ASUS Eee PC 901 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 12 GB Solid State Drive, 20 GB Eee Storage, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony

by Asus

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches ; 4.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001BYB61G
• Item model number: EEEPC901-BK002X
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 3, 2008

Product Description

Color: Fine Ebony

Amazon.com Product Description

The Asus Eee PC 901 provides the power of a full-sized laptop in a compact body with a larger 8.9-inch screen, and is now powered by the latest Intel mobile processor. Designed specifically for mobile devices, the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor uses a brand new design structure new hafnium-infused circuitry--which reduces electrical current leakage in transistors--to conserve energy, giving you more time away from the wall outlet. Coupled with the ASUS exclusive Super Hybrid Engine, you'll also enjoy up to 8 hours of battery life with this Windows-powered laptop.

The Asus Eee PC 901's 8.9-inch screen is easier on the eyes.

At half the size of regular notebook and weighing less than 2.5 pounds, the Eee PC 901 is perfect for students toting to school or road warriors packing away to Wi-Fi hotspots. And because it uses flash memory instead of a hard drive (with 12 GB of storage), the Eee PC 901 consumes less power, allows the device to boot quickly, produces less heat, and is less susceptible to shock damage. The Eee PC 901 also features 1 GB of RAM, 1.3-megapixel webcam integrated into the bezel above the LCD, tri-mode Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g/n), integrated Bluetooth connectivity, Secure Digital memory card slot, multiple USB ports, a VGA output for connecting to a monitor.

The integrated webcam makes video chats a snap, and the keyboard is 95 percent the size of standard notebooks for easy typing.

It comes preinstalled with the Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system, which offers more experienced users an enhanced and innovative experience that incorporates Windows Live features like Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging and Windows Live Mail for consolidated email accounts on your desktop. Complementing this is Microsoft Works, which equips the user with numerous office applications to work efficiently.

The new Eee PC 901 has a customized, cutting-edge Infusion casing technology in Fine Ebony. Inlaid within the chassis itself, the motifs are an integral part of the entire cover and will not fade with time. The Infusion surface also provides a new level of resilience, providing scratch resistance and a beautiful style while out and about.

It's also equipped with the ASUS Super Hybrid Engine for automatic detection and adjustments of CPU frequency, voltage, and LCD brightness to minimize system noise and power consumption to save up to 15 percent power consumption, or to maximize system performance according to individual needs.

For journalists, photographers and other professionals who need to use a computer in the field to create, to communicate and to collaborate with other colleagues, the Eee PC's combination of power, extreme portability and rugged build makes it the ideal computing solution. The keyboard is 95 percent the size of standard notebooks, making it more comfortable to type for larger hands.

The Eee PC with Windows Home XP operating system provides a familiar interface.

It's also a great choice for young students, with a built-in Dictionary that's great for homework, and it includes two modes of intuitive graphic user interface design to accommodate both experienced and inexperienced PC users. The Eee PC also handles your digital images, movies, and music as well as Internet radio.

Be ready for the next platform in wireless connectivity with the integrated Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965 AGN LAN chip. Based on the draft 802.11n Wi-Fi specification, it offers up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range as existing 802.11g wireless. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found in home routers and Wi-Fi hotspots). With the Bluetooth connectivity, you can communicate and synchronize with Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as PDAs and cell phones

Nicely light at just 38 ounces, the Eee PC 901 has an 8.9-inch wide TFT LCD with a 1024 x 600-pixel resolution (WXGA)--making it more comfortable on eyes than its predecessor. In addition to its wireless LAN, it also offers wired Fast Ethernet connectivity. You get three USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output for connecting to external monitors, headphone and microphone jacks, and a Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot (compatible with MMC memory cards). It's equipped with a 1.3-megapixel webcam (placed in the bezel above the LCD) and integrated microphone, allowing you to snap still photos of yourself while on the go for sending via email or join video chats with friends and family.

Battery-Sipping Processor
The Intel Atom processor uses a brand new design structure that packs in 47 million transistors into a single chip sized at just 22mm (0.87 inches), and it uses just 2.5 watts of power--less than 1/10 of the 35 watts used by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor--for excellent battery management. This 1.6 GHz Atom processor also includes a power-optimized front side bus of 533 MHz for faster data transfer on demanding mobile applications and a 512 KB L2 cache (which temporarily stores data).

