ASUS Eee PC 2G Surf

User Experience - Media, Work, Other Devices

Media

Media on the Eee worked well, within constraints. Basic items like YouTube videos all work fine, as do mp3s. The onboard speakers do an adequate job and there's sufficient volume. A sample Xvid video experienced an audio sync drift problem several times; a brief seeking of the video corrected it. The video looks good in full-screen mode and is quite watchable (the key benchmark for us being that we actually start to enjoy watching the show, and forget about the device it's on).

The Eee is "good enough" for music playback and the occasional video. However, it remains limited by the inability for the average user to install additional or missing codecs. If you know your way around Linux, it's possible to correct the codec problem, but the majority of video codecs work already.

Work

The Eee Linux package comes with Openoffice installed, which will handle a variety of tasks. You can create/edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Google Docs is also a direct link from the Internet tab, which performs the same tasks at a very basic level. This article was written in Google Docs (but was imported to Word for final cleanup). The dictionary is really only useful if away from an internet connection, and as with the 4G it's still in Chinese by default. The calculator has trigonometry functions and other features that might help a student get by in a pinch if they didn't have an alternative.

Overall, there are a number of business applications that can be used on the Eee, but MS Office is not one of those without a Windows XP install. Even if you do install XP, on the 2G Surf model you're going to have severe storage constraints. If you're planning on running XP, you're best off spending more money for the 4G model.

Other Devices

As with the 4G, both a USB Flash Drive and an external hard drive connected without issue. Each displays a window upon connection, prompting the opening of the File Manager, Music Manager, or Photo Manager.

Noise/Heat

When it comes to noise, the Eee is very quiet. Obviously all hard drive access noise is absent, given the flash storage. Once the system fan engages, it is audible but still low, and not irritating or "whiny". The unit does get warm, but is usable on a lap if you really want to keep it there (remember, it's small - pinching your knees together constantly is not that comfortable).