Performance and Battery Life
The familiar Intel single-core 1.6GHz Atom CPU is fine for basic on-the-go computing, as long as you keep your expectations modest. It's found in almost every current Netbook, so performance was on par with similar systems, such as the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and Lenovo IdeaPad S10--no surprises here.Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Asus Eee PC S101
742
Where the S101 really shines is in battery life. We've seen impressive battery scores from other Asus Netbooks, such as the Eee PC 901 and Eee PC 1000, and this new model gave us 4 hours 5 minutes on our video playback battery test. Dell's Mini 9 came close, at 3 hours 21 minutes. Since a Netbook is so portable and likely to spend long stretches away from a wall outlet, we recommend a battery that lasts at least 3 hours.
Video playback battery drain test
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Asus Eee PC S101
245
Dell Inspiron Mini 9
201
HP Mini 1001
164
Lenovo Ideapad S10
133
MSI Wind U100
116
Asus Eee PC S101
Windows XP Home Edition SP3; 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270; 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel 945 GSE; 32GB Solid State Drive
HP Mini 1000
Windows XP Home Edition SP3; 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel 945GM; 60GB Toshiba 4200rpm
MSI Wind U100
Windows XP Home Edition SP3; 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel 945 Express; 80GB Western Digital 5400rpm
Lenovo Ideapad S10
Windows XP Home Edition SP3; 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 64MB Mobile Intel 945 Express; 160GB Western Digital 5400rpm
Dell Inspiron Mini 9
Windows XP Home Edition SP3; 1.6GHz Intel Atom; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 64MB Mobile Intel 945 Express; STEC 16GB SSD
Acer Aspire One
Linpus Linux Lite v1.0.2.E; 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; Mobile Intel 945GME Express; 8GB Solid State Drive
Service and Support
Asus covers its laptops with a standard, one-year parts-and-labor warranty, and it offers online Web-based help and a phone number. The company's support Web site includes the expected driver downloads and a brief FAQ, but lacks useful features, such as user forums or the chance to chat in real time with a technician.Tags: Netbook, Hewlett-Packard Co., Keyboard, Intel Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd.
