Theyear 2008 will probably be known as the year of ultra mobile PCs with a slew of Ultra Mobile PCs being released by different
companies. Close on the heels of HCL, ASUS also announced the release of its ultra mobile PC. They call it the Eee PC.
The Eee PC is around the size of a hard cover notebook. It promises to support wired or wireless network which is a major plus as it gives a number of options for net connection along with mobility. On the specifications side the device sports a 7 inch LCD screen with a resolution of 800 x 480. The size and resolution is adequate for running
applications. The screen is flanked b stereo speakers and the top of the frame houses a webcam. Thus one is all set for mobile video confrencing. The keyboard is of the standard type including the function keys to control volume, brightness, wi-fi and power. There is a trackpad below the keyboard with two buttons. Pressing both simultaneously is the eqvivalentof middle click. The sides of the device presents a number of options for connecting peripherals. It has the standard headphone and mike sockets and a VGA video output port. In addition to these it has a card reader which can read SD and MMC cards, ethernet socket and three USB ports. The battery lasts 2.5 to 3 hours with wi-fi turned on. At the core of the Eee PC there is a 900 MHZ Celeron processor. The video is supported by Intel''''s GMA 900 integrated graphics solution and 512 MB of RAM. Storage is provided in the form of 4 GB solid state flash drive.
The
operating system that the computer uses is LINUX which has been simplified to a great extent for newbies.The system is icon based with labels below the icons being task-based rather than programme based. for example ''''we'''' icon launches firefox. Above the icons there is a row of 6 tabs with titles such as ''''internet'''', ''''work'''' and ''''play''''. Each has a mix of useful programmes. There are a number of free applications such as open office, adobe reader, star dict and SM player. The operating system is a customised version of Xandros Linux. There is a vibrant web community also for support and a number of downloadable applications too. A major plus in terms of operating system is that LINUX can be replacedby Windows XP.
Overall the Eee PC promises to be a handy useful device.