I’ve been following developments on the Asus EEE since I first heard about it during the summer. I just received mine in the mail from newegg.com.

It’s an ultraportable notebook featuring: a 7" screen, web cam, usb ports, wireless, 4gb flash hard drive. It comes pre-installed with xandros, a linux-derived operating system, open office, firefox, skype, pidgin, and some other programs including games and learning applications geared towards young children.

Best of all, it runs about $400, which is a fraction of the cost of similar notebooks. There are also other models available, including the 2G Surf version which goes for $300, but includes has non-upgradable ram, lacks a webcam, and has shorter battery life and a $500 8G model which has more ram and hd space.

The screen will induce some neck cramps, but adding the fullerfox firefox extension helps a lot. Here’s what it will look like.

 

Pros:

• lightweight (around 2lbs)
• intuitive operation system
• good build quality
• perfect for basic word processing, email, and web tasks

Cons

• the keyboard is tiny and takes getting used to
• the trackpad button isn’t very responsive

It will take some work, but you can also install XP on it. Notebookreview.com has a guide with detailed instructions (which I haven’t attempted yet). There have even been reports of people even managing to install Leopard. Here’s a video of one with a modded touchscreen interface. 

Bottom line, I wish I had something like this while schlepping around NYC a few months ago during the CMJ Music Marathon, it’s barely bigger than a book, isn’t noticeable heavy, has good wifi range (better than my Dell Inspiron 1501),  and is perfect for basic productivity: blogging, word processing, web surfing.