Asus eeePC Netbooks

Asus pretty much invented the category in its current incarnation. I will be collecting links to reviews of Asus netbooks to post here, but in the meantime, feel free to peruse the Amazon links below for some comments. It seems that although netbooks are great for everyone, they're really big right now with the techie crowd, who are the early adopters that see the value in them. Consequently, many of the user comments on Amazon are very astute.

Key Features of Asus eeePC Netbooks

Asus has about 20 models of netbooks in their lineup. This will be changing in 2009, as the company focuses on a smaller product line.  Their netbooks range from the older 7" models with small SSD drives, to the soon to be extinct 8.9" models (of which I"m a proud owner), to their 10" models.

A few things about the Asus line really stuck out when my wife and I bought our netbooks (she has a 10" model). First is the build quality. Although these are plastic cased machines, they feel solid, with little flex or give to be found. The keyboards also have a solid feel, with the only drawback (other than the small size of the keyboards on the 7" and 8.9' models, which are decent given the dimensions) is the odd placement of the right Shift key. The 1000HE addresses that problem, though, and hopefully its keyboard will be seen on future models. The hinges are also solid. Moreso than on many full sized notebooks, and with noticeably less play than the Acer Aspires I examined in the store.

The screens are another advantage for Asus. Other screens, such as the HP or the Acer are brighter and a bit more vivid, but they are glossy while the Asus screens have an anti-glare coating.

Finally, the XP installation on the Asus netbooks is very snappy, with no bloatware. It's probably the best Windows installation I've seen on any PC, and that's speaking from the point of view of someone who has deployed thousands of PCs over the years.

If you're considering a netbook, give Asus a good hard look.

Asus Netbook Reviews

Legit Mobile Reviews of Asus 1000HA
The Tech Report Review of Asus 901