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The Ultimate Netbook Buyer's Guide

Author	Andy Vandervell
Published	20th Nov 2008

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Asus Eee PC S101

UK Price: From £445 to £500
US Price: $699

Brief Description:
In its bid to plug every gap in the market no-one had thought of yet, Asus delivered its "premium" netbook, the S101. Available with Windows XP only you get all the usual trappings, but with a 16GB SSD supplemented by a 16GB SDHC card in the box. It's also available in two very nice colours: Mocha & Graphite. That's brown and black to us mere mortals.

Vital Statistics:

CPU: Intel Atom N270 1.6Ghz
Memory: 1GB DDR2
Storage: 16GB SSD & 16GB SDHC Card
Display: 10in, 1,024 x 600
Ports: 3xUSB 2.0; VGA; Headphone & Microphone; Ethernet; Memory Card Reader
Internet: 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N Wi-Fi, 10/100 Ethernet
Bluetooth: Yes
WebCam: 1.3 MegaPixel
Operating System:: Windows XP
Dimensions: 266 x 191.2 x 28.5~38mm
Weight: 1.33kg (Linux); 1.06kg
Colours: Mocha & Graphite
Battery Life: 4-5 hours usage depending

The Good:

It's shiny, sexy and so slim you'll want to fondle it
Excellent keyboard
Looks and feels like a quality product, not a "toy"
Battery life is still decent
Wouldn't look out of place in business class lounge
Colour choices are actually good!
Highly portable
Like an ultra-portable notebook, but a fraction of the price.

The Bad:

Doesn't please netbook purists
Too expensive for most budgets
Battery life not as good as some
Still "just a netbook"
Limited availability

The Ugly:

Can buy a proper 12in notebook for not much more

What We Said
"All told we like the S101 in the same way that we like most ultra-portables notebooks, because it's sleek, stylish and accomplished. Battery life is very good, while the keyboard, touchpad and basic feature set are also excellent, even if you don't get much more than other cheaper netbooks. But price, as we all know, is an emotive issue. If you like your netbooks dirt cheap and care little for how they look and how you look using them, then it's obviously not for you. If, however, you've liked the idea of a netbook but find the current efforts a little unrefined, then the S101 is your only real choice. As such, even if it's not an "everyman" machine like other netbooks, we reckon the S101 deserves a recommendation because it's discernibly different from what else is available - something you can't say that often."
- Asus Eee PC S101 Full Review

What We Think Now
Our opinion of the S101 hasn't changed that much. It is expensive for a netbook and you could get a reasonable portable notebook for the same price, but whatever you buy couldn't approach the class, style and portability of the S101. Its limited availability is an indicator of its niche appeal, but given it's your only alternative to a regular netbook it's worth consideration for more discerning buyers.

The Bottom Line
It's not for everyone, but there's nothing like it either.

Latest 4 of 19 Comments

Have your say: Leave a comment below about this article.

pw said on 9th December 2008

I'm a bit new to netbooks. I've got an old laptop and am about to upgrade and so after a few clarifications.

I mostly just use the laptop for browsing int... more

Prospero said on 22nd December 2008

Very useful review - one question please: Can I replace the custom o/s with Ubuntu without losing any functionality?

Chupakun said on 11th May 2009

Loved the feature. I really wish a company would come out with true netbook customisation options--so all we'd have do was pick 'n' mix as opposed to making it a gam... more

modus said on 13th July 2009

The Asus EEE PC 1000HE (http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/review/2009/02/12/Asus-Eee-PC-1000HE/p1) has a few significant improvements over its predecessor, the EEE PC 1000H -- ... more

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