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Written by Sasa Pantelic
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Monday, 19 January 2009 |
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Page 1 of 2  If HP 2133 that we reviewed two months ago was intended for business users then ASUS Eee PC S101 is intended for business users that need to make a statement. This is most elegant netbook that we tested so far, and it is suited for male or female users. This ultrathin model resembles Mac Book Air and its originality comes from unusual color of the cover. Color of the S101 that we got was something between color of brass and coffee. Piano finish of the cover, because of this unusual color, doesn’t look unappealing like on some models. Palm rest, or area around touchpad, is made of brushed aluminum and besides its elegant looks it is easy to maintain this surface.
Matte 10.2 inch display has usual resolution for a panel of this size. Picture is slightly darker even when we set brightness at maximum levels. Viewing angles are not as we expected from a model of this class. Since cover cannot be opened to degree like most netbooks can and in combination with poor viewing angles, we got a netbook that won’t have perfect picture in all occasions. This wouldn’t be a problem on cheaper models but in this product class only the best is expected. Small compensation can be hinges of the display that are decorated with Swarovski crystals on each side. This detail isn’t too noticeable so male users won’t get their macho image compromised, but female users would certainly appreciate this detail.
We already mentioned that ASUS Eee PC S101 is very thin. Because of that, VGA and network connector had to be places at the back end which we find to be more practical. This model doesn’t have modem and plenty of connectors - besides mentioned LAN and VGA it has tree USB 2.0 connectors and two audio jacks (Headphone/OUT and Microphone/IN).
Touch pad supports gestures so you can use more than one finger to achieve results. Keys below touchpad are made as one key and this is a design feature that we didn’t like that much. As expected, nothing happens when pressure is applied at center of this key but it is hard to determine where exactly ends left and begins right touch pad key. Keyboard is good and without noticeable bending.
In a line-up of unusual features that ASUS Eee PC S101 has, one has stand out. Most new features are oriented toward external design and looks but interesting feature is that there is a button on this model that has unusual function for a netbook: it raises frequency of Atom CPU from 1.6 to 1.68 GHz. This overclock is more symbolical than functional but it is very interesting option. Even when CPU is overclocked, S101 is just slightly warmer on bottom than most other netbooks.
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Since ASUS Eee PC S101 is high-end model nothing less than SSD is suited for it. Reading performances are more than double of performances that one Eee PC 901 has. This is really nice result that can be noticed in real working conditions. Since 16GB or capacity is for most users too small, ASUS provided additional storage capacity with one 16GB SDHC card.
Sound reproduction was never a issue on netbooks but ASUS Eee PC S101 has speakers that sound lauder than they actually are because high frequencies are dominant during sound reproduction.
When we looked at dimensions of this netbook, we expected autonomy to be short. Battery that looked like a thin metal plate has fooled us completely. Its six cells can provide really nice autonomy that can achieve even 5 hours in case you use netbook just for typing while display brightness is set to lower levels.
Additional accessories that come with this model are: black case, bag for power charger (that has really small dimensions btw) and cloth. Out test model had Windows XP Home preinstalled.
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