Putting the Eee into notebook PCs

INBOXWHEN THE Asus Eee PC was released in October last year, tech fans could do little other than coo over its diminutive size. But now, just as Asus has updated its smash-hit notebook computer, Hewlett-Packard has decided to return fire with a tiny notebook of its own, writes Mike Butcher

When the Asus Eee came on the market, it was almost an overnight success. The Taiwan-based company sold more than 300,000 Eee PCs in 2007 and plans to sell several million in 2008.

The Eee caused a sensation because of its combination of light-weight, Linux-based operating system, solid-state drive (ie no moving parts, which improves battery life) and relatively low cost.

The update to the seven-inch Eee has come on the market this month. The pearl-white Eee 900 Series (for approximately €410) comes with a nine-inch screen and a multitouch trackpad that allows two-finger scrolling and zooming via a "pinch" gesture.

It will run either the Linux open-source operating system or Windows XP and weighs as much as an average hardback book.

The Linux version comes with a 20GB solid-state drive, while the Windows XP version has a 12GB solid-state drive. The machines are otherwise identical, with 1GB of Ram, a nine-inch screen and a 1.3 megapixel webcam.

The new model has the same Celeron 900MHz processor as the earlier Eee PC.

The real advantage of the Eee is that it powers up in less than a minute, largely because it runs simple software such as the more basic Microsoft Works rather than Office. It also comes with Star Suite, which is a rebranded version of the free OpenOffice, a decent alternative to Microsoft Office.

Like all Eees, the keyboard is smaller than the standard size, but this is a laptop for on-the-go people. Fully charged, the battery lasts about three hours with general use. WiFi and an SD card slot make this a handy, portable machine.

Meanwhile, HP has fired its own shot at the micro-notebook market with the HP2133 Mini-Note. Ranging from €380 to €450, this lightweight, nine-inch-screen notebook is small but solid.The Mini-Note is wider and heavier than the Asus Eee PC, but it has the same depth and thickness. Its keyboard is 92 per cent the size of a full-size keyboard, making it easier to type with than the Eee. But the tiny trackpad with oddly positioned left and right buttons makes it a tricky machine to get used to.

Featuring an inbuilt webcam, PC ExpressCard slot, SD card reader, two USB sockets, an ethernet socket, WiFi and a 1.2GHz Via C7-M ULV processor, this is not the fastest machine, but it is fast enough for mobile workers. The biggest difference to the Eee is the hard drive: it is an impressive 120GB.

The system comes with either the Linux or Windows Vista Business operating system.

There are two battery options, with the largest getting you about four hours of use.

Overall, the Mini-Note is a great competitor to the Asus Eee PC. At the pricier end, you might consider the smallest models from Sony Vaio, Lenovo or the MacBook Air, which are larger, but they are also thin, as opposed to just, well, small.