Asus Eee

The Asus Eee (pronounced like the letter E) is a subnotebook computer, meaning it's very small, very portable, and doesn't have a lot of power.

The Eee isn't meant for heavy computing. It's meant to be a small, portable device to be used for reading eBooks, checking e-mail, and browsing the net.

The name comes from an abbreviation of the device's slogan, which is "Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play".

The laptop comes in five colors. It comes in pearl white, galaxy black, blush pink, lush green, and sky blue.

The Eee runs Linus rather than Windows XP. The Linux operating system is faster than Windows XP, and only takes about 20 seconds to boot. It comes with over 40 applications pre-installed, including the Firefox web browser, Skype, and the OpenOffice.org text editor, which is similar to Microsoft Word.

The Asus Eee PC 701 has the following features:

• 7 inch LCD display with LED backlight
• Intel GMA 900 graphics processor, up to 1600x1280 pixels
• 4 GB Solid State Drive
• 900 MHz Intel Celeron ULV 353 processor
• 512k L2 RAM on the processor
• 512MB DDR2-533/667 RAM
• Costs around $350

The Asus Eee PC 701 has the following features:

• 10 inch LCD display with LED backlight
• Intel GMA 900 graphics processor, up to 1600x1280 pixels
• 4, 8, or 16 GB Solid State Drive
• Intel Celeron 910/915 processor
• 512k L2 RAM on the processor
• 512MB DDR2-400 RAM
• Costs around $299

Fresno Unified School District of Fresno, California became the first school to launch a laptop pilot program using the Asus Eee on November 8, 2007. 16 schools in this district will begin using the laptops at a ratio or one laptop per two students. They hope to expand the program so that all 78,000 students will be able to use the Eee to manage an online web portfolio.

RM Education in the UK has starteddistributing their own branded verson of the Asus Eee to schools and universities in te UK.

Because of its popularity, the Asus Eee has sold out in many locations. Asus has been working hard to keep up with the demand, but many locations have found it hard to keep them in stock.

Part of the reason for the popularity of the Eee is the fact that the Eee is so inexpensive. At only around $300 to $350, it's much cheaper than other laptops. It's also extremely small, light, and portable. This makes it a great option for people who are constantly on the go.

Some people will find its hard drive far too small for practical use, especially if they opt for one of the 4 GB models. But there are portable USB hard drives that can be purchased inexpensively for use with the Eee, and can increase hard drive space by a lot.

The Eee isn't meant for running any large applications, anyway. You won't be able to run Photoshop on this computer, and you certainly won't be able to run any games like World of Warcraft! But for checking e-mail, general web browsing, and doing general writing work the Eee is very convenient.

The fact that it's so easy to use and inexpensive makes it especially appealing for students and the elderly. Many people are choosing the buy the Eee as a gift for their grandparents or kids.

From Wikipedia:

A controversy over a "warranty void if removed" sticker on the RAM access cover panel has prompted ASUS to release a statement clarifying the matter, stating that "merely breaking or removing this kind of seal will not void the ASUS Limited Warranty" (emphasis is original). Since then, ASUS has offered to replace the labels with ones specifying merely that ASUS will not be held "responsible for the damage caused by improper hardware change." Furthermore, ASUS altered their Limited Warranty to "eliminate any provision stating that the ASUS Limited Warranty will be voided simply because the product is serviced by a non-ASUS-approved service facility, or if non-ASUS-approved components or software are installed or used."