Asus’ Eee PC 901 serves up a lot of the same delectable tastiness we savored with the original 701, but with some of the same failings as well. In both cases though, the price and the obvious focus on quality makes up for it to some extent. We take a look at the differences and the new features of the Eee PC 901 in this entry.

                                             Sleeker and shinier: the Asus Eee PC 901.

Compared side-by-side, the 901 is around 2 mm longer and 1 mm wider than the 900, the only other Eee PC we had on hand for comparison. These extra millimeters were put to work on the interface, primarily the touchpad, which is now bigger and lined by a silver accent. With the 701 its quite an appreciable difference – like going from a 17” 4:3 LCD to a 19” widescreen. The weight remains virtually the same as the 900, with a difference of only .1 kg probably due to the bigger battery – now hitting the 6600mAh with 6 cells – also making the rear of the 901 a bit chunkier than previous versions – hardly noticeable. The pearl finish of previous generations has been scrapped in favor of a glossy finish that seems a bit more classy, if you ignore the fingerprints.

                                             The keyboard is unchanged, but the touch pad is improved beyond recognition from the 701.

The most relevant change is of course the screen – not at 8.9” viewable, the screen boasts of a 1024 x 600 resolution, which allays previous concerns of squinty-eyed tiredness from staring at a not-quite 7” display. The icons of the Linux-powered example we received seems to fit in better on the combination of screen size and resolution of the 901, striking a balance of readability and compact size for screen-space preservation. The other major change is the Intel Atom on-board, naturally supported by a whole new motherboard since previous iterations had a Celeron processor. The 1.6GHz part has the ability to “clock down” itself to 1.2 GHz in Power Saver mode when unplugged and in a low-power requirement situation, while it can ramp up to 1.6GHz in High Performance mode when plugged in. A third mode called Super Performance is also available, raising clock speed to 1.8GHz.

                                             The small things matter: a redesigned power button and hinges.

Other small changes include the hinge, which now sports silver accented caps, power and function buttons in a line below the screen, the Kensington lock moved to the right hand side of the notebook, and the DC-in being moved to the left instead of the rear. The Asus brand name is also gone, replaced by a simple “Eee PC” branding. Indicator lights have been moved slightly to the left, nearer the touchpad. These small physical changes serve to differentiate the 901 from its siblings, although the most powerful indicator of a new level of usefulness is the inclusion of a host of usefull additions like Bluetooth and WiFi-N. Added to the recent improvements from the Eee 900 like the 1.3MP webcam, multi-touch pad, and dual integrated mics, the Eee PC 901 is a very good portable PC for the money.

                                             Both older features and new parts are present in this Eee.

It is important to note however that the small keyboard is unchanged, and storage is low at 20GB, yet the PC when taken to its intended task as a 2^nd laptop or a portable “netbook” device, excels – more so with this new size and improved design. There are many requirements and many kinds of situations among potential customers, and the 901 fills a much bigger portion of these requirements than the smaller 701 and the slower 900. With price only creeping up slightly from its predecessors, the 901 is truly a good value for anyone who intends to use it for what it is: a supremely portable, extremely connected device that’s powerful enough for 90% of personal productivity tasks. More pictures to follow.

                                             A chunkier battery gives roughly 40% longer run time.