Home > Consumer Reviews > ASUS Eee PC 901 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 20 GB Solid State Drive, 20 GB Eee Storage, Linux, 6 Cell Battery) Pearl White

I bought the eeepc 901 linux, about a week ago from amazon.com. When i opened the box, i realized how tiny it was, much smaller than it appeared on the photographs. I am still getting used to it. I would definitely recommend checking it out in a store before buying it.

the default xandros linux, is pretty basic and not very customizable (through the gui). www.eeeuser.com, has all tips and tricks to update it to a more advanced version, but you can live the basic gui if all you care about is functionality and not aesthetics. the system has a nice restore function built in, so no you don't have to fear mucking around with linux. If you screw up, all you have to do is hit "F9" when the system starts booting up, and you can restore the linux distro to the factory state, without overwriting your "user" space.

the linux is pretty stable, and have not experienced any crashes so far. The laptop build as such looks pretty solid, except for the keyboard.

A couple of things to nitpick..
1. Wireless did not work out of the box.. I had to turn off encryption on my router and it would connect only then. The tech support guy seemed clueless, and asked me to return the item. eeeuser.com has a forums with a lot more knowledgeable folks than tech support. I found that the wireless driver was old, and managed to update it based on the instructions i found on the web. it is solid now.. (see http://www.itwriting.com/blog/778-fixing-wi-fi-on-asus-eee-pc-901-with-linux.html). I also had to make changes on my router setup to get it working. The router needs to be set up for 802.11 wireless "G" only and not "g+b".

2. Typing on the keyboard takes getting little used. Not a big deal for surfing the web, but if you are typing an email it is a little bothersome.

3. the system gets a little warm even under the palm rest of the keypad.. this may bother some people. Also the system is not a 100% quiet, the fan comes on sometimes. it is barely audible, but still i would have preferred a fanless pc.

4. would have preferred a resolution of 1024x768

5. the buttons below the touchpad (i.e. left & right mouse buttons) are quite irritatingly hard to press.

Update
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I returned the System to Amazon, mainly because of the size of the keypad. I still like the form factor of the 901. I bought the eeepc 1000 instead.

Received my 1000.. Keyboard is really awesome.. doesnt feel bigger or heavier than the 901. maybe if i had the 901 next to me it would feel different. Also i picked up the black one and i think it looks way cooler than the white.

In my opinion, this is one of the best mini laptops in this category. It is everything that I expected, and I thoroughly enjoy using it! I believe that one of the reasons I can say that is because of all the research I did prior to buying. I wanted the small keyboard, and I wanted the Linux system. (I also wanted the 20gb solid state drive, the Atom, and the webcam. This model was the only one that fit all my requirements.)

I knew that I might have to learn some new tricks, and I knew that it might take some research to find out how to do so, but I liked the idea of doing that, too. I did make a trip to the local Best Buy to see one of the 900 models in person, just so I could confirm that the keyboard was no problem. And I did begin educating myself on how Linux systems 'feel' to work in several months ago, so although still a newbie in many ways, it was not completely foreign to me.

So now, after living with this cool little machine for a couple of months, here is what I can say about it:

I find the Atom processor speed nicely zippy for all the web and word processing I use it for. I do usually plug it in when watching long video or using Skype, that way the processor can stay in high gear. Battery life is very good - I don't know that I've ever gotten the longest time that Asus claims is possible out of it, but I know that I can have about 3 hrs of time unplugged, altogether. Usually, it's not on for that length of time. I have taken it with me many places, and knowing that I can just leave the power cord out of the bag because I can pull it out, turn it on, do what I want to do and turn it back off is wonderful.
The keyboard feels fine to me and I can type on it very well. Some people have mentioned a problem with the placement of the right shift key, but I don't usually notice it, because I almost always use the left one anyway. I do have rather small hands, and this keyboard size feels perfect. For once in my life I feel like I don't have to strain to reach all the keys. To those who are wondering whether this keyboard size is right for them, I would say you need to find a model with the same or similar size in a store and just play with it for a little while. That's really the only way to be sure.

Screen size is great. I don't usually have to scroll over to the side for anything - just down, and you'd have to do that with any model this size. The resolution is fine and I like the brightness of the screen - My eyes don't get tired looking at it. The webcam works very well at 1.3 megapixels, and the sound has been just fine - I don't play music on it all the time, but when I do it sounds good to me. The size of the computer itself is wonderful, and I really enjoy how little it weighs compared to all the full size laptops I've seen. (This little guy is my secondary computer, by the way, next to my desktop machine.)

Operating system: I had read varying reports of the Xandros Linux that comes installed on the Asus machines. I knew that there were other linux distributions that could be configured to run on the Eee, and I knew that there were a lot of people out there supporting each other, sometimes posting very detailed instructions on how to get different things working. I decided to see how I got along with the installed system before I changed it, and I'm glad that I did. [While there are several distributions that undoubtedly look prettier and give you access to more repositories, the one thing that none of them can say - YET - is that they all work completely with all of the hardware right after installation.] Whatever else you may say about this version of Xandros, it works, and works well, with this machine. Everything worked from the start, wireless, webcam, etc. The custom 'easy mode' interface is very different than having a desktop. It, itself, is very easy to navigate, but it takes a little investigation to find out how to get to some of the things that you used to get to by opening up window after window. The advanced desktop mode, once unlocked, provides a more familiar look and feel, and can make it easier to get to some parts of the file system. I am pretty comfortable using both.