Together with the exclusive ASUS Super Hybrid Engine, you'll enjoy a longer battery lifespan of up to 6 hours, allowing you to stay in touch and be connected for a longer period of time while on-the-go. It offers a choice of performance and power consumption modes for easy adjustments according to your computing needs.

Online Storage from ASUS
With this Eee PC, ASUS also provides 20 GB of online storage (easily accessible via a desktop icon), which enables you to download up to 5 GB of data per day. It also provides secure file encryption and accessibility from both Windows and Linux platforms. Whether you want to share images with friends and family or store big business presentations, you can now access your data with ease and not worry about space constraints.

Specifications

• Internal memory: 12 GB solid state disk
• RAM: 1 GB DDR2
• Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel Atom
• Memory expansion: Slot for MMC/SD(SDHC) cards
• Operating system: Windows XP Home
• LCD: 8.9 inches, 1024 x 600 pixels
• Networking: Tri-mode Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), 10/100 Fast Ethernet
• Peripheral connectivity: Three USB 2.0
• External video: One VGA
• External audio: One headphone and one microphone port
• Webcamera: Yes, 1.3 megapixels
• Battery: 6 cells, up to 6 hours
• Weight: 2.42 pounds (38 ounces)
• Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 1.5 inches

What's in the Box
ASUS Eee PC 901, AC adapter, printed operating instructions. It's backed by a 1-year warranty on parts and labor.

Product Description

Easy to Learn, Work, and Play 7.8 hour battery life allows for "One Day Computing" Travel light, weighting only 2.43lbs Drop tested, Shock-Proof design Wireless 802.11b/g/n connectivity Connect with friend with built-in Camera Protect your investment with sleeve case XP Home, MS Works, and Windows Live preloaded Wide Multi-Touchpad for comfort and convenient Glossy IMR Pearl White color for elegant look ZBD Guaranteed for best quality LCD Store & Share your files with 20G internet storage Protect your investment with sleeve case

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

397 of 401 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Asus EEE PC 901...Hits the sweetspot, July 29, 2008

By 

Lincoln J. Mennuti (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ASUS Eee PC 901 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 12 GB Solid State Drive, 20 GB Eee Storage, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony (Personal Computers)

I'm a tech by trade and hobby, so apologies ahead of time if I start hitting on tech jargon, but I'll try to keep it to a minimun. :-)

Let's try and keep it to the important and good-to-knows...

The Pros of the 901:
- Uses the Intel Atom processor. Though the Atom doesn't produce significantly more CPU performance vs. the previous 900 model's Celeron M 353, it does use much less power. So you'd be looking at similar CPU performance, but with much better battery life AND runs cooler.
- With the Atom comes also a 2nd generation graphics chip in the GMA950 (vs the 900's GMA900). The 2 big advantages of this are; the GMA950 has a peak pixel fill rate of 1600 megapixels per/second (the GMA900 has a peak of only 1332 megapixels per/second) and more video-decoding is now done in hardware on the GMA950. Combine those together and that means windows will open faster and watching videos will be smoother.
- Uses a Solid State Drive (SSD) for storage. SSD technology means; no moving parts (much less chance of bad things happening and dead silent operation), performance is at least on par with hard drives, and SSD uses less power.
- Has a nice big Trackpad. Unfortunately the default drivers for it leave a LOT to be desired. Luckily though, if you install the manufacturer's drivers instead (search google for "elantech touchpad drivers") then the functionality is INFINITELY better with options like multiple-finger tracking and night-n-day difference in tracking sensitivity.
- 1.3 megapixel Webcam. The 900 has 0.3 and a few competing models also only have 0.3
- Built-in Bluetooth. Nice option if you use BT GPS or use your BT phone as an internet access point. Or whatever you'd like to use BT for.
- Wireless-N (802.11n). If you've got it, you're gonna fly. If not, it's there when you're ready
- Free 20gb online storage provided by Asus.
- 6 cell battery (4-8 hours). Some of the competitors come with only a 3cell
- SD Card reader slot that's flush. Along with SSD getting larger in capacity and cheaper all the time, so is SD Flash memory. 32gb capacity SD cards are already coming out and with the card being flush it's almost like a miniaturized, super-steroided Floppy Drive! :-)
- Has a dedicated button for operating the "Super Hybrid Engine" option. This basically adjust the speed of the CPU up or down to conserve power or gain performance.

