. Asustek's prices are slightly higher, but the components on board may justify that, especially the speedier Wi-Fi and SSDs.

Overall, I still think the new Eee PCs offer more than other models due to Asustek's experience with them.

One area Asustek has not listened to user feedback is on the keypad. I won't be the first to complain about it, other reviews and blogs have also pointed out that the keypad is small and some keys are too hard to find. Typing isn't easy on the smaller keyboards but over time you get used to it. Asustek also made the same mistake many Taiwanese companies make in the design of the keyboard, making keys flat with little or no space between them for looks. It makes too many keys easy to miss or miss-hit.

The best keypad I've used so far on a small device was the ClassMate PC, and the keypad is far smaller than the Eee PC 1000's. Keys on the ClassMate PC's keyboard are raised and there is a lot of space between them, making them easy to find by touch.

Asustek took more care choosing software to install on the devices. In some meetings with different laptop makers, engineers said "we don't put much software on because of limited storage space. Besides, people can download the software they want."

That may be true, but not everyone is as tech savvy as a laptop PC engineer, and most people like to have something that's ready right out of the box. Asustek took the trouble of loading its machines with necessary software, including Star Suite so people have an Office-like experience from the start. Most of the laptops I've tested did not come with any kind of Office-like software.

The new Eee PCs also include Microsoft Works, Powerpoint viewer, Skype and an Intervideo WinDVD multimedia player for music and in case you want to load a movie onto a USB stick or onto your hard drive. Movies on SD cards will likely be a big hit in mini-notebooks since most of them have SD ports instead of DVD players.