Asus Eee: Continuing to be Impressed

I continued with my assessment of the Asus Eee. The point at which I left off from the previous review was adding USB plug ins. That went flawlessly. However, before I go on, I will provide a caveat. I have not tested the XO Laptop (One Laptop Per Child). I have no basis for comparison for those who wrote and asked. My impressions of the Eee ( ‘Easy to work; Easy to learn; Easy to play) are based on very limited exposure to this niche.

Nevertheless, I am so impressed. The little Asus Eee is a ‘geek magnet’. There was not a shortage of volunteers willing to provide hardware (and time) to help me explore the Eee. All the USB externals worked. There was not a hint of a problem - and that is remarkable. For example, a flash drive was recognized immediately. An USB optical mouse was not a problem. An older analog monitor worked well. And, of course, the microphone and headphones were recognized and worked.

Try as I might during a limited few days of testing, I could not find a basic add-on that was problematic. There are various online support groups for almost instant options and having basic questions answered. I was wondering about warranty issues and I was given this link:

Warranty Update from Asus

My problems with the keyboard were not resolved in the short time that I had the machine. I was making unusual keying errors but I think that I would have adjusted over time. I plugged in a full sized keyboard and worked on that instead. The Eee recognized the keyboard and I eliminated the keying issue. The problem would be that it means an extra item to carry with me. - I would want an extra battery too. The battery in the machine I was using was fine up to the three hour mark. At that point, I would have liked to start on a fresh battery. The three hour mark was acceptable since the machine was almost constantly in use. And the battery has had daily use for well over two months.

I looked but I could not find any major complaints with the small laptop. Of course, it has limitations. It is not designed for heavy work like video editing or things of that nature. It is extremely portable and user friendly. The Eee does the basics when away from the main computer. The Eee is not intended as a primary work machine. It is efficient as a light weight travel companion. I am hoping that the demand for the Asus will take the price down a bit. I will be watching the price to buy. It is that impressive.

Catherine