It is not hard to find instructions and advice on how to enable the advanced desktop and make many different modifications to the system. What is a little challenging is making sure that the instructions/advice aren't out of date or are correct for your machine (since there are so many Eee models.) Spend some time searching around, look at the dates on postings, see if other people also post the same advice. If there are differing instructions, did anyone comment on how well it worked?

Basically, the Eee 901 is practically everything I ever wanted in a portable computer. It's easy to use, it starts and shuts down fast, it has a usable keyboard and screen size that doesn't strain my eyes, and it's easy to carry around. My best advice I can give you, if you are wondering if Linux is the right system for you, is this:

Know what you want the machine to do and how you want to be able to use it. Do research on what other people have said about using Linux, and then go see for yourself. There are ways to run various distributions on your machine using a live CD that won't change anything about your installed operating system (Look at the Ubuntu site for one type). Try several of them - that way you can get a feel for what is common among them, and let you know if you enjoy learning a new system or not. This is what I did, so that I KNEW what I was going into when I bought this machine. If you do the same thing, and decide this machine is the one for you, then you will not regret buying it.

Bought a 901-linux for the enhanced battery life and portability. I have yet to be disappointed in the machine itself. It performs flawlessly and does indeed hold a 4-6 hour charge!

Drawback: Asus' Xandros, as shipped, is rather crippled and limiting. Though the basic interface may function adequately if you never upgrade, download, or install, it quickly fails (even when simply downloading the preliminary Asus updates). This happens because of the unfortunate way in which Asus implemented their restore function. Some mid-level rearrangement, however, and an upgrade to non-basic version, and the system functions well.

For an even better experience, install a third party distro (eeeXubuntu, eeebuntu, Easy Peasy), and not only does it look nicer, it performs faster and more cleanly.

Well worth the money.

I have been watching the Eee PC line since they first launched, always thought they would be a cute gadget to have. Finally pulled the trigger on the 901, and I love this little machine. I have upgraded the memory to 2GB and installed Win XP Pro on it, also running M$ Office 2007 as well. Runs surprisingly well even with these heavy weights on it. I carry this with me daily in my EDC bag (Everyday Carry Bag for the rest of the world) and it doesn't add much weight, with the battery life this one gets i do not have to drag the ac adapter out all the time, usually only at home in the evenings. my only complaint (well minor annoyance really) the slip case it comes with tends to pick up dust and all manner of things due to it's soft mico-fiber type material. Over all I would highly recommend this for anyone who wants a 2nd machine to carry with them, or to use as a back up when say sitting on the couch relaxing and wanting to look something up, but don't really want to haul up and sit in front of their primary computer.

I am a professional website designer and amateur writer. I needed an alternative to my full-size laptop, something I could take with me nearly everywhere. My criteria were small size, light weight, long battery life, solid state storage (for ruggedness), and Linux (so that I was not tied in to an increasingly bloated and slow Windows upgrade path). I chose the Eee PC 901 after extensive research, and it is exactly what I wanted.

The screen is, naturally, small, but it is the crispest display I have ever seen; some pages are more readable on it than on my 19" desktop monitor. I have little difficulty touch-typing on the keyboard, once I got used to the size and placement of some of the punctuation keys. It boots almost instantly, and loads software as fast if not faster than my desktop XP system. Its wireless connection is the most painless I have ever dealt with, though it does seem to have difficulty with low-strength signals: if the signal strength meter reads below 50% for an access point, you're probably not going to get a connection.

Aside from its expected professional use, it is so useful in a personal sense that I hate to have it out of reach. I can read e-books in bed. I can comparison shop from a bench in the mall. I can play Sudoku while I'm waiting for a haircut. I can stop in McDonald's for a cup of coffee and a quick check of Google Maps directions (many McD's now have public WiFi). I can check what that bright star is from my back yard. I can watch streaming movies in my easy chair. And I'm doing all of this on a computer that would fit into a big coat pocket or average-sized purse.

I'm very glad I got the Linux version and would recommend it to anyone without reservation, no matter what their current OS. It is FAST. For the average person who just clicks on their word processor or Web browser or whatever and gets to work, it's just as easy to use as Windows; for anyone who's comfortable shelling out to the Linux command line, the additional power is amazing. The update system works more smoothly than Windows Update ever has. The included software does just about everything most users will ever need, and then some: the StarOffice suite, Web browser (Firefox) and email (Thunderbird), a personal information manager, an instant messenger program compatible with most of the IM programs out there, and an extensive collection of learning, productivity, and game software. It integrates seamlessly into my LAN, and I have no difficulty using it to, for example, edit a document stored over on my primary desktop machine, or vise versa.

The Eee PC 901 isn't for everyone. If your eyes have difficulty reading small screens or your hands don't fit on small keyboards, this may not be your computer. Plugging in an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor will alleviate that problem, but that does kind of defeat the whole purpose of a netbook. The touchpad is a bit touchy, though some tweaking of settings and retraining of fingers helped a lot there (and I love the two-finger scrolling function).

You might need some extras. The onboard speakers are, in a word, pathetic; I recommend purchasing some battery-powered speakers, or just using a set of earbuds. Also, if you're not fond of touchpads, you'll want to add a pointing device of your preferred type; the three USB ports make this easy, without the need to carry a hub around with you. Plus, although Linux is amazingly efficient at disk usage and the 20 gig of SSD drive space will stretch a lot farther than it would on a Windows machine, you will probably want to pick up a SDHC card or two (I like the 8 gig ones) for spare data storage.

This is an amazing little computer, and I can't recommend it highly enough. My only regret is not buying it sooner.