Home > Consumer Reviews > ASUS Eee PC 901 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 12 GB Solid State Drive, 20 GB Eee Storage, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Pearl White
ASUS Eee PC 901 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 12 GB Solid State Drive, 20 GB Eee Storage, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Pearl White
See it at Amazon.com for $560.00Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
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Asus 901 vs Asus1000he
(4 out of 5) by TCL on Jun 19, 2009 (Guilford, CT USA)I have an Asus 1000he and love it. It does everything I need it to do. However, I was able to play with an Asus 901 and it did everything my 1000he could do for the most part. (Neighbour wanted to try the 1000he so we swapped for a day)
The most immediate differences are:
* 1000he has a 10" screen, 901 has a 8.9" screen
* 1000he has a larger chiclet style keyboard better for touch typists. The 901 has a smaller keyboard that may be ok for hunt-n-peck typists.
* 1000he is an entire 1lb heavier than the 901
* 1000he has 160Gb HDD, 901 has 12Gb SDD
All ports, wifi, bluetooth, skype, etc are all the same.
I took the 901 with me for a day in downtown Toronto, on the subways, on the buses and in the cafes and shops. The 1lb difference in weight was immediately noticeable and after a whole day (and night) out on the town I was thankful for that. While perusing the shops, I noticed that the 7" x 9" size of the 901 "fit" more of the preexisting handbags & messenger totes on the market. So with a sleeve, you wouldn't need a specialized laptop bag at all. Most of the crossbody bags seem to fall in the 8" x 9.5" range or the 9.5" x 9.5" range and held the 901 and its sleeve perfectly. Not too big, not too small. The 1000he was more challenging as the larger battery made it just a touch too big for most neoprene sleeves designed for the 10" netbooks. The 9" x 10.5" size of the 1000he seems to fall in the no-man's land of handbags/messengers with one exception: Kipling Lancelot Snap Front Shoulder Bag. Everything else would either fit the 901 or jump up to something for a 12" laptop, leaving the 1000he slipping around. Why is this important? A better fitting bag, makes the weight feel lighter.
Given the smaller keyboard of the 901 (I am typing this review on the 901 outside a Starbucks as we speak) and the smaller screen, I would use it mostly for checking email, light web surfing and maybe some very light word processing for someone with smaller hands. Because of its lighter weight it and the SDD I prefer it over my 1000he for traveling where the Iphone just doesn't cut it. [Try making hotel reservations via the Iphone while on the road and having Safari crash just as you've finished entering your CC# but not hit the confirm button] Also many hotels do not have Wifi but have free wired internet access in the room.
If you plan to use the netbook regularly for a longer period of time and/or don't mind the additional 1lb, I would recommend the 1000he for comfort. For travel and light use, I would recommend the 901. The font size is easily adjustable, but would require more scrolling.
The smaller memory of the 901 would require frequent cleanup and use of alternate memory sources for media, while the 1000he's 160Gb is more forgiving.
I am going to buy a 901 for a retired aunt that loves to travel and snowbirding grandparents, and can sacrifice an afternoon every month or so to clean up their computer.
The most immediate differences are:
* 1000he has a 10" screen, 901 has a 8.9" screen
* 1000he has a larger chiclet style keyboard better for touch typists. The 901 has a smaller keyboard that may be ok for hunt-n-peck typists.
* 1000he is an entire 1lb heavier than the 901
* 1000he has 160Gb HDD, 901 has 12Gb SDD
All ports, wifi, bluetooth, skype, etc are all the same.
I took the 901 with me for a day in downtown Toronto, on the subways, on the buses and in the cafes and shops. The 1lb difference in weight was immediately noticeable and after a whole day (and night) out on the town I was thankful for that. While perusing the shops, I noticed that the 7" x 9" size of the 901 "fit" more of the preexisting handbags & messenger totes on the market. So with a sleeve, you wouldn't need a specialized laptop bag at all. Most of the crossbody bags seem to fall in the 8" x 9.5" range or the 9.5" x 9.5" range and held the 901 and its sleeve perfectly. Not too big, not too small. The 1000he was more challenging as the larger battery made it just a touch too big for most neoprene sleeves designed for the 10" netbooks. The 9" x 10.5" size of the 1000he seems to fall in the no-man's land of handbags/messengers with one exception: Kipling Lancelot Snap Front Shoulder Bag. Everything else would either fit the 901 or jump up to something for a 12" laptop, leaving the 1000he slipping around. Why is this important? A better fitting bag, makes the weight feel lighter.
