Asus eee 900 $329 on Amazon

Now that the prices are about equal for the linux versions, which is better? Does the lack of the atom processor on the eee still make the aspire a better choice? any thoughts?

link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001BYB60W/ref=nosim/scentratingsc-20

 

I have found the Asus EEE series to be well built and engineered for the most part. I have an EEE 701 4G in addition to the AA1. The 900 series is basically the 701 with a larger screen. I think the Atom CPU is better suited for netbook use compared to the celeron of the 900. The major difference to me is the very useable keyboard on the AA1 vs the tiny and difficult to use keyboard on the 900. I would pick the AA1 over the 900 anyday. The 901 closes the gap a bit, but Asus insists on misplacing the right shift key, which is a deal breaker for me.

-steve

 

The 16G version of the 900 is a poor choice due to the extremely slow SSD. Of course, the SSDs on the 8GB and 16GB versions of the AAO aren't all that impressive either, but for only $20 more, you can get a 120GB HDD AOA150-1029. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834115509). Battery life will probably not be as impressive as the 900 16G, but you will have the benefit of greater performance.

I think it all boils down to personal preference. The big pros that the 900 has is a big touchpad with a traditional button layout, and a smaller unit footprint. Those are the same two reasons (plus added battery life) that's keeping me leaning towards the 901 20G over the AOA150-1049 (black, 6-cell, 160GB), but they are very close. Each has their own benefits.