The ASUS Eee PC 900 - Fun for the Fingers

The popular ASUS Eee PC series took a bigger step today with the launch of the ASUS Eee PC 900. News of the Eee PC 900 have been floating around the Internet for months, so there's really no big secret about the new 8.9-inch screen and form factor. It will also come as no surprise for anyone that's been keeping up with the news about the Eee PC 900 that it will also offer Windows XP as one of the operating systems, or the news that it will be one of the few machines to have a multi-touch trackpad.

However, don't be fooled by our statements into thinking that we lack any enthusiasm for the Eee PC 900. Despite already knowing all the details, we're still pretty excited to finally get our hands on a unit for review. As you know, nothing really beats the experience of feeling stuff first hand, and as we got the chance to start playing with one of the units available at the launch, it was soon obvious to us that the Eee PC 900 is indeed a worthy addition to the Eee PC series.

Held at the swanky Fashion Bar located at Clarke Quay, the event was a jungle affair, with ASUS highlighting the fact that the Eee PC could be used almost anywhere...even in a big green forest. We disagree though, as there probably wouldn't be any access to the Internet, and being classified as a Netbook by Intel, this travel-friendly notebook is really all about Internet usage and its related productivity tools.

Welcome to the jungle!

ASUS has also mentioned a few interesting things during the event, such as an improved power adapter that promises to charge the Eee PC faster, having taken feedback into consideration from their earlier Eee PC customers. They have also upgraded the integrated webcam to a 1.3-megapixel sensor from the previous 0.3-megapixel sensor found on the original Eee PC. The Eee PC 900 also sports a new black color, but it's a pity that we didn't spot any during the launch event.

Lastly, before we start with our pictorial preview, we're sure you're all curious as to when the Eee PC 900 will be available, and boy are we glad to let you know that it's going be available this weekend for S$798; so get your wallets ready!

Seen here is the 12GB version with Windows XP. As far as we could tell, performance was definitely smooth, though we'll put it through its paces once we get a review unit.

The 20GB Linux version. Note the sticker still on the trackpad teaching you how to use the Fingerglide trackpad.

We tried out the zoom function of the multitouch trackpad, and found it very familiar to Apple's MultiTouch trackpad in their latest notebooks.