User Experience - Typing, Internet
As mentioned in our look at the 4G, user experience will vary widely depending on your expectations of what this system is. Some general categories are broken out below.
Typing
Yes, the keyboard, like the unit, is very small. How small is too small? That's a difficult question to answer, as it's different for each user. I have medium-sized hands, and wrote this whole article on the Eee. The keyboard is fatiguing, and breaks are necessary more often than normal, but touch-typing is possible. I took an online typing test with my standard keyboard and the Eee just after receiving the unit.
I initially took the test twice, and both times my results were about the same: the Eee cut my typing speed in half. This is a worst-case scenario, as I took the test before using the Eee for any length of time. With prolonged use, the keyboard has become somewhat easier to type on. I managed 72 wpm on the same test the following day, but this rate would not be sustainable for long: the keyboard will definitely slow you down. We have confirmed this with several other users, with the general consensus being that you will average between 50% to 75% of your regular typing speed when using the Eee.
Internet
Surfing results are mixed. At the native resolution (800x480), most websites required both a horizontal and a vertical scroll. Several only required a vertical scroll, which made navigation much easier.
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The Java plug-in is not installed in Firefox, which made using certain websites impossible. Also, the wireless connection is not set to automatically connect at startup; it defaults to manual. Once changed to "At Boot" it works fine. We experienced no issues logging into a corporate VPN and accessing shared files and internal programs.
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Given the size of the Eee, in general the Internet usability is quite good.
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New City Vegas - Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - link
7 embedded video reviews - ASUS EEE PC (one in German)length: 2 to 25 minutes
http://lasvalley.com/mixx/asus-eee-review-video.ht...">http://lasvalley.com/mixx/asus-eee-review-video.ht...
laok - Sunday, January 6, 2008 - link
As customers, we need a little competition in the market.laok - Sunday, January 6, 2008 - link
As customers, we need a little competition in the market.Schugy - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
The Kohjinsha is more expensive but it has some nice features like LED backlight, scroll buttons next to the display and more. It would be even cheaper without the microsoft tax.Maybe you can make a real UMPC overview with Sony, Everex, OLPC and others including hardware support tests under Ubuntu, XP and VIsta.
LEKO - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
The Asus eee is a very interesting beast. It is on my "wishlist".I think the concept is perfect for people who mainly use a Desktop and sometimes needs a laptop for casual out of the office meeting or couch surfing/mailing.
From your review, I would suggest a few things to Asus:
- Have a memory slot for possible upgrade
- Have 1024 pixels width LCD panel (to match most applications/web sites).
- Have an SD card reader (To compensate for the SSD small size)
- Have at lease 2 USB port (Plug a mouse, MP3 player, external HDD)
For the rest, the concept is great!
mmntech - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
There are plans for Asus to put a 1024x600 screen in th Eee PC. That will solve issues with programs that require an 800x600 res, especially under XP.http://www.dailytech.com/ASUS+Prepares+Next+Genera...">http://www.dailytech.com/ASUS+Prepares+...+WiMAX+L...
Just like a car, it's usually a good idea not to buy the first model year. Gives them time to iron out the kinks. Eee PC 2.0 looks promising, especially with WiMAX support built in.
My big wishlist for this system is still HDD space and battery life. I'm curious is 2.6h is the average or maximum. If it's the max, it's too short compared to some larger models. The MacBook for example gets about 4-5hr and I'm sure PC laptops with similar hardware are the same.
DanaGoyette - Saturday, January 5, 2008 - link
1024x600 sounds like a really odd aspect ratio.1024x640 would be better -- it's a true 16:10 ratio.
Oh, and I still wonder why the heck ASUS decided to use a runs-at-full-speed-all-the-time (and thus power-wasting) Celeron instead of something like even an old Pentium M.
betaluva - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
for all your answers go to http://forum.eeeuser.com/">http://forum.eeeuser.com/ its a REALLY good eee siteLEKO - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
Oups! Just noticed that the ASUS eee already supports external memory cards (like SD).elpresidente2075 - Friday, January 4, 2008 - link
With the exception of the panel, all of your concerns are taken care of with the non-surf models. There are rumors of a new model in the march/april time frame, so time will tell if that gets addressed.