The Cons of the 901:
- I've got big hands (I wear XL gloves) so I'm hit the hardest by the petite keyboard. I'm also a typer so it's going to be a bit of a learning curve to adjust to using the 901. Smaller hands will probably adjust much easier.
- No CD/DVD drive (no using it as a portable DVD Player). Not that big a deal for me really, I usually watch DivX videos (which can just easily be copied to an SD card for viewing.

The Good-To-Knows:

- The 901 already comes with a nice neoprene sleeve. I carry a bag with me between work/home and wanted something minimal but protective so I could put the 901 in my bag. The sleeve that comes with it does the job perfectly (kudos Asus).
- Also comes with a nice little cleaning cloth. Being the fingerprint magnet the shiny 901 is, the included cloth is also a nice addition to help keep the smudging to a minimum.
- Being that the SSD that comes with the 901 is so small, anything you can do to lighten the system load will help a lot. If you're "techie" enough, it's worth looking into a free product called "nlite". The utility will chop down the size of the WinXP install considerably.
- The 901 comes with 1gb memory. At some point you'll probably want to upgrade to 2gb. You'll need to buy DDR2 SoDIMM chips. I recommend getting the 667MHz (PC5300) speeds (instead of 800MHz(PC6400)) as it will be less expensive and even if you overclocked your 901 you'd still be running well BELOW the 667MHz speed.
- Speaking of overclocking, previous versions of the 901 Firmware used to set the CPU speed to 1.8GHz in "Super Performance" mode. But newer firmware only bring it up to max speed of the default 1.6GHz. If you want to get back that extra speed, you'll either have to downgrade the Firmware, or use an overclocking utility called "eeectl".
- Accessing the internals of the 901 (for doing upgrades, like extra RAM) is very easy. Just remove a few screws on the panel underneath and you're right at the guts of it. Other netbooks are much harder to get at the internals.

Other 8.9" netbooks to consider:
- Acer Aspire One
- Everex CloudBook
- Dell Mini Inspiron (Mini 9)
- Asus EEE PC 1000 (10" screen)
- MSI Wind (10" screen)

In the end, I chose the 901 because its' got just the right amount of everything for a "netbook", it's easy to "hack" due to easy access panels (which appeals to the Tech in me) and there's a great user/support community for the Asus EEE line.

** Update (Aug 1, 2008)
I just upgraded the memory to 2gb last night. It took LESS than 5 minutes (literally)!...Here are the steps, just to show how easy it was:
1. Flip the 901 over, remove 2 screws from the cover panel and take it off
-- You now have easy access to the WiFi, SSD and Memory
-- My 901 also has a "ZIF" socket (meaning I could swap the SSD out for a 1.8" IDE Hard Drive instead (using drives meant for an iPod is a good source...Think 80gb capacity on the cheap, but you'd be back to using HD).
2. Using your thumbnails (little tricky for me, as I've got fat fingers, but not too bad at all) pull the arms of the memory mount apart by about a millimeter on each side, at the same time...The memory chip will then spring up for easy removal.
3. Swap the memory module and close up, you're done.

- I also previously misspoke about there being only 1 physical SSD drive. There's actually a physical 4gb SSD (to get access to that one you'd have to actually fully dismantle the 901) and an 8gb SSD (for the 12gb XP version) that's readily accessible for upgrade.
-- Just so happens there's also a space (only seen if you fully dismantle), with solder points with a label of "3GCARD" on it. Definitely not an upgrade for a non-tech, but some enterprising hacker out there just might find a way to install a 3G card in this badboy!

