Home > Consumer Reviews > ASUS Eee PC 900 16G (8.9" Display, Intel Mobile CPU, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB Solid State Drive, Linux) Pearl White

My girlfriend bought this netbook to use to take notes in a couple of her classes where the desks were too small to put a full-sized laptop on, and now I'm buying one for myself. This is probably the best value for any netbook right now, you get a decent processor, a gig of ram, 16 gigs of memory, and Xandros (a version of linux specifically made for this netbook). You can measure out the size all you want, but you will still be amazed at how small this thing is, yet the keyboard is quite easy to use (after a couple hours of adjustment). The entire system is ready to use as soon as you open the box, which is a godsend for people who aren't computer-experts. The operating system is easier to use than just about anything (windows, mac, or other distributions of linux) else in the world, with your programs being divided into categories like "internet," "games," and "office." You can easily expect to get 3 or 4 hours out of this thing per charge, even more than 4 if you're careful.

If you're going to be using the system for what it's supposed to be used for, don't spend the extra money for the Asus 901, don't try to skimp and get the Acer Aspire One (you won't get a webcam there), just pick this guy up. It's unbelievably durable as well, you can tell as soon as you pick it up that it's made to last a while.

The system only takes around 20 seconds to start up, which means you can be starting on whatever you want almost immediately.

If you've ever taken notes in a class on paper, then tried a laptop, you'll see how much faster and easier it is to take notes on a computer (even if you don't type quickly), and even if you take pages upon pages of notes, ctrl+f (search) is a godsend, you can find out exactly where you took notes on Sir Isaac Newton or Abraham Lincoln without having to sift through page after page of notes. I guarantee that if you start using a netbook to take your notes, you're going to have a much easier time in your classes.

The keyboard is a little small, which is why you'll have the slight learning curve, but the smaller your hands, the easier this thing will be to use. If you've tried one of these out and it's too small for you (this shouldn't happen unless you have particularly above-average hands), you could pick up the Asus Eee PC 1000, which is almost exactly the same but just a bit larger.

This isn't just for school though, if you're on the go and need access to the internet, you can't beat this little thing.

I'd say this thing is almost required for any college student, and wouldn't be bad for high-school students either. The best part of all with this thing though, is it's only $350! You can put Windows XP on this if you want (Asus has all the drivers for it online), and use it more as a regular laptop, or even Ubuntu if you want to go a little more hardcore.

This is a very nice little machine. It comes with Linux, so keep that in mind if you're super dependent on Windows or Mac. It runs quick and is excellent if you're just looking to do some word processing, a little web surfing, listening to tunes, you know, any low-impact computing activities.

The only gripes are the keyboard and the battery life.

First the keyboard definitely is small, and you will probably have difficulty typing if you have large hands. Also, the keyboard is somewhat unresponsive sometimes, especially the spacebar. Deliberate keystrokes are necessary to ensure that all characters and spaces are actually put onto the screen. Also, take a look at a picture of the keyboard to see if the tiny right shift key will bother you, especially with its proximity to the "up" arrow.

The battery life is pretty low. If you plan to take the leash off this thing and go tooling around on the internet wirelessly, you'll probably only get about 90 minutes off the battery. But you can greatly increase the battery life by turning off the wireless and dimming the screen a little bit to get a couple hours out of it.

It's a few hundred bucks for a fully functional little comp that can take care of what most of us use computers for: diddling around.

Firstly my order arrived only 15 hours after ordering - amazing service Amazon!This little marvel does everything it says on the box and I was up and running in minutes after unpacking it. I travel extensively around the world - its small size and weight ( including the charger) makes it easy to transport and convenient to use on a flight, even with the seat in front fully reclined. It picks up wireless networks quickly and easily and can be hard wired into a local network. It was easy to upgrade the RAM to 2GB inexpensively and with a 16 GB Memory Stick I have all the performance and storage I need. There is an excellent package of preloaded software that should meet most users requirements and the battery life has not been a problem for me. The only problem I have had has been the inability to pick up my home wireless network which is apparently an issue with the version of Xandros Linux installed and can be resolved by installing Ubuntu Netbook Linux which is a free download.

Before my purchase, I thought the Eee PC 900 16G was a good value, but after it arrived that was more than confirmed. It's a steal!

The hardware is solid. The microphone is a little cheesy, as is the touch pad rocker switch, but the rest is great. The speakers and video are especially fine for such a small package. Battery life is a little limited, but I find that no handicap in my use.

The user interface and included software are much better than I expected. Asus' Linux package is wrapped in a solid GUI that is VERY beginner-friendly. You can give one to your grandmother for email use, setup the account and pretty much let her loose without getting a million questions a day about it. (Sorry, all you tech-savvy, Linux-driving grandmas.)

Beneath the GUI, there is a full featured Linux implementation that will serve power users and can easily be tweaked and individualized.

The software (Firefox, Thunderbird, Open Office, etc.) has all the functionality I need, and Asus provides desktop links to hundreds of other software options, both free and for trial.

Best, and most surprising of all, is the Asus support for the Eee PC line. The support websites are well organized and easy to use. All my questions have already been answered in searches of the user forum.

And then, the topper. Three weeks after my Eee PC arrived, Asus offered 20 gigs of Internet storage for free. That's enough space for a full backup of my 16 gig netbook, and my Outlook and Docs on my desktop.

Now, that's a bargain! Thanks, Asus.

It starts up and shuts down in seconds. It is very fast. The screen is clear. It has a built in camera. It has a lot of nice features. If you don't type very long documents because of the small keyboard, this is a very good laptop. I actually chose this over a Macbook. Portability is a big selling point.

Update on June 10, 2009:
Still going strong. I installed Easy Peasy instead of the default OS. Everything still works and I still love it.

Update on July 16, 2009
I reinstalled the original Xandros Operating System from the recovery CD just to see if there are any useful updates. And yes, I now have Firefox 3.5 and there are new Firmware updates as well. I will stick to theis OS for now until I get bored with it and switch back to Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope 9.04.

Update on Sept 11,2009:
My Asus has just celebrated it's first birthday. Everything is still working just fine. I still use the Linux OS as it is safer to buy online with non-Windows Computers.