Given the smaller keyboard of the 901 (I am typing this review on the 901 outside a Starbucks as we speak) and the smaller screen, I would use it mostly for checking email, light web surfing and maybe some very light word processing for someone with smaller hands. Because of its lighter weight it and the SDD I prefer it over my 1000he for traveling where the Iphone just doesn't cut it. [Try making hotel reservations via the Iphone while on the road and having Safari crash just as you've finished entering your CC# but not hit the confirm button] Also many hotels do not have Wifi but have free wired internet access in the room.
If you plan to use the netbook regularly for a longer period of time and/or don't mind the additional 1lb, I would recommend the 1000he for comfort. For travel and light use, I would recommend the 901. The font size is easily adjustable, but would require more scrolling.
The smaller memory of the 901 would require frequent cleanup and use of alternate memory sources for media, while the 1000he's 160Gb is more forgiving.
I am going to buy a 901 for a retired aunt that loves to travel and snowbirding grandparents, and can sacrifice an afternoon every month or so to clean up their computer.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
I replaced my EEE900 withthis one and im happy
(5 out of 5) by Anonymous on May 20, 2009 (Plotting)I had the eee 900 with 4gb running linux. i installed XP on it and i customized XP to only use 500mb of HD space so the 4gb Drive worked fine.
I noticed the battery life on the 900 was severely lacking..almost like it was leaking.
Anyway i loved the little unit and used it all the time for Rosetta stone.
I got rid of the 900 and recently got this 901.
I love this 901. the battery life is rockin! the added webcam has GREAT functionality in low lit room enviroments. came with Skype already installed, out of the box i was making video skype calls with crystal clarity. the added wireless N is a SWEET addition.
I put a 2gb ram chip in this one and it seems to run faster than my 900 did with the 2gb chip (this same 2gb ddr2 chip was in my eee 900)...it must be that Intel Atom processor, im noticing very quick refreshing, and nowhere near as much lag between launching apps. I have to say this little machine is fast enough to do anyhting i want ..i think ill be happy for a long time with it.I even tested it on low power mode and it still blazed through my standard applications that i use,..(windows movie maker) (adobe audition) (photo shop) (rosetta stone) At this point ill just leave it on low power mode because its running fast enough as it is.
I popped in an 8gb SD card and i have all the space i need for my uses...
i am giving this thing 5 stars for what it is.
Pros
small , very small lightweight
excelent battery
fast great machine for most average user tasks
quality construction
webcam is clear and bright (1.3mp)
PRICE! 274 no tax and shipped from amazon..insane price value!
cons
smaller keyboard migth annoy people...i would prefer alittle larger.
speakers could be a tad louder..just a tad.
drive D partition not as fast as the C partition that has windows.
(thats the biggest flaw in my opinion)
I noticed the battery life on the 900 was severely lacking..almost like it was leaking.
Anyway i loved the little unit and used it all the time for Rosetta stone.
I got rid of the 900 and recently got this 901.
I love this 901. the battery life is rockin! the added webcam has GREAT functionality in low lit room enviroments. came with Skype already installed, out of the box i was making video skype calls with crystal clarity. the added wireless N is a SWEET addition.
I put a 2gb ram chip in this one and it seems to run faster than my 900 did with the 2gb chip (this same 2gb ddr2 chip was in my eee 900)...it must be that Intel Atom processor, im noticing very quick refreshing, and nowhere near as much lag between launching apps. I have to say this little machine is fast enough to do anyhting i want ..i think ill be happy for a long time with it.I even tested it on low power mode and it still blazed through my standard applications that i use,..(windows movie maker) (adobe audition) (photo shop) (rosetta stone) At this point ill just leave it on low power mode because its running fast enough as it is.
I popped in an 8gb SD card and i have all the space i need for my uses...
i am giving this thing 5 stars for what it is.
Pros
small , very small lightweight
excelent battery
fast great machine for most average user tasks
quality construction
webcam is clear and bright (1.3mp)
PRICE! 274 no tax and shipped from amazon..insane price value!
cons
smaller keyboard migth annoy people...i would prefer alittle larger.
speakers could be a tad louder..just a tad.
drive D partition not as fast as the C partition that has windows.