** Update II (Sept 9th, 2008)
- Bought a Microsoft Bluetooth 5000 Laptop mouse for my 901. I LOVE it! It's the perfect compliment to the 901 (in size and smooth functionality). It even comes with its' own black sleeve just like the 901's.
- After doing a whole lot of research on the "perfect" bag to carry my 901 in (and actually buying a more expensive bag that turned out to be too big)...I finally found, what I consider to be, the perfect carrier. The Timbuk2 Classic Messenger XS. The cargo area of the bag is big enough to carry the 901 (in its sleeve) w/power cables, bluetooth mouse and some smaller odds and ends (like ear-canal headphones) and it's got a compartmentalized zip pocket that's also great for smaller odds and ends (keys, pens, ipod, pocket knife, etc). At the same time it's small enough to be very light weight at about 1 lbs. (the bigger bag I had bought, even though it was a "small" size, weighs about as much as the 901 itself!) and also be non-bulky and easy to carry.
- An unexpected benefit of the 901 is watching movies/tv in bed! I make a connection to my main PC via home wireless network (map a drive) and using a headphone splitter, my Wife and I can enjoy watching movies and tv shows in the comfort of bed (the 901's screen does a wonderful job at it to) and at proper volume (since we have our headphones on), without worrying about disturbing our 3yr old Son that's sleeping in the next room.

** Update III (Sept 16th, 2008)
Bought one of those portable USB charger/Backup Laptop Battery extenders...The Xantrex (aka Duracell) Powersource Mobile 100. I used a Kill-A-Watt meter between the 901's AC Adapter and the Xantrex, as well as a Thermometer Gun, here's what I found:
- The 901 (under moderate usage), uses about 32-35watts (~122v/~500mA). The Xantrex advertises as being 100watt capable, but that's peak and for only 5 minutes...It actually provides 80watts continuous, which means it's fine with the 901.
- With the 901 turned off while charging, it was still soaking up about 29watts
- Under moderate load, the hottest spot on the bottom of the 901 registered at 101degrees(F).
- ** WARNING ***: Be careful with the AC Adapter it gets HOT!!! After 30 minutes of running the 901 with the adapter plugged in, I ran the temp gun over all the areas of the adapter and at the hottest point it was 143degrees(F)!!!

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I don't know how I lived without this computer, July 27, 2008

By 

PDT - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ASUS Eee PC 901 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 12 GB Solid State Drive, 20 GB Eee Storage, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony (Personal Computers)

Every 5 to 10 years a new gadget comes along and I wonder how I managed without it. For me, the Eee 901 is one of those devices. I've owned it for 3 days and it has already become integral to my daily routine. I spent a week researching the options for a UMPC - In the end, I chose the 901 because it had all the features I needed, portability and the up to 7.5 hour battery life. I thought about waiting for the 1000H, but the deemed the 80GB not enough of a benefit for a larger computer that has essentially the same performance specs. Besides, the 12G 901 has an internal ZIF socket, so I can add an internal 1.8" 80GB drive at a later time if I wanted (i've heard that the linux version lacks this).

I use it almost exclusively for checking my e-mail, checking various web sites, IM, and writing documents for work. Typing takes some getting used to on the small keyboard, but after a couple days I'm typing almost as fast and as comfortably as on a full size keyboard. This computer is very portable - Its easy to flip it out in a cafe or coffee house and start working, unlike a full size laptop where setting up seems to be a chore. The 901 is about the same size as the old paper organizer binders, so it is easy to carry around when out and about and no one seems to really notice you carrying it.

The performance of XP on this computer is surprisingly good. It is even better if XP is reinstalled with a utility like nLite to reduce size and remove unnecessary programs - my XP boot time is down to about 15 seconds. The computer has a 4GB main SSD drive and a secondary 8GB SSD. The 4GB SSD is slightly faster than the 8GB drive and is used as the main OS drive. With my reduced install of XP I have about 2.8 GB free on the 4GB drive. I haven't yet noticed the small size of the SSDs being a limitation so far. Besides, I keep a majority of my files on an external USB hard drive or thumb drive anyway. The built-in MMC/SDHC slot is also a nice thing to have since my digital cameras all use SD cards - then there is the ZIF socket where I can install an 80GB ipod hard drive if needed.

This computer does not have a CD/DVD drive, so I had to buy an external USB slim DVD drive - you don't really need this unless you plan to watch movies, burn DVDs, or load a new operating system.

The case is shiny and very prone to picking up finger prints. The touchpad is also terrible - but that can largely be fixed by installing a driver update. The 1024x600 display size can confuse some applications - but it can easily be switched to 800x600 or a scrollable 1024x768 mode.

