We've had a quick play and can report that it's safe to go with Windows XP on the mini notebook. Read on for more specs.
Asus unveiled the latest incarnation of the Eee PC yesterday, the 900 series. As we've previously reported, it’s almost 2 inches bigger, has three times the flash drive space (in the Linux version), and comes with either XP or Linux and sports a vastly improved 1.3MP web cam.
While Vista is sensibly absent from the Eee PC option list, we were still a little unsure about how XP would fare. These fears were put to rest, with boot-up times surprisingly fast, and apps like Microsoft Works loading quickly (although there was a bit of lag using the Windows Start menu).
Curiously, the XP version is also cheaper. The 900 series which will be available later this month will ship in two versions: a Linux version with a 20GB flash drive for $649 and an XP version with a 12GB flash drive for $599.
The first most noticeable improvement is the 900’s bigger screen, increasing from 7inches to 8.9inches. The speakers have now shifted to the bottom of the casing and the screen has expanded to make use of the vacant space, along with a higher resolution (1024 x600).
The keyboard is said to be 10% larger, although it’s still one of the smaller drawbacks of the unit. Unless you spend a little time practicing, it feels a little annoying trying to wrap your fingers around the very small keys.
Fortunately, the 900 does everything else a portable, lightweight notebook should. The weight still feels roughly the same as the 700 series (around 1KG) and the web cam has been vastly improved from 0.7MP to 1.3 MP, along with HD audio.
It's still also cheaper than HP's planned $899 Windows Mini-Note, though the Mini-Note one-ups the EeePC with a much larger storage capacity. Asus also confirmed plans to integrate 3G wireless broadband and Intel's Atom processor in future versions.
Interestingly ASUS is plugging the toughness of the new Eee, sponsoring wilderness adventurers who will be using the notebooks in Arctic conditions. The implication seems to be that because the Eee has a solid state drive, so there's no moving parts to break - though there's no special water proofing or shock proofing beyond that as far as we can see.
See our first look review of the new Eee PC 900: FIRST LOOK: Eee PC 900 head to head - XP vs Linux