I just managed to get hold of an Asus Eee Pc - one of the new ones with a 20gig SSD (Linux version) & a 8.9" 1024 screen. Just arrived yesterday. Got it from a eBay seller in Hong Kong - goes by the name of cc-electronicshk. I probably paid through the nose... AUD620 plus freight. It arrived only 4 days after I ordered it which is pretty impressive.
Frankly, I think it's stunning. The form factor is exactly the same as the model 700. But if you saw one, you'll remember there was a large 'bezel' around the screen, and the screen itself didn't use all of its pixels (I guess that's the technical term...). With the new version, the screen is physically the same size, but it fills itself right out to the edge. I get the sense they always intended to go bigger but just didn't make it in the first version. Looking at it, there might even be room for them to make the screen bigger by reducing the plastic bezel, so I guess that could happen in the futuer. The screen is a good size now (no horizontal scrolling of web pages), and it's sharp and bright. The keyboard is the same as the 701. Yes the keyboard is small and I wouldn't want to be typing on it all day, but I've found it quite useable. It will be great for travelling. Earlier this morning I sat in an easy chair having a coffee while updating a Word document and it was fine. The mouse pad is clever too with some 'gestures' which after less than 24 hours of getting used to, I already find handy. What I like about it is the way everything just works out of the box. The supplied desktop is nice - just a collection of big icons to launch applications and various common web sites. Functions keys and buttons are nicely mapped. The only limitation I've seen so far with the factory OS is that you can't just install any new software you like - only stuff supplied by Asus (and that doesn't seem to be much). I guess it could be hacked, but I think it will be easier to just install a fresh Ubuntu without all the Asus stuff over the top ... but then I'm not sure if the key mappings will be as tidy. I'll give it a go some time and see what happens. I'll bring it along to the next CLUG meeting in case anyone wants to drool ;-) - David
