9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
A nearly perfect itty bitty computer!
Date of Review: Dec 14, 2008
The Bottom Line: For a portable 2-pound machine, this device is hard to beat.
I was bit strapped for cash when my laptop died and I saw the "eee pc" for $379 I couldn't say no.
SCREEN: A-
The 10" screen has a native resolution of 1024x600 which yields a sharp, clear, easily readable view. The software allows for three resolutions (800x600, 1024x600, and 1024x768). It's also easily readable at a 45 degree angle. The LCD panel is surprisingly bright considering the modest price of the laptop. My only gripe is that the laptop has a tough time with applications that demand a native resolution of 1024x768. The user ends up scrolling up and down to see the top and bottom of the screen in this case.
For larger viewing, the laptop easily drives an external monitor. It only supports standard VGA-out, not HDMI, however. Also, it's not quite able to drive 1600x1050. Instead, 1440x1050 appears to be the limit for an external monitor. Still, for $379, I can't complain.
Processing Power: A
I give this grade within the context of the laptop's design purpose: word processing, internet browsing, listening to music, and watching video content. The computer takes under two minutes to boot, thanks to being configured with WinXP instead of Vista. It can handle having several browser windows open as well as email client, word processor, and chat client at the same time without a lot of sluggishness or disc caching. It's not suitable for power gaming, however.
Video Chipset: C
The computer comes with the Intel Media Accelerator chipset for video. This is a very low0end, modest graphical processor that uses system memory instead of having a pool of its own dedicated memory. For this reason, this laptop would be highly unsuitable for gaming.
Sound: B
I was pleasantly surprised that the laptop came with integrated sound that supported 3D audio. It doesn't support Dolby 5.1, however. As one would expect from a computer this size, the system volume is a bit weak and the built-in speakers sound tinny. I do think the sound is good when considering the size limitations involved. The laptop's sound control panel allows the user to have "theater", "cave", and other various sound overlays to make listening more interesting. It's also smart enough to shut itself off when a USB sound system is plugged in.
Keyboard: B-
The standard QWERTY keyboard is one of the 90% size varieties and the Fx keys are even smaller. The really obnoxious thing with this computer is the positioning of the right-hand "shift" key. It's basically on the wrong side off the up-arrow key, which has made me hit the up-arrow instead of the shift key a couple hundred times in the short time I've owned this laptop. Also, the touchpad buttons are a lot stiffer than they should be. The laptop scores points for having clever user-keys, such as bright-up, bright-down, sound-up, sound-down, and task manager (and several others).
Ports: A
For a machine this size, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it has three USB ports, VGA-out, LAN, and an SD slot. Many of the "netbook" devices I've seen have only two USB ports and no VGA-out.
Heat Dissipation: A
Many modern laptops get really hot after a while. This laptop only gets slightly warm even after hours of continuous use.
WLAN: Not tested
I don't have a wireless LAN in my house. I connect to the internet using a 3G modem, thus this feature was not tested.
Battery life: A
I was doing some software instillation while taking an hour-long drive (for the ultimate in distracted driving). Despite doing an hour of disc/processor-intensive tasks, the laptop still have over an half a charge remaining. (Note: I don't actually advise copying your discs to a SD card so you can install things while driving an automobile!)
Rugged Factor: C
This laptop feels very lightweight. Any amount of significant abuse will likely destroy this machine.
Noise: A
Despite the fact that this netbook actually has a standard hard drive (as opposed to a solid state drive), the laptop makes hardly any noise whatsoever when in operation, even when performing disc writes. The computer is very stealthy.
Bundled Software: B-
This is a bare-bones setup. It has no CD authoring, no fancy extra games, no Microsoft office. On the bright side, it also doesn't have a lot of crapware that the user ends up uninstalling anyway. The device comes with Microsoft Works and that's about it.
Overall Score: B+
The funky "shift" key really is the reason why this laptop doesn't get a grade of "A". You have to use it to experience the aggrivation firsthand. It's something I will probably adapt to -- eventually. However, for the rock-bottom sub-$400 price, this machine packs a punch. It's got a good display, a decent amount of power, and weighs only 2 pounds. It's a really winner.