(thats the biggest flaw in my opinion)
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
EEE.....enough said :D
(5 out of 5) by David Yen-Yang Hsieh on Jul 18, 2008 (Pleasanton, CA USA)PROS:
Light weight and also fast
this laptop will blow you away
with its free office tools
you wont have to have install anything through a CD
webcam is fabulous
bluetooth is also awesome
CONS:
moving the mouse and clicking the mouse buttons
keyboard is small (if you have big hands)
Light weight and also fast
this laptop will blow you away
with its free office tools
you wont have to have install anything through a CD
webcam is fabulous
bluetooth is also awesome
CONS:
moving the mouse and clicking the mouse buttons
keyboard is small (if you have big hands)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A month with a netbook
(5 out of 5) by G. M. Arnold on Jun 12, 2009 (Palo Alto, CA USA)Just over a month ago, I bought myself an Asus EeePC 901 netbook, and wrote a blog piece describing my first impressions, including the process of installing Ubuntu Netbook Remix as the default OS. And then I started using the device, and didn't think much more about it.
A couple of days ago, a friend emailed me, and asked, "I haven't read any comments about [the EeePC 901] from you. Do you like it? Was it all you thought it would be? Would you buy it again, now that you have experience with it?" Good questions.
First: yes, I like it. I've made two trips to California recently, for job interviews and apartment hunting, and each time I took the netbook with me. Previously I'd have toted my MacBook Air, and while I miss Mac OS X, Ubuntu is fine for the basics: email, web access, word processing, blogging, twittering, and so forth. And the netbook is half the size, with three times the battery life, at a fraction of the price.
The latest Ubuntu WiFi works just fine - it's almost as easy as OS X. Audio is a bit of a pain: the function keys work sometimes, but not always, so I occasionally have to use the volume widget. More annoying is the fact that even when the volume is zero, audio output can still cause the speakers to buzz and click. Odd.
Sleep mode works - mostly. I normally close the lid to sleep, then open the lid and press the power button to wake it. However on several occasions the machine has failed to go into sleep mode; on one occasion I retrieved it from my backpack after a few hours to find that the battery was drained and the machine was really warm! After that incident, I have taken to watching the blinkin' lights on the front edge of the machine when I put it to sleep; if it fails to go to sleep correctly (about 20% of the time) I open it up and reset it.
I've recently been thinking about what gear to take with me when I'm travelling to Shenzhen for Huawei. Both the MacBook Air and the EeePC 901 are plausible: both can support Skype, so that I can phone home. (However the Mac has better support for L2TP tunnelling with services like [...].) Neither machine has a DVD drive, however, so I bought a bus-powered USB external DVD drive from LG which I can use to watch movies on either system.
The size of the EeePC 901 has not proved to be a usability problem. The keyboard, trackpad and screen are all just fine. The only nit is that the space bar seems 1-2 mm too high, and it's quite sensitive, so that I tend to catch it after typing bottom-row letters. However those who know me will confirm that I'm a lousy typist anyway, so it may just be me.
Would I buy it again? I think so - if not this unit, then an equally light netbook, like the Asus "Seashell". But the combination of size, weight, and battery life is pretty damn compelling; the 8.9 inch netbook is my sweet spot. It's a shame that manufacturers seem to be giving up on this configuration.
Several people have asked if I plan to install Mac OS X on the EeePC. Right now, the costs - complexity, problematic networking, screen size assumptions in some apps, GUI real estate usage - seem to outweigh the benefits, so the answer is no. Now if someone came up with a foolproof way of reading a Leopard installation DVD and writing a bootable SD card, I'd be interested in playing with it. Until then, Ubuntu will be just fine.
(And yes, I am composing this on the netbook. Not to do so would be silly, wouldn't it?)
A couple of days ago, a friend emailed me, and asked, "I haven't read any comments about [the EeePC 901] from you. Do you like it? Was it all you thought it would be? Would you buy it again, now that you have experience with it?" Good questions.
First: yes, I like it. I've made two trips to California recently, for job interviews and apartment hunting, and each time I took the netbook with me. Previously I'd have toted my MacBook Air, and while I miss Mac OS X, Ubuntu is fine for the basics: email, web access, word processing, blogging, twittering, and so forth. And the netbook is half the size, with three times the battery life, at a fraction of the price.
