Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Friday, 10 October 2008 08:06
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
It’s all over the news – Asus is launching the slimmest netbook that
comes close to challenging the MacBook Air in sleekness and slamming it
in price, but certainly not in power, screen or keyboard size, while
being pretty pricey all its own. Won’t 2009 be the year of a zillion
slim netbooks at ever better pricing?
The ASUS S101 slim Eee PC is undeniably the hottest, sleekest netbook on the market – and it’s not even in stores yet, due to arrive in November.
But at AUD $999, the price is also undeniably high, and clearly bumps up against dual-core computers that might not be as sleek, but are certainly a lot more powerful.
How much of the AUD $999 price is due to the Australian dollar’s shocking fall from US 98c to less than US 70c is one thing to consider, as is the fact the actual $999 street price will undoubtedly fall once the unit goes on the market as happens with any technology.
But given that the Asus S101 is essentially an Asus Eee PC 1000 in a slimmer case, at almost twice the price, is it really worth buying?
Let’s look at the specs: there’s a 10.2” WSVGA (1024x600) screen, the Atom 1.6Ghz processor, 1GB of RAM, a 16GB SSD (with 32GB and even 64GB SSD’s being spoken of overseas), 802.11 b/g/n, Windows XP or Linux, only a 4-cell battery (as opposed to the longer-life 6-cell options available for regular sized Eee PCs) and a choice of three colours, “Graphite, Brown and Champagne”.
All that Asus have done is to fit all of this into a slimmer case, with the 4-cell removable battery reportedly set to slot underneath the keyboard’s palm rest.
Not having had the chance to test the S101 as yet, I’ve no idea how hot the battery will or won’t get, but with notebook batteries often at the back of netbooks away from the keyboard, this will be one thing I’ll be interested in finding out once an S101 comes my way for review.
Slim and thin technologies are all the rage nowadays thanks to iPods, iPhones, iPod Touches, Motorola RAZRs, MacBook Airs and other devices.
Netbooks are already very small, certainly more than small enough for most people who want something lighter and more portable than a standard notebook.
So, is the Asus Eee PC S101 worth buying? Is it the real slim shady, or are we waiting for the real slim shady to please stand up? Read on... to page 2.
