I'll begin by saying that I don't normally do hardware reviews as I am not really qualified to write them. However, Phil Birchinall from Computeam let me play with his Asus Eee PC the other day and was really excited about the potential of this device. First off, it's small and light, being only 9" across and has a brilliant 7" screen: much bigger than those you get on a pda/eda/smartphone. Add to that the ability to plug it in to your school network or work wirelessly, as well as a proper (compact) keyboard, and you have a device that could really make you think again about investing in laptops.
Plus Points for Schools
- No moving parts (solid state memory), i.e. rugged
- Very fast boot up (around ten seconds)
- Good battery life >3 hours
- Great screen - easy to read most websites
- Open Office installed
- Cheap (around £195 for the 4gb memory version)
Minus Points
- Very limited range of software
- Browser may not support all video formats and Shockwave Flash e.g. I'm told it doesn't support the videos in Espresso
- Limited internal storage (2gb or 4gb versions) - won't be a problem in school when on your network, but may be a limiting factor on the road - solution: add a memory card
- Don't write essays on the compact keyboard
There are further developments in the pipeline, however, that give this device even more potential. An 8gb version is on the way, as well as a version that is running Windows Xp instead of Linux. I'm also told that they will add a GPRS version in the spring to enable you to hook up to the internet anywhere you can get a mobile phone signal (contracts for this type of service can be as little as £10 per month or can be bought casually, whenever you need to be mobile, e.g. on a residential.
In the brief time I used the device, I logged on to my blog site and found that it had no problem supporting Wordpress or Twitter or most of the other web services that I use, in fact it was a dream to use on these sites - particularly on Teachertube. My only word of caution, noted above, is to make sure that that it's compatible with any content that you've subscribed to.
In short, don't think of this device as a replacement for a laptop; it has nothing like the storage capacity or flexibility. However, if you want a device that provides an excellent browser and a suite of productivity software (wordprocessor, spreadsheet, presentation etc) it could be a great solution. The very fast boot time and long battery life alone should be enough to entice those among you who have (and I include myself) experienced endless frustration with under-specced wireless networks trying to cope with too many laptops at once with the added fun of batteries dying all over the place.
The only real problem may be getting your hands on one - they are proving extremely popular.
Other information about this device:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3829