For several months before its release, the Asus Eee PC was one of a handful of small, inexpensive PCs that had tech types buzzing with anticipation. While the other systems, the Intel Classmate and the One Laptop Per Child XO, are aimed at the educational needs of children around the globe and not generally available to consumers, the Eee holds no such highbrow pedigree--it's for sale directly from Asus to the laptop-buying public.
The initial buzz on the Asus Eee had the 7-inch, Linux-based laptop coming in as low at $199. In the end, the price is a more realistic $399, which includes a low-end Intel Mobile CPU, 512MB of RAM, and a 4GB solid-state flash hard drive (versions with 2GB and 8GB hard drives will also be available). The obvious limitations of the tiny hard drive, low-power CPU, and lack of the Windows operating system may be enough to scare away many potential users, but despite the system's budget origins, we found it hard to dislike when viewed as a highly portable Web surfing and office productivity machine.
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