The build quality is impressive, too. The lid is strong with a bit of give, while the base feels robust. Compared to the often delicate build of far pricier ultraportables, the Eee seems well up to resisting the abuse of a daily commute.
The small size and fine build are both a blessing and a curse, though, as the compact design does compromise usability.

One of the better additions is a MacBook-inspired multitouch trackpad, allowing you to scroll through or zoom in and out of documents. But the keyboard is cramped, and bigger fingers will struggle to reliably hit the intended key without the occasional mistype. Then there are the tiny right-hand Shift and half-height Enter keys, which will take a bit of getting used to for anyone.

Our test unit came with the Xandros Linux preinstalled on the onboard flash memory (just like the original Eee PC 701). It isn’t particularly resource intensive, and the simple tabbed interface is ideal for experienced and inexperienced users alike, with applications for web browsing, office documents and even some games and educational software.

It does all you could possibly ask from such a small machine, and we’d recommend leaving it as is – the whole point of the Eee is to be a stripped-down, cheap version of a full laptop, and the gradually creeping price is purely down to people clamouring for more advanced features. Linux will do everything this laptop is intended for.

But we understand many users will want the flexibility afforded by Windows XP, and it won’t cost extra to have it preinstalled on the Eee PC 900. Instead, the Windows version makes up its licensing costs by replacing the 16GB secondary hard disk with an 8GB model.

We’ve no doubt that many will hail the Asus Eee 900 as another rip-roaring success and, in some ways, we’d agree. But before you rush out and buy one, bear in mind that it isn’t without issues and, although that price looks very reasonable, it’s now nudging the prices of the cheapest fully fledged Windows laptops.

But for all its imperfections, the Eee PC 900 hasn’t got much competition if you’re after a cheap ultraportable. The larger screen makes a huge difference, and the price is worth paying for that – just. We wouldn’t buy it as a main laptop, but as a supplement to an existing desktop or laptop PC it’s still a steal.