The latest Ubuntu WiFi works just fine - it's almost as easy as OS X. Audio is a bit of a pain: the function keys work sometimes, but not always, so I occasionally have to use the volume widget. More annoying is the fact that even when the volume is zero, audio output can still cause the speakers to buzz and click. Odd.
Sleep mode works - mostly. I normally close the lid to sleep, then open the lid and press the power button to wake it. However on several occasions the machine has failed to go into sleep mode; on one occasion I retrieved it from my backpack after a few hours to find that the battery was drained and the machine was really warm! After that incident, I have taken to watching the blinkin' lights on the front edge of the machine when I put it to sleep; if it fails to go to sleep correctly (about 20% of the time) I open it up and reset it.
I've recently been thinking about what gear to take with me when I'm travelling to Shenzhen for Huawei. Both the MacBook Air and the EeePC 901 are plausible: both can support Skype, so that I can phone home. (However the Mac has better support for L2TP tunnelling with services like [...].) Neither machine has a DVD drive, however, so I bought a bus-powered USB external DVD drive from LG which I can use to watch movies on either system.
The size of the EeePC 901 has not proved to be a usability problem. The keyboard, trackpad and screen are all just fine. The only nit is that the space bar seems 1-2 mm too high, and it's quite sensitive, so that I tend to catch it after typing bottom-row letters. However those who know me will confirm that I'm a lousy typist anyway, so it may just be me.
Would I buy it again? I think so - if not this unit, then an equally light netbook, like the Asus "Seashell". But the combination of size, weight, and battery life is pretty damn compelling; the 8.9 inch netbook is my sweet spot. It's a shame that manufacturers seem to be giving up on this configuration.
Several people have asked if I plan to install Mac OS X on the EeePC. Right now, the costs - complexity, problematic networking, screen size assumptions in some apps, GUI real estate usage - seem to outweigh the benefits, so the answer is no. Now if someone came up with a foolproof way of reading a Leopard installation DVD and writing a bootable SD card, I'd be interested in playing with it. Until then, Ubuntu will be just fine.
(And yes, I am composing this on the netbook. Not to do so would be silly, wouldn't it?)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Sweet machine
(5 out of 5) by Peter A. Fox on May 22, 2009 (Minnesota)I love it - it sincerely meets my needs as a low energy consuming machine that boots relatively quickly. Just a reminder: advertised battery life is for the "energy saving" setting at lowest screen brightness, so anticipate closer to 5.5hrs of battery life for regular use. Recharging is a snap and the process is extremely quick. I have yet to run into any issues with space, since I tend to use open source products and I got rid of anything I deemed unnecessary. I did buy a 32G SD card on Amazon to hold my "walking around" media such as movies and music, though at home I connect directly to my home server (EX470) so I have unlimited access to all of my media. With built in wireless N I get great connection speed to the server, and consistent internet throughout my house.
Join http://forum.eeeuser.com/ before you buy this Netbook so you can read about issues people have had, hacks to increase speed and deleting unnecessary programs etc... I replaced the RAM with a 2GB stick bought on Amazon of course, will look at replacing the secondary hard drive with a larger one if I ever run into storage issues. The touch screen capabilities look really cool though I am not at that level yet to add this ability.
All things considered, I am very pleased with this purchase. Amazon had the best price available on the internet, I thought the "Free" shipping would take forever and it did not. Netbook came with a soft carrying case which was ideal for me because I want to keep it nice. Keyboard took about a week to get used to, now I have no issues whatsoever typing out a message on AIM, FaceBook Chat or Yahoo messenger.
BUY IT!
Join http://forum.eeeuser.com/ before you buy this Netbook so you can read about issues people have had, hacks to increase speed and deleting unnecessary programs etc... I replaced the RAM with a 2GB stick bought on Amazon of course, will look at replacing the secondary hard drive with a larger one if I ever run into storage issues. The touch screen capabilities look really cool though I am not at that level yet to add this ability.
All things considered, I am very pleased with this purchase. Amazon had the best price available on the internet, I thought the "Free" shipping would take forever and it did not. Netbook came with a soft carrying case which was ideal for me because I want to keep it nice. Keyboard took about a week to get used to, now I have no issues whatsoever typing out a message on AIM, FaceBook Chat or Yahoo messenger.
BUY IT!