For internet access, I usually just hop on a wifi hotspot or use bluetooth to access EVDO from my Sprint cell phone - which basically means I have internet access anywhere I go.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I love my PC901, except one thing..., August 23, 2008

By 

KK (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ASUS Eee PC 901 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 12 GB Solid State Drive, 20 GB Eee Storage, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Pearl White (Personal Computers)

I have been using my company-issued HP laptop (very heavy and bulky), and although I have to take it with me when I have to access my company VPN, half the time I travel, I don't even need all that computing power, I just need a light little laptop for web surfing and VOIP application. I found EEE PC901 on Amazon, and I thought I found the perfect solution to my problem. So I ordered it immediately (not knowing that it had just came out to the market... I paid full $599, without discount...). When it arrived, I was totally amazed by how small this laptop was, and it was so, so light! My next business trip was a few days after I received my EEE PC, so I took my little EEE laptop with me.

I absolutely had no problem with anything. I found the keyboard to be almost too small, but after a few hours learned to type on this keyboard fairly well (the trick is not to let your thumb touch the touchpad... Of course you don't realize your thumb or palm is touching the touchpad, so your cursor seems to go jumping all over the place). Initially touchpad felt too sensitive and erratic, but the EEEuser forum pointed me to download the touchpad manufacturer's driver (called "smartpad") (http://www.elantech.com.tw/download.aspx), I've managed to download the touchpad driver from the site, and it is now working like a dream (with tons of multi-finger tricks), the battery life was much longer (I got average of 6-7 hours) than my HP (it only really lasts less than 3 hours, but rated 6 hrs), the machine didn't heat up as hot as my HP, bluetooth is working like a charm (with my mouse), and so is wireless network (never dropped a signal), the built-in webcam and microphone is fantastic for skype, the speakers are little cheap sounding but enough to hear the beep so who cares, and the processor it's gotten is fairly quick and it almost seems faster than the processor in my HP laptop... I guess the speed has a lot to do with the SSD...

But then... the problem started about two weeks ago, after I started to load a lot of crap. The "fast" SSD is 4GB on this thing, and slower SSD has 8GB. The fast SSD is assigned as the main disk "C" so all Windows files and a lot of the programs are in "C" drive. 4GB is barely enough to retain the configuration as it came from the factory, and not enough for adding something like MS Office even after OpenOffice and MS Works and all the other software that I don't use have been deleted. I had to install most of my programs to "D" and reassigned "My Document" folder to "D", and compress "C" drive to get about 1GB of free space. However, the precious free space on C drive is slowly but surely been eaten and now I see my free space on "C" as 700MB. I've upgraded my memory to 2GB (it was very, very easy I must say) and I don't have my swap file in C or system restore, and I don't keep trashed file, and my browser cache is minimal. But a lot of applets have been installed and a lot of application data are in "C", and that eats up HD space little by little. It's working fine so far, but the amount of free space on "C" is a constant worry when I use this little laptop.

While I do love this little guy and I really wanted to give this 5 stars in this review, the main drive is just too small for use with XP, and because of this reason, I cannot honestly say it's worth 5 stars... The EEEuser forum has a lot of recommendations about reducing the XP installation down to minimal using nLite (to something like 1.5GB), but that's not really what I want to do. Though I love this laptop, I don't want to spend too much time or effort trying to work this thing to optimum... I would have paid $100 or $200 more if the main SSD had one large-capacity SSD instead of cumbersome two physical volumes... Oh well, the laptop itself is cheap enough so I could buy another one when ASUS comes out with a laptop with one large capacity SSD (and I don't want an HDD. If I did, I'd buy PC1000H or Acer/MSI/HP and those are all bigger than 901)... Oh, and even though 1024x600 resolution does not cause any problem surfing the net, it would have been nice if the display actually had 1024x768pixels... If ASUS could fix these problems, then I will give it a five star and really, really love this thing. I've been recommending this little laptop to a lot of people, but I do tell them to wait, if they can. I think the idea of this super small laptop is so excellent, and I hope ASUS and other manufacturers would come out with more exciting and capable models (and keeping the same form factor and weight... The portability is the key here!!) in the future. Once those problems are solved (then non-computer-savvy people can use them without any problem), I think this product category will kill low-end large/bulky laptop market... but PC901 is not quite there yet for primetime...

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