Eee PC 900 Full Review

The Asus Eee PC 700 is a nice sub-notebook computer, and the Asus Eee PC 900 is a really nice sub-notebook computer. Why is this slow laptop with a tiny screen that doesn’t run OS X interesting? For me, this is the first non-Apple computer that I’ve seen in a long time that I’d consider purchasing.

What is the Eee PC 900? The Eee PC 900 weighs about 2 lbs., has an 8.9” screen, an Apple-esque multi-touch trackpad, solid state storage and wireless networking. In other words, it is a fully functional portable computer for people with tiny hands. U.S. pricing hasn’t been released, but it looks like prices will be between $500 and $600.

The Eee PC 900 is available with a light-weight version of Windows XP or a custom distribution of Linux. This light-weight version of XP has received a “stay of execution” form Microsoft. This is promising news for those of us supporting enterprise environments primarily running XP Pro, but not so much for this market. More promising XP news. XP has it’s place, it just isn’t on a device like the Eee PC. Have you ever use a MS Pocket PC product?

The price is the same for the Linux and MS versions of the Eee PC 900. However, the Linux verison ships with 20 GB of solid state storage while the XP version ships with 12 GB and Microsoft gets the difference in the form of OS license fees.

What is the Eee PC missing? An Intel Atom CPU. The Celeron 900 MHz processor in the current Eee PC 900 is fast enough; the problem is power consumption. The Atom will use far less power than the Celeron and will significantly extend battery life. If the Atom finds it’s way into the Eee PC you may be reading a review of it here…

Apple purchases PA Semi (Forbes)

What do these have to do with one another? Nothing. However, I’d be interested to see an Apple low cost PC similar to the Eee PC. While the iPod Touch / iPhone are capable of doing many of the functions of the Eee PC, they lack a real keyboard and an open platform that allows third party applications (this point will be addressed shortly). Do I think Apple will release a sub-notebook? No. Why did Apple buy PA Semi? Ask these guys.

It is after midnight on a Friday. Why am I up? Why am I writing this? …Because I just finised rebuilding my ’07 Rock Shox SID Race.

A couple days ago the SID went from an 80 mm fork to somewhere around 35-40mm. Having previously killed a SID, I thought this one may be dead. Luckily, this relatively new fork is still under warranty. I called Karl and gave him the bad news, but decided to do a rebuild to see if things would improve.

I stopped by REI to get some shock oil. Apparently REI doesn’t carry shock oil. However, the friendly guys in the repair shop gave me some 15W SRAM Redrum shock oil for $2 (nice deal).

The rebuilt went well, and the Rock Shox rebuild procedures are pretty good (SRAM Technical Manuals). The fork seems to have 80 mm of travel now, or at least it has significantly more than it did before I started. I’ll take it out soon and see how it does. I don’t think the M2 is quite ready for fork number five yet…

This is a review I posted to a popular automotive forum. I have given myself permission to ‘reprint’ it here.

I was in South Carolina on business and had the pleasure of getting the keys to a sparkling Silver 2008 Hyundai Elantra GLS. This model was equipped with what appeared to be the “Popular Equipment and Sunroof Package” paired with the 4-speed auto. According to the Hyundai USA website, this car with the above package has an MSRP of $17,275. This seems like a strange combination considering that the higher-spec. SE model is $50 more and is equipped with alloys, stability control, telescoping leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, and a trip computer. This particular example had approximately 2500 miles on the odometer and was in excellent condition.

Exterior: The overall appearance of the car is quite nice; it is probably a little bland, but not bad. The panel fit and paint quality seemed fine with no obvious problems. I don’t have a lot to say here, and I doubt many others would.

Interior: At first glance, the interior is pretty nice. The materials looked nice and the panel gap is minimal. The dashboard design and layout was very pleasing and decidedly up-market for a car in the price range. The center stack was well laid out and has simple, easy to read controls.

However, the nice dash does have its faults. The bluish purple lighting was too bright and the color produces a lot of glare. The instrument backlight dimmer needs a lower setting. I’m not a fan of Hyundai’s color choice, but I suppose some may like it.

The front seats are the biggest problem with the car. The seat back was too soft and was unsupportive, there was little leg support with the short seat base, and the seat base angle was pitched to far forward even with the base in the lowest position. I’m of a fairly average size (5’10”, 160 lbs), and I could see some serious back and leg pain issues driving this car for extended periods. I didn’t test the rear seat, but it appeared livable and to be about what you’d expect from a car this size.

The one-touch operated moonroof was a nice feature, and was surprisingly quite while opening and closing. There was little wind noise produced by the open moonroof at highway speeds.

Trunk space was adequate. I didn’t have a lot of luggage, as you can see, so it met my needs. The trunk floor was uneven and looked cheaply made. However, the cheap uneven floor did not degrade or otherwise harm trunk functionality.

Safety: The safety systems seem to be in order; the Elantra comes with the requisite drive and passenger air bags as well as side air bags and side curtains. This model lacked the aforementioned stability control. No IIHS data on side impacts with side airbags, but frontal impact rating is “good”. I did not have an opportunity to evaluate the safety systems first hand.

Driving Impressions: The ride quality was pretty nice and the power was adequate for this 2895 lb. car. The 2.0L CVVT 4-cylinder engine was a little sluggish merging on to the highway, but overall power was acceptable.

On to the complaints: The transmission shifted smoothly, but held gears too long and was slow to shift. The brakes were really touchy. They grabbed hard with very light pedal pressure and were pretty annoying. Along with the touchy brakes, the steering was numb and over boosted. This concludes my complaints.

Conclusions: The Elatra seems like a nice enough car, but I can think of a number of comparably priced cars that are as good or better.